These Easy Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches are as simple as adding the ingredients to your slow cooker and letting it infuse your house with the intoxicating aroma of beef simmering in a richly seasoned au jus until it reaches mouthwatering perfection.
There is something about the aroma of a crock pot wafting through the air as the snow falls outside your window. Am I right? Crock pots are great during summer because they won't heat up your kitchen on sultry days, but they really encapsulate the idealistic winter day when a comforting meal is spitting and sputtering away in a bath of bubbling broth.
Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
During the heart of January, nothing will quite warm up your house like the smell of this easy Crock Pot French Dip cooking on your countertop! And the wait is certainly worth it, the hours transform a simple chuck roast into succulent shreds of flavor-infused beef. Perfect for dunking in a seasoned au jus broth!
There are two ways you can make this: An authentic French Dip Sandwich is made with thinly sliced beef. However, the easier way is just to let the beef continue to cook in the crock pot until it is easily shreddable. This way is easier because you don't have to monitor the meat to make sure you carve it before it begins to fall apart.
Needless to say, you will need a slow cooker to make these Crock Pot French Dip sandwiches. When buying a slow cooker there are only a couple features I look for: Does it have high, low, and keep warm? And if you plan on bringing it to pot-lucks it is nice to have a latching lid. Beyond that, I see no reason to get overly extravagant with your purchase.
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Best Cheese for French Dip Sandwiches
A mild and creamy cheese is preferred for French Dip Sandwiches, with Provolone cheese being the best. Mozzarella cheese and Monterey Jack cheese would both be acceptable substitutions if needed. Stay away from strongly flavored cheeses like sharp cheddar which will mask the flavors of your 'jus'.
Best Cut of Beef for These Sandwiches
If you are thinly slicing the beef for an authentic French Dip Sandwich, I would recommend using rump roast. However, a less expensive chuck roast is ideal for a shredded Frech Dip Sandwich in the slow cooker. As it cooks the slow cooker will slowly break down the tough cut of meat into delectably tender morsels perfect for piling high on a French roll.
What is Au Jus?
Au Jus literally means, "with juice". All of the best French Dip recipes will call for dunking the sandwich in the cooking liquid. It's what makes a French Dip a French DIP.
Beer, condensed onion soup, and beef consomme combine to make an exceptionally flavorful jus for dipping. Even better, when using a chuck roast for Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches the fat will create a more luxurious dipping liquid as it renders out.
Best French Dip Bun
Since a French Dip is obviously dipped, you need a bun that can withstand a bit of liquid without completely falling apart. For this reason, you will want to stay away from buns that feel excessively light an airy. A small French Baguette is a great choice for this sandwich or even a chewy hoagie roll.
What to Serve with French Dip Sandwiches?
Any decent greasy-spoon diner will offer to serve you french fries with your French dip sandwich, but don't forget about baked sweet potato fries for a flavorful twist. Alternatively, you can go with a lighter side such as my Kale and Broccoli Salad, or simply potato chips for a hassle-free option.
More Slow Cooker Sandwich Recipes
Easy Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef roast (rump roast for slicing or chuck roast for shredding)
- 10.5 oz can beef consomme (found by condensed soups)
- 10.5 oz can condensed French onion soup
- 12 oz Guiness beer
- 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt to taste
Sandwich
- 6 French rolls
- 6 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Add beef and all liquid/seasoning ingredients to the crock pot and set on high.
- If you prefer to slice the beef, cook 3-4 hours, then remove beef from crock pot while still slightly firm and slice very thinly.
- If you prefer shredded beef (easier), cook for 5 hours and shred with forks when tender, removing chunks of fat.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove meat from crock pot, reserving juices, and pile meat on buns, topped with cheese.
- Bake buns in the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted and buns warm.
- Serve immediately with reserved juices (au jus) for dipping.
Video
Notes
Nutritional Information
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Jessi
Can you freeze the leftover beef and au jus?
Fox Valley Foodie
Absolutely!
Natalie Sue Case
We made this delicious recipe with a local amber beer and we cooked on low for about 10 hours. Turned out so delicious, we are making it again for Christmas Dinner! Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Steffani
I used a Guinness Blonde, hoping for same good outcome.
Deana
This was GREAT!!! Thank you, this week be a regular at our home!!
Carie
Made this for the first time with a chuck roast, didn't have any beer and picked up dry onion soup, so I just used 32oz of beef consomme and a dry packet of the onion soup. It was delicious! Brought some to my brother and he said it was the best. Making it now with a rump roast to slice. Hope it turns out as well as the first time!
Megan
These were so good! There is only two of us so I bought a 2lb blade roast but did a full recipe otherwise. Couldn’t find condensed French onion soup so I just bought a can of French onion and reduced it in a saucepan. Let it cook for 4 hours and I was able to shred it! Bought a loaf of garlic bread and served it on that topped with jalapeño Monterey Jack cheese. My boyfriend LOVED it! So happy we now have another recipe to add to my collection.
