This Rump Roast Instant Pot recipe simply cannot be beat. It's an old-timey meal that will stick to your bones.
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🎵"Good morning! Good morning!"🎵
It's great to stay up late, but we've got some old-fashioned 1950's cooking to do today. I'm going to share my Rump Roast recipe, a tender and delicious main course that will placate any finicky friends and family members who might show up for dinner.
So let's get cooking!
It's gonna be tough.
I'm just kidding with you. I am actually referring to the cut of meat we're going to use for this pot roast. The dish you are about to prepare is actually one of the easiest meals you can make. In the old days, it used to take upwards of 3 hours to braise the beef slowly in the oven, but nowadays we have the Instant Pot, which means we can only need to cook the meat for 1 hour.
It's an Instant Pot... Roast.
🥩 Tough meat?
Yes, sorry, let's talk about the meat. It may sound weird to tell you to go out and buy the toughest cut of beef that you can find, but that is actually the secret to a good Rump Roast. Only meat that is tough and muscular will break down over time and become tender.
That’s because of the structure of the connective tissue in the meat. Normally, you want a nice tender cut of beef, but when you choose a more marbleized cut, the collagen breaks down as you cook it, making the meat extra juicy. You know that gelled substance that you find in meat after it's been cooked a long time?
That's the collagen.
🐄 Best beef cuts to use for a roast
Rump Roast Cut
- Rump Roast or Round Roast: This cut comes from the rump and rear legs of the cow. Rump Roast, in addition to having a hilarious name, is a leaner cut of meat than a chuck roast or a brisket, so it is a good option if you are watching your calories. But you should know that it will make a drier pot roast, so you might want to choose one of the other two areas over the old rump.
Chuck Roast or Brisket
- Chuck Shoulder or Chuck Roast: This cut comes from the shoulder of the cow. It might have a bone, but it might not. Chuck Roast or Shoulder is a great meat to use for a pot roast, since it contains a lot of fat and connective tissue which means more flavor.
- Brisket: This cut comes from the chest and front legs of the cow. It’s good, but not quite as good as Chuck Roast because the texture is a little bit grainier.
Sirloin Roast or Steak
- Sirloin Roast: You can technically use this cut if you have to, but it is really too lean to become fork-tender like the others. And don’t even consider using a steak or other kind of chop in this recipe. It would not be pretty.
🥕 Vegetable Sides
Classic Pot Roast is braised beef that is usually accompanied by carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes. One thing to guard against with these vegetables is over-doneness. If that is even a word. No one wants a mushy side dish, is what I am trying to say. So instead of cooking the veggies together with the meat, we are going to pressure cook them separately while the beef is resting.
💬 Keto Substitutions
If you are on a low carb diet, then you will need to forgo the potatoes for a vegetable that is lower in carbohydrates like cauliflower or Daikon radish. The onions, celery, and carrots, we can work with. So the only real difference between Keto Pot Roast and regular pot roast is the potatoes. You'll make the gravy differently too, but we'll talk about that a little bit later on.
🥘 Best way to cook a Rump Roast
You've got two good options. Either braise the meat in the oven or slow cooker for 3-7 hours or pressure cook it in an Instant Pot for 1 hour. Both methods will get you an incredibly tender Rump Roast. But if you have an Instant Pot, you should definitely use it. Time is money, after all.
💭 What is an Instant Pot?
An Instant Pot is this all-in-one pressure cooking, slow cooking, air frying, dehydrating, rice cooking, steaming, warming, and sautéing wunderkind. People primarily use the pressure cook function to cook things very quickly. The way it works is that moisture in the pot reaches a high temperature in the airtight device and builds up steam. The steam creates pressure that cooks the food faster than an oven or stove top would.
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♨️ How to pressure cook the meat
- First, pat the beef with a paper towel to dry it off. Season the Rump Roast generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Letting it rest for 30-60 minutes until it reaches room temperature will improve the taste of the beef, but is optional.
- Add a few glugs of olive oil to a large frying pan and sear the meat on all sides. You can use the Sauté function of the Instant Pot, but I find it difficult to turn the roast and so I always use a frying pan on the stove top with High heat.
- Add the rack to the Instant Pot and place roast on top, fatty side up. Add beef stock or broth, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce and some bay leaves to the Instant Pot. You can add your vegetables at this time, but as I said, I don't recommend doing that, because they turn to mush when they are cooked that long.
- Pressure cook on High for 60 minutes.
- Once the roast has finished cooking, do a natural release of steam for 10 minutes, then a quick release until the float valve goes down. Make sure to place the Instant Pot away from any cabinetry, because the steam can damage the wood. And watch your fingers too. It's hot!
- Remove the lid, transfer the meat to a platter or cutting board and allow it to rest as you cook the vegetables. (It needs its rest, it's been under a lot of pressure lately.)
