Fork tender beef with a buttery Au Jus. This Slow Cooker French Dip recipe will amaze you with how easy it is! Perfect weeknight dinner idea.
Our slow cooker works overtime in the summer, when we want to keep the oven turned off. From easy Mississippi Pot Roast to Slow Cooker Enchiladas, there’s always something delicious cooking in our home.
Fork Tender Beef Sandwiches
I love a good sandwich. I’m talking a hearty, flavorful, MEATY sandwich.
French Dip Sandwiches fall under that category. All that beef and cheese dipped into hot flavorful broth? Yes, please!
Oh, and did I mention I like my sandwiches easy too?
This french dip recipe created sandwiches that tasted just as good if not better than any of the ones I’ve ordered at a restaurant. I enjoyed that I could put everything in the crock pot in the morning, then set it and forget it while I got errands and work done.
Come dinner time, we had amazingly tasty HOT sandwiches! This recipe makes a lot of meat so there was more than enough for everyone to have seconds and still have lots of leftovers.
Favorite Sandwiches: French Dip Sliders | Italian Beef
Beef Dip in Slow Cooker
If you’re a meat lover and you’ve never had a French Dip, be ready to fall in love.
This hot sandwich consists of meltingly tender roast beef served on toasty French bread with cheese.
You serve these sandwiches with a side of the broth and juices (also called “au jus“) from the meat for dipping.
Every bite is full of beefy flavor made even better by all those extra juices.
Slow Cooker {Crock Pot}
Just like making a regular beef roast in the slow cooker, this French dip recipe was so easy.
- You just put all the ingredients for the beef in the slow cooker, turn it on and let it cook while you go about the rest of your day.
- After a few hours, you have delicious and tender beef ready to stuff into french bread and top with cheese.
- Get that au jus on the plate too and you’re ready to enjoy an amazing sandwich.
What kind of meat to use
French dip can be made with a variety of different beefs; typically it’s made with a cut of meat meant for stews and roasts.
I prefer to use rump roast for my slow cooker French Dip because it’s a little more tender than other kinds of stew meat.
If you don’t have rump roast or can’t get it, Chuck roast would also work as a substitute.
Ingredients
{Ingredients at a glance; scroll down for full amounts and recipe instructions}
- Beef Rump Roast– or chuck roast
- Grill seasoning, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper
- Beef bouillon cubes – for extra beefy flavor!
- Beef stock
- Minced onion
- Beer (the darker the better)
Place the roast in a large slow cooker along with the seasonings, minced onion, beef bouillon and minced onion. Pour the broth and beer over the meat and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat is extremely tender.
Make the sandwiches by shredding or slicing the meat (it should nearly fall apart at the touch of the fork) and piling it onto your sliced bread.
Top with a slice of cheddar cheese and serve with a cup or bowl of the juices from the slow cooker for dipping.
What kind of bread should you use
I like to make my French Dip sammies with mini baguettes for ease and convenience. You just slice them lengthwise, add the meat and cheese and serve.
You can also use a full size baguette and just cut it into sections however large you’d like your sandwiches to be. If you don’t have french bread available, a good Italian bread or similar fresh crusty loaf will do.
I wanted to bake my own french bread for our sammies today, but the day got away from me and I just bought some baguettes from Panera Bread.
Just make sure you use a good bread that’s sliced thick enough to hold up to the juicy meat. Using a bread you LOVE the taste of–one you’d be happy to eat all on its own–is important for a great sandwich experience.
Grab some baguettes from your grocery store’s bakery and these sandwiches will be ready with very little effort at all!
Tips and Tricks
- This makes A LOT of beef, so be ready to serve a crowd.
- You can also freeze this for later! Once it’s all cooked, strain the au jus and put beef and juice in a freezer safe Ziploc bag.
- If you don’t have (or don’t prefer) cheddar cheese, French Dip is also good with Provolone!
- You can also make an Instant Pot French Dip if you want dinner even faster!
- Serve it up with a side of corn casserole and broccoli salad.
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Slow Cooker French Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Beef Rump Roast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Grill seasoning I use McCormick
- 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons beef bouillon granules
- 2 Tablespoons minced onion
- 1 ½ cup beef stock
- 12 ounces Beer darker the better
Instructions
- Place roast in large crockpot. Season with salt, grill seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, beef bouillon and minced onion. Add broth and beer to crockpot, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Take out the meat, slice or shred it (it will be falling apart). Strain the au jus so there are no clumps of meat or fat (I just use a mesh strainer). Serve french dip on french bread with cheddar cheese and side of au jus. Enjoy!
Notes
- This makes A LOT of beef, so be ready to serve a crowd.
- You can also freeze this for later! Once it’s all cooked, strain the au jus and put beef and juice in a freezer safe Ziploc bag.
- If you don’t have (or don’t prefer) cheddar cheese, French Dip is also good with Provolone!
- You can also make an Instant Pot French Dip if you want dinner even faster!
- Serve it up with a side of corn casserole and broccoli salad.
Nutrition
Are you ready to have one of the best hot sandwiches of your life? I can’t wait to hear how you like this easy Slow Cooker French Dip recipe!
I would think any beer similar to a Stout or Porter would go well with this dish.
I’m just curious if anyone made it without the beer? Our beer is past its prime so I’m going to try without it. Cross your fingers!
I’ve used beef broth when I had no beer in the house, hope that helps!
Which dark beer do you recommend for the best flavor?
aimee @ shugarysweets, I also am waiting for your response regarding the beer. We’re not drinkers so would just adding more broth work?
I made this tonight! it was really good!! Big hit with the picky kid as well 🙂
So glad to hear it!
These look AMAZING! I am making them tonight and then will share them on my blog, http://raeganmirickfoodblog.blogspot.com/, of course there will be a link back to you. 🙂
What mccormick seasoning????
I have the same question about the beer. We don’t drink beer, so I’m looking for a substitute. Should I just increase the beef broth?
I just put all of these ingredients into the crockpot and I can’t wait until 6 pm to taste it! I will let you know how it turns out! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks delish, and I can’t wait to try it out, but is it going to affect the flavor too much if I don’t add the beer? I don’t really drink beer often, so I never have it on hand. Thanks! 🙂
I’m trying this recipe tonight, but a half portion. I’m wondering; would you recommend keeping the same cook time (low, 8 hours)? I’m going to check it at six hours since I really don’t know. Thought maybe a comment about it might help someone else looking for a smaller batch in the future. 🙂 Can’t wait for dinner tonight!
Hi Krista,
After 6 hours is should be tender if you are using a smaller roast. I tend to go the 8 hours out of convenience (put it in the morning, turn it off at dinner time). It won’t hurt the meat to go longer, it’s quite tender and juicy!
Fabulous! Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll let you know what I go with – and how it turns out!
Oh my stars, Aimee! WHAT a scrumptious meal that was! This meal is officially on rotation in our house now. Good grief. It’s so good! I ended up leaving it in the full 8 hours and it was a-okay. There’s not a scrap left. 🙂
Looks so yummy! This will be a great meal to make on a work day —- SOON!
just thought i’d let you know that i featured you on my blog today! this recipe i mean, have a great weekend!
Ooo, that hunk of cheese paired with that delicious beef looks delish!
I just got a new crock pot and I am dying to get my hands on family friendly recipes to try. This looks great.
Looks delicious! Crockpot meals are always a winner!