Hearty, beefy, stick to your ribs DELISH! This Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich couldn’t be easier to make. Cooked low and slow for hours in a beefy stock loaded with herbs, spices, onions and BIG flavor, tender beef is the centerpiece for one epic sandwich.

French Dip Sandwich being dipped into a bowl of beef au jus sauce.


French Dip Sandwich

Winter is here and with it comes my craving for all the comfort foods. All of them. Like Short Rib Grilled Cheese sandwiches and chicken cordon bleu casserole. They’re like a fluffy sweater for my insides if you know what I mean. The cold weather hasn’t even hit yet and I have a hankering for things like this Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich.

Since I’m trying to get better with planning dinners that don’t require the whole family huddling around a cake at the dinner table (I’m only a little ashamed), I dusted off my slow cooker and decided to get things started in the morning. I love slow cooker meals especially easy recipes like this Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

I even have a whole round up of slow cooker recipes that I collected over the years so dinners are never boring and now I have this amazing CrockPot French Dip Sandwiches to add to the list. They’re loaded with shredded beef and melty onions so each bite is melt in your mouth amazing.

Three French dip Sandwiches on a white platter

How To Make French Dip Sandwiches

You can make this easy French Dip recipe in the oven using a dutch oven or follow this recipe for a Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich. So, dust off the crock pot and follow these steps.

  1. Trim your roast of excess fat and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the roast the to pan and brown on all sides.
  3. Transfer the roast and any accumulated juices to the slow cooker or crock pot.
  4. Add sliced onions and herbs to the slow cooker.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the beef stock, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, wine, garlic, salt and pepper.
  6. Pour the stock over the beef and cover with the lid.
  7. Cook the roast for a cooking time of 4 hours on high heat or 6 hours on low heat, depending on the size of your roast, or until the roast shreds easily with a fork.
  8. Remove the roast from the slow cooker and shred into bite sized pieces.
  9. Fill a long roll or hoagie rolls with the shredded meat and top with shredded cheese.
  10. Place the sandwich on a cutting board and cut in half. Serve with a side of the flavorful sauce as the dip.

See how easy that is? You can put it all together before you leave for work and have a meal waiting for you when you get home for an easy weeknight dinner!

To make the BEST French Dip Sandwich ever, I like to place a slice of provolone in the bottom of the roll and THEN top with the beef, and THEN sprinkle with shredded Swiss cheese. Next, I pop it under the broiler for a couple minutes to make sure everything is topped with melty cheese and magical and amazing.

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Chuck roast for French dip shredded on a white platter.

What is a French Dip?

Besides being one of the best sandwiches ever made, the classic French Dip Sandwich is a hot sandwich with layers of roast beef loaded on a long French roll. Also known as a Beef Dip Sandwich, it’s usually served with onions, melted cheese and a side of the beef stock or beef broth in which it was cooked in, aka “au jus” which is like a beef consommé.

What kind of meat is used for a French Dip?

To make your Crock Pot French Dip, be sure to choose a well marbled cut of beef that can withstand the lengthy braising time. I like to use a beef chuck roast that’s been trimmed of excess fat (to keep the au jus from being overly fatty).

You can also use boneless short ribs, rump roast or a small prime rib roast.

Three French Dip Sandwiches with a spoon drizzling au jus on a sandwich.

How do you make au jus for French Dip?

It’s so easy to make the au jus for French Dip in your slow cooker because the cooking liquid, essentially, becomes your au jus or dip. Simply remove the beef from the slow cooker, ladle the au jus into a small bowls and serve it with your French Dip Sandwich.

To make sure your au jus is the BEST au jus ever, start with a really good beef stock or make your own like I did using this easy Beef Stock recipe. (Bonus…it’s freezer friendly!)

French Dip Sandwich dunked in a bowl of au jus sauce.

What kind of cheese is in a French Dip Sandwich?

The sky’s the limit here, friends. I like to use a combination of provolone cheese and Swiss cheese because they both melt fantastically and the sharp bite of both cheeses is a great contrast to the bold beef flavor of your easy French Dip Sandwich.

If you’re not a Swiss fan, you can totally use cheddar cheese, also, equally amazing or a milder choice would be mozzarella cheese.

Best Sides for French Dip Sandwiches

French dip Sandwich being dipped into a bowl of au jus sauce.

More Easy Sandwich Ideas

If you’re looking for more slow cooker sandwich recipes you have to try this Slow Cooker Philly Chicken Cheesesteak or one of my all time favorites Italian Roast Pork Sandwich, which is just like the one you find at Dinic’s in Reading Terminal Market. Maybe better!

Or, if you’re a burger fan, you definitely need to sink your teeth into this French Dip Burger, it’s insanely amazing. No joke.

Want to see what else we’re cooking up? Follow us on Instagram!

French Dip Sandwich with a drop of au jus dripping back into a bowl of broth.

Get the Recipe: Easy French Dip Sandwich

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Hearty comfort food, these Easy Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches are simple and magical.
4.75 from 8 votes
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Ingredients

  • 3 lb chuck roast
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced thin
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 8 long rolls
  • 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Equipment

  • slow cooker or CrockPot

Instructions 

  • Trim the excess fat from the chuck roast. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.
  • Add the chuck roast to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until brown. Flip the roast over and brown on the opposite side, approximately 4-5 minutes. Continue to flip and cook the roast until all sided are browned.
  • Transfer the roast to the slow cooker.
  • Place the onions and garlic on top of the roast.
  • Whisk together the stock, wine, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the stock mixture over the beef. Add the thyme and bay leaf.
  • Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
  • When the roast is fork tender, transfer to a serving platter. 
  • Skim the excess fat from the top of the stock mixture with a spoon. 
  • Arrange the beef in long rolls and top with cheese. Serve the sandwiches with bowls filled with stock (au jus).

Video

YouTube video

Notes

Leftover beef and au jus can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 4 months. To reheat, warm in the microwave or place in an oven safe pot and thaw in the oven until warmed through.
Calories: 599kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 129mg, Sodium: 992mg, Potassium: 817mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 165IU, Vitamin C: 3.6mg, Calcium: 167mg, Iron: 14.9mg
Author: Kellie
Course: Dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American