I love a beautiful pot roast as much as the next girl (who occasionally enjoys meat and always enjoys a home-cooked meal). There’s just something about pot roast that says comfort food on a cool fall evening.
But…
Did you ever notice how pot roast leftovers tend to dry out?
(Ok, maybe it’s just my pot roast? But I’m going to try Cooking Light’s Classic Beef Pot Roast next so I suspect my days of dry leftover pot roast will be a thing of the past.)
Nobody likes dry pot roast, not even the most serious meat-and-potato lovers out there. Of course you could drown it in gravy, but I have another easy solution – turn leftover pot roast into soup! As a bonus, anything that transforms leftovers into a different meal is a winner in my book. (Although Mike doesn’t mind having the same exact dinner for a week straight, after the third night of the same meal I’m usually over it, except for my recent panzanella salad kick when I had it for dinner every night for nine days straight…Mike asked me what was going on and I had no answer other than I was craving it, big time.)
I use a trick in this recipe that I sometimes do with onion when I’m making soup or stew. I let onion serve double duty: half of the onion is caramelized to give the soup deep, rich color and flavor, and the other half of the onion is added along with the rest of the vegetables so it can retain some texture. This soup comes together in less than an hour, but this onion trick makes it look and taste like it was cooking all day.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (divided)
- 8 oz (225 g) button mushrooms, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 4 cups (.95 liter) low-sodium beef stock
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (see Note)
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large stalks celery, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- ¾ lb (350 g) cooked, cubed pot roast (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup (70 g) frozen green peas, thawed
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot starch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water to make a slurry (see Note below)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, for garnish
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half of the onion and cook until deep brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water as necessary if the onion starts to get too dark in spots.
- Turn heat down to medium and add the mushrooms; cook until browned, about 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
- Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, celery, carrot, and the remaining half of the onion. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to simmer, cover the saucepan, and cook until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Add the pot roast, peas, and arrowroot slurry and cook 5 minutes more.
- To serve, ladle into bowls and sprinkle the parsley on top.
Worcestershire Sauce: Omit this for strict paleo and Whole30.
Ash-foodfashionparty says
A lovely soup and so perfect for the chilly weather we all are having.
Carly @ Carly in the Kitchen says
Back in my beef-eating days before my husband and I started eating mostly vegetarian, I sure did love a good pot roast! My mom almost always made beef stew with dumplings the next day. My mouth is now watering.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Such a comforting soup!
Tieghan says
My pot roast is pretty much always dry, so I would coo some pot roast just make this soup. It looks so cozy and awesome!
Rosa says
Warming and scrumptious! Great winter food.
Cheers,
Rosa
Erica says
I'm not a big beef girl, but in soup....its always so yummy. Great combination of vegetables too. Totally comforting