Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches
Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches are one of my favorite slow cooker recipes to make for a weeknight dinner! These are made with seasoned chuck roast, beef broth, beer, onions, and cooked on low all day. Build sandwiches on bread with melted provolone cheese!
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Easy French Dip Recipe
Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches are an easy and delicious dinner recipe. This is something that my family enjoys year round, but they really hit the spot on a cool fall or winter day! This recipe is really easy to throw together in the morning and you get to come home to a house that smells amazing with dinner ready to go!
Cooking the shredded beef in the slow cooker all day on low makes the meat so juicy and tender! The shredded beef is so good on sandwiches, but it’s also delicious served over mashed potatoes. This meal is the ultimate comfort food!
If you are looking for more easy and delicious dinner recipes, you’ll love my Crockpot Cube Steaks, Crockpot Street Corn Shredded Beef Tacos, Crockpot Beef Stew, Garlic Bread French Dips, and Crockpot Shredded Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches!
Ingredients
- Chuck Roast
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- Butter
- Onion sliced
- Minced garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Beer
- Au Jus gravy packet
- Beef broth
- Sub rolls
- Provolone cheese
Make Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches
This recipe takes minimal prep work and in my opinion that is key for a go to slow cooker meal.
To make it you’ll just need to grab a 3-4 pound chuck roast and season it on all sides with salt pepper and garlic powder. I like using a blend to keep this easy, but you can use whatever seasoning you have in your spice cabinet.
Next, you’ll need to slice up an onion, gather the rest of the ingredients, and you’re ready to get cooking.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and drop in a couple tablespoons of butter. Once that’s melted carefully place your seasoned chuck roast into the pan.
Sear the roast for about two minutes on each side to form a nice crust. Searing helps add great flavor to the roast and the gravy mixture you are making!
Once the roast is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan and place it into the bottom of your Crockpot.
Lower the pan to about medium heat. Add your sliced onion, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, 12 ounces of beer, beef broth, and an Au Jus packet.
Stir that all together making sure to scrape all that good flavor out of the bottom of your skillet and allow it to come to a simmer.
Once it’s bubbling and everything is incorporated just pour it over your roast in the crockpot.
Let the roast cook on low heat for about 8 hours or until the beef is nice and tender and you’re ready to build your sandwiches!
Serve Crockpot French Dips
Once the roast is tender remove it from the crockpot with two forks discarding any extra fat.
Add the shredded beef back to the crockpot and stir well.
Build your sandwiches on your favorite toasted bread with provolone cheese.
I like to put the sandwiches on a sheet pan and put them under the broiler in the oven just long enough to toast the bread.
Next, I add the meat and provolone cheese and place it back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.
My favorite bread to use is the Italian bread from Sam’s Club, hoagie rolls from a local bakery, or I buy bread from Jimmy John’s.
Serve the sandwiches with the extra Au Jus from the crockpot. This meal is great with fries, homemade loaded potatoes wedges, or baked macaroni and cheese. I also like serving a Caesar salad with these shredded beef sandwiches.
The leftover meat stores and reheats really well! Store the meat in the refrigerator in an air tight container. Reheat in the microwave until warm.
You will love this recipe because it’s delicious, such a comforting dinner, and sure to be a hit!
Tips for Success
- Make sure the chuck roast is completely thawed for best cooking results.
- Searing the chuck roast before adding it into the Crockpot produces the best flavor and helps to tenderize the meat.
- If you don’t want to use beer, you could use more beef broth.
- I cook my roasts on low for 8 hours, so the meat is nice and tender.
- Cooking times may vary depending on size of the chuck roast.
- My favorite bread for this recipe is the Italian bread from Sam’s Club or I like to buy bread from Jimmy John’s.
- I prefer to use Chuck Roast, but just about any roast will work.
- Any beer will work for this recipe. The darker the beer the more flavor it will give. I usually use a Lighter beer because that is usually what we have in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cook this recipe on high instead of low?
Technically you can cook roast on high for less time, but I don’t really recommend it! I prefer cooking roast on low for about 8 hours to ensure the meat is completely tender.
What other roast can I use to make French Dip sandwiches?
I prefer chuck roast because they make a tender, juicy shredded beef sandwich, however, you can use different types of roast. Rump roast, bottom round roast, or a shoulder roast would also work well for this recipe.
What beer is best to use in French Dip Sandwiches?
Honestly you can use just about any beer you may already have! I generally use a lighter beer because it is what I have on hand. The darker the beer you use the more the beer flavor will come through in the recipe.
Can I make Crockpot French Dips without the beer?
Yes, you can make these sandwiches without the beer. Simply use more beef broth instead of the beer. The beer does add some flavor, but they are still delicious without it.
Can I freeze extra French Dip meat?
Yes, the shredded beef freezes really well! Place the extra meat in a freezer bag with a little bit of the juices from the crockpot and place in your freezer.
To reheat the meat you can let it partially thaw in the refrigerator the night before. Reheat the meat in your crockpot on low or you can place it in a pot on the stove over medium heat. Add a little bit of extra beef broth if needed.
More Family Dinner Recipes
- Garlic Bread French Dips
- Crockpot French Onion Meatballs
- Hamburger Steaks with Mushroom Gravy
- Crockpot Cube Steaks
- Crockpot Swedish Meatballs
- Easy Chicken and Gravy
- Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti
If you try these Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches I hope you love them! If you make the recipe please leave me a recipe rating or save this to your Pinterest account!
