Home » Slow Cooker Recipes » Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches (+Video)

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches (+Video)

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches are a classic Chicago favorite. The meat comes out so tender and it must be dipped in the beefy gravy!

A DELICIOUS ITALIAN BEEF RECIPE

If you’ve ever visited Chicago then you know one food you gotta try is the Italian Beef. It’s served on a sub roll with melted cheese, giardiniera (pickled vegetables) and gravy on the side to dip the sandwich in. You can even get the entire sandwich dipped into gravy before it is served for the full experience.The meat is tender, juicy and so flavorful. It’s a taste that just can’t be beat!

an Italian beef sandwich shown on white parchment paper in a red basket.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can you overcook beef?

With a chuck roast in a slow cooker, it would take more than a day for that to happen. Chuck roast is a tough cut of meat so it needs a longer cooking time to get tender. It’s very hard to overcook it unless you completely forgot about it cooking until the next day.

What cut of meat is Italian Beef made from?

Chuck roast is typically used. However, top round, bottom round, London broil or rump roast can also be used. They are all pretty tough cuts of meat so cooking them low and slow all day is really the key to these coming out super tender!

Do you have to brown a roast before putting it in the crock pot?

No, it is not absolutely necessary to achieve good flavor. However, it is often recommended to brown the meat on both sides to add additional flavor.

What kind of bread is used in Italian Beef?

For authentic Italian Beef, like the famous Portillos in Chicago, they would be served on Turano brand French Rolls. However, most people making this at home are using sturdy sub rolls (something that can hold up to gravy dunking!)

If I want to make this more authentic and add giardiniera on top, where do I find it?

You can find jarred giardiniera (pickled vegetables) where the pickles are located in your grocery store. They are often right near the peperoncini peppers.

a hand holding up an Italian Beef sandwich.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • chuck roast
  • dry Italian dressing
  • peperoncini peppers
  • beef broth
  • provolone cheese
  • sub rolls
chuck roast, beef broth, Italian packet seasoning, provolone cheese, sub rolls

HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT MAKE ITALIAN BEEF:

Put the roast into the bottom of a 4-6 quart Crock Pot. In a bowl, combine beef broth, dry italian dressing and 1/2 the jar of pepperoncini peppers (including some of the juice). Use as little or as much of the peppers as you like (depending on how spicy you like it.)

beef broth and pepperonicini and juices mixed in a bowl

Pour this mixture over the roast.

chuck roast, beef broth, Italian dressing seasoning and pepperoncini in an oval slow cooker

 Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

whole chuck roast in a slow cooker with juices

When ready, remove the roast and shred with two forks then place shredded meat back into the juices.

Crock Pot Shredded Italian Beef in a 6 quart crock pot with juices

This part is optional, but if you’d like, add a little butter to sub rolls and lightly toast them in a skillet. Place sliced meat onto your toasted rolls, making sure you add a few of the peppers on there too.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef in gravy

Add a slice or two of provolone cheese on top and serve. And if you’re doing it up Chicago-style, make sure you dip your sandwich into those leftover juices/gravy!

an Italian Beef Sandwich with melted cheese shown in a basket topped with parchment paper.

CRAVING MORE?

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches

Crock Pot Italian Beef (+Video)

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches are a classic Chicago favorite. The meat comes out so tender and it must be dipped in the beefy gravy!
4.97 from 30 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 3-4 pound chuck roast
  • 1 packet dry Italian dressing
  • ½ (16 ounce) jar sliced peperoncini peppers
  • 10.5 ounce can beef broth
  • 4-6 slices provolone cheese
  • sub rolls

Instructions

  • Place the roast into the bottom of a 4-6 quart crock pot
  • In a bowl, combine beef broth, dry italian dressing and 1/2 the jar of pepperoncini peppers (including some of the juice).
  • Pour this mixture over the roast.
  • Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.
  • Remove roast and shred meat with two forks. 
  • Place shredded meat back into the juices in the crock pot.
  • Add a little butter to sub rolls and lightly toast them in a skillet (optional.)
  • Place shredded meat and peppers into sub roll. Top with a slice or two of provolone cheese.
  • And if you’re doing it up Chicago-style – make sure to dip the whole sandwich into the leftover juices! 

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • Use as little or as much of the peppers and juice that you like. If you like it with more kick, add more peppers and the juice.
  • For extra Italian flavor, add a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning into the broth mixture before cooking.
  • It is not recommended to cook on high as the meat will not come out as tender and will not shred well. 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 740kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 90g | Fat: 29g | Sodium: 485mg | Sugar: 2g

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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Originally published: July 2012
Updated & republished: April 2019

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52 Comments

  1. It lists a 10.5 ounce can of beef broth. Considering the size of the can – should that be consommé and not beef broth?

  2. On the top of the recipe you say rump roast and when you give the directions you say chuck roast. Help!

  3. Can you use sliced banana peppers? Also, if making own Italian seasoning, what would be the total amount? Like a table spoon or 2?

  4. 5 stars
    I’ve been making something similar for years. I always get a chuck roast, throw it in the crockpot, throw entire jar of pepperoncini after it, & in 8 hours or so heaven has arrived. I don’t know why you would add all the rest of the listed ingredients. The peppers give it plenty of flavor without being spicy.

    1. Too many peppers make it VERY spicy for me. There is no way I could use that much at all. It would give me terrible acid reflux. And the butter adds a wonderful buttery-ness and texture to it that’s hard to describe but tastes amazing!

  5. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! The addition of the peperocini (sp) peppers – would have never thought of it and I will add those next time because we love them at this house – even Mr. Picky-eater!

  6. Cooking Lover- Thanks so much for commenting and letting me know how great this was for you. Hope you browse around and find a few more to try.

  7. 5 stars
    My boyfriend and I thought this was awesome. I cannot comment on if it tastes like italian beef because I have never had it, but it was really great as a sandwich.

  8. 5 stars
    Love Love Love this site! This is a GREAT recipe….I have also made it with a Pork Roast…(instead of beef broth…I used a pkg. of brown/mushroom gravy mix and 1 cup of water). The pepperoncinis and pkg. of Italian dressing really make either roast taste so good!

  9. 5 stars
    Made this last night using a round roast (on sale this week — yay!). It was a 4 pounder and about $16. I cooked it for exactly 8 hrs and wished I'd have gone maybe an hour shorter. Flavor was FABULOUS and the meat had a nice kick to it but wasn't as spicy as I feared it'd be (my 17 yr. old daughter can be a bit of a wimp ;-); it was a tiny bit dry but was exceedingly tender. With about 4 hours to go I added a large white onion cut into rounds, which were great on the sandwiches, too.
    I'll absolutely make this again, being mindful when those beautiful roasts are on sale so I've always got one in the freezer. This crock pot dinner allowed my husband and I to go wine tasting and come home with a very short "to do" list for dinner. Salad prep & roll prep and we were done! Loved it!