Southwestern Pot Roast (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

This Southwestern Pot Roast (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker) is a delicious low-carb pot roast recipe that’s loaded with Mexican flavors! And this amazing Mexican Pot Roast with only five ingredients has about 1 net carb and 46 grams of protein!

PIN the pot roast with Mexican flavors to make it later!

For a long time now I’ve been working on Instant Pot versions of some of my most popular slow cooker recipes. And this Southwestern Pot Roast is another slow cooker recipe that turned out well in an Instant Pot version. And the slightly-spicy pot roast is loaded with Mexican flavors and it’s so easy to make in the Instant Pot that we loved the recipe we ended up with.

And this Southwest Pot Roast is extra low in carbs (with about one carb per serving) and it’s an extra-easy pot roast recipe that only has five ingredients! Either way you cook it, this recipe was delicious served as a Mexican-flavored pot roast, with some of the sauce spooned over.

The spicy Mexican-flavored beef can also be shredded apart and served on tacos, atop a taco salad or layered in a Cauliflower Rice Taco Bowl. No matter how you eat it, this will be a low-carb dinner idea that’s easy and delicious; enjoy!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

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

• reduced sodium canned beef broth (affiliate link), or homemade Beef Stock
• beef chuck roast
• Kalyn’s Montreal Steak Seasoning, Szeged Steak Rub (affiliate link) or steak seasoning of your choice 
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) or other low-sugar salsa

What gives this pot roast the Mexican Flavors?

I’m not claiming this is an authentic Mexican recipe, but the Pace Picante Sauce gives this pot roast such great Southwestern or Mexican flavors, and I love that it doesn’t have added sugar. If you want a bit more spicy flavor, you could also add a can of diced green chiles (affiliate link) when you put it in the Instant Pot or the Slow Cooker.

Is this Mexican Pot Roast a Keto recipe?

If you use a low-sugar salsa like the Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) that I’m such a fan of, this Mexican-flavored pot roast will have only about 1 net carb in a serving and 12 grams of fat, so it’s great for Keto diets. And this recipe has 46 grams or protein!

Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?

I used a 6 Quart Instant Pot for this recipe. I originally used the Ninja Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for the slow cooker version, but now I’d probably use a 5-Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link). You can find lots more Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Recipes on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

Can you make Southwestern Pot Roast without a Slow Cooker or Instant Pot?

If you don’t have a Slow Cooker or an Instant Pot, you could cook the pot roast in a heavy dutch oven on stovetop at lowest setting for 2-3 hours.

Who else loves Pace Picante Sauce?

Check out Low-Carb Recipes with Pace Picante Sauce for more tasty recipe ideas with spicy Southwestern flavors.

How to make Southwestern Pot Roast in the Instant Pot:

(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 beef broth in a pan or in the Instant Pot (affiliate link). (We liked reducing the stock and browning the meat on the stove which is what the photos show.)
2. Trim roast to remove visible fat, and season meat with Kalyn’s Montreal Steak Seasoning or other steak seasoning (affiliate link).
3. Heat oil in large frying pan and brown the meat well (or use the Instant Pot and brown in two batches.)
4. Put browned beef in the Instant Pot.
5. Add the partly-reduced beef stock to the pan where you browned the meat and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, scraping off browned bits from the pan. (It may or may not already be reduced that much.)
6. Add 3/4 cup salsa to the broth, and then pour that cooking sauce over meat in the Instant Pot.
7. Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE and 35 minutes.
8. Let Instant Pot release pressure manually when the time is up.
9. Remove meat to a cutting board.
10. We used a Fat Separator (affiliate link) to remove some of the fat from the liquid, but that might be optional.
11. Add about 1/2 cup more salsa to the sauce. We used the Instant Pot to warm it while we cut the meat apart.
12. Serve hot, with the sauce spooned over the meat.

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. Put beef broth in a saucepan and simmer on low to reduce.
2. While beef broth is reducing, trim visible fat from chuck roast. You may need to cut it into pieces to remove big pockets of fat.
3. Rub pot roast with Kalyn’s Montreal Steak Seasoning or other steak seasoning (affiliate link).
4. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan and brown meat; don’t rush this step because browning is especially important in crockpot cooking.
5. When roast is browned, put meat in crockpot, arranging pieces in a single layer.
6. Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan where you browned the meat and reduce more until it’s reduced to 1/2 cup, scraping off any browned bits. (The broth might already be reduced that much.)
7. Then add salsa to the broth. Pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast in the slow cooker.
8. Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 more hours, or until meat is tender. (You could also cook for a longer time on low. 
9. Remove meat from crockpot and pour sauce into small saucepan. (If there is a lot of fat on top, spoon it off or use a fat separator (affiliate link) to remove fat. You may not need to do this if you did a good job trimming.)
10. Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add final 1/2 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer in the pan until reduced to about 1 cup.
11. To serve, cut meat into pieces and serve hot, with sauce spooned over the top. 

