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Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe at home is the copycat that hits exactly like the Arbys drive thru, shaved roast beef warmed in beef broth, real cheddar cheese sauce poured straight from the pan, and that signature tangy red sauce drizzle on a toasted onion bun. The same fast-food-at-home move that powered our Chick Fil A grilled chicken sandwich rebuild on a *busy Friday afternoon*.
Two sauces, shaved deli beef warmed in broth, and a toasted onion bun, that is the whole copycat.
Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 25 minutes
- 🍽 Serving: 4 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 580kcal
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Savory beef, sharp cheddar, tangy sweet red sauce
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our Chick Fil A grilled chicken sandwich
Quick Answer
Whisk a homemade Arbys red sauce from ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and onion powder. Make a cheddar cheese sauce by melting butter, whisking in flour, streaming in milk until thick, then stirring shredded cheddar off the heat. Warm shaved deli roast beef in simmering beef broth for 5 minutes, pile onto a toasted onion bun spread with the red sauce, top with the cheese sauce and the bun top, and serve.
Jump to:
- Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe FAQs
- Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
- Copycat Arbys Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Two sauces, two textures. The tangy red sauce hits the bottom for acid balance and the cheese sauce blankets the meat for richness. The two together are what people remember from the actual restaurant.
- Shaved deli beef is the shortcut. No need to roast a beef joint. Standard shaved deli roast beef from the counter has the exact thin shaved texture Arbys serves, and warming it in broth keeps it tender instead of dried out.
- Beef broth bath, not pan-fry. Dropping the shaved beef into simmering beef broth for 5 minutes keeps the slices loose and silky. Pan-frying turns them into chewy crispy bits, the wrong texture.
- Off-heat cheese stir prevents breaking. The classic cheese sauce mistake is adding cheese to a still-boiling pan, which breaks the emulsion. Pulling the pan off the heat first keeps the cheddar smooth.
- Onion bun is non-negotiable. The soft poppy-seeded onion top bun is half the Arbys experience. A sesame seed or brioche bun works in a pinch but loses some signature character.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Drive-thru flavor in 25 minutes. Two simple sauces, shaved deli beef, and a toasted bun. No special equipment, no fancy ingredients.
- Tastes just like Arbys. The red sauce and cheese sauce nail the flavor profile to the point that the kids will ask if you actually stopped at the drive thru. Same trick that scored our copycat Maid Rite rave reviews.
- Feeds 4 from one pound of deli beef. Budget-friendly and faster than ordering. Build a full meal with curly fries on the side for under .
Key Ingredients
- Shaved deli roast beef: One pound from the deli counter shaved as thin as possible. The thin shave is what gives the sandwich its signature texture. Bone-in roast beef or thick-sliced will not work.
- Onion buns: 4 soft onion hamburger buns, ideally the kind with poppy seeds and dried onion on top. The Arnold or Cobblestone brands carry the closest copycat option in most stores.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: Freshly shredded for the cheese sauce. Skip the pre-shredded bagged cheese, the anti-caking agents fight the smooth melt that defines the sauce.
- Whole milk plus butter and flour: The classic roux base for the cheese sauce. Whole milk gives the body, the roux gives the thickening backbone.
- Ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar: The four base ingredients for the homemade Arbys red sauce. The same tangy-sweet copycat profile that anchors our homemade BBQ sauce.
- Beef broth: Two cups of low-sodium beef broth to warm the shaved beef. This is the trick that keeps the meat tender and slightly saucy instead of dry.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use Velveeta cheese sauce. Swap the homemade cheese sauce for melted Velveeta plus a splash of milk for an even faster shortcut version. The flavor lands close to the actual Arbys sauce.
- Add crispy onion rings. Stack a few crispy onion rings on top of the beef before the cheese sauce for the Arbys Half Pound Beef and Cheddar copycat.
- Make it a Sliders tray. Use Hawaiian rolls and the same fillings to turn the recipe into a sheet pan of beef and cheddar sliders, like our cheeseburger sliders.
- Spicy version. Add a teaspoon of cayenne to the cheese sauce and a few dashes of hot sauce to the red sauce for a kicked-up copycat.
- Make a Beef and Swiss instead. Use thinly sliced Swiss cheese melted over the beef on the bun for the Arbys French Dip cousin recipe, served with a side of French dip sliders for a full beef sandwich spread.
How to Make Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe
- Make the homemade Arbys red sauce first. Add the ketchup, light brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside, the flavor improves as it sits.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute to form a smooth roux that loses the raw flour smell.
- Slowly stream in the whole milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take off the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until smooth.
- Add the beef broth to a large skillet over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer for about 5 minutes to concentrate the savory flavor.
- Separate the slices of shaved roast beef one by one and drop them into the simmering broth. This keeps the meat from sticking together in a wad and warms each slice through evenly. Warm for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Toast the onion buns lightly. Spread a generous tablespoon of homemade Arbys red sauce on the bottom bun, pile a quarter pound of warm shaved beef on top, pour the cheddar cheese sauce over the meat, and crown with the top bun. Serve immediately with curly fries.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Ask the deli to shave the beef thin. Standard sliced roast beef is too thick. Ask the deli counter for shaved or thin shaved roast beef, the same as Arbys uses.
