Plug in the slow cooker but skip the salad dressing mix for our Texas Ranch Roast Recipe, a healthy riff on a popular dish.
Story and photograph by Heather Martin
A few years ago, the most pinned recipe of the year was a slow cooker roast made delicious but simple with the use of package of ranch dressing mix.
Even the New York Times got in on the action.
Over time, it came to be known as Mississippi Roast, and though the ingredients vary — sometimes there is a packet of gravy mix, a stick of butter, pickled peppers — the basis is always that packet of ranch dressing mix.
As a dietitian, I rarely keep dressing or gravy mixes around, because I prefer to control the sodium, additives, and flavors by making my own. But it was so popular that I wanted to give it a try.
So, I developed my own version using the ingredients in homemade ranch, but modified to make it quite a bit healthier. Yet it’s still easy and based on common pantry ingredients.
Texas Ranch Roast Recipe
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. neutral oil
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 3 lb lean/trimmed chuck roast, cut into 5 or 6 pieces
- 1 1/2 c finely shredded cabbage (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. mayo
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp. dried dill
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. celery salt
- 3 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. minced pickled jalapeno, or 5-6 pepperoncini
- 1 Tbsp. butter4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes (about 2 lbs) cut into 4-6 pieces each, depending on size
- 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2 c)
Method
Coat the roast in the flour and sear with the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Transfer to slow cooker. Mix the mayo with the dried spices, and then gradually add the soy sauce, Worcestershire, and vinegar to make a smooth sauce. Add to the cooker along with the cabbage, peppers and butter, and toss in the potatoes and carrots on top.
Cook on high for 6-8 hours.
Instant Pot variation
Instant Pot variation: Sear roast directly in the cooker on the saute setting. Add the remaining ingredients through the butter, cook on slow cooker setting for at least 1-2 hours so that it will release enough liquid to prevent burning. Change to pressure setting and cook for 40 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, settling them into the liquid a bit, reseal and continue to cook on pressure for an additional 15 minutes. Quick release.
If you are pressed for time, it still comes out well if you skip the flour and searing, mix the sauce as written, and add it to the pressure cooker along with the cabbage and 1/3 c water. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes, add carrots and potatoes, reseal and pressure cook for an additional 15 minutes. The sauce will be soupier but still delicious. If you’d like to thicken it up, cook 2 T flour in 2 T of neutral oil in a skillet on the stovetop. When the roast stops boiling in the Instant Pot, carefully stir in the roux, and then bring back to a brief boil using the saute setting until thickened.
Heather Martin is a registered dietitian who loves cooking almost as much as she loves eating! A native Texan, she’s lived North, South, and East—but not yet West. Heather writes about Zen practice at Mom of No Rank and, um, unusual foods at The Today Show. You can also follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