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This Southwestern Pot Roast with Mexican flavors would be delicious with Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese, Cauliflower Gratin, or Easy Cauliflower Rice for a low-carb meal!

Use this Mexican Pot Roast to make delicious Keto tacos:

This spicy Mexican beef is perfect to make into tacos with my favorite Mission Carb Balance Low-Carb Tortillas (affiliate link) or Mr. Tortilla 2 Net Carb Multigrain Tortillas (affiliate link). Or make lettuce wrap tacos if you prefer.

Weekend Food Prep:

This Mexican Pot Roast recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 8 servings

Southwestern Pot Roast (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Southwestern Pot Roast can be made in the Instant Pot or the Slow Cooker, and it's an easy low-carb dinner that the whole family will love! And and this slightly-spicy pot roast is loaded with Mexican flavors!

Ingredients

• 1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium beef broth, reduced until it's 1/2 cup strong broth
• 4 lb. beef chuck roast, visible fat trimmed and cut into several pieces (see notes)
• steak seasoning of your choice to rub on the meat (see notes)
• 1 T olive oil for browning meat
• 3/4 cup + 1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce (see notes)

Instructions

1. INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:
2. Start reducing the can of beef broth in a pan on the stove or in the Instant Pot while you brown the meat. (We liked reducing the stock and browning the meat on the stove, but take your choice on that.)
3. Trim the roast to remove visible fat (as much as you prefer), and season the meat with Kalyn's Montreal Steak Seasoning or your favorite steak seasoning (affiliate link).
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the meat well (or use the Instant Pot and brown it in two batches.) Put the browned beef in the Instant Pot.
5. Then add the reduced beef stock to the pan and cook longer as needed until it's reduced to about 1/2 cup, scraping off the browned bits from the pan. It may or may not already be reduced that much.
6. Add 3/4 cup salsa to the reduced broth in the pan and pour that cooking sauce over the meat in the Instant Pot.
7. Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE and 35 minutes. Let the Instant Pot release pressure manually when the time is up.
8. Remove the meat to a cutting board.
9. We used a Fat Separator (affiliate link) to remove some of the fat from the cooking liquid left in the Instant Pot; that might be optional if you trimmed the meat well. Then add about 1/2 cup more salsa to the sauce in the Instant Pot. (We used the Instant Pot to warm it while we cut the meat apart.)
10. Serve hot, with the sauce spooned over the meat.
11. SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS:
12. Put beef broth in a small saucepan and simmer on low until the broth is reduced to 1/2 cup.
13. 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.
14. Rub pot roast on all sides with Kalyn's Montreal Steak Seasoning or other steak seasoning (affiliate link).
15. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan. 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.
16. When roast is browned on all sides, put pieces of meat in crockpot, arranging them in a single layer.
17. Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan and reduce more until it's reduced to 1/2 cup, using a turner to scrape off any caramelized bits from the browned meat. (It may already be reduced that much.)
18. Then add salsa to the reduced broth. Pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast in the slow cooker.
19. 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. 
20. 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.)
21. Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add final 1/2 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer until reduced to about 1 cup.
22. To serve, cut meat into pieces and serve hot, with sauce spooned over the top. 

Notes

I started with a roast that was nearly 4 pounds but it was about 3 pounds after I trimmed it.

We used Kalyn's Montreal Steak Seasoning for this recipe, but there are many good brands of purchased steak seasoning.

We used Pace Picante Sauce Medium (affiliate link) for this recipe but if you're making this for kids you might prefer mild salsa. Use any salsa you prefer that's low in sugar.

Timing at the top of the recipe is for the Instant Pot version.

Both versions of this recipe created by Kalyn, with help from Jake and Kara.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 454Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 12gUnsaturated Fat 15.5gCholesterol 154mgSodium 381mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 46g

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!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
It’s important to use a low-sugar salsa for this Mexican-flavored pot roast if you want it to be low in carbs. As long as you choose a salsa with the lowest sugar you can find, this recipe should be great for any low-carb diet, including Keto or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Instant Pot Recipes or Slow Cooker Recipes for more ideas 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:
This Southwestern Pot Roast with Mexican flavors was posted as a slow cooker recipe in 2008. The Instant Pot version was posted in 2018. In 2024 both recipes were updated slightly and combined into one post.

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