- Make the red sauce ahead. The Arbys red sauce gets better as it sits. Whisk it up the morning of, or even the day before, so the flavors meld.
- Pull the cheese sauce off the heat before adding cheese. The biggest cheese sauce mistake is adding cheese to a still-boiling pan, which breaks the emulsion. Off-heat keeps it smooth and pourable.
- Shred your own cheese. Pre-shredded bagged cheese has anti-caking agents that fight the melt. Block cheddar shredded on a box grater is the move, the same melt trick that wins our Chick Fil A mac and cheese.
- Warm the beef in broth, not a dry pan. A dry pan dries out the shaved beef. The broth bath keeps it tender, silky, and slightly seasoned.
- Toast the buns. A quick 30 second toast in a dry skillet or oven seals the bun against the wet fillings so it does not turn into a mush sponge.
- Build to order. Assemble each sandwich right before serving. Pre-built sandwiches sitting around will go soggy from the warm beef and sauces.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
The Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe at home calls for crispy curly fries on the side and a frosty drink, exactly like the drive thru combo. Plate it next to our fried red potato wedges or a tray of Pizza Hut cheese sticks for the full copycat fast food feast.
For a backyard cookout spread, serve the sandwiches alongside our classic potato salad and a pitcher of white wine spritzer for the grown ups. Cool creamy mayo-based potato salad balances the rich cheese sauce.
If you want a copycat-only menu, line up these sandwiches next to our Chick Fil A grilled chicken club and a side of copycat Maid Rite sliders for a sandwich shop spread that beats any drive-thru in town.
Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe FAQs
The Arbys red sauce is called Arby Sauce, a sweet and tangy ketchup-based condiment with brown sugar, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and apple cider vinegar. It is the trademark drizzle on the beef and cheddar sandwich.
The Arbys beef and cheddar sandwich uses an onion roll bun, a soft toasted bun topped with poppy seeds and dehydrated onion. Sub a brioche bun or a sesame seed bun if onion rolls are not available.
Yes, shaved deli roast beef from the deli counter is exactly what works. Ask for it shaved as thin as possible, the same texture as Arbys serves. 1/2 pound feeds 4 sandwiches.
Arbys cheese sauce starts with a butter and flour roux, then stream in whole milk while whisking until thick, take off the heat, and stir in shredded sharp cheddar cheese until smooth. The off-heat step keeps the cheese from breaking.
Homemade Arbys sauce keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The flavor actually deepens after a day, so make it ahead if you can.
Make the Arbys sauce and cheese sauce up to 3 days ahead. Warm both on low heat right before serving and assemble the sandwiches fresh, the bread holds best when assembled to order.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If this Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe made dinner feel like the drive-thru without the drive, drop a star rating and tell us how the copycat compared. Pictures of your cheese pull on Pinterest make our day.
Build a full Southern dinner spread by pairing the sandwich with our Southern fried catfish recipe for golden cornmeal crusted catfish in under 20 minutes.
Round out a comfort food dinner with our easy pancit recipe with chicken for savory Filipino bihon noodles in under an hour.
For a fun sandwich night spread, serve easy cheeseburger sliders next.
In the mood for comfort food? Try this hearty beef chili next.
Round out dinner with cheesy hamburger foil packets next.
Craving a layered sandwich? Try our Italian deli sliders, layered Italian deli meats, provolone, and crisp veggies with a tangy homemade dressing on soft Hawaiian rolls.
Copycat Arbys Beef and Cheddar Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Add the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once it is melted, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in the milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes, and take off the heat. Stir in the cheese until melted, and set aside.
- Add the beef broth to a large skillet over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Separate the slices of roast beef one by one and drop them into the simmering broth. This will help the meat not to stick together. We are looking to just warm the beef, so only cook it for 1-2 minutes.
- Add some homemade Arby’s sauce to the bottom of an onion hamburger bun. Top with the beef. Add the cheese sauce on the top of the roast beef along with the top of the bun. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Make the cheese sauce just before making the sandwiches so it’s still warm.
- Reheat leftovers just until heated through to maintain the best texture.
- Use thinly sliced beef for a tender bite.
- Don’t rush the cheese sauce; let it simmer gently for a creamy finish.
- Toast the buns lightly for an extra layer of flavor and texture.
- Serve with seasoned curly fries or mozzarella sticks for the full Arby’s experience!
Nutrition
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Craving more restaurant copycats? Try our copycat Texas Roadhouse butter recipe next.
I made these but I used cheese sauce like is used at Arby’s instead of making it like in this recipe. Came out a lot better, more like Arby’s.
The red sauce was the best part of it. The cheese sauce, not so good.
I would give it 5 stars but the cheese sauce wasn’t that great