This Crock Pot French Dip Recipe is easy to make, budget-friendly, and delicious. You can make perfect French dip sandwiches in your crock pot for game-day parties or everyday meals. Use a chuck roast or a similar cut and slow it all day in a flavorful homemade braising fluid until it is fall-apart tender. We like serving it in hoagie buns with melted cheese and au jus for dipping.
🐄Ingredients
Beef roast—chuck roast or similar
Aromatics—onions, garlic
Beef Broth—low sodium
Pantry ingredients—low sodium soy sauce, low sodium Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and salt.
Serving—sub buns, cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack)
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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."
This French Dip beef recipe is simple to make ahead and store. Everybody will love these delicious sandwiches with tender beef cooked in a flavorful liquid that makes au jus in your slow cooker.
See other crock pot sandwich recipes, like our Crock Pot Shredded Pork Tenderloin, Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin, Crock Pot BBQ Chicken, and Crock Pot Pulled Boston Butt.
👨🍳How to Make Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Trim a chuck roast and add salt and pepper. Sear for about 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a crock pot.
2. Cook sliced onions until starting to clear. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Pour on top of the beef.
3. To a crock pot, add beef broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and mix.
4. Cook on low for 5 hours, remove the meat, and slice across the grain into ½ inch slices.
5. Return to the crock pot to cook for the final 2 hours until a temperature of 200° or more.
6. At the end of cooking, break up the slices to make the serving easier. Save the liquid as au jus.
7. To serve, cut hoagie rolls into half and briefly toast. Top the bottom half with meat and provolone cheese, and then cook under a broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is nicely brown.
8. Serve with the cooking solution as au jus for dipping.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
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🤔Make it right every time.
The short browning of the meat enhances the flavor through a Maillard reaction, and caramelizing the onions also enhances the flavor. Both are optional but suggested.
The brief cooking of garlic does two things. First, it brings out the garlic flavors, called blooming the garlic. Second, it eliminates the raw taste of fresh, uncooked garlic.
Slicing the beef and placing it back in to cook more allows the flavors of the braising fluid (au jus) to penetrate all the meat and prevents long strands of meat in the final results. This, too, is optional but suggested.
You can remove the beef at the end and shred it, but it tends to fall apart. So, I stir it a bit and use the slotted spoon to fish it out with a lot of onion. As you remove it, check for waste or unshredded beef.
The shredding temperature for beef is 200° or more. However, leaner cuts may still not shred well. If your beef is fully cooked but not shredding well, chop it to serve.
If you are cooking a larger or thicker beef roast, cook to 200° and not by time.
🐄Ingredient options and variations
A nice chuck roast is a good choice. My favorite is an English-cut chuck roast. The beef roast needs to have good marbling to be tender. Top sirloin, bottom round, and rump roasts are commonly recommended but may be too lean to shred well.
The onions can be standard yellow or white onions. Instead of chopping the onions, cut them into rings and then cut them in half.
The cooking fluid combines beef broth, caramelized onions, and garlic. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce enhance the beef's taste. After cooking, the liquid contains the meat juices and is the au jus for dipping.
Other seasonings, such as oregano or thyme, may be added. You can also use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
Use provolone cheese or other mild cheese. Other choices are discussed in the FAQs.
🍴How to serve French dip
Serve on toasted French bread, hoagies, or sub-buns with provolone or other cheese. Toast the buns and brown the cheese using an oven broiler and a baking sheet. You can also go smaller and make French dip sliders.
The au jus, French for “with juice,” is the cooking fluid and juice from the beef. It is used for dipping.
Serve with a salad, French Onion Soup, Baked French Fries, potato chips, Creamy One-Pot Mac and Cheese, or Microwave Corn on the Cob.
❄️What to do with leftover French dip
Shred meat and au jus should be stored separately in airtight containers. They can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Reheat after thawing, if frozen, in a saucepan with the au jus cooking liquid or beef broth.
❓FAQs
Use a mild creamy cheese for French Dip Sandwiches like provolone, Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack.
