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When you’re craving real flavor and serious satisfaction, you need to make these Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches! Deliciously tender roast beef and onions are made flavorful with a medley of bold, savory ingredients, then sandwiched between buns and served with provolone cheese. Don’t forget to dip it in some au jus!
There’s nothing quite like a good french dip sandwich. It’s a little messy, incredibly savory, cheesy, and ALWAYS hits the spot. I’m a firm believer that every element of this classic sandwich is important, but there are two traits that really matter the most. The meat’s gotta be tender and the au jus has gotta be flavorful!
This easy slow cooker recipe masters both of those elements pretty perfectly. The slow and steady cook time ensures that the meat is tender as can be, and it really has time to mingle with all of the flavorful ingredients it’s cooked in. Once cooked, the meat is served on a hoagie with provolone cheese and gets dipped in the very au jus it was cooked in.
Why You’ll Love This
- SO flavorful. Savory ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, beef bouillon and more come together to create a deep, rich beefy flavor. This mixture flavors the meat to perfection and creates the perfect au jus for dipping.
- Slow, steady, and easy. This is a great set it and forget it recipe! You’ll love how easy it is to make six satisfying french dip sandwiches.
- Budget-friendly. Take a peek at the ingredients listed below. None of them are going to break the bank! I really love that I can grab everything I need in one quick and inexpensive trip to the grocery store.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make easy french dip sandwiches. Make sure to scroll down to view the full recipe for exact measurements.
- Beef roast
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Beef broth
- Onions
- Garlic
- Beef bouillon powder
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Baguettes/hoagie buns
- Provolone cheese
How To Make Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Here’s how to make the BEST french dip sandwiches in the slow cooker. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
Prepare the roast. Let the roast come to room temperature, then season it with salt and pepper.
Sear the roast. Heat some oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the roast to the skillet and sear on all sides.
Slow cook it. Place the roast and sliced onions in the Crockpot. In a separate bowl, mix together the beef broth, garlic, beef bouillon powder, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and herbs in a bowl. Pour this evenly all over the roast. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Let it rest. Place the cooked roast on a cutting board and cover it with foil. Let it rest for half an hour before slicing it. While it’s resting, skim any fat from the liquid in the Crockpot.
Slice and assemble. Thinly slice the beef across the grain. Slice open the rolls, pile on the beef and onions, and layer on the cheese. Bake at 350°F for just 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with au jus for dipping, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
Here are just a couple ways you can customize your Crockpot french dip sandwiches!
- Make them gluten-free. To do this, you’ll need gluten free buns, tamari instead of soy sauce, gluten-free beef bouillon, and gluten-free worcestershire sauce. All of these alternatives should be available at most popular grocery stores!
- To toast, or not to toast. That is the question! Personally, I love my cheese melted and buns lightly toasted when enjoying a french dip sandwich. To accomplish this, just place the assembled sandwich in the oven for 5 minutes once preheated to 350°F. Keep in mind that this step is optional.
- The meat may pull apart. When you begin slicing your meat after it’s rested, you may notice that it pulls apart rather easily. Feel free to pull it instead of slicing if you’d prefer.
- Low and slow. While you can cook the beef on high for 4 hours, I’ve found that I accomplish the most flavorful and tender meat when it’s cooked on low for 8 hours.
- No peaking! Don’t open the lid of your slow cooker while the meat is cooking in there. That will allow the heat to escape, which will decrease the temperature of the Crockpot. As a result, you meat will need additional time to cook.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Once the sandwiches have been assembled, it’s best to eat them right away. The bread will get soggy if you try to store the sandwich in your fridge. However, the meat and onions can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Reheat your leftovers in the microwave in 30 second intervals until warmed all the way through.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
To me, nothing goes better with a french dip sandwich than FRIES! They can be garlic sweet potato fries, curly fries, or garlic fries. Any fry of your choice will go perfectly with these classic sandwiches.
More sandwich recipes to love:
- Grinder Sandwich
- Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
- Smashed Chickpea Sandwiches
- Beer Battered Fried Chicken Sandwiches
- The Best Crab Cake Sandwiches
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pound beef roast, excess fat trimmed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ Tablespoon beef bouillon powder, or one cube
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- 6 french baguettes/hoagie buns, toasted if desired
- 12 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
- Allow your roast to come to room temperature. (Remove it from the fridge at least an hour before you are planning to cook it.)
- Season the roast with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the roast to the skillet and sear it on all sides. Tip: leave it on one side for about 5 minutes until it is browned, then turn to another side, and continue until all of the meat is browned.
- Place the beef and sliced onions into the slow cooker. Mix together beef broth, garlic, beef bouillon powder, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, rosemary and thyme in a bowl then add to the slow cooker as well.
- Cook the roast for 8 hours on low heat, or 4 hours on high.
- Remove the roast from the slow cooker, place it on a cutting board, and cover it with tin foil. The roast should rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- While the roast is resting, skim any noticeable fat from the juice left in the slow cooker.
- Slice the beef thinly, across the grain. It may be so tender that it pulls apart easily, this works perfectly, too!
- Prepare the sandwiches by slicing open the rolls, piling on the thinly sliced beef, the onions (I remove these from the slow cooker as needed with tongs), and cheese if desired (I like to use 2 slices per sandwich). If you would like to toast the sandwich and melt the cheese, place the open sandwiches on a baking tray into a 350 °F (177 °C) oven and bake for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve the au jus on the side for dipping.
