Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

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Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches are easily made with only five ingredients! So tender and flavorful and cooked until tender in au jus gravy!

AN EASY AND TASTY BEEF DIP SANDWICH

These French dip sandwiches are a staple recipe in my house. We make them pretty often because they’re easy and anyone in my family (even the ones that don’t enjoy cooking) can pop it all in the slow cooker and get dinner going for us. You can serve with chips or French fries and a little au jus sauce on the side and you have the perfect, easy weeknight meal!

a closeup photo of the inside of a beef dip sandwich.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FRENCH DIPS:

What is the difference between beef dip and French dip?

They are the same thing. Different regions will call it either one or the other. But both are made with beef (usually thinly sliced) that is cooked until tender in a broth (au jus). Then it is put on a sub roll and topped with cheese. It is served warm along with some of the au jus to dip the sandwich into.

What if I can’t find a beef round steak?

Any kind of chuck roast will work. You can even use sliced roast beef for this recipe. Sometimes my grocery store carries shaved steak and I will use that for this. It cooks up a lot quicker when its already sliced but it still tastes amazing.

I don’t like to use packaged seasoning, what else can I use?

I have a recipe on my site for Homemade Onion Soup Mix that you can make if you want to use that. You can leave out the au jus seasoning if you don’t want to use pre-packaged ingredients. Or perhaps try a beef broth base (it’s a thick paste sold in jars.) There are a few brands on the market that are all natural and preservative free. Just check the ingredients on the back of the jar.

What are the best rolls to use for beef dip?

Use your favorite sub rolls here. I use a 6-inch soft sub roll. French bread will also work for this.

a Caucasian hand folding half a beef ip sandwich and dipping it into a bowl of au jus.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

beef round steak (or any type of beef roast)
onion soup mix
au jus seasoning
beef broth or stock
water
mozzarella or provolone cheese
sub rolls

beef round steak, onion soup mix, au jus seasoning, beef broth, water, provolone cheese and sub rolls.

HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES:

This step is optional but adds great flavor. In a hot pan with a little oil, brown both sides of he pot roast really well. Don’t cook it all the way through, just brown each side in the hot skillet.

browning a round steak in a cast iron skillet.

Put beef roast in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine beef broth, onion soup mix, au jus seasoning and water and stir until combined.

beef broth shown being poured into a bowl along with seasonings.

Pour mixture over beef, put cover on slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, shred meat with two forks or take it out and slice thinly.

sliced cooked round steak shown on a baking sheet.

Place meat back in the slow cooker for about another hour.

large serving spoon holding up some of the shredded beef from the crock pot.

When ready to serve, place some subroles on a baking sheet and top the rolls with some of the shredded beef.

shredded cooked beef placed on two sub rolls on a baking sheet.

Add slices of cheese onto the top of shredded beef.

slices of provolone cheese added to the tops of sub rolls.

Place under the broiler (or use broil option on toaster oven). Watch carefully, broil for just a couple of minutes until cheese is melted and roll is just slightly toasted.

two sub rolls with shredded beef and melted cheese on top.

Serve sandwich with a bit of Au Jus from the slow cooker (you may want to strain it first). Also, I added just a bit more beef broth to our Au Jus to make sure there was enough for all of the sandwiches.

hand holding a slice of beef dip sandwich in front of a slow cooker.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: May 2011
Updated and republished: January 2022

closeup photo of a hand dipping a French dip into some gravy.

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches (+Video)

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches are easily made with only five ingredients! So tender and flavorful and cooked until tender in au jus gravy.

