Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches are all about tender beef, melted provolone, and rich au jus. This easy French Dip sandwich recipe in the crock pot uses an economical chuck roast simmered in an au jus made from simple pantry ingredients until it’s fall-apart tender.
TL;DR (Recipe Summary)
What it is: Easy Crock Pot French Dip sandwiches with tender beef, melted provolone, and rich homemade au jus.
Why you’ll love it: Slow cooker simple, budget-friendly, and fall-apart juicy—perfect for sandwiches or sliders.
How to make it: Sear a chuck roast, add onions, garlic, broth, soy, and Worcestershire, then simmer low and slow until tender. Slice or shred the beef and serve on toasted buns with melted cheese.
Jump to the Recipe Card or continue to read for details and options.
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Featured Comment by Darice:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Dr. Dan you've done it again! These French Dip Sandwiches are amazing and so easy to prepare."
🐄 Ingredients
- Chuck roast is the classic choice—economical, well-marbled, and perfect for shredding or slicing once tender. Other roasts like rump, bottom round, or tri-tip can work but are leaner, less juicy, and stay firmer, so they slice better than they shred.
- Aromatics – Onion and garlic add depth to the au jus. Slice the onions thin for the best final texture.
- Beef broth – Go for low-sodium so you can season to taste later.
- Pantry boosters – A splash of soy sauce and Worcestershire enrich the beefy flavor. Black pepper and a pinch of salt round it out.
- Serving – Toasted sub buns or hoagie rolls with provolone are traditional, but Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack all melt beautifully.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
1. Prep and sear the beef: Trim and season the chuck roast, then sear it in a hot skillet.
2. Soften the onions and bloom the garlic: Slice the onion thin, cook until softened, then add garlic briefly.
3. Add everything to the crock pot: Place the roast in the crock pot, add the onions, then pour in the broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire.
The braising liquid becomes the rich au jus for dipping.
4. Slow cook on low: Cook for about 5 hours, then remove the roast, slice across the grain, and return it to the au jus.
5. Finish cooking: Continue simmering until the beef reaches 200°F and is fall-apart tender.
6. Build the sandwiches: Serve the beef sliced or lightly shredded on toasted buns with melted provolone and plenty of au jus for dipping.
👇 Scroll down for the printable recipe card and complete step-by-step photo instructions—or keep reading for tips, options, and serving ideas.
🤔 Make It Right Every Time
- Brown the beef & onions – A quick sear on the roast and caramelizing the onions builds richer flavor. Optional, but worth it.
- Bloom the garlic – Cooking garlic briefly takes away the raw bite and deepens flavor.
- Slice thin, cook again – Cutting the beef across the grain and letting it finish in the au jus helps every piece soak up flavor and stay tender.
- Shred if you prefer – Once the roast hits 200°F or higher, it will shred easily. Great if you want a more “pulled beef” French Dip style.
- Choose the right roast – Chuck roast is ideal. Leaner cuts (rump, bottom round, even tri-tip) may cook through but won’t shred as well—slice them thin instead.
- Cook to temperature, not just time – Bigger roasts need longer. Aim for 200°F for shredding, or slice if it’s tender sooner.
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🐄 Ingredient Options and Variations
- Beef roast – A well-marbled chuck roast is the best choice: economical, juicy, and tender when slow cooked. Other beef roasts like rump, bottom round, or even tri-tip will cook through, but they’re leaner and slice better than they shred.
- Onions – Yellow or white onions both work. Slice them thin for the best texture.
- Cooking liquid – Beef broth is the base. Soy sauce and Worcestershire boost the savory flavor, and the juices from the roast become your au jus for dipping.
- Seasonings – A pinch of oregano or thyme adds depth. Garlic powder can stand in for fresh garlic if needed.
- Cheese – Provolone is classic, but Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack are all good melty options.
🍴 How to Serve French Dip
- Sandwiches or sliders – Pile the beef on toasted hoagie rolls, French bread, or smaller slider buns for parties and game day.
- With au jus – The cooking liquid is your au jus. Serve it hot in small bowls for dipping—it’s half the fun.
- Cheese choices – Provolone is the classic melt, but Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack all work well.
- Sides that fit – French Dip goes great with potato chips, baked French fries, coleslaw, a green salad, or even French Onion Soup.
❄️ What to Do with Leftover French Dip
- Store the shredded beef and au jus separately in airtight containers.
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat gently in a saucepan with the au jus (or extra beef broth) after thawing.
