This French Dip Sandwich is amazing! It comes together with simple ingredients in the crockpot and is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
With three kids in the busiest years of school, our family is always on the go. But we really try to make family dinner a priority. It’s the time that brings us all together to connect, and of course that is better when it’s around a good meal. Two things really help make weeknight dinners happen, the first is planning and the second is our slow cooker.
French Dip Sandwiches are the perfect slow cooker dinner. These are easy to prepare, made with simple ingredients, and when you come home after a long day you have the best dinner waiting for you.
How to Make French Dip Sandwiches
This is a brief overview of how to make these slow cooker sandwiches. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sear the meat. Heat oil in a skillet until it is smoking. Season the meat with salt and pepper and sear it on all sides (keep in mind the meat has six sides, not two). Read more on this below.
- Combine the ingredients in the slow cooker. While the meat is searing, combine the the French onion soup, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, onion flakes, garlic, bay leaves, and oregano in the slow cooker.
- Slow cook the meat. Add the seared meat, and cook on low for six to eight hours. Read below on why I’m adamant about cooking on low.
- Slice the meat. After the meat is done cooking, let it rest for 10 minutes outside of the slow cooker. You can slice it very thin with a sharp knife, or you can shred it.
- Serve the sandwiches. Add the meat, a little of the au jus sauce to rolls and enjoy. Please see below for the option of adding cheese.
Adding Cheese to a French Dip Sandwich
These are amazing on their own, and my family also loves them with some melty cheese. A great way to add the cheese is the following steps. It also deepens the flavor without adding the cheese; though I know you will love these without the extra steps.
- After slicing the meat, place half of it in a skillet.
- Add a ladle-full of the au jus sauce to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Turn off the heat and top with the cheese. We love these with provolone, but Swiss cheese would also work great here. Cover and allow it to melt.
- Add the meat and cheese to the rolls to make the sandwiches and serve with a small bowl of the cooking juices.
Rolls for French Dip Sandwiches
When looking for the rolls to serve these delicious sandwiches, you want to pick something hardy that can both hold up to the meat and also hold up to dipping the sandwiches in the au jus sauce.
We like to use hoagie rolls. They are soft on the inside but sturdy enough for these delicious sandwiches. You may consider buttering the rolls and toasting them before making the sandwiches.
Searing Meat Before Slow Cooking
I have a lot of slow cooker recipes where the first step is searing the meat all over. I inevitably get asked if this is truly necessary. The simple answer is: No, but do it anyway.
The point of searing meat before putting it in a slow cooker, or even cooking it on low even in the oven like in my Pot Roast, isn’t about cooking. The point isn’t to begin the cooking process, it is because searing the meat adds flavor to the meat. If you skip this step and just pop it in the slow cooker, you are going to miss out on that flavor.
Slow Cooking Meat on Low
While I have a lot of slow cooker recipes that give you a cooking range for low and for high, I’m pretty insistent with this recipe that you should stick to cooking on low.
Certain cuts of meat, like the rump roast, do best when you cook them low and slow. It’s that method of cooking that makes them nice and tender. The high setting for slow cookers is a high enough temperature, that you are loosing that low and slow method. While you can cook these on high, I think that you will be disappointed with the texture of the meat if you cook it this way.
Rump Roast
Traditionally, French Dip Sandwiches are made with Rump Roast. This is a great piece of meat to cook with because it is usually really affordable. That being said, it is a very lean cut of meat, so it really needs to be cooked low and slow. This is another reason to stick to cooking on low.
In addition to cooking this cut on low, another key to this cut of meat is cutting it against the grain. When you remove the meat from the slow cooker, after letting it rest look at the lines in the meat and cut against them (as pictured above).
Slow Cooker Recommendation
If you are new to slow cooking, you are going to love all of the easy dinner recipes that you can come home to. You can find all of my crockpot dinners here: Crockpot Dinner Recipes.
I love this slow cooker so much that I own several of them. This great crockpot holds up over the years, is 6 quarts, and cooks things perfectly.
Crock Pot
Storing Leftovers and Freezing
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for four to five days. I prefer to store the meat in the liquid that it was cooked in.
