Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast with Black Beans

This easy Instant Pot pot roast with black beans is tender, hearty, and packed with beef, beans, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. I created it as a high-protein meal prep for my work lunches, and it turned out so good that by day five, I still wasn't tired of eating it.

The black beans aren't something you normally find in a traditional pot roast, but that's what makes this recipe a little different. They add fiber and plant-based protein while soaking up all that flavorful broth from the roast.

Why I Made This Instant Pot Pot Roast

Recently, I've been meal planning my lunches each week. I'm doing it partly to save money because, as we all know, eating out is getting expensive.

But the bigger reason is that meal prepping gives me more control over what I eat and what goes into my food. I've been trying to eat better while getting more protein, vegetables, and fiber into my diet.

That's where the beans come in.

I Fell Down the BeanTok Rabbit Hole

Have you heard of BeanTok?

I fell down that rabbit hole recently. Haha! And now that you've read this, if you're on TikTok, I'm sure it'll probably start showing up in your feed.

Basically, there's a whole community of people talking about eating more beans and finding ways to incorporate them into everyday meals.

Beans are a source of fiber and plant-based protein, so they caught my attention. Instead of just eating beans as a side dish, I started thinking about different ways I could add them to meals I already enjoy.

That's ultimately what led to this recipe.

How This Beef and Black Beans Recipe Came Together

When it came time to meal prep my lunches for the week, I started looking around the kitchen to see what I already had.

I had a 2.5-pound chuck roast, a can of black beans, baby carrots, celery, onions, and some baby potatoes my wife had bought me the week before.

That's when I thought, why not throw all of this together and see what happens?

I wanted plenty of protein from the beef, more fiber and protein from the black beans, lots of vegetables, and just enough potatoes to make it still feel like a traditional pot roast.

I pulled out the Instant Pot and started experimenting.

The result was this easy Instant Pot pot roast with black beans, and it made the perfect amount for five work lunches.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

One of the things I like most about this meal is how practical it is. It's made with simple ingredients you can find at just about any grocery store, and the Instant Pot does most of the work.

It's also filling. You've got tender chuck roast, black beans, vegetables, and a few potatoes all in one bowl.

If you're looking for high-protein Instant Pot recipes that also work well for meal prep, this is one I'd put on the list.

Ingredients You'll Need

For this Instant Pot pot roast, you'll need a chuck roast, black beans, baby potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, beef broth (you can use chicken broth if that is what you have), Worcestershire sauce, and a few simple seasonings. I also like adding a little tomato paste and Dijon mustard for extra flavor.

I used a 2.5-pound boneless chuck roast for this recipe, which gave me enough for five meal-prep lunches. You'll find the exact measurements in the printable recipe card below.

Why Add Black Beans to Pot Roast?

I'll admit that black beans aren't exactly a traditional pot roast ingredient.

But hear me out.

Black beans have a fairly mild flavor, so they work surprisingly well with the beef and vegetables. They soak up some of that rich cooking liquid without taking away from the pot roast flavor.

They're also an easy way to add more fiber to the meal. I've been looking for ways to make more high-fiber meals, and adding beans to foods I'm already cooking has become one of the easiest ways for me to do it.

If you're trying to eat more beans, you don't necessarily have to start making completely different meals. Look at meals you already enjoy and see where beans might fit.

If you like hearty meals that combine beef and beans, try my Easy Slow Cooker Beef & Bean Chili, too. It's another filling recipe that's great when you want leftovers for another meal.

What Cut of Beef Is Best for Instant Pot Pot Roast?

I used a 2.5-pound boneless chuck roast for this recipe.

Chuck roast works especially well for pot roast because the longer cooking time helps it become tender and easy to pull apart.

I cut mine into three or four large pieces before cooking. That gives you more surface area for seasoning and browning and also helps the beef cook evenly in the Instant Pot.

Should You Brown a Chuck Roast Before Pressure Cooking?

You don't absolutely have to brown a chuck roast before pressure cooking it, but I recommend it.

Browning the beef first gives you more flavor, especially from the browned bits that collect on the bottom of the Instant Pot.

When you add the broth, scrape those bits from the bottom and incorporate them into the cooking liquid. Just make sure the bottom of the pot is scraped clean before pressure cooking so you don't trigger the Instant Pot's burn warning.

How Long Do You Cook a 2.5-Pound Chuck Roast in the Instant Pot?

For the 2.5-pound chuck roast I used in this recipe, 50 minutes on High Pressure followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release worked well.

