Arby’s Beef and Cheddar
Faster than hopping in the car and heading to the restaurant, you can make a delicious Arby’s Beef and Cheddar with simple ingredients at home!
FAMILY FAVORITE FAST FOOD COPYCAT RECIPE
This Homemade Arby’s Beef and Cheddar sandwich has perfectly seasoned tender roast beef with melted, creamy cheddar. The soft, onion bun holds everything together, creating that delicious sandwich you get from the restaurant without having to leave your house. I know people love to hate on Arby’s but we personally LOVE it! This is one of my personal favorites and it’s so much easier to make at home than you might think and it’s also a lot more affordable!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Sure, if you don’t want to use this homemade Arby’s Copycat Sauce recipe, you can buy some Arby’s Sauce from the grocery store. I have included a photo of the bottle in my ingredient photo below for those of you who want to purchase it instead. It’s commonly found at most popular grocery stores by the rest of the condiments.
If you can’t find the nacho cheese sauce, you can use melted Velveeta or Cheez Whiz. If you want to also make a homemade cheese sauce, I have a homemade cheese sauce you can make (just leave out the cayenne pepper).
You will want to get freshly sliced roast beef at the deli counter. Just ask them to slice it to your desired thickness. Some people like it shaved (where it is super, super thin) and others like it thicker. The great thing about making this at home is you get to choose your preference!
You can make all the parts of the sandwich and have them all prepped and ready to go. But, I wouldn’t assemble them ahead of time. Heat anything up as necessary right before assembling and serving. These assemble very quickly though.
Typically, I enjoy these with the Arby’s curly fries that you can get in the freezer section. But you can serve these with any of your favorite French Fries, Baked Potatoes, Potato Skins, or other side dishes.
Sure. This is an easy recipe to double (or more) if entertaining or wanting to make more sandwiches to last longer. Just hold off on assembling, but store properly until then.
You can keep the roast beef in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can keep the homemade Arby’s sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I wouldn’t store sandwiches already put together.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ketchup, apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper (optional) and salt – these are all the ingredients for the homemade Arby’s sauce. As stated above, you can just purchase the bottled Arby’s sauce that is sold at most grocery stores these days (but if you have time, definitely give the homemade version a try!)
- nacho cheese sauce – use store-bought or make a Homemade Nacho Cheese sauce.
- low-sodium beef broth– You could use regular beef broth, but these sandwiches can already contain quite a bit of salt from the other ingredients. Use what you prefer.
- thinly sliced deli roast beef – I talk a bit more about the thickness of the roast beef above in the frequently asked question section above.
- onion burger buns– if you can’t find onion burger buns, traditional burger buns will work. They just might not give off the same flavor you’d think you’d get at the drive thru.
HOW TO MAKE ARBY’S BEEF AND CHEDDAR
Add the sauce ingredients to a bowl. Mix until fully combined. Set aside. To a medium sized pot add 2 cups low-sodium beef broth. Simmer over low to medium heat. Once it has fully heated up, add half of the thinly sliced deli roast beef (one slice at a time) to the pot. Allow that to heat through and soak in the warm broth for a couple of minutes. Note: I don’t add all the roast beef slices in at the same time so that each slice gets warmed up evenly and can fully soak in the broth. You could use a larger pot with more beef broth and do it all at the same time if you prefer.
While the roast beef is warming up, place 1 cup nacho cheese sauce into a microwave safe bowl then place it into the microwave and heat at 10-second increments until warm. Set aside. When the roast beef has been thoroughly heated through, transfer the slices to the onion buns. Note: If you like, gently heat up the onion buns before assembling the sandwiches.Allow that to heat through for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat the process with the remainder of the roast beef slices. Then turn off the heat to the pot. Top each roast beef sandwich with a bit of the warm nacho cheese sauce and a little of the prepared Arby’s sauce (add more or less to your taste.)
Serve with optional curly fries and enjoy.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Arby’s Beef and Cheddar (+Video)
Ingredients
Arby’s Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
To assemble sandwiches:
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 16 ounces thinly sliced deli roast beef
- 1 cup nacho cheese sauce
- 4 onion burger buns
- Arby’s sauce (use the above recipe or store bought)
- Arby’s curly fries (for serving, optional)
Instructions
- Add 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt to a bowl. Whisk until fully combined. Set aside.
- To a medium sized pot add 2 cups low-sodium beef broth. Simmer over low to medium heat. Once it has fully heated up, add half of the thinly sliced deli roast beef (one slice at a time) to the pot. Allow that to heat through and soak in the warm broth for a couple of minutes.
- Note: I don't add all the roast beef slices in at the same time so that each slice gets warmed up evenly and can fully soak in the broth. You could use a larger pot with more beef broth and do it all at the same time if you prefer.
- While the roast beef is warming up, place 1 cup nacho cheese sauce into a microwave safe bowl then place it into the microwave and heat at 10-second increments until warm. Set aside.
- When the roast beef has been thoroughly heated through, transfer the slices to the onion buns. Note: If you like, gently heat up the onion buns before assembling the sandwiches.
- Repeat the process with the remainder of the roast beef slices. Then turn off the heat to the pot.
- Top each roast beef sandwich with a bit of the warm nacho cheese sauce and a little of the prepared Arby’s sauce (add more or less to your taste.)
- Serve with some Arby's curly fries!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Want to make a Homemade Cheese Sauce too? See my recipe HERE.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Right on!
Tried this tonight. It was great! Husband said it tasted almost just like Arby’s. We used actual Arby’s sauce. Will make again!
We love a good roast beef sandwich and this recipe was perfect! You can get the Arby’s curly fries in some grocery stores.
Just a suggestion try using brioche buns if having difficult time locating onion buns. Brioche buns DEFINITELY kick it up a notch!
Any suggestions on where to get the onion buns? I can find onion with poppy seed buns from Pepperidge Farms but not any without the poppy seeds.
Those are the ones I usually use since they are more readily available. I never taste poppy seeds, do poppy seeds have a taste? LOL. I don’t know but it’s probably more for texture honestly. I can sometimes get them at The Fresh Market but it can be hit or miss there.
So I did a Google search and it looks like the Kroger brand “Private Selection” makes them and Food Lion sells them. A brand called Oroweat also makes them. I would Google it to see what is in your area. I think it depends where you live on what you can get. You could probably also make them yourself by melting a little butter and adding some dried onion flakes or onion powder and slather it on top then bake for a few minutes.
Thank you!
Walmart has sweet Hawaiian onion buns. that’s what we used with this recipe and it was great!
That’s great to know! They’re always coming out with new stuff! Thanks so much Melissa – so happy y’all enjoyed this one!