Upgrade Pot Roast With A Canned Soup You May Already Have In Your Pantry

Sunday dinners just wouldn't be the same without a beef pot roast at the table. It's a culinary contribution that began in Europe as a way to make use of tough cuts of meat. Fortunately for us, immigrants brought the dish to America, where it's now commonly served alongside carrots and potatoes or carved up to use in French dip sandwiches. However you prefer to savor this beefy delight, infusing it with bold flavor is a key aspect of the process. The good news is, it's incredibly simple to do with a pantry staple you may already have in stock — cream of mushroom soup.

Distinctly different from thinner, brothier soups, cream of mushroom soup features a thick, luxurious consistency thanks to the addition of — you guessed it — cream. It also contains a natural thickener in the form of a roux. The characteristics of these ingredients make cream of mushroom soup a compatible partner for meat and potatoes; it's ideal for your favorite Sunday pot roast because it improves both the flavor and the texture of the meat while simultaneously reducing into a moreish gravy while it cooks.

Considering its roots, it's no surprise this canned soup outshines the brothy liquid you might otherwise find surrounding your typical pot roast. For a dish that many already consider to be equal parts hearty and heartwarming, giving it a softer finish and richer composition simply elevates the comfort factor.

Since pot roast is often partnered with carrots, onions, potatoes, and stock or gravy mix, combining it all with the mushroom soup while it cooks makes it a one-pot meal any meat lover can appreciate. In fact, once cooked, your meat and veggies are already married with creamy gravy, so you can dish up and go.

Even before incorporating the soup into your pot roast, the ingredients are all melding with each other to become something magnificent. When meat and vegetables simmer together, the flavors are shared throughout the pot, giving the veggies an umami essence and infusing the meat with the clean and earthy flavors of the vegetables. Adding cream of mushroom soup to the mix brings in moisture and plenty of flavor-amplifying glutamates. Plus, it embraces the long-standing relationship between beef and mushrooms. With a history of hanging out in dishes like beef and mushroom stir fry, classic beef stroganoff, or Korean beef bowls, it's no surprise the combination works here as well.

Even the most melt-in-your-mouth pot roast recipes make use of tougher cuts of meat that benefit from a long, slow cooking method. That's why less expensive cuts such as chuck, brisket, round, and rump roasts are perfect choices for spending the day in a slow cooker or oven. Before you put the lid on it and leave it, however, don't forget to prep your meat by first seasoning it and browning it on all sides, which helps to lock in moisture and flavor. Plus, it adds an appealing visual aspect to the dish.

Although adding cream of mushroom soup is a quick hack for creating a delicious roast, you can also explore other flavor boosts and tweaks with the addition of an ingredient or two. For example, if you want a brothier, spicier, or tangier finish there are a variety of ingredient swaps your roast can benefit from. Try using beer, beef broth, or wine for your liquid. Enhance the meaty richness with a bit of Worcestershire sauce, or give your mushroom soup-enhanced pot roast a hint of mystery with a dash of paprika. Similarly, embrace an instant seasoning solution without digging through the spice cupboard by adding an envelope of dry onion soup mix. No matter how you decide to spice it up, or tone it down, remember to add the cream of mushroom soup for a luxuriously rich and tender pot roast experience.