Beef and Pepperoncini Recipe Freezer Meal

Mississippi Pot Roast

January 13, 2019 (last updated Jan 26, 2021) by Amber Brady 2

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This flavorful Mississippi Pot Roast is a great make-ahead freezer meal. It's slow cooked in the crock pot to create tender shredded beef in a saucy gravy. Serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

Plate of mashed potatoes topped with Mississippi Pot Roast shredded beef in gravy.

We've tried a lot of freezer meals in the last couple of months (like this easy Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup. Also delicious.) This recipe is by far our favorite! It's not your typical Mississippi Pot Roast. I've added a few extra ingredients to make it super flavorful with a thicker gravy.

Slow cooker filled with shredded Mississippi Pot Roast in gravy.

What's a Mississippi Pot Roast?

Mississippi Roast is traditionally made with a chuck roast, slow cooked in a stick of butter, a packet (each) of dry ranch dressing mix and au jus gravy mix, with a handful of pepperoncini peppers.

Ingredients for Mississippi Pot Roast: beef roast, ranch mix, au jus mix, pepperoncini peppers, beef broth, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and ground black pepper.

This variation uses the roast, ranch, au jus, and peppers, but substitutes the butter for beef broth, and also has onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and ground black pepper for extra flavor. (I also make a cornstarch slurry — cornstarch + COLD water — to thicken the sauce into a thick gravy. This is added at the end of cooking.)

Prepared ingredients for Mississippie Pot Roast in a freezer bag.

A Great Freezer Meal!

Mississippi Pot Roast can be slow cooked right away, or made-ahead and frozen in a freezer zip-top bag.

You will want to freeze this roast upright on a flat surface — like a cookie sheet — to make sure all the liquid sits on the bottom with the beef. This also makes it easier to empty into your crockpot and keeps it from adhering to the freezer rack.

Slow cook this Mississippi pot roast on low for 8-10 hours. If cooking from frozen, I like to cook it on high for 1 hour to help thaw it faster, and then switch to low for the duration of the time.

Add the cornstarch slurry the last 10-30 minutes of cook time to thicken the sauce into a rich gravy. We love this Mississippi Pot Roast on a bed of mashed potatoes (with green beans on the side), but rice or noodles would work fine too.

Ingredients

2-3 lb beef roast (chuck, rump, cross rib)
1 (1oz) packet dry ranch dressing mix
1 (1oz) packet dry au jus gravy mix
1/4-1/2 tsp ground black pepper (keep in mind the pepperoncinis also add spice)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6-8 whole pepperoncini peppers
1/2 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp COLD water

Instructions

TO FREEZE (OPTIONAL): Place everything EXCEPT the cornstarch and water into a gallon size zip-top freezer bag. Squeeze excess air out and freeze upright on a flat surface (like a cookie sheet).
*Make sure all of the liquid sits on the bottom with the beef. This makes it easier to empty into your crockpot and keeps it from adhering to the freezer rack. Freeze up to 3 months.
TO COOK FROM FROZEN: Empty freezer bag into slow cooker. Cook 1 hour on high, then 7-9 hours on low OR simply 8-10 hours on low, until meat is tender.
Mix cornstarch and cold water. Pour into slow cooker the last 10-30 minutes of cook time. Cook until thick, then shred meat. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.
TO COOK IMMEDIATELY: Place roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle other ingredients on top EXCEPT for the cornstarch and water. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, until meat is tender.
Mix cornstarch and cold water. Pour into slow cooker the last 10-30 minutes of cook time. Cook until thick, then shred meat. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.