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.
No, it is American. While there is some dispute about who developed it, French dip, named for French bread, originated in San Francisco in the early 1900s.
French Dip is made with thinly sliced or shredded beef braised in a cooking sauce and served with au jus.
Italian Beef is also braised but has Italian herbs and spices for a distinctive Italian taste.
This recipe works fine in a full-size and 3 to 4-quart small crock pot. It will not fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Crock Pot French Dip Recipe
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds chuck roast
- 2 onions - large sliced
- 4 teaspoons oil - for bowning
- 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
- Start with a nicely trimmed, well-marbleized chuck roast—salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large skillet 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 2 large sliced onions with the rings cut in half to the pan and cook for a few minutes until browning some. Then add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and cook one more minute. Move to the crock pot.
- 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 across the grain into ½-inch slices.
- Return to the crock pot to cook for 2 more hours until 200° plus.
- Break up the slices at the end of cooking to make serving easier.
- 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 with the cooking solution as au jus 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 beef choice is up to you. My favorite is an English-cut chuck roast. The recipe post discusses other choices.
- 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 my first choice, followed by Swiss, Havarti, or Monterey Jack. 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.
Darice says
Dr. Dan you've done it again! These French Dip Sandwiches are amazing and so easy to prepare. We've enjoyed them for two nights. My husband asked if there was enough for another meal. I told him yes, enough for two meager sandwiches and he said he'd take that. Seriously, so delicious. I couldn't find a chuck roast so I picked up a Tri Tip and it worked great. I also added some Montreal to the S&P because I like lots of seasoning. Thank you. I did find a chuck roast at the store yesterday that I bough and froze because I am seeing more French Dips in the near future. Oh yes, I mentioned how good they were to my sister and she has her chuck in the crock pot right now, lol.
Peter E Beckles says
Gorgeous!
Peter E Beckles says
On April 16, 2019, at 10:04 am I complained about not having a crockpot. You replied within hours, suggesting an alternative, but I didn't follow through. Yesterday I was concerned about the 7-hour cook time - no reply yet - but today though, I did it. I followed a reduced recipe in my own little Crock.Pot (The Original Slow Cooker) and up to the 5-hour mark [slicing] everything is fine. As soon as I'm done, I'll let you know how it went.
Dori Campbell says
I couldn't WAIT to make this again. It was soooo good! I made it exactly how he said and it was perfect!
Dawn Porter says
Like you, French Dip sandwiches are my restaurant go to for lunch. At home I love a French dip made with left over prime rib. When I make a roast in my crockpot I brown the roast then put it in crockpot. I add a packet of French onion soup to one can of Pepsi; stir it up and pour it in the crockpot on top of the roast and cook on low. I really like it both for a roast meal and French dip for the left overs. This coming weekend I’m going to give your French dip recipe a try. I like the slicing it partway through the cooking. I’m sure it will be a hit.
Love the dog pictures! My sister and her husband live in Oregon and have two rescue Great Pyrenees they adore.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Dawn,
Welcome to the blog.
I like the cutting as you approach the end of cooking. It gets the flavors all the way through and it is extra tender and moist.
Dan
kathy says
Love you recipes - have saved many and everything I've tried comes out great, so thanks for that! Just a question on this - wouldn't an eye of round be too lean to make this nice and juicy? I love eye of round, but just wondering about this question.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kathy,
Welcome to the blog.
I agree, it is lean but with cross-cutting and the braising method of cooking. It comes out fine. I have used it several times. Sirloin can have some of the same issues.
I think I will edit this to suggest chuck with the others as options since that is what I now use most of the time. My favorite cut for this is an "English-cut" chuck roast which is generally well marbled and has less waste than standard chuck roasts.
Dan
Jon Barker says
This is a totally tasteful recipe!!! I love it! I can’t eat onion so I just omit and the flavor is so delightful! I grab a French baguette and dip away!!! Thank you!
