Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast Made Easy

Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast is one of the more popular Instant Pot recipes.  It seems like a number of recipes make it harder to prepare than it needs to be. This recipe uses a traditional Mississippi pot roast recipe without getting too fancy or departing too much from the traditional Mississippi pot roast recipes. If you want a recipe with no packets of ranch or au jus like the traditional recipe calls for, this is not for you!

For more on Pot Roast in general, including cuts of meats, cooking times and tips etc., See my post: Instant Pot Pot Roast, the Ultimate Guide. 

What is Mississippi Pot Roast?

Mississippi pot roast reportedly originated with a home cook in Mississippi who managed to turn the dish into a hugely popular pot roast variation. 

The recipe blends and interesting mix of flavors for a really nice overall end taste to the beef. Traditionally it includes ranch seasoning, au jus mix, jarred pepperoncini peppers, and butter.

Don’t worry about the peppers making the dish too spicy. They do not. Instead, when mixed with the ranch dressing, they give the roast a unique tangy flavor. The spice factor in terms of heat is quite mild. But it is a unique flavor.  

This recipe sticks to the traditional mix with some onions and garlic added. I also add a bit of my favorite secret ingredient for a good pot roast: Montreal Steak seasoning. 

Is Mississippi Pot Roast Keto? 

Yes! Instant Pot Mississppi Pot Roast can be keto and low carb! To assure that it is fully keto, skip making a thickened gravy for it with flour. Or use something like tapioca starch for the gravy.

Some pressure cooker Mississippi pot roast recipes add sugar or serve the roast over noodles or mashed potatoes. Do not use those items if you want to stay keto. Likewise, I served mine with carrots and potatoes. You would want to pick a less starchy vegetable for your side dish.  

Mississippi roast really isn’t Paleo given that the Ranch dressing mix is not completely clean, but it is pretty close to Paleo if you leave the flour out. 

Mississippi Pot Roast in the Instant Pot

Making Instant Pot Mississippi pot roast is easy. Plus, using the pressure cooker makes it quicker! 

Start with a good cut of chuck roast. I find that chuck makes the best roast, especially for this recipe. Give it a coating of olive oil and season it a bit with Montreal Steak Seasoning or some salt and pepper.  Learn more about cuts of meat for roasts here.

Sear the roast in the Instant Pot on saute mode. You might have to cut your roast in half to make it fit. I normally avoid cutting mine, but in this case my roast oddly came already cut, so I had two pieces. 

You want the roast to be seared on all sides just until browned a bit. 

Remove the roast to a plate and saute up some onions and garlic in the Instant Pot. 

I use prepared minced garlic for simplicity instead of fresh.

Next, add 3/4 cup beef stock or beef broth and deglaze the pot. You could use water, but it tastes a ton better if you use stock or broth.  

Add a jar of Pepperocini peppers plus 1/2 cup of the juice, a package of ranch dressing mix, a package of Au Jus mix, and a cut up stick of butter to the pot. You can half the amount of butter if that is too rich for your tastes. 

Stir everything up on saute until the butter melts and then add the roast back to the pot.

For a 3 pound roast, pressure cook on manual high pressure for 60 minutes, followed by at least 20 minutes of natural pressure release. DO NOT quick release the pressure until at least 20 minutes has passed. If you use quick release your roast might be tough. 

If your roast is more than 3 pounds, add 20 minutes per pound to the pressure cooking time. 

When done, remove your roast and the peppers to a plate and, if desired, make up some gravy with the drippings. 

You can do that by mixing 3 tablespoons of flour with a bit of water and about 3 tablespoons of melted butter and then adding that to the pot and simmering until it thickens. That takes about three to five minutes. 

I often skip the gravy and just serve my roast with some of the broth. It stays low carb or keto that way too. 

I served my Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast with air fryer carrots and potatoes made in the Instant Omni.

You can also make veggies in the Instant Pot by covering your roast with foil after you remove it and pressure cooking your vegetables in the juices for a couple of minutes. See more on that in my Instant Pot Pot roast guide. 

Here is the recipe!