Melt-in-your-mouth French dip sandwiches are a casual dinner classic. One of your favorite recipe dishes can now be easily made at home with pantry ingredients and a crockpot.
Introduction
Everybody loves French dip with a nice bowl of au jus on the side for dipping. When my wife suggested it, I knew how I wanted to cook it— a nicely marbelized beef roast in the au jus until tender.
Start with a nicely trimmed beef roast. Brown to get some Maillard reaction, then cook in a crock pot with caramelized onions and seasoning to make the au jus. Slice about 2 hours before done to get more flavor and finish cooking for ultra-tender, wonderfully tasty meat.
Serve on a hoagie bun after topping with cheese and browning under the broiler. Finally, serve au jus which happens to be the cooking liquid.
👨🍳How to this recipe
- Trim a beef roast of trimmable fat, then sear over medium-high heat.
- Prep onions, then brown over medium-high heat. Do not stop at just clearing.
- Add all ingredients to the crock pot.
- Cook on low for a total of 7 hours but 5 hours into cooking, remove the beef roast, cut across the grain, and then return to the crock pot to finish cooking.
- At the end of cooking, you can break up the meat some to make serving easier.
- Serve on toasted hoagie rolls with melted cheese along with au jus for dipping.
🐄Ingredients for this recipe
The Beef Roast
Your beef roast needs to have good marbling to be tender. And nicely trimmed, so you don't have to pick out uneatable things. Two to three pounds will do nicely.
The beef choice is up to you. Sirloin and eye of round are commonly recommended but may be a bit lean. A nice chuck roast is a good choice. My favorite is an English cut chuck roast.
Take the time to brown the meat; although many of the crock pot French dip recipes skip these steps—it will add flavor.
The Onions
The onions can be standard yellow or white onions. But, instead of chopping the onions, cut them into rings and then cut them in half.
While many recipes do not precook the onions, just like the beef, cooking to the point of some browning will have a good effect on taste.
The Au Jus
The au jus is used for cooking the beef in the crock pot in addition to a dipping sauce. It combines a good quality beef broth, caramelized onions, and garlic. The soy sauce and Worchishire sauce are added to enhance the beef taste.
❓FAQs
Use a mild creamy cheese for French Dip Sandwiches like provolone, which is my best choice.
Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese would also be good choices but avoid intensely flavored cheeses like sharp cheddar, which will mask the flavor of your sandwich.
The beef must be cut across the grain to make it tenderer and easier to shred after it is cooked a few hours more. You don't want long strands of beef.
Some cuts of beef are very lean and are harder to shred. But cutting across the grain and cooking in the liquid will usually help the issue.
Store meat and the au jus separately. Good in refrigerator for 3-4 days. Also, it should freeze well for about three months.
📖Sandwich Recipes
Oven Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
What to Do With Leftover Beef Tenderloin? Philly Sandwiches
30 Minute Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Start with a nicely trimmed, well-marbleized beef roast—salt and pepper to taste.
Over medium-high heat, add two teaspoons of oil, and when hot, brown the roast for about 3 minutes per side. Then move the roast to the crock pot.
Add two large sliced onions with the rings cut in half to the pan and cook for a few minutes until browning some. Then add two cloves of garlic and cook one more minute. Move to the crock pot.
Add two cups beef broth, ¼ cup soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce—mix well.
Cook on low for 7 hours but at the 5-hour mark, remove meat and slice across the grain into ½ inch slices.
Return to the crock pot to cook for the final 2 hours.
Break up the slices a little at the end of cooking to make serving easier.
To serve, cut hoagie rolls into half. Top the bottom half with meat and provolone cheese—Cook under a broiler for a few minutes until cheese is nicely brown. Also, toast the tops of buns for a brief time.
Serve with the cooking solution as au jus for dipping.
📝Full Recipe
Crock Pot French Dip with Au Jus
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds beef roast
- 2 onions - large sliced
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 2 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- Hoagie buns
- Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Start with a nicely trimmed, well-marbleized beef roast—salt and pepper to taste.
- Over medium-high heat, add two teaspoons of oil, and when hot, brown the roast for about 3 minutes per side. Then move the roast to the crock pot.
- Add two large sliced onions with the rings cut in half to the pan and cook for a few minutes until browning some. Then add two cloves of garlic and cook one more minute. Move to the crock pot.
- Add two cups beef broth, ¼ cup soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce—mix well.
- Cook on low for 7 hours but at the 5-hour mark, remove meat and slice across the grain into ½ inch slices.
- Return to the crock pot to cook for the final 2 hours.
- Break up the slices a little at the end of cooking to make serving easier.
- To serve, cut hoagie rolls into half. Top the bottom half with meat and provolone cheese—Cook under a broiler for a few minutes until cheese is nicely brown. Also, toast the tops of buns for a brief time.
- Serve with the cooking solution as au jus for dipping.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- An easy recipe to adjust both in size and taste.
- Avoid a roast that has too much connective tissue that you will need to sort out later. The beef choice is up to you. Sirloin and eye of round are commonly recommended but a nice chuck roast is a good choice. My favorite is an English cut chuck roast.
- The crock pot needs to 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.
- Use the cheese of your choice, but provolone cheese is my first choice, followed by mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese. But avoid strong cheeses like sharp cheddar.