4.98 from 35 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 8 10

Servings:

Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook

Ingredients

▢ 3-4 pounds beef round steak (or any type of beef roast)
▢ 1 packet onion soup mix
▢ 1 packet au jus seasoning
▢ 15 ounce can of beef broth or stock
▢ ½ cup water
▢ 6 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese for serving
▢ 6 sub rolls for serving

Instructions

This step is optional but adds great flavor. In a hot pan with a little oil, brown both sides of the 3-4 pounds beef round steak. Don't cook it all the way through, just brown each side really well in the hot skillet.
Put browned beef roast into an oval slow cooker.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 packet onion soup mix, 1 packet au jus seasoning, 15 ounce can of beef broth or stock and ½ cup water and stir until combined.
Pour mixture over beef, put cover on slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours.
An hour before serving, shred meat with two forks or take it out and slice thinly.
Place meat back in the slow cooker for about another hour.
When ready to serve, place 6 sub rolls (open faced) on a baking sheet. Top one side of each sub roll with some of the shredded beef. Then take your 6 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese and place them on top of the beef.
Turn on your oven broiler. Place baking sheet in the oven and broil until cheese is melted and buns are toasted (note, please keep an eye as it broils because it can burn very quickly.)
Serve sandwich with a bit of Au Jus from the slow cooker and enjoy! Note: you may want to strain the sauce in your slow cooker before serving.

Video

Notes

Optional toppings include onions, green peppers and mushrooms.
We also enjoy adding some mayonnaise to our buns.
Also, instead of the water, you can substitute with more beef stock if you like.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

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.

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65 Comments

Can this be cooked on low for 4 hours? I forgot to put it in earlier and my hubby is chomping at the bit to have these tonight!!

I made these last night and they were awesome. The meat is so tender and the taste is out of this world! For dinner tonight, I reheated the leftover meat and juices, added another container of beef stock, a little more au jus and another packet of onion soup mix, let it cook for about an hour and then thickened it for gravy over mashed potatoes. The husband was in heaven!

Looks delicious! I'm new to the crock pot…Can I cook it on high for a shorter cook time?

I have this in my crock now……hope it is as good as it looks!!

Trina..hahaha, yes that was VERY subtle! Love it! So happy y'all really liked this one. thank you so much for letting me know!

My hubby left this on the counter with the ingredients (subtle hint)… I made this and it was a hit.

Hi RobinKay!! Yay!! So happy to hear you love this one!!

I have been CRAVING french dip for a ridiculously looong time. We made these on Friday and now its all I think about. Saying they're good is like saying the Grand Canyon is deep. They were fabulous. And sooo simple. Thanks for makin me look good.

Spinningstars – I would say 4 servings. It depends on how high you pile it and if you use longer sub rolls..LOL. But you should be able to at least get 4 out of it. 🙂

How many servings does this recipe make?

I just made these sandwiches and they they are seriously delicious!! It was also super easy getting it all going this morning.

My grocery store didn't have a round steak so I used two top round roasts that totaled about 3.5 pounds.

Thanks for the recipe!!

Hi, this is Sandra from TX, originally from AL. My husband David is the one who grew up in Roanoke, VA and and loved going down to the market on Saturdays. I still need to get with you about that Chow-Chow. 🙂 I bought the ingredients for Crock Pot Beef Dips and am making it tomorrow. Can't wait!

I made these last night for my family, and they were so yummy! My husband LOVED them, and my 2 and 4 year olds devoured them!

I made these last night, and they were a huge hit! I will be making these for a tailgate this fall!

The best looking sandwich:)) Looks amazing, and finger licking..yumm!

I've done something similar, except I let the meat cook until it falls apart and then I shred it. No slicing necessary and it's DELICIOUS!!!

Brandie I'm seriously thinking you need to write a cookbook! I LOVE all your recipes!

And now I'm craving Phillies! I'd love it if you'd come link up this, and a few more recipes, to my contest/linky!~K

I made this recipe this past weekend. Loved it and so did hubby. I did use a smaller roast since it was just for the 2 of us and we had plenty of leftovers. Thanks for sharing.

Made it. Loved it.

I think sexy was the perfect word to use. I cannot wait to try these out this weekend. YUM!

Yum!!! looks great. i'm always looking for more crockpot recipes 🙂

I am not a great cook and I don't eat much meat but… This looks really yummy! My family is always asking for more beef. This recipe looks doable even for me. I can't wait to try this out for my family!