Everyone loves a lusciously tender, deliciously messy French Dip Sandwich!
Chuck roast is slow-cooked in beef broth and onions until perfectly melt in your mouth tender. It’s set on a crusty roll and dipped in the juices for the perfect sandwich!
Ingredients
BREAD French Dip sandwiches scream for baguette-style French rolls. I love a crusty roll with a bit of chew plus it softens when dipped without falling apart.
Truthfully, any bread that is dense enough to hold all the meat and dipping into the au jus will do just as well! Kaiser rolls? Yes! Onion rolls? Yes? Even heavy burger buns will do in a pinch!
BEEF Most French dip recipes are made with chuck or rump roast. The beef cooks until tender and we find it easiest to pull the beef into big chunks instead of cutting it. As long as it is braised in liquid and extra tender, it will be perfect in French dips!
AU JUS This is the juices in the slow cooker we use for dipping. I add plenty of onions plus a sprig of rosemary for flavor.
CHEESE I do not shy away from cheese however I don’t usually add cheese to this sandwich. If you want to add cheese, provolone is a great choice!
How To Make French Dip
This slow cooker recipe is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Season roast and brown in a large pan on all sides.
- Add all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook 8 hours on low or 4 hour on high, until the roast is tender. If your beef is not tender, it likely needs more time.
- Remove the beef and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing or shredding.
Serve with toasted hoagie rolls or bread of your choice and dip in the juices.
How To Make Au Jus For French Dip
Technically, the ‘au jus’ is simply the liquid in the slow cooker that the chuck roast and other ingredients were cooked in.
I like to add the tiniest bit of cornstarch mixed with water to the slow cooker while the meat rests. The just shouldn’t be thickened like it would when making make gravy but I do like to add a tiny bit to it.
You should have lots of flavorful juice in the slow cooker. Once shredded or cut, you can add the beef back to the juices to keep it warm. This is a great way to serve a crowd
Don’t forget to serve with a side of savory coleslaw or some oven baked french fries to really round out this meal.
More Delicious Beef Sandwiches
- Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches – easy to make & serve!
- My Favorite Reuben Sandwich – classic Irish recipe
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches – always a crowd pleaser!
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef – great in a taco, enchilada or sandwich!
- Reuben Sandwich Sliders – great party food
French Dip Sandwich
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds chuck roast or rump roast
- salt and pepper to taste
- 10 ½ ounces beef broth low sodium
- 10 ½ ounces onion soup low sodium
- 1 onion sliced
- 12 ounces light beer
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 sprig rosemary optional
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 french rolls or 2 baguettes cut into 6" rolls
- 8 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Season roast with salt & pepper. Brown in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Place remaining ingredients (except rolls and butter) in a slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours or until beef is tender.
- Once roast is tender, remove from the juices and let rest 15 minutes. Shred or slice beef.
- Butter rolls and heat under a broiler until lightly toasted. Top rolls with beef and serve with jus from the slow cooker for dipping.
Video
Notes
Cheese can be added to the broiled rolls. If you don't want to use beer, you can replace it with extra beef broth. Option: Combine 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch with an equal amount of water. Add the the juices in the slow cooker while the meat is resting. You do not want to thicken the jus but this just adds a bit of body.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Main Course, Slow Cooker
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I give it a 6/10. The flavor was to die for, but the roast was NOT tender like I’d hoped. Next time, I’ll keep the ingredients the same, but pressure cook in my instant pot for an hour. The meat was so tough after 8 hours on low, and I didn’t want to do anything else, because I didn’t want to make it worse.
Oh no Courtney, that’s so disappointing. What type of roast did you use (and what was the size)? Often with a slow cooked roast, if it isn’t tender it needs MORE time to cook to continue to break down the connective tissues and become tender so depending on size, a little extra time may have helped. An Instant Pot is a great alternative.
Can I used powdered onion soup. All I can find where I live
That should work fine. You’ll want to add about 1 cup of extra water.
Do you have to use beer? Can it be left out?
If you don’t want to use beer, you can replace it with extra beef broth.
What type of beer did you use? A lager, stout, etc?
I use a lighter beer, usually what we have on hand. It’s often Budweiser.
Delicious. Will definitely be making this a staple in our home.
we chose to leave out the beer and rosemary. I didn’t have canned onion soup, so added dried and beef consume. we liked them.
Does any of the butter go into the slow cooker?
No, the butter does not go in the slow cooker. Enjoy Joseph!
Great Recipes, Thanks
I am a very seasoned cook, and always tweak recipes to be my own, but I have to say, Holly is one of my all time favorites. All recipes are outstanding and we are never disappointed.
Thank you so much, Maragaret! So happy you loved this recipe.
Unfortunately, this turned out very dry with a rump roast.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that, Marian! We have used rump roast in this recipe with great results. It sounds like it may have overcooked. If your crockpot runs a bit hotter you may want to check and remove the roast before the suggested cooking times are up. Hope that helps!
My roast also came out quite dry, def needed the au jus dip.
Can you substitute beer with something else?
You can replace the beer with additional beef broth if you prefer.
I accidentally bought bottom round roast, but WOW!!!! I have made it twice now, and my husband and I both LOVE it! It was a large 4.5 lb roast. Cooked in an insta pot for 1 hour, flipped over and cooked another hour. Then turned on crock pot on low for 2 hours and was soooooo tender!! Did not use the rosemary and added extra garlic because we love garlic! Wonderful recipe!!!!
So happy this recipe was a hit, Dawn! Your cooking steps sound great, thanks for sharing.
This recipe was a hit with my family!! I’ll definitely will be making this again in the near future. Unfortunately, I did to have to substitute the Onion Soup w/ cream of Onion Soup my local grocery stores only had that in stock. As mentioned in a previous post it did change the flavor and color of the Au jus, but it still tasted really good. I decided not to use the Au jus it cooked in for the dipping juice. I had a pack of Au jus mix that I decided at the last minute to cook on the stovetop to use for my dipping sauce. It was a personal preference bc I wanted it to be nearer to the actual Au jus flavor. I’d recommend adding some provolone cheese on top. All in all it was an excellent simple recipe.
LOVE it Awesome recipe
I made this on New Years Eve for my daughter and me and yesterday she asked me to make it again. She LOVED it.
It is such a yummy recipe so I can’t blame her, Tammy! So happy you are both enjoying it.
This sounds great . Would a inside round roast work with this recipe?
Hi Nora, we have only made this recipe as listed but it should work well. We would love to hear how it turns out!
Hi Holly
Should the condensed soups be mixed with water. I have a 4 1/2 lb. roast how long should I cook the meat. Sounds great. Thank You
MaryAnn
The soups do not need to be mixed with water. The roast should take approximately 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Once cooked, very quickly open the lid (without letting too much heat out) and use a fork to ensure it is fall apart tender. If not, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. If the roast is done early, it can be kept on warm.
I made this tonight, I never had this! it was very delicious.
Hi, what are the directions if cooking in the oven instead of a slow cooker
Hi Kelly, we have never made this recipe in the oven so I can’t say for sure. But I would use a dutch oven and cook in the oven for 2-3hrs at 325°F. You will want to use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!!! I’ve made it a couple times in the instant-pot but this last time I did it in the crockpot and it was even better!!
Is the onion soup in a can or powder?
Hi Nicola, we use onion soup in a can for this recipe.
Is this French onion soup in a can?
Yes it is.