Your family will love these easy French dip sandwiches featuring tender roast beef, caramelized onions, and melted cheese. The mouthwatering au jus dipping sauce adds so much flavor! The recipe in this post is effortless and perfect for a hassle-free meal.
Looking for more cozy recipes? Try my French Dip Sliders, French Onion Soup, French Onion Pot Roast with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, or this French Onion Dip that I have literally been obsessed with since preschool!
You've Found the Best French Dip Sandwich Recipe!
I have been making these flavorful roast beef French dip sandwiches for almost a decade now!
As soon as summer is over my oven is put right to work, and that first week of cool weather is always reserved for these French dipped sandwiches. It fills my entire home with rich, beefy smells and I can't resist trying to grab a little piece of roast beef for myself before dinner as it cooks.
Judge me all you want until you try it and it happens to you, too!
We slather our chuck in a buttery garlic paste then slow braise the whole roast in the oven over sliced sweet onions in beef broth, which means that our roast beef create their own au jus for dipping! It's a mind-blowingly simple and easy recipe.
When the beef roast is all done, toast up your hoagie rolls in the oven with slices of your favorite cheese and pile that sandwich high with that juicy roast beef, then serve with the au jus on the side.
Like I said, my whole family loves these sandwiches. It's such an easy recipe that's so comforting and tasty, perfect for the cooler weather!
This post may contain Affiliate Links. Please see my Full Disclosure Policy for more details.
Jump to:
- You've Found the Best French Dip Sandwich Recipe!
- Why You'll Love this Easy French Dip Recipe
- What is a French Dip?
- Equipment
- Ingredients for Homemade Beef Dip Sandwiches
- Beef Consomme vs Beef Stock
- How to Make this Easy French Dip Sandwiches Recipe
- Variations, Substitutions, and Tips
- What goes with a French Dip sandwich?
- Storing, Freezing, and Reheating these Easy French Dips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Sandwich Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Why You'll Love this Easy French Dip Recipe
- Tons of Flavor - a hot sandwich dipped into savory au jus with marbled beef and caramelized onions? It's nothing but flavorful!
- Makes a Fabulous Freezer Meal - split this big chuck roast into servings with the onions and au jus into separate freezer-safe containers for a yummy weeknight dinner anytime.
- Unbeatable Comfort Food - I mean, it's basically a pot roast sandwich. who's going to hate on that?!
What is a French Dip?
French dip sandwiches, which are also called beef dips, are sandwiches with origins in Los Angeles, California. It's a sandwich made with thinly sliced roast beef on a small French baguette.
French dips are served plain but more popularly served with Swiss cheese, onions, and an au jus sauce for dipping.
According to lore, the beef dip was invented at a sandwich shop when a cook accidentally dropped a French roll into a pan of meat drippings. The customer was in a rush and just asked for them to use it in their sandwich.
They liked it so much the restaurant kept it on menu!
Equipment
- A Dutch Oven Pot or 9x13 inch Baking Dish- I use a Dutch oven any time I want to braise beef. It holds Though if you don't have one, a large baking dish (here I used an enamel cast iron baking dish) and some aluminum foil works!
- A Baking Sheet or Baking Dish- to get the bread nice and toasty and the cheesy melty.
- Small Bowls - serve your beefy au jus in small bowls for each person to dip their sandwich into.
Ingredients for Homemade Beef Dip Sandwiches
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chuck Roast - this is a cut of meat from the shoulder of the cow. It's tough and full of connective tissue and is well-marbled with fat, which allows for our roast beef to end up super tender with the connective tissue melting into the au jus and giving it a little bit of body and plenty of beef flavor, honey!
- Sliced Onions - sweet or yellow onions are the best for this recipe. They give flavor to the jus while absorbing it as well, becoming soft and golden and flavorful.
- Garlic - rub down the roast with garlic paste made in the food processor or by hand. We're using a lot of garlic, so if you're not a garlic lover, halve the garlic or only use garlic powder.
- Butter - the garlic paste gets mixed into butter, which gets spread onto the roast before braising. You can swap the butter for olive oil or another prefered fat.
- Beef Stock
- Salt and Pepper
- Crusty Rolls - hoagie rolls or french rolls are classic; you really want something that can handle being dipped into the jus. I grabbed some Sub rolls from one of my local grocery stores, it was perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy inside.
- Slices of Cheese - Use your favorite melty cheese. The classic is Swiss but I am using provolone cheese in this recipe.