- After 10-20 minutes of rest, either serve the entire roast, or pull the meat into bite sized pieces with two forks. I like shredding the meat because it makes the meal easier to eat. No steak knives needed.
🧅 How to pressure cook the veggies
- You'll need 12 cups of vegetables to serve with the meat. They can be any combination of potatoes, celery, Daikon radishes, regular radishes, cauliflower florets, shallots, baby carrots or mushrooms.
- To pressure cook the vegetables, an Instant Pot sized wire basket comes in handy. But if you don't have one that's ok, you'll just need to fish the vegetables out with a large slotted spoon later.
- Pressure cook the shallots, radishes, cauliflower, and mushrooms for 8 minutes on High. Quick release the steam and remove the vegetables to a platter. If using potatoes, pressure cook them separately for 4 minutes on High and then quick release the steam. And if using baby carrots or celery, pressure cook them for 3 minutes on High and quick release the steam.
- Add the cooked vegetables and the Rump Roast to a large platter or plate.
- Pour the cooking liquid over the meat and vegetables, or thicken it to make gravy.
🫕 How to make the gravy
Au Jus: The cooking liquid is perfectly good as is. Just run it through a sieve before pouring it over your meat and vegetables. It also makes a great dip for roast beef sandwiches the next day.
Thicker Gravy: Add 2 cups of the cooking liquid to a medium-sized saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together water or milk and cornstarch to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the cooking liquid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil one minute until thickened, stirring constantly. Salt and pepper to taste.
Keto Pot Roast variation: Whisk together 2 cups of the cooking liquid and 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum in a medium-sized saucepan. Add half a stick of butter and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, whisk it for 1 minute until it thickens. It will thicken more as it cools. Salt and pepper to taste.
One last note: You might follow all the instructions to the letter and do everything right, but still get a dry pot roast. It just happens sometimes. But when it does, make sure to make the gravy extra thick and delicious.
Gravy can be very forgiving.
It is, but it's lean, so if you use a fattier beef cut, it will be more flavorful and fork-tender. You might want to go with a Chuck Roast or a Brisket over the rump. But if you are watching your calories, then the rump is the way to go.
It takes 60 minutes to pressure cook a rump roast in an Instant Pot. Or if you cook the rump roast in the oven, bake it for two hours at 350°F. Then turn your oven down to 250°F and cook for an additional three to five hours.
I tend to go with just good old salt and pepper, but you can be like Remy the Rat and get fancy with the spices. Try making a dry rub out of these herbs: 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 2 teaspoons ground paprika. You can also use fresh rosemary to good effect. Just roughly chop two sprigs and sprinkle them on the Rump Roast with salt and pepper.
Make sure to cool the meat, vegetables, and gravy to room temperature before placing them in an airtight container. You can store them separately or all mashed together. You can also wrap them tightly in tin foil. Either store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
If you like this Instant Pot Rump Roast, then you might like my recipe for Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut or Instant Pot Egg Salad.
And that's about it. 👩🏻🍳
If you have an Instant Pot, it really isn't that hard to make your friends and family this classic 1950's meal. But this Rump Roast Instant Pot dinner has just 450 calories per serving, so you don't have to feel guilty about eating it.
Just put the meat in that wondrous appliance and kick up your heels, my friends.
"Cause in the morning, I clap my hands, in the morning, I do my dance, in the morning, I shout hurray. Because this is going to be a wonderful day!" -Singing in the Rain
📋 Recipe
Rump Roast Instant Pot Recipe
This Instant Pot Roast recipe simply cannot be beat. It's an old-timey meal that has just 450 calories per serving.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 80
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
For the Beef:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2.5 - 3.5 pound rump roast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups beef stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
For the Vegetables, use a 12 cup mixture of:
- potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
- celery stalks, cut in half
- shallots or onions, peeled with the root sliced off
- whole baby carrots
- whole baby bella, cremini, or white mushrooms
- Daikon radishes, peeled, and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
- cauliflower florets
For a thicker gravy:
- 2 cups cooking liquid
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water or milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Step 1. Pat the rump roast with a paper towel to dry it off. Salt and pepper the meat. If you have the time, let it sit on the counter for 30-60 minutes until it reaches room temperature.
Step 2. Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat on High until very hot.
Step 3. Add meat to the skillet, and sear the meat on all sides, 3-4 minutes per side. This will seal in the juices.
Step 4. Add a rack to the Instant Pot if you have one. Add beef broth, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, pepper, bay leaves and garlic to the Instant Pot. Add the beef rump roast to the pot, fatty side up.
Step 5. Pressure cook for 60 minutes. Once the cook time is over, allow the steam to release naturally for 10 minutes, then vent the remaining steam with the release valve. If the meat is not tender enough, then return it to the Instant Pot and cook it for another 10 minutes.
