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.
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