After the 15-minute natural release, I released the remaining pressure. The beef was tender and pulled apart easily.

Keep in mind that the size and thickness of your roast can affect cooking time. I cut mine into three or four large pieces rather than pressure cooking the roast whole.

The complete cooking directions are included in the recipe card below.

Should You Cook the Potatoes and Carrots With the Roast?

I don't recommend cooking the potatoes and carrots for the entire 50 minutes with the chuck roast. By the time the beef is tender, your vegetables could be way overcooked.

Instead, I cook the beef first and add the baby potatoes, carrots, and celery afterward.

This also lets you control the tenderness of the vegetables without affecting the beef.

How Long Do Potatoes and Carrots Take in the Instant Pot?

This is one part of the recipe I changed after actually making it.

I originally gave the vegetables 4 minutes on High Pressure, thinking that would be enough after the pot was already hot. It wasn't.

My potatoes and carrots were still hard. I left them sitting in the hot broth on Keep Warm, and it took nearly two hours before they finally started getting as tender as I wanted.

Because of that test, I increased the vegetable cooking time to 8 minutes on High Pressure followed by a quick release.

If you're using larger baby potatoes, cut them in half so they cook more evenly.

When Should You Add Black Beans to Pot Roast?

Add the canned black beans after pressure cooking is finished.

Canned black beans are already cooked, so they don't need another round under pressure. I drain and rinse them, stir them into the hot pot roast, and let them warm in the broth for about 5 to 10 minutes.

That heats the beans and gives them a chance to pick up some of the flavor without cooking them until they're mushy.

An Easy High-Protein Meal Prep for Work

This is really why I made the recipe in the first place.

My 2.5-pound chuck roast made five good-sized lunches, which was exactly what I needed for the workweek.

I divided the beef and black beans among five meal-prep containers and added carrots, celery, onions, and a few baby potatoes to each one.

One tip: add some of the cooking liquid to every container.

That broth helps keep the chuck roast moist when you reheat it and gives the meal an almost beef-stew-like consistency.

Most importantly, this passed my meal-prep test.

By Friday, I was eating this for the fifth day in a row and still wasn't tired of it.

That's when I decided I needed to share the recipe.

If you're looking for another beef recipe that reheats well for lunch, my Easy Mexican Taco Beef Pie is another good one to add to your meal-prep rotation.

Is This a Low-Carb Pot Roast?

I wouldn't call this a low-carb recipe.

Black beans, carrots, onions, and potatoes all contain carbohydrates. My goal wasn't to eliminate carbs but to build a filling lunch around protein, fiber, vegetables, and reasonable portions.

I use fewer potatoes than I normally would in a traditional pot roast and let the beef, beans, and vegetables make up most of the meal.

If you want fewer carbs, you can reduce the number of potatoes and add more non-starchy vegetables.

Personally, I'd keep the black beans. Finding ways to eat more beans was one of the reasons I created the recipe in the first place.

Can I Use Chicken Broth Instead of Beef Broth?

Absolutely. I originally planned to make this pot roast with beef broth, but when I started cooking, I realized I didn't have any on hand. I did have chicken broth, so that's what I used.

The chicken broth worked great and still gave me a flavorful cooking liquid for the beef and vegetables. If you have beef broth, you can certainly use it for a slightly richer beef flavor, but don't be afraid to use chicken broth as I did.

How to Store Pot Roast for Meal Prep

Allow the pot roast to cool before transferring it to airtight containers and refrigerating it.

I portion mine into individual containers with the beef, beans, potatoes, and vegetables together. I also spoon some of the broth into every container to help keep the beef moist when reheated.

Reheat each serving until it's hot throughout.

If you're planning to freeze the pot roast, keep in mind that potatoes can change texture somewhat after freezing and thawing.

Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe

The complete ingredient amounts and step-by-step directions are in the recipe card below.

More Easy Meal Prep Recipes

You can also browse all of my Meal Prep Recipes for more ideas to help make planning your week easier.

Final Thoughts

This recipe started because I was trying to save some money, meal plan my work lunches, eat more protein, and find ways to add more beans and fiber to my diet.

I grabbed what I already had—a chuck roast, black beans, vegetables, and some baby potatoes—and let the Instant Pot do most of the work.

Five lunches later, I still wasn't tired of it.

For me, that's about as good an endorsement for a meal-prep recipe as you can get.

If you're looking for an easy Instant Pot pot roast that's a little different from the traditional version, give the black beans a try. You might just find yourself adding beans to a lot more meals, too.