Step 6. Remove roast with the handles of the rack and place it on a platter or cutting board and set aside until the vegetables have cooked. Remove bay leaves and garlic cloves and throw them away, but leave the liquid in the Instant Pot.
Step 7. If you have a wire basket for the Instant Pot, place it inside the pot. Add a mixture of vegetables that equals 12 cups to the Instant Pot. Vegetables have differing cook times as follows: If using onions, shallots, mushrooms, daikon radishes, or cauliflower, pressure cook on High for 8 minutes, then quick release the steam and remove the vegetables from the Instant Pot using the basket. If using potatoes, cook them separately for 4 minutes, then quick release the steam and remove. If using carrots or celery, cook them separately for 3 minutes, quick release the steam, and remove. Really keep an eye on the Instant Pot, because you don't want to overcook the vegetables.
Step 8. Once the roast is cool enough to handle, either place it whole on a platter, slice it, or pull the meat apart with 2 forks. Scrape the larger pieces of fat off as you pull the meat.
Step 9. Add the vegetables to the platter and pour the cooking liquid over the meat and the vegetables.
Step 10. If you'd like a thicker gravy, add 2 cups of the cooking liquid to a medium-sized saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together water or milk and cornstarch to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the cooking liquid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil one minute until thickened, stirring constantly.
Keto gravy variation: Whisk together 2 cups of the cooking liquid and 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum in a medium-sized saucepan. Add ¼ cup butter and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, whisk it for 1 minute until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
The nutritional info for this meal was calculated using 2 cups carrots, 2 cups Daikons radishes, 2 cups shallots, 3 cups celery, and 3 cups mushrooms.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz meat, 1 ½ cup veg
- Calories: 450
- Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 8
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 21
Keywords: Rump Roast, Rump Roast Instant Pot, Pot Roast
Cheryl T says
OMG. Best recipe for rolled rump EVER! I’ve never cooked a rump roast that was edible. I was originally planning to roast in the oven so I marinated it overnight in a McCormick bourbon and brown sugar marinade. I found this recipe today and figured I’d cook in IP instead. My roast was 3 lbs. Followed all instructions except I poured in marinade instead of other liquids. When it was done cooking and resting, I sliced it up and I thought I had killed it. Nope. Nice and tender. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you. 😀
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Sure thing!
David Elmore says
So I used your recipe for a base and then tweaked it a tad bit. I seared the roast in the instant pot on the sauté setting making sure all sides were seared well
Used some smoked paprika some garlic powder along with the salt and pepper.
Used marinated garlic cloves. Used the vegetables except the radishes. 4# rump roast for 60 mins was ideal. Thanks for sharing this great recipe with us.
David
Emily Krill says
Thanks!
Lisa says
I have used this recipe but tweaked: I use a 3 lb rump roast and follow the roast prep. Then sear it in my instant pot (less clean up.. I am 62 and don’t like all the clean up with extra pans). I use chicken broth and onion soup mix in the pot and 60 minutes later a very tender and delicious roast! I buy the bag of frozen Reames egg noodles (as good as grandma used to make from scratch!) and use the broth to simmer noodles in. To die for! Brings back great childhood Sunday, after church meal m we memories, except I didn’t have to put it in the oven before leaving for church like my mom and grandma did! I usually have bent seeet green peas as side veggie.
Lisa says
Sorry about the typos everyone.. fat fingers! 😂
Emily Krill says
Yum, the egg noodles are a good idea.
May says
This recipe is perfect! I hate mushy pot roast vegetables too, so I am so happy that you didn't just cook everything together like most pot roast recipes. I actually cut back on the vegetable cook time because I like them extra crisp.
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
It's so easy to overcook things in an Instant Pot! The vegetables really only need a few minutes.
Lucy Miller says
I couldn't find rump roast at the grocery store so I used chuck roast instead. I actually thought it tasted better than the rump roast I've made in the past. I used carrots, onions, potatoes and celery and everybody in my family loved it. And I had enough leftover meat, vegetables and liquid to make soup the next day. I just added some tomato sauce and water and it was delicious.
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
That's great. I actually like chuck roast over rump roast as well. It's a fattier cut of meat.
Sarah says
Yum! I never made a pot roast with mushrooms before but gave it a try and it was delicious. I also tried the daikon radishes but didn't like them so well. I think I'll stick to potatoes next time!
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Potatoes it is!😊
Cora says
Turned out great!
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Awesome! Glad you liked the pot roast.
Connie says
Thanks for help in this new age of “The Insta-pot”. I’m always confused by the transition. But nothing beats pot roast in the dark of the year.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
I couldn't agree more.
Beverly says
You’ve earned five stars for this recipe because it was such fun to read. I know that it will work because I’ve made pot roast in the Instant Pot before and we love it. It was the shenanigans of the Singing in the Rain cast that pushed this one over the top. (All that good information helped also.) On the next cold, rainy day, we’re having Pot Roast.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Ha, thanks!