Courtney
Would Havarti be a good cheese for these?
Fox Valley Foodie
Absolutely!
Val
We love this recipe!! I used a 4# rump roast and browned it first in cast iron simply because in my mind any recipe is always better when cast iron is involved. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly as written using the low setting version on the crock pot. I buttered the inside of the rolls and since my hubby is from Buffalo and misses beef on weck sandwiches I brushed the top of the rolls with egg whites and sprinkled kosher salt and caraway seeds over them and broiled a minute or two before opening them up to lightly toast. After piling on the roast beef I topped with both provolone cheese and garlic & herb cheese and put it back under the broiler till the cheese was nicely melted but not browned. There was a good amount of savory gravy for dipping. One of my favorite sandwiches is french dip and hubby’s is beef on weck so this recipe was a perfect combination of both and we want to say thank you sharing this delicious winner of a recipe. We are hooked and plan to make this often.
Kim
Hi! How would you make this in a pressure cooker instead of the crock pot?
Amy
Great Recipe, thanx!!!
Typo: "sauce" in you ingredients
I also added a splash of Kitcken Boquet for a more attractive Au Jus! Garlic is a great add also!
Amy L.
Fox Valley Foodie
Thanks for catching that. I try to make one mistake a year just to stay fresh. 😉
Heather
Where did you get your French rolls? All that I can find is a soft hoagie type roll. I want them to be more crusty to soak in the juices. Thanks for any help!
Fox Valley Foodie
I don't remember the exact store, however, it was likely a local grocery store like Festival Foods. I turn to them when I need great fresh bakery options.
Nikki
I love how easy this recipe is and its absolutely delicious! I made the recipe as is and it was perfect. Adding to our list of favorites! Thank you!
Samantha
Made this tonight. Somehow failed to see french onion soup on the ingredients list so I made it without. Still turned out really well my husband really liked it! Thanks for the recipe!
Amy Summers
found this recipe a month or 2 ago and we have made it three times and we love it!
Usually I only use a 2 lb roast. I have a 4lb roast, but we won't need that much since there is only two of us. I don't want to waste french onion soup, beef consome, or beer. Can I put half in a plastic bag and freeze it for a few weeks until we decide to have it again? Thoughts?
Fox Valley Foodie
That should work just fine as long as it all fits in your crock pot!
Claire
This was a HUGE hit at my house. My husband said it tasted like my mom's cooking (the highest compliment at our house) and he wanted seconds. I love it and it was soon easy! Any tips on storing and reheating? Thank you again for this great recipe! Hit the spot!
Fox Valley Foodie
I'm glad you like it! I store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week and simply reheat servings in the microwave as needed.
Gma-cathy
Have you tried this recipe in an instant pot yet? If so , any conversions?
🙂
Ang
I have a 2lb roast instead of 4lb.. should I cut the other ingredients in half or keep the same??
Fox Valley Foodie
Cutting the recipe in half is perfect. Though quite honestly, even if you didn't the recipe would still turn out great.
Jt
Can you substitute the beer with something else??
Fox Valley Foodie
Low sodium beef broth would be a good substitute.
Jalesa
I don't have that kind of beer on hand will coors light work the same??
Fox Valley Foodie
Coors Light won't have as deep of a flavor, but any beer will still work well.
jackie
what beer would you suggest if guinness is not available?
Fox Valley Foodie
Any stout would be ideal.
Ashley
Is this cooking on high or low? I'm assuming high if only 3-5 hours?
Fox Valley Foodie
The recipe calls for cooking on high, however if you decide to cook on low expect it to take longer than 5 hours. Both will work well.
Maricruz
How long on low?
Fox Valley Foodie
I don't typically cook it on low, so I haven't timed it out. You just need to keep cooking it until it is tender, this will take a couple more hours on low.
Shawna
Hi there!
I just wanted to say thank you for this super easy, truly delicious recipe! It not only tastes great, but it's flexible. Ive tried it with and without the beer. While tasting great, both ways, there's something about adding beer that's better. I never have Guinness on hand, so I sub Hefe. Sometimes I add mushrooms, and we tried pepper jack cheese once, not bad too. I know I don't need to, but I season the roast and quickly brown it first. I like to put a little garlic butter on the rolls and toast them before loading the, and baking them for a few minutes. After I pull the meat out to pull it apart, I add in a little cornstarch slurry to give the au jus a little body. I just put the crockpot up to high while the rolls are heating in the oven.
Again thank you for sharing your delicious recipe, we make it all the time. i foster puppies for a local rescue, and need easy dishes that taste great. This fits the bill!
Fox Valley Foodie
Browning the roast is always a smart idea! I didn't list that in the instruction because I wanted to keep the recipe hassle free for everyone, but you will ALWAYS add more flavor when browning meat. Thanks for the comment, I'm thrilled you love it!