French Dip Sandwiches

These French dip sandwiches are the real version — a chuck roast braised for three hours until it shreds, piled onto crusty baguettes with caramelized onions and melted provolone, with a cup of hot au jus on the side for dipping.

The thing that makes this work is that the au jus isn’t a separate thing you make. It’s the braising liquid. Four cups of beef broth and a little Worcestershire go in the pot with the roast, and three hours later that liquid has everything the meat gave up in it. So you skim it, season it, and then pour it into cups. That’s it.

The two things I add that you won’t always see: caramelized onions, cooked all the way down until they’re jammy, and a horseradish aioli on the bread. Besides, the aioli is four ingredients stirred together in thirty seconds and it’s the difference between a good sandwich and one people talk about.

If sandwiches like this are your thing, make my Shrimp Po Boy Sandwich or my Grinder Sliders next.

What Is a French Dip Sandwich?

In short, a French dip is roast beef on a crusty roll, served with a cup of the beef’s own cooking juices for dipping. It was invented in Los Angeles rather than France — the name comes from the French roll it’s traditionally served on. There are two restaurants in LA that both claim to have made the first one, and they’ve been arguing about it for over a hundred years.

Above all, the dipping is the whole point. The bread has to be crusty enough to go into the jus and come back out in one piece, which is why a soft roll doesn’t work here.

Why Everyone Loves These French Dip Sandwiches

Honestly, this is what I make when I want one dinner to feel like an event without standing over anything.

• The au jus is free. It’s the braising liquid. No separate sauce, no gravy step, no stock reduction at the end.
• Shredded, not sliced. Meanwhile, braised chuck pulls apart into strands that hold the jus. Deli roast beef can’t do that.
• The horseradish aioli. Mayo, prepared horseradish, grated garlic, lemon and salt. It cuts the richness and it takes no time.
• Mostly hands-off. First sear it, then braise it, and finally walk away. The onions are the only thing that needs attention, and they’re forgiving.
• It’s a cheap cut. One chuck roast makes four big sandwiches.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Everything here is from a regular grocery store, and in fact most of it is probably already in your kitchen.

NOTE: The full list of ingredients with measurements is provided in the recipe card below.

• Chuck roast: Two to three pounds. Chuck has the fat and connective tissue that break down into shreddable meat. Lean cuts stay tough and dry no matter how long you braise them.
• Beef broth: Four cups. This does double duty — it braises the meat and then it becomes the au jus, so use one you’d actually drink. Low sodium gives you room to season it at the end.
• Worcestershire sauce: Two tablespoons in the braise. It’s doing the savory background work you can’t quite name.
• Crusty baguettes: Four, sandwich length, split. Crusty is the requirement. You’re dipping these — a soft roll turns to paste.
• Provolone: Eight slices, two per sandwich. It melts smooth without going greasy. Swiss works if that’s what you have.
• Yellow onions: Two large, sliced thin, cooked down in butter for 30 to 40 minutes. There’s no rushing this part and it’s worth every minute.
• Mayonnaise, prepared horseradish, garlic and lemon: The aioli. Half a cup of mayo, two tablespoons of horseradish, one small clove grated fine, a teaspoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

How to Make French Dip Sandwiches

First, start the roast — it’s three hours in the oven, so everything else happens while it braises. You’ll need a heavy pot with a lid; I use a large Dutch oven because it goes from the stovetop straight into the oven.

1. Make the aioli: First, stir the mayonnaise, horseradish, grated garlic, lemon juice and salt together. Chill it until you need it.

Braise the beef and caramelize the onions

2. Season and sear: Next, season the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Sear it in oil in a Dutch oven until it’s deeply browned on all sides.

3. Braise: Then add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, cover, and braise at 325°F for 2½ to 3 hours, until the meat shreds apart easily.

4. Caramelize the onions: While the roast braises, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 30 to 40 minutes until they’re deep golden brown and jammy.

5. Shred the meat and make the au jus: Lift the roast out and shred it with two forks. Skim the fat off the braising liquid, taste it, season it, and keep it hot — that’s your au jus.