These work great for freezing. I like to add the meat back to the liquid and store in a sealable container with an inch of room at the top for the liquid to expand. Store in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to eat, remove the container and thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
What to Serve with a French Dip Sandwich
These Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches are amazing with a number of different side dishes. Here are some of our favorites.
- Chopped Salad: My kids have becomes salad lovers, which is my biggest accomplishment as a parent, and they love this easy recipe.
- Easy French Fries: Nothing goes with sandwiches like French Fries, and these are made in the oven but actually crispy.
- Tomato Bisque: Soup and a sandwich is always a hit here. This tomato soup tastes like something you would get in a fancy cafe, but it is so easy to make.
If you try this French Dip Sandwich recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me ac comment and let me know what you think!
French Dip Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 pounds rump roast
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 10 ounces condensed French onion soup
- 3 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup dried onion flakes
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 6 hoagie rolls
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Generously season the meat with salt and pepper. When the oil in the pan begins to smoke, add the meat to the pan. Sear the meat on all sides, cooking until just browned.2 tablespoons vegetable oil, kosher salt and black pepper, 2 1/2 pounds rump roast
- While the meat is searing, add the condensed French onion soup, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, dried onion flakes, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and dried oregano to the slow cooker. Then add the meat.10 ounces condensed French onion soup, 3 cups low sodium beef broth, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup dried onion flakes, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 3 garlic cloves
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove the meat from the crockpot and let stand for 10 minutes. Slice the beef as thin as possible, or shred it.
- Add the slices to the hoagie rolls. Top with a small amount of the cooking liquid from the crockpot. Add more of the cooking liquid to small cups for dipping.
- Optional: Put slices of the beef with a ladle of the liquid into a skillet. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Add cheese to the meat and allow it to melt. Then transfer the meat and cheese to the hoagie rolls.
Notes
Amy @Very Culinary says
My kind of cookbook! And the sandwiches look awesome!
Thank you Amy!
Linda wark says
They are awesome ! One of my families favorites ! Great with mozzarella cheese too !
Glory/ Glorious Treats says
Looks amazing! I know my family would be so excited to see these yummy sandwiches for dinner!
Thank you Glory!
heather @french press says
I cannot wait to get my hands on a coy of this book! I was planning on having a salad for lunch, and now I have to have a french dip…so there’s that
Thanks Heather!
Josie says
These remind so much of a meal I had over 30 years ago (oh boy how old do I feel?) I was on holiday visiting my family in Canada at the tender age of 13 visiting family I had never met as they left the UK the day before I was born. It was a restaurant called the Deep Cove Chalet in Brentwood Bay, Vancouver Island I think. I am sure it was called a steak sandwich but this is what it looked like. I can still imagine the flavour now after all these years. I cannot wait to try it. Only problem is I really want to go back as soon as possible now to see my family. You have made me miss them but in a good happy memories kind of way.
Awww, so glad I could bring back that sweet memory Josie :)
Judy says
What kids nod of beef roast works the best for this recipe?
Carol says
What type of beef roast do you recommend? And how many servings in this recipe? Thanks!
Carol, I’m so VERY late getting back to you on this, but I find this infographic super helpful in looking for what cuts of beef to use. And I get about 8 servings out of this recipe. It actually freezes really well, so I always freeze half of what I make and eat it about a week or two later as a second dinner for the fam.
Ronni says
1/2 cup of dried onions?
You can find them in the spice aisle
Pauline says
Hi Lisa, love your recipes and these look amazing! I cannot find cans of French Onion Soup here in Australia, do you have any other options or can I use a packet of dried French Onion Soup?
Darn it! Okay, I would suggest replacing that with more beef broth and then cut up a fresh onion and toss it in there. It won’t be exactly the same, but it will be delicious.
Cheryl says
Was going to the grocery anyway, so thanks to your great recipe, I will be making these great subs! I think I will also do with some peppers and onions. Thanks again for sharing so many wonderful things !
I hope you love them!
Kurtis says
Lisa we had an event to go to that started at 9 AM and we had a house Viewing at 4 PM so we knew we would not be home until 6 PM. I saw your recipe and thought what a great dinner idea so we threw it in the crock pot and turned it on before we left and we got home dinner was done. It was very good and the meat was so tender thank you for an awesome recipe. We used farmhouse sausage buns in place of the hoagie buns.
I am so glad to hear you liked it!