Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast has only five ingredients and this has the perfect blend of spicy Southwestern flavors in a low-carb pot roast! Check out Instant Pot Southwestern Pot Roast to make it in the Instant Pot.

PIN Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast to make it later!

Slow Cooker Low-Carb Southwestern Pot Roast close-up photo

I think Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast is perfect to make on the weekend so I’m featuring it for my Friday Favorites pick this week. Of course, I know some people have given up their slow cookers for the Instant Pot. But my slow cooker recipes still get a lot of visitors!

If you prefer making pot roast in the Instant Pot, just make Instant Pot Southwestern Pot Roast instead! If you don’t have a crockpot or an Instant Pot, this could be cooked on top of the stove in a heavy dutch oven, just keep the temperature as low as possible, and add a little more liquid if needed. Whichever preparation method you like best, I hope you’ll give this easy 5-Ingredient Southwestern Pot Roast a try!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What gives this slow cooker pot roast the Southwestern flavors?

It’s the Pace Picante Sauce that gives this pot roast such great Southwestern flavors, and I love that it doesn’t have added sugar. I also use beef broth that’s reduced for more flavor, and season the meat with my favorite Szeged Steak Rub (affiliate link) which makes it extra good.

Tips for success for Slow Cooker Pot Roast:

  • I always use boneless chuck roast for pot roast, and trim as much fat as possible before browning the meat.
  • Please don’t skip the preparation steps of browning the roast and reducing the beef broth on the stove, because both those steps add a lot of flavor.
  • You can brown meat and reduce the broth the night before if you like; then put the browned meat, broth, and salsa in the slow cooker to cook all day on low while you’re at work.
  • When the roast is done, I sometimes use a Fat Separator (affiliate link) to remove fat from the sauce or gravy if needed.

How to serve Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast:

This pot roast is great just served as pieces of meat that’s eaten with something like Easy Cauliflower Rice to go with the flavorful sauce. But this spicy beef is perfect for shredding apart and serving inside low-carb tortillas if you prefer eating it that way!

More Beef in the Slow Cooker:

If you’re a slow cooker fan, check out 20 Keto Slow Cooker Recipes with Beef to find more tasty beef recipes like this one.

Low-Carb Southwestern Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker process shots collage

How to Make Southwestern Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.

  1. Start reducing the can of beef broth by simmering it on low heat while you trim the pot roast.
  2. Trim the pot roast to remove fat and then rub pot roast on all side with Szeged Steak Rub Seasoning (affiliate link) or your favorite seasonings for steak.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the pot roast pieces, and brown well.
  4. Put the browned meat into the slow cooker. You’ll have lots of flavorful bits left in the pan.
  5. When the broth has reduced to 1/2 cup, add it to the frying pan and use the turner to scrape all the browned bits up.
  6. Then combine that liquid with the one cup of salsa and pour over the browned piece of roast in the slow cooker.
  7. Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 hours more, or until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. You can also cook all day on low.
  8. When the meat is tender, remove it from the slow cooker and pour the sauce into a small pan, spooning off the fat or using a fat separator (affiliate link) if needed. Add the final 1/4 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer to reduce to one cup.
  9. Serve Low-Carb Southwestern Pot Roast with the sauce spooned over the pieces of meat.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast shown on serving platter

More Pot roast in the Slow Cooker:

Weekend Food Prep:

This Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast
Yield: 8 servings

Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 25 minutes

Delicious Southwestern Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker has only five ingredients, and this tasty low-carb pot roast will be a hit with most families.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat (see notes)
  • 1 can (14 oz.) reduced sodium beef broth
  • 1 1/4 cups of your favorite salsa (see notes)
  • steak rub or your favorite seasoning for steak to rub on meat before browning
  • 2 tsp. olive oil for browning meat

Instructions

  1. Put beef broth in a small saucepan, removing any fat that has collected on top in the can. Simmer on low until the broth is reduced to 1/2 cup.
  2. While beef broth is reducing, trim all visible fat from chuck roast. You may need to cut the roast into several pieces to remove big pockets of fat.
  3. Rub pot roast on all side with Szeged Steak Rub Seasoning (affiliate link) or your favorite seasonings for steak.
  4. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan (pans that aren’t nonstick will give the best browning.) Brown roast well on all sides. Don’t rush this step because browning provides flavor, and I think it’s especially important in crockpot cooking.
  5. When roast is browned on all sides, put pieces of meat in crockpot, arranging them in a single layer. Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan and use a turner to scrape off any caramelized bits from the browned meat. Add salsa and stir into broth, then pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast.
  6. Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 more hours, or until meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. (You could also cook for a longer time on low setting. If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook in a heavy dutch oven on stovetop at lowest setting for 2-3 hours.)
  7. Remove meat from crockpot and pour sauce into small saucepan. (If there is a lot of fat on top of the sauce, spoon it off or use a fat separator (affiliate link) to remove the fat. You may not need to do this if you did a good job trimming.)
  8. Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add final 1/4 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer until reduced to about 1 cup.
  9. To serve, slice meat across the grain or cut into pieces and serve hot, with sauce spooned over the top. I also think this meat would be great served as a filling for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas made with low-carb tortillas.

Notes

I started with a roast that was nearly 4 pounds before I trimmed it. I used Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) for the salsa. I used my 6-Quart Ninja Cooker Slow Cooker (affiliate link), but it could have been smaller.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 641Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 16gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 221mgSodium: 568mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 65g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Square image for Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast shown on serving platter on colorful napkin.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast made with a low-sugar salas is great for low-carb and Keto diet plans, and the the Pace Picante Sauce I use this is extra low in carbs! The recipe will also work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet as long as you trim the meat so there’s not too much fat.

More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The slow cooker pot roast with Southwestern flavors was first posted in 2008! The recipe was later adapted to add an Instant Pot version, and it was last updated with more information in 2023.

Pinterest image of Slow Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast

Share This: