Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches – Melt in your mouth beef roast cooked in slow cooker with tender onions piled high on top a french roll with swiss cheese. Serve with au jus sauce for absolute perfection.

French Dip Sandwiches, also known as a hot beef sandwich or beef dip, are traditionally served with au jus sauce on a toasted French Roll. You may be wondering what is au jus? Well it literally means “with sauce”. So, it’s just the sauce you serve with your hot sandwich.

If you were cooking the beef roast in the oven, you would make your own au jus on the stove using beef broth and seasonings. However, since we are cooking our beef roast in the slow cooker, we get to skip that step. Our method will produce au jus during the cooking process. And trust me, it is mouthwatering delicious!

Once the beef roast is finished cooking in the slow cooker, it will be pull-apart tender. This is exactly what you want for this hot sandwich. Pile the beef with onions on top of a french roll that has been lightly toasted in a skillet on the stove. Toasting the french roll is a step you do not want to skip!

Next, you’ll place sliced swiss or provolone cheese on top of the roast beef. To finish the sandwich off, place under the broiler to melt the cheese until bubbly. Now you are ready to dip that hot delicious sandwich directly into the au jus!

We served our Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches with homemade crispy french fries and a side salad. I will link some of my favorite recipes to serve with these French Dip’s for you below. Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients you need to make the most delicious French Dip:

• Chuck Roast – You will need a 2 pound chuck roast for this recipe. It doesn’t need to be exactly 2 pounds but close to that amount is good. Look for one with as little fat as possible. However, excess fat can be trimmed off.
• Red Onion – You will need one large red onion or equivalent to 2 cups thinly sliced. You can also use white, yellow or sweet onion but I do prefer red in this recipe.
• Garlic Cloves – Fresh garlic is best in this recipe.
• White Wine Vinegar – If you don’t have white wine vinegar, you can also use red wine vinegar.
• Worcestershire Sauce – This will be used in the sauce.
• Tomato Sauce – This will go into making the sauce to cook your roast in.
• Beef Broth – You will need 1 cup of beef broth.
• Salt – I used sea salt in this recipe, but you can use any salt you have on hand. This is used to season the chuck roast.
• Black Pepper – About a teaspoon of black pepper to season the chuck roast.
• Thyme – I used 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme, but you can also use 1/2 tsp dried thyme.
• French Rolls – You can also use hoagie rolls, dutch crunch rolls and more!
• Swiss Cheese – You may also use provolone, white cheddar or muenster cheese.
• Mayonnaise or Butter – To spread on your French rolls prior to toasting in a skillet.

*Full measurements and instructions listed below.

Tools to have on hand for this recipe:

• Slow Cooker / Crockpot – To cook the roast in for your sandwiches.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons – To properly measure your ingredients.
• Chef Knife + Cutting Board – For chopping the veggies.
• Skillet – To toast your French Roll.

How to make Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches:

In a small bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, beef broth, minced garlic, thyme, worcestershire sauce and white wine vinegar.

Trim any excess fat off of your chuck roast. Salt and pepper all sides of the roast.

In the bottom of your slow cooker, add half of the sliced red onions. Pour half the sauce over the onions. Place chuck roast on top of the onions then evenly sprinkle remaining onions on top. Pour remaining sauce on top.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours. When ready, roast will be fork tender.

Spread mayonnaise (or butter) on rolls and place cut side down on a hot skillet until nice and golden. Place rolls open on a baking sheet and on one side of the roll, pile up the beef. Top beef with Swiss cheese and place under the broiler for about a minute until cheese is melted.

Serve with “au jus” juices from the slow cooker in a small dipping bowl with your sandwich. Enjoy!

**Store leftovers completely cooled in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

**Pro Tip! IF YOUR SAUCE TURNS OUT GREASY! (chuck roast is a fatty cut of meat), separate sauce from pot roast and pour into a tall clear container. Place in the fridge to allow the grease to float to the top of the container. It will lightly harden when separating from broth making it easier to separate. Then, scoop or ladle out the grease. Reheat in a small saucepan on the stove.

Side dishes that pair perfectly with hot sandwiches:

• Shoestring Fries – Thin and crispy baked shoestring french fries make for a delicious side dish or appetizer! Serve with your favorite fry sauces.
• Baked Potato Wedges – Seasoned potato wedges baked to golden perfection are the perfect appetizer or side dish. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces!
• Creamy Macaroni Salad – Super creamy and delicious Classic American Macaroni Salad is the perfect side dish for cookouts and picnics! Made with fresh peppers, onions, celery and pickle in a sweet creamy sauce.
• Classic American Potato Salad – The perfect side dish for your upcoming summer BBQ’s! Made with hard boiled eggs, this classic potato salad is creamy and delicious!

If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few more sandwich recipes I think you’ll love:

• Meatball Sub Sandwiches – Made with flavorful homemade meatballs with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses on top of a french roll.
• Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches – Made with baked parmesan chicken, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce on toasty bread!
• Big Mac Sliders The most delicious copycat Big Mac recipe in mini slider form! Layered just like a Big Mac with burger sauce, lettuce, beef patties, cheese, pickles and onions with three bun layers!
• Fried Chicken Sliders – The most delicious baked fried chicken sliders served on toasted Hawaiian rolls with dill pickle chips, shredded lettuce and sriracha aioli.