Mississippi Pot Roast Sandwich, with provolone cheese and some gravy for dipping
3–4 lb chuck roast
12 oz jar pepperoncini (with juice)
½ stick butter
1 brown gravy mix packet
1 ranch dressing mix packet
2 tsp Cast Iron & Cocktails Seasoning Blend
8 oz sliced mushrooms (optional)
Build:
1a. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high and add a light coating of oil. Sear the chuck roast on both sides until browned, about 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer to a crockpot.
1b. No time to sear? Skip the skillet and add the roast straight to the crockpot.
2. (Optional) If using mushrooms: melt the butter in the same skillet. Add mushrooms and sauté over medium heat until golden and most of their liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add to the crockpot.
3. Add all remaining ingredients — gravy mix, ranch mix, seasoning blend, pepperoncini (with juice). If you skipped the mushroom step, add the butter directly to the crockpot now.
4. Cover and cook: 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, until fork-tender.
5. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or pile high on sandwich rolls (like we did).
Mississippi Pot Roast, or simply The Roast, as its creator still calls it, got its start back in the 1990s in Ripley, Mississippi. Home cook Robin Chapman was just trying to make a milder, more kid-friendly version of her aunt’s pot roast. The secret tweak? She swapped out the Italian dressing mix her aunt used for a packet of ranch. The result was an instant hit at her family table.
She later passed the recipe to her friend Karen Farese, who included it in her church’s cookbook under the modest title “Roast Beef.” From there, it quietly made its way across kitchens, potlucks, and Sunday dinners until it became known nationwide as Mississippi Pot Roast.
What started as a small-town slow cooker meal eventually took the internet by storm, earning the nickname “The Roast that Owns the Internet” from The New York Times. Proof that sometimes, the simplest recipes are the ones that stick with us the longest.