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French Onion Pot Roast

French onion pot roast with deeply caramelized onions and a rich Gruyère-topped braise. The beef becomes fall-apart tender in an oven-covered broth, then is finished with golden, bubbly cheese over toasted baguette rounds.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 690
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

beef chuck roast
  • 3.5 lb beef chuck roast
onions
  • 4 onions
garlic
  • 4 garlic
dry white wine or beef broth
  • 1 cup dry white wine or beef broth
beef broth
  • 3 cup beef broth
Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme
bay leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
olive oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
Gruyere cheese
  • 2 cup Gruyere cheese
baguette
  • 8 baguette
salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sear and build the braise
  1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Pat the beef chuck roast dry, season with salt and pepper, and sear in olive oil in a Dutch oven until deeply browned, then remove.
  2. Cook the onions in butter over medium-low heat for 30-35 minutes, stirring until deeply caramelized. Keep the heat low so the onions soften and brown without burning.
  3. Add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Pour in the white wine or beef broth to deglaze, scraping up the browned bits.
  4. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, and bay leaves to the Dutch oven. Stir to combine and return to a simmer if needed.
  5. Return the chuck roast to the pot, cover, and braise in the 325F oven for 3 to 3-1/2 hours until fall-apart tender. The meat should yield easily when prodded.
Shred and finish with Gruyère
  1. Remove the bay leaves from the broth. Shred the beef in the broth so it soaks up the onion-garlic flavors.
  2. Ladle the pot roast and broth into bowls. Float toasted baguette on top and cover with Gruyère so it melts into the liquid.
  3. Broil for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Keep a close watch so it browns without scorching.

Notes

For best texture, let the roast rest in the covered pot for 10 minutes after braising, then shred right in the broth. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days; reheat gently until steaming. Freezing is yes (up to 3 months) without the baguette topping, then broil fresh baguette with Gruyère when serving. For a lighter option, use part-skim Gruyère or reduce the cheese amount to 1 cup while keeping the rest of the recipe the same.