Build and broil the sandwiches

6. Toast the bread: Meanwhile, split the baguettes and toast them lightly so the insides are crisp.
7. Build: Pile the shredded meat into each baguette, top with the caramelized onions, then lay the provolone over the top.

8. Broil: Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Watch it — this takes a couple of minutes, not ten.

9. Finish and serve: Finally, spread the horseradish aioli on the top half of the bread, close the sandwiches, and serve each one with a cup of hot au jus.

My Best French Dip Sandwich Tips

• Sear it like you mean it. The braising liquid becomes the au jus, so every bit of browning on that roast ends up in the cup. A pale sear gives you a pale, flat jus.
• Skim the fat. So let the liquid sit a few minutes and spoon the fat off the top. Greasy au jus coats your mouth and nobody wants a second dip.
• Season the jus at the end, not the start. It reduces over three hours. Salt it early and you’ll end up with something you can’t drink.
• Low and slow on the onions. Medium-low heat and 30 to 40 minutes. High heat burns the edges before the sugars develop, and burnt onions taste bitter in a sandwich this rich.
• Toast the bread, every time. Above all, a crisp interior is the only thing standing between your sandwich and a soggy collapse.
• Serve the jus hot. Otherwise, lukewarm au jus cools the whole sandwich down. Keep it on the stove until the second you pour it.

What to Serve With French Dip Sandwiches

• Fries, obviously. My copycat Popeyes fries next to these is a very good Friday.
• Tomato soup. My roasted tomato soup if you want two things on the table worth dipping into.
• Something crisp and sharp. A kale Caesar salad or a cucumber tomato and feta salad cuts all that beef and cheese.
• Pickles on the side. In other words, not on the sandwich. The acid belongs next to it, not in it.

Storage and Make Ahead

To store, keep the shredded beef in some of the au jus in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store the onions, the aioli and the bread separately, because an assembled sandwich will not hold up overnight.

To reheat, warm the meat in a covered pot with a little jus over low heat. Reheat the jus on the stove separately and build the sandwiches fresh.

To freeze, simply freeze the shredded beef in its jus for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The onions freeze well too; the aioli does not.

To make ahead, French dip sandwiches are a great thing to build in stages. Braise the roast and caramelize the onions a day early, make the aioli up to three days ahead, and then all that’s left at dinnertime is toasting, building and broiling.

French Dip Sandwich FAQs

What is au jus made of?

In this recipe, it’s the beef broth and Worcestershire the roast braised in, skimmed and seasoned. That’s the traditional version — “au jus” is French for “with juice,” meaning the meat’s own cooking juices. The powdered packets at the store are a different thing entirely.

What’s the best cut of beef for French dip sandwiches?

Chuck roast if you’re shredding, which is how I make it. If you want thin sliced roast beef instead, use a top round or an eye of round roasted to medium-rare and sliced thin — but then you’ll need to make the jus separately, because a roast that isn’t braised doesn’t give you one.

What kind of bread should I use?

Generally, crusty French baguettes, cut to sandwich length. You need a crust sturdy enough to survive the dip and an interior that won’t disintegrate. Hoagie rolls work. Brioche, potato rolls and anything soft will fall apart in the cup.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes. Sear the roast on the stove first — that browning is where the au jus gets its flavor — then transfer it with the broth and Worcestershire to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Skim the fat before you serve the jus.

Can I use a different cheese?

Swiss is the usual alternative and it’s good here. Mozzarella melts well, although it doesn’t bring much flavor. However, I’d skip cheddar, because it goes oily under the broiler and fights the au jus.

Can I skip the horseradish?

You can, and it’s still a good sandwich. Instead, make the aioli with just mayo, garlic, lemon and salt. That said, prepared horseradish is milder than people expect once it’s stirred into mayonnaise, because it reads as tang more than heat.

How many does this make?

Four full-size sandwiches from a 2 to 3 pound roast. However, if you’re feeding a crowd, you can cut them in half and serve them as eight, because they are big.

If you love this recipe, please leave a review! It means the world to me! Xo Toni

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