Pot roast in an oven bag is the easiest way to roast a chuck roast in the oven: the beef, potatoes, carrots and onions go into a cooking bag with a pot roast seasoning mix and a little water, the bag gets a few steam holes, and it bakes at 350°F for 2 hours. The bag holds the juices in, so the meat cooks in its own seasoned liquid. It serves 8.
How to make it: Set the cooking bag in a 13×9-inch pan, add the roast and vegetables, and pour the seasoning mixed with water over the top. Close the bag loosely, cut 4 small holes, and bake for 2 hours. Check the temperature, rest the roast 5 minutes, then cut the bag open and serve it with the pan juices.
Why You’ll Love It
- Six ingredients: a seasoning packet, a chuck roast, water, potatoes, carrots and onions.
- Dinner in one pan: the meat and vegetables cook together in the bag.
- Juicy: the closed bag keeps the roast in its own seasoned juices.
- Feeds 8: a 3 to 4 pound roast is a big family dinner.
How to Use an Oven Bag for a Roast
An oven bag is a heat-safe cooking bag that holds the roast, vegetables and liquid while they bake. Using one well comes down to a few steps:
- Set it in a pan. Lay the open bag in a 13×9-inch baking pan or dish before anything goes in.
- Fill it. Put the roast and the vegetables inside the bag.
- Add the liquid. Stir the seasoning mix with the water and pour it over the roast.
- Close it loosely. Use the nylon tie, but don’t pull the bag tight around the roast.
- Vent it. Cut 4 small holes in the top so steam can escape.
- Bake low. Put the pan on a rack below the middle of the oven.
Oven bag limits
Read the instructions that come with your bag. As the bag puffs up in the oven, it must not touch the oven sides, racks or heating elements, so give it room. Don’t use it under the broiler or above 375°F.
How Do I Know When It’s Done?
Use a food thermometer. A beef roast is safe once it reaches at least 145°F. A pot roast that you want to pull apart with a fork is done closer to 200°F. If it’s at a safe temperature but still firm after 2 hours, give it more time until it shreds the way you like.
Ingredient Notes
Pot roast seasoning mix with a cooking bag: one package. These kits come with the seasoning and the bag together.
Chuck roast: 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed. A bottom round or rump roast also works.
Water: 1/4 cup, stirred into the seasoning.
Vegetables: 2 cups of potatoes, 1 cup of carrots and 1 cup of onions, cut into about 1-inch pieces. Yukon gold, baby yellow, red or russet potatoes all work.
Ingredients
- 1 package pot roast seasoning mix with cooking bag
- 3 to 4 pounds chuck roast, trimmed (bottom round or rump roast also work)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups potatoes, cut into about 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup carrots, cut into about 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup onions, cut into about 1-inch pieces
How to Make Pot Roast in an Oven Bag
1. Heat the oven and set up the bag. Heat the oven to 350°F. Open the cooking bag and lay it in a 13×9-inch baking pan or dish. Put the roast and the potatoes, carrots and onions into the bag.
2. Season and close the bag. Stir the seasoning mix and the water until well blended and pour it over the roast. Close the bag loosely with the nylon tie, then cut 4 small holes in the top of the bag so the steam can escape.
3. Bake. Bake in the lower half of the oven for 2 hours. Check the roast with a food thermometer: beef roasts need to reach at least 145°F, and a roast that is meant to shred is done at around 200°F.
4. Rest and serve. Take the pan out of the oven and let the roast stand 5 minutes. Cut the bag open and serve the roast and vegetables with the pan juices. If you want a gravy, thicken the juices.
Without a Seasoning Packet
If you only have a plain oven bag, onion soup mix makes a good seasoning. One version uses 1 packet of dry onion soup mix with 3 garlic cloves, 1 cup of beef broth, quartered Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, celery and an onion around a 3 pound chuck roast, baked at 325°F for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Another shakes 1/4 cup of flour into the bag first, then adds a 1 ounce envelope of onion soup mix stirred into 3/4 cup of water, with small red potatoes, a quartered onion and baby carrots, also at 325°F for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Beef gravy mix can stand in for the onion soup mix, and baby carrots for whole ones.
Variations
- Different potatoes: Yukon gold, baby yellow, small red or russet.
- Add celery: two stalks in the bag add more flavor.
- Baby carrots: skip the chopping and add them whole.
- Another cut: bottom round or rump roast in place of chuck.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Slice or cut the roast into smaller pieces and use shallow covered containers so it cools quickly. It keeps 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze for 3 to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave.
Reheating: Cover and reheat on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven to 165°F, and bring any gravy to a rolling boil. Don’t reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
The potatoes and carrots cook right in the bag, so you only need bread or a salad. For a bigger spread, add roast carrots, potatoes and onions.
More beef roasts: slow cooker pot roast with gravy, slow cooker Amish pot roast, slow cooked balsamic chuck roast, slow cooker 3-ingredient dark beer beef roast and slow cooker bacon-wrapped sirloin roast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use an oven bag for a roast?
Set the bag in a 13×9-inch pan, put the roast and vegetables inside, pour in the seasoning mixed with water, close it loosely with the tie, cut a few small holes on top and bake.
How do I cook roast beef in an oven bag?
Bake a 3 to 4 pound chuck roast in the bag at 350°F for 2 hours, until it reaches at least 145°F, or around 200°F if you want it to shred.
How do I cook a pot roast seasoning mix in a bag?
Mix the packet with 1/4 cup of water, pour it over the roast and vegetables in the bag, close, vent and bake at 350°F for 2 hours.
Why cut holes in the bag?
The small holes let the steam escape while the roast bakes.
Do I need a pan under the bag?
Yes. Set the bag in a 13×9-inch baking pan or dish.
How long do leftovers keep?
3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat to 165°F.
Final Notes
Close the bag loosely, cut the steam holes and check the roast with a thermometer before you cut the bag open. If you try the onion soup mix version, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Pot Roast in an Oven Bag
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Ingredients
- 1 package pot roast seasoning mix with cooking bag the package includes the bag
- 3 to 4 pounds chuck roast bottom round or rump roast also work; trimmed
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups potatoes cut into about 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup carrots cut into about 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup onions cut into about 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Open the cooking bag and lay it in a 13x9-inch baking pan or dish. Put the roast and the potatoes, carrots and onions into the bag.
- Stir the seasoning mix and the water until well blended and pour it over the roast. Close the bag loosely with the nylon tie, then cut 4 small holes in the top of the bag so the steam can escape.
- Bake in the lower half of the oven for 2 hours. Check the roast with a food thermometer: beef roasts need to reach at least 145°F, and a roast that is meant to shred is done at around 200°F.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let the roast stand 5 minutes. Cut the bag open and serve the roast and vegetables with the pan juices. If you want a gravy, thicken the juices.
Notes
Nutrition
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