Instant Pot 3 Packet Roast–a super easy and fast way to make an incredibly tender and flavored roast. You’ll just need a packet of ranch, Italian dressing mix and brown gravy along with a chuck roast for this recipe. If you prefer to make homemade versions of these “packets” I have those recipes for you too!
Related: Slow Cooker 3 Packet Roast Recipe
Instant Pot 3 Packet Roast
Today’s recipe is for an oldie but a goodie. It’s an oldie in the sense that many of you have probably heard of 3-packet roast before but it’s also new in that maybe you’ve never made it in your Instant Pot. This recipe couldn’t be easier to get started. All you need is a 3 pound chuck roast, 2 cups of water and then the 3 packets (ranch, Italian and gravy). You’ll place the roast in the bottom of the Instant Pot, mix the packets with some water and pour the mixture over the roast and close up the pot. If you want to take a few minutes to brown the roast using the sauté function and a little bit of oil I’m sure that would add a lot of flavor. I didn’t do it (too lazy) but if you want to go for it!
Ways to use chuck roast
So chuck roast is on sale at your local grocery store? Here are some other ways to use it up!
20 ways to use beef chuck roast in the slow cooker
Instant Pot or Crockpot Beef Pot Pie
Pressure Cooker Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe from Add A Pinch
Slow Cooker French Onion Pot Roast from The Little Kitchen
What Instant Pot Did You Use?
For this Instant Pot 3 Packet Roast recipe I used this Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker*. It’s 6 quarts, so the same size as most slow cookers. It cost me around $80 on Amazon.
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Click here for the SLOW COOKER VERSION of this recipe
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Instant Pot 3 Packet Roast
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A super easy and fast way to make an incredibly tender and flavored roast. You’ll just need a packet of ranch, Italian dressing mix and brown gravy along with a chuck roast for this recipe. If you prefer to make homemade versions of these “packets” I have those recipes for you too!
Ingredients
For the roast
- 3 lbs chuck roast (trimmed of excess fat)
- 3 Tbsp ranch dressing mix (store bought or homemade recipe below)
- 2 Tbsp gravy mix ((store bought or homemade recipe below)
- 2 Tbsp Italian dressing mix (store bought or homemade recipe below)
- 2 cups water
For the ranch dressing mix
- 1/3 cup dry buttermilk powder
- 3 Tbsp parsley flakes
- 2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- 2 tsp dried dill weed
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For the gravy mix
- 3 Tbsp beef bouillon granules
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
For the Italian dressing mix
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 2 Tbsp salt
Instructions
- To make the roast place the roast in the bottom of the Instant Pot*. In a bowl whisk the water together with the 3 mixes. Pour the mixture over the roast. Cover the pot and make sure valve is on “sealing.” Set to manual/pressure cook button to 60 minutes. The pot will probably take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure, then it will cook for 60 minutes. Once the pot beeps let the pressure release naturally for 15-20 minutes or until you can open the pot. Remove the lid and shred the meat and serve.
- For the ranch dressing mix: Run all the ingredients through a blender or food processor. Pulse about 10 times until all the granules are the same consistency. Store in an airtight container. To make ranch dressing whisk together 3 Tbsp of ranch mix, 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup milk until smooth. Refrigerate for half hour before serving.
- For the gravy mix: Run all the ingredients through a blender or food processor. Pulse about 10 times until all the granules are the same consistency. Store in an airtight container. To make gravy, mix 1/4 cup of mix with 2 cups of milk or water in a saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until smooth and it thickens.
- For the Italian dressing mix: Run all the ingredients through a blender or food processor. Pulse about 10 times until all the granules are the same consistency. Store in an airtight container. To make Italian dressing mix together 1/4 cup cinder vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp water and 2 Tbsp mix. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
*If you want to brown the roast it will take just a few extra minutes but will make it taste great. Turn the pot to sauté and let it heat up. Heat 2 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on each side for 5 minutes. This step is not mandatory but it does make the roast taste better! I used my 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
7/12/23 – Made a 6 pound Costco Chuck Roast for a family dinner (8 people). Had a nice marbled roast without excess fat. Cut the roast into large (about 5 inch) pieces and browned them with fresh ground pepper in a separate skillet on the stove on all sides of the meat. Made 2 cups of beef broth with Better then Bullion which I added to bottom of the 8 quart IP. (Could have used the 6 quart IP but it was reserved for making mashed potatoes). Added 1 ½ 🧅 onion peeled and just cut in half, then added the browned Chuck. Sprinkled a packet of brown gravy mix, an envelope of dry good seasons Italian dressing, and 2-3 tablespoons of dry ranch seasoning. (I used pre-made seasonings). Pressure cooked for 60 minutes with a 15-20 minute NPR. Removed the meat and thickened the leftover juices with some corn starch. Beef was fall apart tender and the gravy had amazing flavor! Served with homemade Instant Pot mashed potatoes. This will become my go-to recipe for Pot Roast.