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
- 1 Stove
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb Chuck Roast
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 12 oz beer
- 1 package of Au Jus gravy
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- Sub rolls
- Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Season the chuck roast on all sides with salt, pepper, and garlic.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear chuck roast on all sides.
- Put the seared chuck roast in a crockpot.
- Add sliced onions, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, beer, beef broth, and Au Jus packet to the hot skillet stirring and letting it simmer.
- Pour the onion and gravy mixture over chuck roast in the crock pot and let cook on low for about 8 hours. Shred the meat and discard any extra fat.
- Next, toast the bread. I like to place the bread on a sheet pan in the oven at 400 degrees F for a few minutues.
- Build sandwiches on toasted sub rolls with the meat and provolone cheese. Put them back in the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Searing the chuck roast before adding it into the crockpot helps brown the meat and adds great flavor to the meat and the gravy mixture.
- If you don’t want to use beer, you could use more beef broth instead.
- I cook my roasts on low for 8 hours, so the meat is nice and tender.
- Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the chuck roast.
- I prefer to use Chuck Roast, but just about any roast will work.
- Any beer will work for this recipe. The darker the beer the more flavor it will give. I usually use a Lighter beer because that is usually what we have in the refrigerator.
Love your recipes! So simple and amazing payout with flavor! Any chance we could make this in Slow cooker on high….? Or would meat be less tender?
Appreciate it! I haven’t tested this recipe by cooking it on high, so I can’t say for sure! I feel like it could end up tougher if cooked on high.
I have cooked that type of meat on high before and it came out great…took about 3 1/2 to 4 hours to fall apart. The main trick is browning it in the cast iron, my grandfather taught me that’s what holds the juices in to keep it tender. Hope that helps
What kind of beer would be best to use?
I just made this using Sam Adams Winter Lager, which is a seasonal offering this time of year. The flavor in the meat and the au jus sauce was outstanding. Luke’s recipe is absolutely fire! I made a double batch using two roasts with the intent of freezing one batch, which I did in individual servings in souper cubes. But my family keeps asking me to thaw another block and they’ve eaten six servings of french dip in 2 weeks, declaring it “better than any restaurant”. I have no more frozen french dips! 🙁
So this recipe is a keeper and I would go with any lager style beer, based on my one time making it.
So glad to hear you and your family liked it!
I’m making this recipe in a few days. But reading your comment made it so much more exciting and will be using the Samuel Adam’s winter lager like you did. Cannot wait to try this. 😋
I was wondering the same thing. Think I’m going to try a stout beer.
This is amazing! The flavor is great. New favorite French dip recipe!!!
Great on a cold day.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make
Looks amazing! Would you adjust your cooking time for a 2lb Chuck Roast?
This looks amazing. I’m going to use an Eye Round roast as thats what I have. I hope it works. I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they’re always good. I especially like your version of Alice Springs Chicken…..it’s one of our favorites!
This was delicious with the Eye of Round roast. Cooked it for 8 hours and sliced thin across the grain. My new French Dip recipe!
Can i use havarti or ementhal gouda cheese instead?
Which air fryer do you use? This recipe looks amazing and will try soon!!
These are delicious. Didn’t have much left overs except a small little container which I made a Colby jack quesadilla for lunch the next day. It was a big hit. Thank you!
Can this be done in a ninja foodie air pressure cooker also? Looks delicious 😋
Absolutely delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Glad you liked it!
Made these for supper and lunch the next day! Perfection!! Great recipe!
DELICIOUS!!!!!!
Glad you liked it!
Just made this for my family to enjoy while watching the Steelers game. Served with chimichurri. Roast was 4 pounds – I think it was bottom round. I didn’t have an au jus packet so I found a recipe to make my own. Yum! Used Yuengling lager. There were no leftovers!!
Ugh. I used the wrong kind of beer and the sauce is a bit bitter. Any ideas how to calm it down a bit? It was my fault, I used an IPA. It’s not terrible but I know I can fix it. The meat turned out wonderful. I saw some ideas online. I should have used a stout like the notes said.
These are in our regular rotation, so good and simple to make. I love how you make your recipes with minimal steps…right up my alley, haha
Happy to hear that!
I have made this several times now. Highly recommend. I go to a local sub place and buy the sub buns there. Good bread makes a difference!!! Love love love this recipe. I used Yuengling beer last time and it was really good. Thanks for the recipe.
Followed the recipe except I didn’t have an onion. I used a shallot and some onion powder. Used the liquid from the crockpot as au jus, after straining the fat. Thanks for sharing!
Made it today only thing I did different was two onions and didn’t put them in until the last hour turned out great.
Going to make this tomorrow
For sure
Making this today – my house smells yummy.
Also made a homemade creamy horseradish to put on the buns
This was so delicious! I’ve made it twice in one month. Easy to follow directions and ingredients that I had on hand. So thankful that I came across this page!
I’ve been making these for a couple years and everyone loves them. I wanted to make them for my daughter for after her baby is born. Can I make ahead and freeze it? Has anyone tried that?
Tastes great and EASY!!
Glad you liked them! Thank you!
Great recipes! I’ve cooked it on high in half the time and it came out good, but if I had more time I’d cook it slower.
I used Yuengling beer and red wine instead of an au jus packet, season to taste.
We LOVE this recipe. So easy, so tasty and keep this in our monthly rotation. The tip to use day old bread from jimmy johns as the sub rolls was genius!
So happy to hear that! The Jimmy Johns hack has been one of our favorites for years!! haha
I’ve made this one a couple times and it’s a family favorite. It’s really ash to make, my picky eater loves it and it makes a lot of leftovers