Beef Consomme vs Beef Stock
You've probably seen a lot of recipes use beef consomme in their French dips and wonder if you really need it...and what even is it?
Beef consomme is simply clarified beef broth that's been reduced a bit so the flavor is more concentrated. That's it!
I just use beef stock or broth, it's easy to find and easy to make yourself. I even add a spoonful of Better than Bouillon Beef Base for a more intensely beefy flavor since I always have it on hand.
How to Make this Easy French Dip Sandwiches Recipe
Step 1 | Put your sliced onions into your dutch oven or baking dish, season with salt, pepper, and a touch of sugar.
Step 2 | Mix together the pressed garlic, butter, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Rub the garlic butter all over the chuck and place it onto the sliced onions.
Step 3 | Add the beef stock into your pot, and give the chuck roast a little more salt and pepper if you think you need it.
Step 4 | Put it into your preheated oven, covered for 2 hours, then uncover and for another hour to 1.5 hours to really get those browned bits on top.
Step 5 | Shred the meat and strain the onions from the jus, if desired. Now you're ready to put the sandwiches together.
Step 6 | Turn your oven on to a low broil. Slice open the rolls, add a slice of provolone or swiss, top with the onions and shredded meat, and put into the oven for about 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Step 7 | Serve your delicious french dip sandwich with its au jus on the side in a small bowl for dipping.
Variations, Substitutions, and Tips
- Slow cooker friendly - make weeknight dinners a breeze by doing this all in the slow cooker and cooking on low for 8-10 hours while you're at work!
- Add umami - adding some soy sauce or worcestershire sauce to the beef broth gives us even deeper, richer umami flavor in our au jus.
- Use leftover prime rib - this rich, beefy, well-marbled cut is often served for holidays and we always end up with leftovers! Thin slices of prime ribeye are so delicious in this sandwich, and we often have au jus already with it!
- A good french dip needs sturdy bread to hold everything in. Toast your bread for extra strength.
What goes with a French Dip sandwich?
With this type of hearty comfort food, simple sides work best. My favorites?
Potato chips or crispy homemade fries are perfect here. Another sandwich side classic? Potato salad!
Or add some yummy, buttery mushrooms to the sandwich for extra deliciousness!
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating these Easy French Dips
Storage: keep the meat and onions in an airtight container and the jus in a separate container.
Freezing and Reheating: Place everything in one freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Make sure to label and date it! To reheat, take it all out of the container or bag and put everything into a slow cooker on high for about an hour.
Recipe FAQs
"Au jus" is a French term that translates to "with juice" or "with its own juice." In culinary terms, it refers to a flavorful sauce made from the natural juices of cooked meat, typically beef.
Yes you can. Sear the beef in a pan over medium-high heat on the stove, then cook everything in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Shred the meat, top bread with meat, and cheese, melt in the oven and enjoy!
Typically, French dips are served with Swiss cheese! I feel like most white cheeses like provolone, muenster, and havarti are also delicious additions.
More Sandwich Recipes
Click here to subscribe SWEET TEA & THYME’S NEWSLETTER for free and fresh recipes right into your inbox!
To pin this recipe and save it for later you can use the Pin button on the recipe card, the sharing buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above.
Tag me @sweet_tea_thyme on Instagram to share your remakes with me, I love looking through your photos!
Leave a 5 star rating and comment on the recipe card to let me know if you enjoyed this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Easy French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus
Your family will love these easy French dip sandwiches featuring tender roast beef, caramelized onions, and melted cheese. The mouthwatering au jus dipping sauce adds so much flavor! The recipe in this post is effortless and perfect for a hassle-free meal.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chuck roast, excess fat trimmed
- 5 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 28 oz beef stock or beef consomme
- 6 hoagie rolls
- 12 slices of cheese, swiss, havarti, or provolone
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- In a 9x13 baking dish or large dutch oven, layer the onion slices on the bottom of the dish. Season with the sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat onion slices in seasoning.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the butter, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper with the pressed garlic to make a garlic paste. Use the rest of the salt and pepper to season the meat generously on each side, then rub the garlic paste over each side of the roast. Place the seasoned chuck on top of the seasoned onion slices in your baking dish or dutch oven.
- Pour in beef broth then put it into the oven, covered with aluminum foil or with oven-safe lid, for 2 hours. Remove the lid and cook for another hour until chuck roast is tender and barely holding together.
- Pull the roast out; slice and shred the meat on a cutting board. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the onions from the jus; save both the au jus and onions separately.
