Melt in Your Mouth: Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
New & Improved Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
If you are looking for an easy, flavorful dinner that the whole family will love, you have to try these Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches! Tender, slow-cooked beef is piled onto a hoagie bun with melted Swiss cheese and served with a rich au jus for dipping. Even better, most of the work is done by your slow cooker!
French Dip sandwiches have been a favorite of mine ever since my mom introduced me to them when I was a child. So, when I discovered early in my marriage that my husband had never had one, I obviously had to rectify that immediately.
And, of course, he loved them too.
That mutual love of French Dip sandwiches was actually what prompted me to learn how to make them at home in the first place. Over the years, they have become one of those meals that everyone in our family gets excited about.
A New & Improved French Dip Recipe
I originally shared my Crock Pot French Dip Sandwich recipe here on The Quiet Grove years ago. At the time, my family loved it, and it became my go-to way of making French Dip sandwiches at home.
But recipes have a way of evolving.
Over the years I have experimented with different ingredients and methods, and recently I started making my French Dip sandwiches a little differently.
The verdict from my family was unanimous: the new version is even better!
After making it several times—and getting the family stamp of approval each time—I knew it was time to give my original recipe a much-needed update.
This new and improved version starts by searing the roast in butter and garlic before slow cooking it over sliced onions in a flavorful au jus and beef broth mixture. The result is incredibly tender, flavorful beef with plenty of delicious au jus left in the Crock Pot for dipping.
And really, isn't dipping the sandwich half the fun?
What Kind of Roast Should You Use for French Dip Sandwiches?
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it is pretty forgiving when it comes to the cut of beef you use.
I have made these French Dip sandwiches using different cuts of roast, including leaner cuts, and they have turned out delicious every time. Since the meat cooks low and slow for several hours, it becomes tender enough to easily shred before serving.
So, if your grocery store doesn't have the exact cut you normally buy—or another roast happens to be on sale—you can still make this recipe work.
Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches
These easy Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches feature tender, slow-cooked shredded beef piled onto hoagie buns with melted Swiss cheese and served with a rich, flavorful au jus for dipping. A family-tested and approved slow cooker dinner that's packed with flavor!
Ingredients
- 3-5 Pounds Beef roast
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1 packet Kinder's Au Jus Gravy Mix , Y
- 3 cups water (for preparing the au jus mix)
- 1 can beef broth
- 4 additional cups water
- Hogie Buns
- Sliced Swiss Cheese
Instructions
1. Prepare the onions.
Slice one medium onion and spread the slices across the bottom of your Crock Pot.
2. Sear the roast.
Season your roast with salt and black pepper.
Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Sauté the garlic briefly in the melted butter.
Add the roast to the skillet and sear it in the garlic butter mixture, turning it so you get a nice sear on the outside.
Don't skip this step! It only takes a few extra minutes, and that garlic butter adds so much flavor to the finished beef.
3. Add everything to the Crock Pot.
Place the seared roast on top of the sliced onions in your Crock Pot.
Don't leave that delicious garlic butter behind! Pour the remaining butter and garlic mixture from the skillet over the roast.
Prepare one packet of Kinder's Au Jus Gravy Mix with the required 3 cups of water and pour it into the Crock Pot.
Add one can of beef broth followed by an additional 4 cups of water.
4. Slow cook the roast.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
After the first hour, turn the Crock Pot to LOW and continue cooking for another 6–8 hours, or until the beef is tender and easily pulls apart.
5. Shred the beef.
Carefully remove the roast from the Crock Pot and shred the meat using two forks.
Remove the cooked onions as well and set them aside if you want to add them to your sandwiches.
And don't throw away the liquid left in the Crock Pot—that is your delicious au jus!
How to Assemble Your French Dip Sandwiches
Pile the shredded beef onto a hoagie bun and top it with Swiss cheese.
You can also add some of the tender onions from the Crock Pot if you like them on your sandwich.
For extra-melty cheese, place the assembled sandwiches under the broiler for a minute or two, just until the cheese melts and the bread is lightly toasted. Just make sure to watch them closely because they can go from perfectly toasted to burnt very quickly!
Ladle some of the warm au jus from the Crock Pot into individual small bowls and serve alongside the sandwiches for dipping.
Then dig in!
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that the cooking liquid becomes the dipping sauce, so you don't have to make a separate au jus after the beef is finished.
The roast, onions, garlic butter, beef broth, and au jus seasoning all cook together for hours, creating a flavorful broth that is perfect for dipping your finished sandwich.
And if your family is anything like mine, you'll want plenty of it!
An Easy Family Dinner Worth the Wait
These Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches aren't a last-minute dinner since the roast needs plenty of time to become tender, but the actual hands-on preparation is incredibly simple.
After searing the meat and adding everything to the Crock Pot, you can pretty much leave it alone for the rest of the day.
By dinnertime, you have tender shredded beef, flavorful onions, and plenty of au jus ready to turn into delicious sandwiches.
My original Crock Pot French Dip recipe served our family well for years, but this new and improved version has officially replaced it.
It has been made, tested, and enthusiastically approved by my family multiple times—and I have to agree with them. This version is definitely better!
If you love French Dip sandwiches as much as we do, give this recipe a try. Just don't forget to serve plenty of au jus on the side for dipping!
If you liked this recipe, then you might like these also: (click on the photos to go to the recipes)
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