Add This Type Of Fruit To Your Next Pot Roast For 10 Times More Flavor

There's no denying that pot roast is one of the most underrated traditional weeknight dinners. Warm and comforting, it's centered around meltingly tender chuck roast and velvety root vegetables in a deeply savory sauce — the perfect way to relax after a long day. However, it also has a bit of a reputation for being boring and overdone, which is a little unfair, but may indicate the need for a makeover.

If you're looking to liven up your favorite three-ingredient slow cooker pot roast, you may want to grab some fresh, juicy citrus fruits on your next trip to the grocery store. Pairing oranges, limes, and lemons with pot roast may seem incongruous, but these bright flavors add a touch of tangy sweetness that "wakes up" the other seasonings in the dish. You might choose to add just a few teaspoons of zest to your gravy, deglaze your pan or slow cooker with the juice, add whole slices of the fruit to your recipe — or use all three.

Zest or juice alone will add the subtlest flavor that enhances other elements of the dish rather than standing out, while full slices will bring a stronger taste. If you choose to use slices, or add all three elements, you may also want to carefully consider your flavor profile and customize the seasonings in your pot roast to complement your chosen citrus.

If you're making a traditional brown gravy pot roast, lemon is arguably the best citrus to use. Their bright, fresh flavor is distinct but quickly takes a backseat to stronger seasonings, becoming a burst of brightness rather than a central flavoring. You can help finesse lemon into an existing pot roast recipe by adding herbs like thyme, rosemary, and tarragon, and using fresh cracked pepper, as all of these have lemony notes.

If you'd like to use limes in your pot roast, it may be best to push your other seasonings in a different direction as well. This is because limes' floral notes may clash with things like onion soup mix or mushroom gravy. Instead, consider leaning into Southwest, Mexican, or Asian flavors that will not only pair beautifully with either of these fruits, but will also give you lots of new ways to prepare your pot roast. For a great flavor combination, consider pairing limes with ginger, scallions, and garlic with a soy- and peanut-infused sauce.

Just like limes, oranges might be best off in a pot roast if you adjust the other seasonings accordingly. To complement oranges' sweetness, think barbecue flavors, such as cayenne pepper, bacon fat, and brown sugar with a chipotle tomato gravy. You can even switch up the type of meat you use, as pork shoulder makes a deliciously affordable pot roast, and pork matched up with fruit is always a winning combination.