This air fryer pot roast delivers tender beef and vegetables in a one-pan meal without lengthy oven roasting times. Easy to prepare and so delicious, cooking pot roast in the air fryer makes this comforting classic totally weeknight-friendly.
Why you’ll love this air fryer pot roast
- Simple one-pan meal – season and cook roast and vegetables together.
- Cooks low and slow but faster than oven braising.
- High airflow crisps and browns the outside for a beautiful crust.
Scroll down for the printable card for this air fryer pot roast recipe, or read on for all the details.
Pot Roast vs Roast Beef
Pot roasts are prepared by cooking the meat slowly in a covered pot or dish with added cooking liquid like stock or wine. The added moisture and extended cooking time help break down tougher cuts.
Classic roast beef is cooked dry in an oven without added braising liquid. Uncovered roasting relies solely on hot oven air to cook the meat, often on a wire rack (like this recipe for air fryer roast beef).
What do you need?
You’ll need a small baking pan or cake tin to cook the pot roast in the air fryer. The pan catches juices from the meat. Turning the roast every so often ensures the pan liquids continually baste the meat. The hot circulating air renders the meat fork-tender in under an hour rather than several hours.
I used an 8-inch / 20cm round baking tin, that fits perfectly in my XXL Philips Airfryer.
- Beef roast – choose a lean tender roast like topside, sirloin roast, or rump roast.
- Vegetables – The recipe below uses carrots and potatoes, which are classic pot roast vegetables. However you can use other vegetables if you prefer. Choose vegetables with a firm texture – other root vegetables are ideal.
- Marinade – A simple marinade is used to flavor and tenderize the beef before cooking.
How to cook pot roast in the air fryer
This recipe is very simple prepare, there are just a few key steps to getting it just right:
- Prepare and marinate beef. Mix the marinade ingredients in a zip-lock bag, then add the beef joint and allow to marinate. A more tender cut like sirloin, or topside should be marinated for 10 minutes or more, a tougher cut like chuck roast or bolar should be marinated overnight (in the fridge) or longer.
- Sear beef in the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C / 400°F. Remove the beef from the marinade (reserve the marinade in the bag), place beef joint into the pan and into the air fryer, and air fry for 10 minutes. While the beef is cooking, add the chopped vegetables to the bag with the marinade.
- Add the vegetables. When the cooking time is up, flip the beef over, add the vegetables to the pan around the beef and pour the remaining marinade over the beef and vegetables.
- Air fry pot roast. Lower the temperature to 160°C / 320°F, and cook the pot roast in the air fryer for 30 minutes. Check the internal temperature of the beef, and continue cooking until it is done to your liking.
- Rest the beef, finish the veggies. When done to your liking, remove the beef from the air fryer and cover with foil to rest for at least ten minutes. Continue to air fry the vegetables on their own until tender.
How long to air fry pot roast
The exact cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your beef joint, and how powerful your air fryer is. The best way to get the cooking times just right is to test the internal temperature of the beef and cook it until it reaches your preferred doneness.
| Doneness | Internal temp. |
|---|---|
| Rare | 49-52°C/ 120-125°F |
| Medium rare | 53-57°C/ 126-135°F |
| Medium | 58-63°C/ 136-145°F |
| Medium well-done | 64-67°C/ 146-154°F |
| Well done | 68°C/ 156°F |
Use an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature in the center of the thickest part of the meat for an accurate temperature reading.
Serving ideas
Slice the air fried pot roast thinly and serve drizzled with the pan juices, or add the pan juices to this recipe for a rich gravy made with stock.
Here are some easy side dishes you could serve with this recipe:
Air Fryer Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 lb / 900 g beef roast (topside, top round, rump)
Marinade
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (1½ teaspoons table salt)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
Vegetables
- 4 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
Directions
- Mix marinade ingredients in a large zip-lock bag. Add beef roast, seal the bag, and massage the bag to ensure the meat is well covered by the marinade. Allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Peel and chop the vegetables, then preheat air fryer to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Remove beef joint from marinade and pat dry. Add the chopped vegetables to the marinade bag.
- Place beef joint into a small pan and into the air fryer and cook at 400°F/ 200°C for 10 minutes.
- Flip the beef joint over, then add the marinated vegetables to the pan around the beef, pouring any remaining marinade over the beef.
- Lower temperature to 320°F/ 160°C, and air fry pot roast 25-35 minutes until the beef is cooked to your liking [Note 1].
- Remove beef, and cover with foil to rest for ten minutes. Continue to air fry the vegetables until tender.
- Slice the beef thinly, and drizzle with the juices remaining in the pan to serve.
Notes
- Start testing the internal temperature with a meat thermometer after around 25 minutes of cook time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.