- Store leftovers refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Store the au jus separate from the meat.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally published March 12, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Jenn
My family LOVED this recipe!!! My husband is the cook and is amazing! Me, I cook to survive, and hate cooking and am not very comfortable in the kitchen, lol. I made this for Father’s Day and everyone loved it! But my husband who is a chef and loves food raved about this one crock pot I did!!! Still talks about it and Ive only done it twice!! Making again right now for the weekend! Easy and delicious! I didn’t change anything other than having a heavy hand in measuring which I think was perfect! A must!!!!
DrDan
Hi Jenn,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the late reply.
Glad it works well for you. I do love a good French dip.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Tammi
If I had a can of beef broth and a can of French onion soup, do you think this would still work?
DrDan
Hi Tammi,
Welcome to the blog.
Since French onion soup is mostly beef broth, I'm sure it would work. If it is a condensed version, add the can and half the suggested water. If not condensed, just add it all.
Dan
Heather
This recipe was easy and turned out great! I served it over cheese grits instead of hoagies. A new favorite! Thank you!
Tosha
Do you think it would turn out okay if i prep everything the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight to start in the morning?
DrDan
I would think it would be fine. But do not store in the crockpot ceramic insert. They tend to crack when going from refrigerator to applying heat.
Dan
Brooke
Thanks Dr. Dan! This was to die for good, and beyond easy to make! My husband was craving a great french dip and Pinterest lead me to your site. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Loved every bite!
Candy
I made this with a chuck roast and it came out somewhat tough. What cut of beef do you use. Flavor was great.
DrDan
Hi Candy,
Pictured is a nicely marbled top round roast. An eye of round would be good also. Make sure there is a nice distribution of fat in the meat. You do not want one of those all lean cuts.
Nancy
I'm wondering what to do with the onions and garlic after the roast is removed from the crockpot. Are they discarded or does one put them on the sandwich?
DrDan
I just leave them in the dipping solution. You can of course eat them. If put on the sandwich, it would be a bit messy to handle but will add some taste. My wife always eats the dipping solution when done with a spoon including the onions like a French onion soup.
Galen
I am going to be making this tomorrow and I'm very excited. After making the french dip sandwiches I know I will have some leftover meat and wondered if you had any other ideas on what the meat could be used for in addition to sandwiches. I am a novice and I appreciate your blogs.
DrDan
Mix with a little salsa and it would make some very nice nachos....
Dan
Hanna
Do you tink this recipe can be cooked on high for less hours? Im trying it now but 7 hours is a long time! Haha
DrDan
This is one of those very forgiving recipes. Try cutting all times in half for high. When you slice the beef, see how well it will shred at that point. A half hour after cutting is needed for taste and moisture but you might need longer if it is not tender enough.
Jamie
I made this the other day and wanted to come back and say that this is a fantastic recipe! My boyfriend and I both love french dip, and we order it often when we go out to eat. He said this is the best au jus he's ever had. This recipe is a keeper and I'll be making it again for sure!
Love your site and blog and am looking forward to trying out other recipes on here.
DrDan
Hi Jamie,
Welcome to the site and thanks for the note.
Dan
Galen
Hi. I am trying to save this post, and many others of yours, to Pinterest but it won't allow me to? Any ideas why? I understand you have recently changed website companies? Thanks for any help you can be.
Galen Allen
DrDan
Thanks Galen, I looked at it and did some troubleshooting and I get it to work in Safari but nothing else. I need to do more but there are 5000 people per hour right now (peak time of day) and I will disrupt them. I will look at it in the morning and probably need to talk with the developer.
Dan
Melodie
This is a fabulous recipe. Straightforward, basic AND delicious. I made it last night and it couldn't have turned out better. It is only outdone by your beautiful Lab dog. Thanks again for the recipe. 5 star
Cerwyn
Absolutely phenomenal! I'm a novice cook who usually ruins dinner more often then not but I thought this sounded delicious and easy. I was totally right! I am obsessed with this site! It made so much leftovers!! Which makes it worth the money! I used a cheap $10 rump roast and it was Sooo good. Like melt in ur mouth tender. My husband is sooooo picky but he loved this! 10 stars! So excited to try another recipe on ur site! U r a food god!!!
DrDan
Awww shucks....
Glad it worked well for you. I have targeted the site for novice cooks so I think you should be able to handle most of the recipes. Check out the recipes that I think are best at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/category/101s-top-posts/. May I suggest https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/ but it does require a digital thermometer but a $10 one from Amazon or Home Depot will do.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Dan
Arlene
Easy and great receipt. I will male this again
DrDan
Hi Sarah,
I'm sure it can but I have not done it and oven temp and duration would not match this crockpot version. So I'm not much help to you here.
Dan
Sarah
Hello, thank you for your wonderful and detailed recipes. I was wondering if this recipe could be made in the oven? I would really love to try it but the lid on my crockpot shattered and the company no longer makes that model nor replacement lids for it.
Patty
I always rave about your iron skillet filet recipe. I made this French dip recipe last night and took it to my parents home for lunch today. This is my new favorite Dr D recipe...Y...U...M!
I did not have any leftovers to bring home, so I am making this again tomorrow!!!
Lynn
Thanks for another great recipe! My boys said this is a definitely make again recipe.