Easy French Dip Sandwiches Recipe

A pure comfort food to me are easy French dip sandwiches.  That lean, thinly sliced meat dredged in its own au jus and nestled in a crusty baguette with a bowl of rich au just on the side.  Pure dipping pleasure!  I believe every casual restaurant worth its salt has French dip sandwiches on their menu.  Our easy French dip sandwiches recipe is a healthier, less salty, lighter version than many you’ll find in your local pub.  But still bursting with flavor.

 How to Make Easy French Dip Sandwiches

Our easy French dip sandwiches recipe is ready in 15 minutes using very rare sliced deli roast beef.  You will not find an easier recipe for French dip anywhere.  Ask the deli counter for the rarest meat they can slice, reason being is that the thin meat cooks quickly when dipped in the hot broth so the rarer the better.

If you have the time and want to bring a little more richness and flavor, then make your own roast beef and jus from a bottom round cut of meat.  Or you can use brisket, rump roast or chuck roast.  Bottom round is a great choice and the least expensive of the meat choices.  The slow cooker is my preferred cooking choice for these sandwiches.  I don’t even brown the meat beforehand.  Again, looking for ease here folks.

Rub the crock of your slow cooker with oil (or spray), place meat in the cooker, cover with the 3 cups beef broth and cook on low for 7 hours.  You can add 2 thinly sliced onions for a boost in flavor.  You will want to use a strong beef broth or stock.  If you use a canned consommé (3 cans) then you’ll want to add a ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce for a kick.  See our Slow Cooker Beef Roast recipe here for more tips.

When using the deli meat in our easy French dip sandwiches recipe, all you have to do is warm up the beef broth and dip the deli meat in the broth to warm the meat up.  Butter or spread mayonnaise on your bread, crisp in a skillet.  Pile the meat on your warm, crispy bread and serve with a bowl of au jus.   Ah, perfect fall or winter week night meal or game time treat.  It’s a great party food because the sandwiches can be served room temperature as long as you heat up the broth.

What Kind of Broth is Best for French Dip Sandwiches?

Homemade is always an option.  I typically use a brand called Better Than Bouillon.  It’s great because the bouillon is concentrated.  This means a small jar is equal to a bunch or cans of broth.  It saves space and is much richer tasting than a typical canned broth. It comes in a little round jar that you keep in the refrigerator once it’s opened.   With Better Than Bouillon you just add some boiling water and stir.  It’s thick, rich and perfect for dipping our easy French dip sandwiches in.

 

What Kind of Bread is Best for French Dip Sandwiches?

Crusty, crusty, crusty.  You need a nice firm bread like French bread that can stand up to the dipping.  Otherwise the sandwich will just fall apart when you dip in the au jus.  For my easy French dip sandwiches recipe I use a long, thin baguette cut into 5” pieces.  I mean thin, not the typical French bread that’s 4” across but one that’s about 2 ½” wide.  These make small sandwiches but are so much easier to eat and far less messy than their larger counterparts.  For those hungry eaters that want more, just serve 2 or 3 sandwiches.  It really makes for less waste since people that don’t want a huge portion now don’t have to make excuses for not eating the whole sandwich.  Portion control at it’s best!  With three big boys at my household that’s rarely a problem, but that’s not the case for many.

You can simply slice and then pile on the meat.  Or you can brush with oil or butter and brown in a frying pan.

Do You Add Cheese for Your Easy French Dip Sandwiches Recipe?

Traditionalist say no cheese ever.  The au jus adds so much flavor, the last thing you need is to add more calories with cheese.  BUT if you insist on adding cheese (you can look at me) then good complements to the beef are provolone, Swiss or gruyere, Havarti, or good ole American.  My brother suggested his favorite way, which is to spread cream cheese on one side of the roll and melt cheese on the other half.  Experiment with toppings, go for it, this is a simple sandwich that begs for twists.

If you choose to use cheese on the French dip sandwich then place a piece of cheese on the browned roll and place in the oven for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.

What is Au Jus?

 

It’s just the drippings from cooking the beef.  Or if you are using deli meat, you can substitute with beef broth of some sort.  Look above in the post How to Make French Dip Sandwiches for the brand that I prefer.  Au jus.  French word, fancy sounding, just good ole broth though.  If you cooked the eye round or other piece of meat in the slow cooker, then you’ll want to skim the fat off the left over broth.  Use a metal spoon to skim as much fat as you can that rises to the top.  If you aren’t eating right away then you can let it cool, or refrigerate overnight, and the fat will solidify on the top and it’s easy to just scoop it off and toss away.

To Sauce or Not To Sauce

For our easy French dip sandwiches recipe we like to add a horseradish sauce to add a nice kick to the sandwich.  Mix some mayonnaise with horseradish and in 1 minute you have a delectable sauce.  You can use this sauce on all kinds of sandwiches.  You want to get the refrigerated horseradish, not the one found shelf stable in the condiment section.

What to Serve With French Dip Sandwiches

Maryland Boardwalk Style French Fries

Chips

Mashed Potatoes

Our easy French dip sandwiches recipe is perfect for an easy weeknight meal or for a party tray.  MMMM, MMMM.

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