Jan says
I don't know about the rest of you but I'm lucky to find any meat of any kind much less a roast.
I would like to try this recipe very much, but with no meat to be found I guess it will have to wait
Love the puppies. I lost my last year with lung cancer. But I was told that that kind of dog comes with it.
Thanks for all of the other recipes I have tried of your, they have been great
Have a good day and God bless
Kat says
For years I always cooked my roasts in the crock pot, slicing them midway through. I've been doing them in the Instant Pot lately (I just cut them in half at the beginning) and I find they are even more tender. (I slice right at the end and return to the pot to coat with gravy). This recipe, because of the liquid involved, could also just as easily be made in the pressure cooker. Can't wait to try it.
Kimberlee Kleine says
Thanks so very much for all of your information! I look forward to enjoying this recipe tonight!
Kimberlee Kleine says
Hi Dr. Dan!
I'm looking forward to making this recipe but wondered if you can help me out. It seems no matter what crockpot I have purchased, they all seem to cook a little warmer than the typical crockpot because even on low, my dishes are always ready way before the recommended cooking time. With that being said, can you please tell me what temperature you think the roast should be at before taking out and slicing as you have directed? I will then put it back in the crockpot as you suggest, but I need to go by temperature and not by time because I can't trust my crockpot's low temperature setting.
Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes
Kimberlee!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kim,
Ok, this one is a bit hard. I didn't nor have others measured it. Having said that, I will say 140 give or take a bit. You don't want it fully cooked at this point. I cut it so the liquid can penetrate the meat better for flavor. Most others don't do that. But I want it fall-apart tender at the end. So using a chuck roast, I want to get into the 165 plus range at the end. My wife would say 175. She likes that fall apart pot roast type meat here.
On to the crock pots. I don't test crock pots but Cooks Illustrate still does and in the past, I have read many engineering articles on this. All crock pots should top out at 211 temperature on both high and low. It is just the time it takes to get there. On low, most should take 7-8 hours to get to that temperature and about half that on high.
This is generally controlled by a thermostat and those seem to have improved over time. Some old crock pots relied on resistors and the temps just kept climbing. I don't think those are even sold anymore. Also, if the thermostat goes bad, that can also happen.
I have two thoughts on it why you have issues.
1) Some brands (email me if you want a name) did (and I suspect still do) concentrate their heating elements too much in one or two areas (that is cheaper) but then those areas will "run hot". Since most crock pot cooking is a bit "sloppy" anyway, most don't notice.
2) The total mass of what you are cooking can affect this. Crock pots do best when loaded between 1/3 and 2/3 full. If you cook small amounts in a large crock pot, it can cook faster.
KitchenAid and Cuisinart usually are the winners for Cooks Illustrated testing. I have had good luck with both those brands and All-Clad (they usually are not tested by CI).
Hope that helps.
Dan
Barb Durand says
Hi Dan! would a London Broil cut of beef work?? or would a bottom round rump roast be better?? Thanks in advance...
~Barb
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Barb,
Welcome to the blog.
Neither of those cuts excite me. You need something with some marbling. Definitely not the London Broil but the rump would be ok if well marbled.
Dan
Peter Beckles says
Have no crockpot.
Is there a stovetop version?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Peter,
Welcome to the blog.
You should be able to do this with a Dutch oven. It will cook faster, probable about half the time. Just keep at a very low simmer. This is all just a guess since I have not done this but my guesses are usually good.
Please report if you try this.
Dan
Veronica Marie says
My beef came sliced already... not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I’ll find out in 7 hours!!
Your website is super friendly. Thank you for existing!
DrDan says
Hi Veronica,
Welcome to the blog.
I hope the sliced beef worked well for you.
Thanks for the note and compliment.
Dan
Trish says
Made tonight was really really good I added more wwsauce and beef broth with a tablespoon of better the bullion. Meat tender full apart good. And best dipping ever.this is my go to forever
Jenn says
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 says
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 says
If I had a can of beef broth and a can of French onion soup, do you think this would still work?
DrDan says
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