Cooked low and slow these well known and delicious Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches are the perfect dinner time meal. You will not be able to resist these.
Growing up in Chicago and going there a couple of times a year I’m obsessed with Italian Beef Sandwiches.
Everyone knows Chicago for its deep-dish pizza but only a true Chicagoin knows a juicy Italian Beef is where it’s at.
We love to dip our hoagie roll in the juice from cooking the beef then pile it high with the shaved beef. Most of the time it is served with sweet peppers (roasted green bell peppers) and spicy giardiniera.
This is a home-cooked version with shredded beef and topped with sliced mozzarella because who doesn’t love cheese?!
I personally always like to have more of the “juice” on the side to dip each bite. It’s messy, hearty, pure comfort food. And trust me this is comfort right here!
Some of my other favorite sandwich recipes we have on our site include Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches, Easy Muffaletta Sandwiches and Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sliders.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With easy to find ingredients mainly containing spices, this is a breeze to make.
- Cooking the slow and slow makes the beef super tender and easy to shred.
- You can use any leftover meat for other things, topped on potatoes or rice, etc.
These Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches are super easy to whip up, I promise. Once you try them you wont want to stop eating them. They are addictive.
That is what made me come to love them so much. I mean being formerly from Chicago helped but when you can make a good sandwich at home, nothing compares.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES:
- Combine beef broth, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried onion, parsley, garlic powder, Bay leaf, and Italian salad dressing mix.
- Put the roast in the slow cooker.
- Pour mixture over top of the roast.
- Add giardiniera, pepperoncini’s, and liquid over roast
- Cover and cook on low for approximately 10 hours or until pull=apart tender.
- When done take out the Bay leaf.
- Shred meat with two forks
- Serve on a hoagie roll topped with sliced mozzarella cheese and extra peppers and giardiniera if desired.
WHAT IS GIARDINIERA?
Chicago-style giardiniera is a mixture of chopped vegetables, most commonly, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, celery, and Chile peppers that is then marinated in vinegar or oil.
This is something I absolutely love to add to my Italian Beef Sandwiches, but is completely option if you would like to add them.
You can easily locate it at your local supermarket a lot of the times or deli if you have one near you!
HOW TO STORE:
If you have leftover beef from your Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches you can easily store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container such as a ziptop bag or Tupperware container, I like to store with some of the juices.
This will stay good properly stored in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This can also be frozen. The best way is to store with some juices in a freezer bag with the air pushed out. This should keep for up to 5 months.
Let defrost in the refrigerator and heat up in a pan on the stove or in your microwave, either will work just fine.
I mean just look at these sandwiches, are they calling your name? Because they are certainly calling mine. Now I miss the originals I had from Chicago, but this is the next best thing.
I love trying to get as authentic to the original as I can and I think this recipe pretty much hits the nail on the head!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Use the pan juices for dipping, it is amazing.
- You can choose to use giardiniera if you like, I highly recommend it but it is optional.
- Leftover meat can easily be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- We like to serve these with mozzarella cheese, but provolone is also a good substitute.
- Do not try to cook this on high, this must be cooked on low otherwise the meat will get tough and you won’t be able to shred it.
- Don’t forget to remove your bay leaf, the last thing you want is one of those in your sandwich.
If you are looking for the perfect sandwich, look no further. These Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches are easy, addictive and the perfect dinner recipe.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these SLOW COOKER ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried onion
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix package of dried salad dressing mix. Such as Good Seasons
- 3-4 lbs chuck roast
- 1/2 cup giardiniera
- 4-8 pepperoncinis more or less to taste
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini juice
Instructions
- Combine beef broth, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried onion, parsley, garlic powder, Bay leaf, and Italian salad dressing mix.
- Put the roast in the slow cooker.
- Pour mixture over top of the roast.
- Add giardiniera, pepperoncini’s, and liquid over roast
- Cover and cook on low for approximately 10 hours or until pull=apart tender.
- When done take out the Bay leaf.
- Shred meat with two forks
- Serve on a hoagie roll topped with sliced mozzarella cheese and extra peppers and giardiniera if desired.
Video
Notes
- Nutritional information is calculated for the meat only, not cheese or hoagie rolls.
- Use the pan juices for dipping, it is amazing.
- You can choose to use giardiniera if you like, I highly recommend it but it is optional.
- Leftover meat can easily be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- We like to serve these with mozzarella cheese, but provolone is also a good substitute.
- Do not try to cook this on high, this must be cooked on low otherwise the meat will get tough and you won't be able to shred it.
- Don't forget to remove your bay leaf, the last thing you want is one of those in your sandwich.
Comments & Reviews
Dolores says
Italian Beefs are sliced meat. Not shredded just sayin. Also the juice from the pepperoncini is A bit hot.
Dana DeVolk says
You’re right, I never claimed them to be like the original.