Dr. Pepper Pot Roast

by Sabrina Snyder

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11 Comments

4.80 from 5 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
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Dr. Pepper Pot Roast is a hearty, one-pot meal with tender, slow-braised beefy goodness and a sweet, smoky kick in every bite. Try tonight!

Our Classic Pot Roast takes on the flavors of smoky, spicy, sweet Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork in this tasty, easy oven-roasted Dinner Recipe. Also try my French Onion Pot Roast or Cola Pot Roast, which is sweet and flavorful, similar to this one.

Sabrina’s Dr. Pepper Pot Roast Recipe

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast is a simple one-pot meal; you sear the roast, sauté the onions, then add everything to the pot and bake in the oven. Once it’s in the oven, there’s no need to stir or check on it for a few hours, so it’s a perfect weekend meal. Just get it ready in the afternoon, pop it in the oven, and go about your day until dinner time.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast Recipe

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast is a hearty, one-pot meal with tender, slow-braised beefy goodness and a sweet, smoky kick in every bite. Try tonight!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
cola Roast in pot
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 pounds chuck roast , boneless
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large yellow onion , diced
  • 4 Yukon potatoes , cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce , canned, with sauce
  • 12 ounces Dr. Pepper
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 cup maraschino cherries , halved including juice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Season beef with salt and pepper, then add to a large dutch oven with oil on medium-high heat.
  • Cook on both sides until seared well, 6-8 minutes on each side.
  • Remove the beef from the pot and add in the onions.
  • Sauté until translucent and lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add in the potatoes, chipotle peppers, Dr. Pepper, beef broth, brown sugar, cherries, and cherry juice and stir well.
  • Add the beef back to the pot, cover and cook in oven for 3 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 582kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 713mg | Potassium: 1183mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 46IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 6mg

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About this Recipe

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast is equal parts savory, sweet, and spicy for a new twist on a classic dish. Plus, it’s made in one pot, so the clean up and cooking is beyond easy! When this site first kicked off, one of the very first recipes posted was a sweet and savory Spicy Cherry Pop Roast Pork that’s been a summer favorite for years. It’s fork-tender and perfect for Sunday dinner, leftovers, or just snacking on for days. This chuck roast has some of our favorite flavors from that original recipe, with upgrades to make a mouthwateringly delicious meal.

Chef’s Note

While this Dr. Pepper Pot Roast has some heat, it’s still a very family-friendly dinner recipe, thanks to the sweetness of the maraschino cherries. If you are worried about it being too spicy, though, you can always substitute them with mild dried ancho chili peppers. Soak the peppers in water until plump and rehydrated before using.

How to Store

  • Serve: Dr. Pepper Pot Roast can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours and kept warm in a crockpot for up to 4 hours.
  • Store: Cool the Pot Roast and transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven for the best taste, unless using in a leftover recipe.
  • Freeze: Once cooled, place the Cola Roast in a sealed freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Ideas to Serve

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast is great for meal prepping and leftovers! You can leave the potatoes out and portion them with Brown Rice for healthy lunch bowls. For an easy, delicious summertime lunch, use leftovers to make shredded BBQ beef sandwiches topped with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce and served with Coleslaw.

Alternative Cooking Techniques

Slow Cooker Method

  • Season the chuck roast and then sear on both sides in a large skillet with oil over medium heat.
  • Place seared chuck into the slow cooker.
  • Sauté onions in the skillet and then add them to the slow cooker.
  • Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker, stir, and cover with the lid.
  • Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Instant Pot Method

  • Turn on the Sauté function and sear seasoned beef in oil for 3-4 minutes on both sides. Set aside.
  • Cook onions in the Instant Pot until translucent.
  • Using 1 cup of broth, deglaze the pot and scrape off any brown bits. Leaving brown bits will trigger “burning food,” and your pressure cooker won’t get hot enough.
  • Once deglazed, add beef and remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot.
  • Seal lid and pressure valve. Set to Manual High Pressure for 45 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.

Stovetop

  • Finish Dr. Pepper Pot Roast on the stovetop if you want to leave the oven open for side dishes like Roasted Broccoli and Dinner Rolls.
  • Once you add everything to the pot, including the meat, bring the roast to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • After it comes to a boil, move it to a back burner over low heat and simmer for about 3 hours.
  • Check the liquid levels halfway through in case your lid is not tight.

Variations

  • Meat: Pork would be delicious in this recipe, so swap in pork butt or pork shoulder for the chuck roast. Tougher cuts of wild game, like venison, become fork-tender with the slow braising, too.
  • Veggies: Other veggies that would go well in this Dr. Pepper Pot Roast are chopped carrots, canned diced tomatoes, turnips, and sweet potatoes. You can also add frozen corn nibblers or peas about halfway through the cooking time.
  • Seasonings: For more seasonings, use fresh or powdered garlic, rosemary, or thyme as well as ground spices like paprika, celery salt, and cumin. For minced garlic, cook until fragrant (30 seconds) after the onions are sautéed.
  • Peppers: Use pepperoncinis peppers for a tangy, mild heat instead of the smoky spicy heat from chipotle peppers, or you can use diced fresh jalapeños (without seeds) for spicy without the smoky flavor.

More Delicious Pot Roasts

Roast Pin collage

These photos were in a previous version of this post

Roast serving in bowl
Roast in pot
Pot Roast in pot, shredded

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. haven’t made this yet but was wondering if this chipotle peppers in adobo sauce , with sauce be omitted since can’t do spicey

    Reply

  2. This was phenomenal. I used a bone-in chuck roast, made the recipe as written for the slow cooker. Incredibly easy, and flavorful. It truly is sweet, spicy, and smoky. The meat was fall-apart tender, and packed with flavor. It is a great alternative to the traditional mushroom soup variation of pot roast, and one that is definitely going in the rotation. Thank you for this!

    Reply

  3. BIG HIT!!! I’m making this for the second time tonight. I make it in the slow cooker. Hubby was skeptical but…..

    Reply

  5. This roast is phenomenal! The dr pepper adds a great richness and the meat was SO tender! Love this recipe!

    Reply