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This slow cooker Italian beef sandwich recipe yields melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy, and flavorful meat just like what you’d get in Chicago! It’s the perfect meal for game night, tailgating, potlucks, or parties.
Right up there with foods like deep dish pizza, their own style of hot dog (no ketchup in sight!), and savory/sweet cheddar caramel popcorn mix, Italian beef sandwiches are part of what make the Chicago food scene unique.
And to make it even better, you can enjoy this regional classic at home no matter where you live! Put your Crockpot to good use with this meal.
Slow-cooked, fall-apart-tender beef flavored with garlic, Italian herbs and spices, and giardiniera is dunked in the au jus (known as “gravy” in the Windy City) that it cooked in, and then piled on a sturdy roll. Top it with more giardiniera, sweet or hot peppers, cheese if you like, and call it a day.
In Chicago where this delicious concoction originated, once the sandwich is assembled, they typically dunk the whole shebang in the cooking liquid! I like mine with a side of au jus on the side for dipping, but you can do what your heart tells you.
What is Chicago Style Italian Beef?
Italian beef sandwiches, which are sometimes just lovingly referred to as “Italian beef” in Chicago, consist of tender, flavorful, thinly-sliced roast beef on French rolls.
Depending on your preference, the meat is topped with sweet or spicy peppers and mild or hot giardiniera.
Cheese isn’t a popular topping on this sandwich. However, many places offer mozzarella or provolone, should you be so inclined to ask for it. I’ve had this sandwich both with and without cheese, and enjoy it both ways.
If you’re not familiar with the lingo, ordering can be a little tricky in terms of the wetness factor: there’s dry, wet, and dipped. Dry means the excess au just drips off the meat before assembling the sandwich. Wet means the meat is soaked in au jus, placed on the roll, and then topped with another spoonful of gravy. And dipped means the entire sandwich is fully submerged in the cooking juice after it’s assembled. And yes, describing it as soggy or mushy is fair at that point! But boy oh boy is it good.
A hot mess or not, it’s a beautiful mess.
Italian Beef Sandwich Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
If you’re looking for an Italian beef recipe without Italian dressing mix, this is it! Instead of store-bought, pre-made powdered dressing (which usually contains a ton of preservatives), we use a delicious blend of spices to perfectly season this dish.
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Ingredients
- Olive oil – We drizzle a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Chuck roast – This beef cut is perfect for braising or slow cooking, and then shredding to make into sandwiches. Look for a roast with good marbling for the best flavor. Note that you can sear the beef in a hot skillet on the stovetop before transferring it to the slow cooker to go low-and-slow all day, but I find that it doesn’t change the end result significantly here.
- Onion and garlic – These aromatics add depth and complexity. The onion melts right down into the broth.
- Dried Italian seasoning – Italian herb blends typically include parsley, oregano, and basil, and occasionally rosemary, thyme, and/or marjoram.
- Dried oregano – Yes, it’s also a component of dried Italian seasoning, but we add a little more oregano to the mix.
- Sugar – We use just a little bit of granulated white sugar to create a balanced flavor profile.
- Salt and black pepper – These pantry-staple spices make sure our beef isn’t bland.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – This adds spicy heat and helps balance the dish.
- Pepperoncini (both the peppers and the juice) – We use both the pepperoncini and their brine to add a ton of flavor to this dish. If you like, you can also slice a couple of bell peppers and add them to the mix to slow cook along with everything else.
- Chicago-style giardiniera – Giardiniera is an Italian condiment of tangy pickled vegetables that usually includes cauliflower, carrot, celery, sweet peppers, and hot peppers, and also sometimes contains olives and herbs, such as oregano. To make this classic Italian relish “Chicago style”, the vegetables are marinated in oil after pickling. It’s available mild or hot, and Marconi and Scala are popular brands that make it. This flavor-packed relish is a classic component of Italian beef sandwiches!
- Beef broth – Or you can use beef consommé, which is a little richer in flavor with a silkier mouthfeel, and often a bit saltier than regular broth. If you use consommé instead of broth, you can reduce the added salt by half.
Sandwich Ingredients For Serving
Note that you don’t have to serve this Crockpot beef as sandwiches! You can serve it along with steamed vegetables, or on a bed of mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice. But if you do want to make the iconic Chicago sandwich, here’s what you’ll need to do it.
- Hoagie rolls – One of my favorite Chi-Town institutions for Italian beef is Portillo’s, and they use Turano rolls. Gonnella rolls are also popular among restaurants in Chicago that serve Italian beef subs. They’re commonly labeled French rolls, and they’re light with a soft interior and a crisp exterior that holds up well to the dipping process. (Don’t confuse the rolls with Amoroso rolls, which are used for Philly cheesesteaks!) If you can’t find these particular rolls, use whatever hoagie rolls you have access to in your area.
