Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe
by Sommer Collier — on Aug 11, 2025 This Mississippi Pot Roast recipe (AKA Southern-style Italian beef) features hearty chuck roast cooked with tangy pepperoncinis in a rich and beefy broth. It’s easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock Pot – Either way, the shredded saucy meat is guaranteed to be melt-in-your-mouth tender and incredibly flavorful!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
I gotta tell ya, I love my foodie friends… Like most gal pals we share fun stories and give each other great advice on all life topics, and we are always sharing our favorite tried-and-true recipes with the best tips! A friend recently introduced me to glorious Mississippi Pot Roast, featuring drool-worthy shredded beef with a zippy sauce, and WOW was it a reminder of how grateful I am for her friendship.
Once she described it, I told her we call that Italian Beef where I come from. We already have two Italian beef recipes here on A Spicy Perspective, a slow cooker version and a keto-friendly and gluten-free instant pot version. These both lean heavily into the Italian side of things, with lots of garlic and crushed red pepper.
Today’s variation is a bit more simplistic with a true southern flair, and includes both instant pot instructions and steps for how to make the recipe in a slow cooker!
Why You’ll Love Mississippi Pot Roast
- Simple ingredients – My friend described her Mississippi pot roast recipe using a packet of gravy mix and a packet of ranch dressing mix to season the beef. Although I do use these items on occasion, I thought I would make a recipe just as easy, but using slightly cleaner ingredients, i.e. less preservatives and fillers.
- Less spicy, still flavorful– Mississippi pot roast has fewer ingredients than Italian beef, and less spice because we include less pepperoncinis and skip the crushed red pepper. However, it does have a decadent, silky texture and a wonderful beefy flavor.
- Easy Instant Pot or Crock Pot recipe – I’m sharing easy steps for both cooking methods. Either way, this is a “set and forget” knockout recipe!
Whichever cooking method you choose will have the house smell ahh-mazing and make the most saucy, meaty, and delicious shredded chuck roast with barely any effort!
Ingredients and Tips
- Beef – Boneless chuck roast is the best cut of meat to make a fork-tender pot roast in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
- Onion – Use your choice of yellow or white onion. Yellow onions are sweeter, while white onions have a nice sharp flavor.
- Butter – I recommend unsalted butter so you have total control over the amount of salt in the dish.
- All-purpose flour – Used to dust the beef chunks and create a slightly thick sauce. Feel free to swap with your preferred gluten-free flour.
- Beef base and Italian seasoning – Instead of buying a package of gravy mix and ranch dip mix, I suggest using beef base and Italian seasoning. A jar of beef base is an ingredient that is fabulous to keep on hand to add extra flavor to all sorts of gravy, soups, and also in place of beef broth when needed.
- Pepperoncini pepper – We’re using both the peppy peppers and the juice from the jar.
How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast in the Instant Pot
Tip for Success – When prepping the beef, you want to first trim off most of the excess fat. But don’t worry about getting off every bit of fat – leaving some behind will enhance the beefy flavor!
Find the full Mississippi Pot Roast slow cooker and instant pot recipe with detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Cool the pot roast completely before transferring to an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezing – Transfer the cooled beef to a freezer-safe container (like a ziploc plastic freezer bag) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then just thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating and serving warm.
- Reheating – You can reheat the shredded roast on the stovetop in a sauce pot, or microwave in short 10-20 second bursts at 50% power until heated through. There should be plenty of sauciness left, but you can add a splash or two of water if needed to loosen the meat back up.
Serving Suggestions
Saucy Italian beef with au jus is typically served over pasta, rice, or on hoagie rolls to make sandwiches. You can do the same thing here, but with the more Southern-style vibe, I personally think crock pot or instant pot Mississippi pot roast is best with fluffy mashed potatoes.
Add any number of other vegetable side dishes to make this a full 3-part meal! While you’re already using a convenient appliance (either a pressure cooker or a crockpot), why not also bring out the air fryer and make delicious fresh asparagus, carrots, green beans, or Brussels sprouts. Or try our three easy methods for making perfectly tender broccoli – roasted broccoli (or broccoli and cauliflower), boiled, or steamed broccoli.
Mississippi Pot Roast (Instant Pot)
Video
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 medium onion sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon beef base (we used organic)
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 8-10 pepperoncini peppers + ½ cup pepperoncini juice
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into large 4-inch cubes. Trim off any large fat sections and discard. (Don't worry about trimming off every last bit of fat; just get the bigger sections if you can.) Toss and coat the beef chunks in flour.
- Set the Instant Pot on the Sauté. Add the butter. Once melted, add the sliced onions. Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes to soften.
- Add the beef base, Italian seasoning, pepperoncini juice, and water to the pot. Stir well to combine. Then fit all the beef chunks down into the Instant Pot. Finally placed the pepperoncini on top.
- Lock the lid into place, and set the Instant Pot on a Pressure Cook High, for 50 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, perform a Quick Release. When the steam valve drops, it’s safe to open the instant pot.
- Use two forks to shred the beef into the juices. Serve warm.
Notes
- Trim and flour the beef as directed in the recipe above.
- Add the beef base, Italian seasoning, pepperoni juice, and water to the crockpot. Start to combine. Then fit the beef chunks down into the pot. Add the pepperoncini peppers on top.
- Cover the crock and set on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or on LOW for 6-8 hours. Once the beef is tender and falling apart, use two forks to shred the meat into the juices.
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- Storing Leftovers – Cool the pot roast completely before transferring to an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
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- Freezing – Transfer the cooled beef to a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then just thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating and serving warm.
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- Reheating – You can reheat the shredded roast on the stovetop in a sauce pot, or microwave in short 10-20 second bursts at 50% power until heated through. There should be plenty of sauciness left, but you can add a splash or two of water if needed to loosen the meat back up.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you like to cook your chuck roast slow and low? We’ve got you covered! Start by trimming and flouring the beef as directed in the recipe above.
Add the beef base, Italian seasoning, pepperoni juice, and water to the crockpot. Start to combine. Then fit the beef chunks down into the pot. Add the pepperoncini peppers on top.
Cover the crock and set on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or on LOW for 6-8 hours. Once the beef is tender and falling apart, use two forks to shred the meat into the juices.
Either method is marvelous! Both will yield melt-in-your-mouth beef that is flavorful and tender. So choose whichever you prefer based on how much time you have available!
No, whether using the pressure cooker or crock pot, the pieces of beef chuck roast do not need to be fully submerged in liquid. The 1/2 cup or so of liquid called for in the recipe is plenty.
Pepperoncini peppers – or peperoncini as spelled in Italian – are not super spicy like jalapenos. But they do have a bit of spice, and are slightly hotter than banana peppers or other similar pickled jarred peppers.
