This Instant Pot Venison Roast is meltingly tender with very little hands-on time. Make it with the optional gravy, serve it with a cranberry sauce, or both!

I’m a Wisconsin girl, born and bred. I haven’t lived there in thirty years (Southern CA won my heart early then we moved – and currently live – in Northern VA) but my roots run deep.

We ate venison roast a lot. My dad, uncles, and cousins were all deer hunters and it wasn’t uncommon during deer season to have several deer being butchered in the garage. We’d fill our freezers for the winter and my mom would have a hot venison roast on our dinner table often.

I don’t have the same access to venison like I used to, but I still have a few friends and relatives who will ship me some when it’s been a particularly good hunting season. As soon as my last package arrived filled with venison, I knew I’d be making an Instant Pot venison roast first thing!

Venison roasts are very lean which make them perfect for cooking in the Instant Pot. It not only cooks it faster but it tenderizes it in the process.

How to make Instant Pot Venison Roast

This Instant Pot venison roast is incredibly simple and flavorful. There’s very little hands-on time and that’s just mixing the rub, adding the garlic to the roast, and searing it after.

There is additional time for the rubbed roast to sit in the refrigerator. This allows the rub and garlic slices to really permeate the meat. You could opt to skip this step but it adds so much flavor that I don’t advise it.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Venison Roast

• venison roast
• extra-virgin olive oil
• fresh garlic
• coarse salt
• black pepper
• dried rosemary
• dried thyme
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• beef broth or stock
• cornstarch (optional; used to thicken the gravy if you choose to make it)

What to serve with Instant Pot Venison Roast

I almost always stick with traditional side dishes when I make Instant Pot venison roast. Here’s what I do for an easy side of potatoes and carrots:

I use a pound each of potatoes and carrots, then cut them all to be roughly the same size (the carrots can be larger than the potatoes but should all be around bite-sized; if not, add a couple of minutes to the cook time). As soon as I take the venison roast out of the Instant Pot but before I make the gravy, I put the potatoes and carrots back into the pot and cook them on “Manual” for 10 minutes then do a quick release.

I remove the potatoes and carrots with a slotted spoon, then I may or may not proceed with making the gravy (basically just by boiling the liquid in the pot until it’s reduced my half, then thickening it with a cornstarch slurry; see the recipe below for full directions). Then slice the roast, put it back into the pot, spoon the hot gravy over it all to reheat it, and serve it with the potatoes and carrots.

Sometimes I’ll make a separate side or two while the roast is still cooking/resting. Here are a few things that complement the venison roast nicely:

• Easiest Stuffed Garlic Bread Recipe
• Stuffed Baked Potatoes
• Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes (I have 2 Instant Pots so I’ll do this at the same time as the roast, but it can also be made ahead of time so you can make this first then put it in the oven while the roast is cooking)
• 2 Creamed Corn Recipes (with & without cream)
• Baked Potato Wedges
• Green Beans Almondine
• Smashed Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan

If you’re a fan of making roasts in your Instant Pot, DO NOT MISS this Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast recipe. Even if you’ve made it before, we tweaked the recipe to make it even more delicious!