Next time:
I may try adding some whole peeled carrots to the bottom of the pot. And/or try this with a pork roast.
★★★★★
Sounds like I need to be in your family! Or at least invited to your house for dinner! Yum!
Made this today. I cut the roast into 4 pieces before cooking to make sure all of it would be fork tender and it was. My store didn’t have the individual ranch dressing mix so I had to buy a box of 4 packets. This recipe took 2 of them. Are the individual packets larger? My roast was 3.18 lbs and I got 6 servings out of it, not 12. What do you do with all the leftover broth?
★★★★★
love this recipe on beef. But my kids asked will it work on chicken?
Sure I don’t see why not! Use less time though for chicken.
Hello! Keen to make this. May I substitute a round roast instead of the rump roast? If so, will it need more or less time? I am thinking more. I would appreciate your comment. Thank you for your great recipes, Nancy
★★★★★
I would do 60 minutes for a round roast. I haven’t tried this myself. I just looked at some other recipes for round roast in the instant pot and that’s what they did.
I cooked almost 6 lbs. of roast and placed uncut peeled carrots underneath the roast. Came out delicious! I made mashed potatoes on the side. Another winner! Thank you!
★★★★★
I love that idea with the carrots!
I’m sure I will love this recipe. I now have the ability to control the amount of sodium in the recipe. Is there any reason I can’t add sliced onions and carrots to cook with the meat ? Thanks
You can add them although I would leave them in huge pieces. They will be well well done.
I have pre-made Italian and Ranch dressings. I would normally make pan gravy by deglazing the pot and adding Gravy Master and salt for color/seasoning. How much water should I use? Also, is all the liquid absorbed by the roast or is there enough in the IP to thicken and serve separately?
There’s a lot of liquid left in the pot. I would make gravy with that after the roast has cooked 🙂
Hi Karen! Love this simple recipe for pot roast. The way I do it is much more complicated. I want to try your recipe, but wondering why the photo looks as though it’s pulled, rather than in pieces/chunks as pot roast is usually served. Is it better pulled?
It’s so good either way! That’s just what my husband likes 🙂
I love your recipes but need to know how to shrink them as I mostly cook for two.
Hi Dotty, this article might help you! https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-halve-instant-pot-recipes/
I have been making this recipe for years. I call it awesome pot roast. I put carrots on the bottom. Then the meat. I pour 1/2 cup water around the roast and pile the 3 packets on top. This recipe is very good with stew meat and pork loin too.
Awesome! Do you put whole carrots underneath?
No. I cut them into thirds. They taste so good. I usually serve this with red cabbage and noodles.
And yes. Underneath the meat.
If I make my own mix, what will the measurement equal to 1 packet be? Thank you for the amazing IP recipes.
Interesting how “pressure cooking” has come around again. So easy now with IP! Thanks for mix recipes too.
Hi Kathi, you’ll use 3 Tbsp ranch dressing mix, 2 Tbsp of gravy mix and 2 Tbsp of Italian dressing mix
I like to do this in my slow cooker for 8 hrs with 3 lbs of stew meat. How long do you think that would take in the Instant Pot? It will start from frozen.
With the stew meat? That will be less time since it’s small chunks. I would use a 20-30 minute cooking time with a natural pressure release.
Thank you. 🙂
Found recipe for slow cooker Mediterranean Lentil soup & want to get it to you so you can tell me how to do it your way in the IP. How do I get this recipe to you?
Hi Kim, you can email it to me and I’ll take a look! [email protected]
I did use the packets and it was delicious. The gravy is fantastic. I made it with brown rice. I will make this again!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Marisa!
Hi! My roast is “bone in” (we get it straight from the farm) – is 60 min enough? Or should I cook it longer since it has the bone?
I don’t think it would hurt to add 15 minutes to the time.
I’m new to the instant pot. Do I not need to add more liquid? The instant pot manual said to always use no less than 18oz, I thought.
Nevermind, I just saw where you said to use 2 cups. I know that’s close enough!
Hi!! Sounds yummy!! How long if the roast is frozen??
I would do it for 80 minutes
What do you serves this with/over? Rice, egg noodles, or something else?
I love mashed potatoes!
I LOVE that you listed how long it may take the IP to come up to pressure. I’ve started paying attention to my pot and adding that info to the notes section of my pins if I plan to make the recipe again. It’s helpful to know how much time to add in to the recipe planning. Definitely looking forward to trying this roast this week.