The lengthy cooking time required for pot roast can be a real drag, as you have to plan almost a full day in advance for good results. But cook perfect pot roast in your pressure cooker, and you’ll never look back. Nowadays, pressure cooking is, for many, synonymous with an Instant Pot, but it’s hardly the only player in the game. It doesn’t matter what brand name is on your pressure cooker, as the process of cooking pot roast this way is easy-peasy and takes, at maximum, two hours from start to end.

The beauty of pressure cooking pot roast, other than its speediness, is that it’s endlessly open to variation. Like to use a chuck roast? Go for it! We’ve also discussed how brisket is an unexpected meat cut that shines in pot roast, and you can easily opt for that here as well. Simply throw that meat in the pressure cooker (a sear beforehand is optional, but will add flavor) and cook it for between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on the size of the cut. For optimal results and to avoid mushiness, add your veggies of choice at the end of the cook, as they only need a handful of minutes to achieve fork-tenderness. Juices made with your choice of red wine, stock, or water can be thickened as a final step, making your quick, easy pot roast awash in a succulent gravy … the component that many reckon to be the best part!

Social media site Reddit is awash with love for pressure cooking pot roast, with tons of lovingly photographed pics of shredded beef, fluffy potatoes, and crisp root vegetables glazed in rich gravy, all possible with this gadget. “My cheat code for insta pot roast […] Beef bullion [sic] cubes and cheap box red wine instead of water,” one Redditor divulged. “Finally tried pot roast in the instant pot today and it’s the best I’ve ever had!” one commenter proclaimed. Red wine got another shout-out from a Redditor who used the saute function on their cooker to make a delicious gravy. “The bottom of the pot got so much stuff stuck on it that I thought the material was never going to come off,” they wrote. Then the wooden spoon red wine deglaze pulled everything off quickly and easily.”

You’ll notice something clearly from the social media hype: the method is almost foolproof and switches up easily with your favorite “secret” ingredients. Anchovy paste is an unexpected umami bomb in pot roast, for instance — toss it in your pressure cooker and taste the difference! Likewise, a retro Betty Crocker recipe uses sour cream to add both silkiness and tang to pot roast gravy … we can’t argue with that variation, either. What we’re hearing is that your family’s cherished pot roast recipe can be easily adapted for the pressure cooker with a few tweaks and still retain what makes it special. The only difference is a lot less time and effort involved in getting dinner on the table!