- In the sandwich rolls, layer slices of cheese, onions, and meat. Place on baking sheets and put into the oven on a low broil. Melt the cheese for a few minutes, then remove from oven.
- Serve with the jus in small bowls on the side to dip into.
Notes
Variations, Tips, and Substitutions
Slow cooker friendly - make weeknight dinners a breeze by doing this all in the slow cooker and cooking on low for 8-10 hours while you're at work!
Add umami - adding some soy sauce or worcestershire sauce to the beef broth gives us even deeper, richer umami flavor in our au jus.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sweet Tea and Thyme!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 481Total Fat: 57gSaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 250mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 77g
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
Ginny says
No where in the instructions does it say to sauté the onions. So do we sauté them in step 2 before putting them in the baking dish?
Hi Ginny,
You don't sauté the onions in the recipe. They soften up in the braising liquid under the roast and soak up the beef flavors. It's all in the post.
xo, Eden
Amber says
I followed the directions, at 2 hours it wasn’t pulling apart so I added another 30 minutes. Internal temp was 186 and it came out tough. What do you recommend?
Hi! Let’s see if I can help you out. First what cut of beef did you use and what was the weight?
Grayson Millar says
Just leaving this here to say I am named Grayson and I was looking up quick French dip recipes and this was the first one I found. Lol!
GrammaSue says
Hi Eden! I love your name, by the way. This is exactly how I make my French Dip also, other than I add a ton of garlic and a tsp of Kitchen Bouquet (browning sauce). I know what you mean about making the house smell amazing! I think your tips were spot on! I do broil the inside of my french bread bc my husband likes it that way. It helps hold the bread together when dipping also. Thanks so much Eden. You are truly beautiful inside and out! Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe with us!
Tricia says
Can I use a roasting beef / eye round oven roast ? It’s 5 pounds how long would that take to cook in the oven?
Hi! Eye round roasts and chuck roasts are very different in the way they cook. An eye round will not fall apart and shred, it’s a leaner cut of meat and would come out dry and crumbly if you cook it too long.
That cut should be roasted at a higher temperature (around 500 F) for 7 minutes per pound, then let it sit in the oven for 2.5 hours. It will slice up as medium rare roast beef. If you have a meat thermometer (highly suggested) the perfect temperature would be 130 F.
Julie Carlyle says
OMG!
This recipe has my name all over 🙂
I can't wait to make it... happily we're coming into winter in Australia so this would be perfect!!
I've also pinned it so I don't forget to make it 🙂
Thanks for sharing
Julie
Tisha says
One of my favorite sandwiches!! Can't wait to make it at home
Jillian says
These look amazing! Great tip about the bread and I'll be sure to schedule time for a nap whenever I make these, so I can then dream about them too!
plant.well says
Beautiful photos! Love the savory sauce idea to dip the bread in!
Anita says
Wow, those sandwiches look so good, and the ingredients are not fuzzy at all, definitely doable even for me, and just perfect for busy days. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Catherine E. Brown says
Oh, these look delicious! They're the perfect size too, not too big!
Ashley - Forking Up says
When I was little, my Nana would take me to a diner and I'd always order the French Dip. It is so nostalgic for me! I need to make this one.
Annemarie says
This is my ideal comfort food! Those onions definitely give it the perfect flavor. Yum!
Heidy says
French Dip Sandwiches are totally a hit with me. I can't tell you how many nights I spent at a cafe near my collage dorm ordering these! Definitely a must try ASAP.
Cami says
I love French Dips, and usually cook the meat in the crock pot. I'm wanting to do an oven version, and these look delightful! One quick question- I don't see in the instructions where you use the called for butter? Thanks in advance!
Ashley says
How does the cooking time change if I use a 2 pound roast?
The timing isn’t too important, the most important aspect is the texture of your roast when it’s ready to be sliced.
The timing can vary because of differences in oven type, baking dish type, and cooking tools. This is why I say go more by texture than time, when you can somewhat easily pull a piece of the roast apart with your fork, it’s ready to come out of the oven.
I hope this helped!
Holly says
We made this last night and it was AMAZING! Even my 3 year old gobbled it up. Thank you for the great recipe!
Thank you for sharing! I'm so happy your toddler enjoyed it as much as mine did lol.
Aaron | The Hungry Hutch says
I love a good French dip!
SobeSavvy says
Now I am hungry! But that's the point right 🙂 I am like you..love roast but no patience to cook it. But I am now inspired! Thanks.
Thanks! If you make it, tag me in the pic with #sweetteaandthyme
SobeSavvy says
Will do!