Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches

Update: This post was originally shared in January 2016. In January 2021 it was republished with new photos and an improved recipe.

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches are so easy to make! Just a few simple ingredients and your crock pot will pull together a delicious meal that's great for weeknights or during tailgating season.

Crock Pot recipes can be hit or miss. Sometimes they're delicious and you find yourself going back for seconds and other times they're just bland and unappetizing. While you would think slowly cooking something over a long period of time would enhance the flavor, that is not always the case. Through lots of trial and error I've found that you need to really pack in the spices and flavors to get a tasty crock pot meal.

Good news! This Italian beef recipe does just that - a packet of seasoning mix along with some extra spices gives this sandwich all the flavor you'll need.

What is an Italian Beef Sandwich?

An Italian beef sandwich consists of roast beef, either thinly-sliced or shredded, that's been well seasoned and simmered. It's served on an Italian-style roll. Many people choose to add cheese, banana peppers, pepperoncini, or giardiniera.

Ingredients for this sandwich

• Beef Roast - 2-3 lbs, I like to use a bottom round roast
• Italian Dressing Packet - 0.7 oz of the dry dressing seasoning
• Spices - 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and black pepper
• Bell Peppers - 2 green peppers, thinly sliced
• Onion - thinly sliced, I always use Vidalia, but any onion is fine
• Whole Canned Tomatoes - 14.5 oz can. You can chop these or leave them whole
• Pepperoncini - 6 oz of peppers (stems removed) and juice
• Hoagie Rolls - or any long Italian style roll
• Provolone Cheese - about 16 slices, 2 per sandwich

How to make Italian beef

1. Trim the roast of any large pieces of fat. Place the roast into a 6 quart crock pot.
2. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning packet, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and pepper on top of the beef.
3. Arrange sliced bell peppers and onions around the roast. Arrange tomatoes around the roast.
4. Add the pepperoncini and their juice.
5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
6. Shred the beef with a fork.
7. Toast Hoagie rolls with 2 slices of provolone cheese on top. Add beef mixture, along with any additional pepperoncini.

This sandwich is SOO good. Seriously, I could eat these at least once a week. I like to make sure to scoop up a bunch of the peppers, onions, pepperoncini and tomatoes from the crock pot to get them on the sandwich.

You can use the juice from the beef as an au jus dipping sauce for the sandwich or thicken some of it up to serve as a gravy.

What to serve with Italian beef sandwiches?

This sandwich is hearty and filling enough to be a meal on it's own, but some great side dishes include

• thick cut fries, like steak fries
• pasta salad
• macaroni salad
• a garden salad
• green beans and mushrooms
• cucumber tomato salad

If you'd rather not serve the Italian beef as a sandwich, it's delicious over mashed potatoes!

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