🥪 More Crock Pot Sandwich Recipes
Try these other easy slow cooker favorites:
❓ FAQs
Use a 3-quart or larger crock pot. The roast and liquid should fill no more than about 75% of the pot for even cooking. A 2-quart mini is too small.
Use a mild, melty cheese like provolone, Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack. Mozzarella works too, but avoid strong cheeses like sharp cheddar that can overpower the au jus.
A well-marbled, economical chuck roast is usually the best choice. It becomes tender and juicy after slow cooking and shreds or slices easily.
You can use more premium cuts like prime rib or even tenderloin, but they’re better sliced thin since they don’t melt down the same way. Lean cuts like rump, bottom round, or tri-tip cook through but stay firmer and don’t shred as well.
French Dip is thinly sliced or shredded beef served with au jus for dipping. Italian Beef is also braised but includes Italian herbs and spices for a distinctive flavor.
📖The Recipe Card
Crock Pot French Dip (Easy Slow Cooker Sandwiches)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 2–3 pounds chuck roast
- 2 onions - large sliced
- 4 teaspoons oil for browning
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 2 cups beef broth - low sodium
- ¼ cup soy sauce - low sodium
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- Hoagie buns
- Provolone cheese
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Trim and season a chuck roast. In a skillet with two teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat, sear for about 3 minutes per side. Move to the crock pot
- Add 2 thinly sliced large onions (rings cut in half) to the pan and cook for a few minutes until starting to brown. Then add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and cook for one more minute. Move to the crock pot over the beef.
- Add 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce—mix well.
- Cook on low for 5 hours, then remove meat and slice thinly across the grain (about ½ inch or less).
- Return to the crock pot to cook for 2 more hours until 200° plus.
- Optional: Break up the slices at the end of cooking to make serving easier. Or use as slices.
- To serve, cut hoagie rolls into half and briefly toast. Top the bottom half with meat and provolone cheese—cook under a broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is nicely brown.
- Serve hot with the cooking liquid (au jus) on the side for dipping.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- This is an easy recipe to adjust both in size and taste.
- Avoid a roast with too much connective tissue, which you will need to remove later. The choice of beef is up to you. My favorite is an English-cut chuck roast.
- The crock pot must be big enough for the beef to have some space around it.
- Browning the beef before adding it to the crock pot will add good flavor to the beef.
- Cook and brown the onion a bit before adding it to the crock pot.
- Cut the beef across the grain.
- You can use any cheese you like, but provolone is the classic. But, Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack are alternatives. Avoid strong cheeses like sharp cheddar.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for 3–4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. The au jus should be stored separately from the meat.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally published March 12, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
JM says
To modify this recipe for a Instapot do I still have to remove meat partway through cooking and slice across the grain into ½-inch slices then return to the pot to cook or do I just cook it all at once? How would the times be adjusted?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi JM,
Welcome to the blog.
I'm not an instapot user—I gave my away since I almost never used it. It was just a more fussy way of cooking that I didn't enjoy. I cook to make myself smile. It took the fun away for me. And I needed the storage space.
The slicing is not required. It allows the braising fluid to flavor the center of the roast while making cooking a bit faster and shreeding better. Most recipes do not do the slicing, so you can skip it and deal with any long strands of beef later.
Time of cooking a small roast in the pressure cooker to a good shredding temp of 200° plus is the real question. I have no answer. There should be some specific instapot recipes you can reference.
Sorry, I'm not much help.
Dan
Karen says
Hi Dr. Dan-
I can't tell you how happy I am I found your blog! My dad is a recent widower and wanted to start making crock pot meals this winter, but didn't want the huge recipes. He loves leftovers, but having some smaller recipe alternatives will be great for him.
I'm going to print off all your recipes for him and buy him a smaller crockpot. Here's my question. I have read through many of the recipes and it seems like 3.5 quarts would fit almost all of them, does that seem accurate to you? I like that you have them written so there won't be waste, even if they are a little bigger number of servings. He'd hate having half a jar/can of something left.
Thanks so much in advance!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Karen,
Welcome to the blog.
For years I used a 3.5 quart Cuisinart that is still going strong. So the older, not rewritten, recipes may still say 3.5 quart. Read that as 3 to 4 quart small crock pots. Many of my rewrites also have instructions for 2 quart mini crock pots. I much prefer people get the 3-4 quart size vs the mini since they are much more flexable eliminating waste. You can generally (not always) cook smaller recipes in larger crock pot but they may cook a bit faster. Also, to truly cook a recipe (like raw meat or vegetables) the pot should not be over 75% full.
Hope that helps.
Dan