- Provolone cheese – Cheese is optional here. You can use mozzarella instead of provolone, or skip it altogether if you prefer.
- Pepperoncini – Top off the sandwiches with more pepperoncini, or go with roasted sweet peppers instead.
- Chicago-style giardiniera – Pile on more for topping if you want!
- Au jus – Aka, the gravy to Chicagoans! You can go all in and completely submerge your sandwich for the full experience. Or similar to a French Dip or Buffalo Roast Beef on Weck, just serve this sandwich along with a side of au jus for dipping.
How to Make Italian Beef in a Crockpot
- Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker, and then put the roast in. Add the onion and garlic around the sides of the roast.
- Sprinkle the following evenly across the top: dried Italian seasoning, dried oregano, sugar, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, pepperoncini, and giardiniera. Drizzle the beef broth and pepperoncini juice over the top of everything.
- Cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with 2 forks.
- While the meat is still in the slow cooker, use 2 forks to shred it. Stir the meat into the juices.
To serve as sandwiches, split the rolls in half lengthwise and top each with meat and the toppings of your choice: cheese, sliced pepperoncini, and/or giardiniera. If desired, serve each sandwich with a cup of the cooking liquid for dipping.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, you can use the stovetop or the microwave:
- Stovetop: Bring the au jus to a simmer in a pot on the stovetop. Add the meat and reheat until warm.
- Microwave: Put the meat in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a generous splash of the au jus. Put a water-dampened paper towel on top of the meat. Microwave until warm in 45-second intervals, stirring between each interval.
Tips
- Sweet bell peppers – If you like sweet peppers on your sandwiches, you can add them here! Cut 2 sweet bell peppers (any colors you like) into quarters, remove the seeds, and add them on top of the roast. This way, as the roast slow cooks the peppers will get tender, but not mushy. These are absolutely delicious added to the sandwiches.
- Low and slow – For this recipe, I recommend cooking the meat on LOW for 8 to 10 hours (and I usually go for the full 10 hours) instead of trying to hurry it along on the HIGH setting. This will result in the most deliciously flavorful fall-apart tender meat you can imagine!
- Gluten free low(er) carb version – Use a keto-friendly sweetener instead of sugar. And then for serving, you can take a cue from Jersey Mike’s and make a “sub in a tub”. Simply serve the meat topped with au jus (and cheese if you like) in a bowl! Another option is to serve the meat on keto rolls or on keto bread.
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwich Recipe FAQs
What Cut of Meat is Used For Italian Beef?
The cut of beef that’s typically used to make Italian beef is chuck roast. Look for a roast with good marbling for the most tender, juicy results. However, instead of chuck roast you can also use a chuck arm roast, top sirloin roast, cross rib roast, tri-tip roast, top round roast, or bottom round roast (aka rump roast).
You can read more about the different cuts of beef and what to use them for on Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
What is the Best Cheese to Put on Italian Beef?
Let me start by saying that cheese is optional on Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches! This meaty sandwich is still absolutely delicious without it, and many people prefer it that way.
If you want to add cheese, mozzarella is popular, but personally, I’m partial to provolone here. Similar to mozzarella, provolone melts into gooey, stretchy, cheesy oblivion.
However, provolone is much more flavorful than mozzarella! It’s rich and buttery, but also has the perfect amount of sharp bite to it so you can actually taste the flavor of the cheese on the sandwich.
What Do You Serve with Italian Beef?
There are so many options! You can steer to the healthier side with salads or vegetable side dishes, or go with classic fast food sides like fries.
- Beer Batter Onion Rings – Extra crispy, crunchy, and delicious, these are the perfect foil for tender beef sandwiches.
- Portillo’s Chopped Salad Copycat – In just 30 minutes, you’ll have a replica of the salad that you can order from the same Chicago restaurant that serves some of the best Italian beef sandwiches!
- Air Fryer Green Bean Fries – This is a great way to get in a vegetable while still satisfying your desire for something crunchy.
- Keto Creamy Cauliflower Potato Salad – To keep the carbs down with this meal, you can omit the rolls (or serve the beef on keto buns or keto bread), and enjoy it along with this deliciously creamy faux potato salad as a side dish.
More Easy Crockpot Meals to Try
- Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken
- Crockpot Enchiladas (Ground Beef Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole)
- Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
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Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches Recipe (Chicago-Style!)
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Equipment
Ingredients
Slow Cooker Italian Beef:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pound chuck roast (a 2 to 3-pound roast will work)
- 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 6 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup jarred sliced pepperoncini drained (reserve the juice)
- 1 cup jarred mild Chicago-style giardiniera drained (you can reserve the oil that it's packed in, but you don't need it for this recipe)
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini juice
Optional Ingredients For Making Sandwiches:
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 8 slices provolone cheese
- 1/2 cup jarred sliced pepperoncini drained
- 1/2 cup jarred mild Chicago-style giardiniera drained
- Au jus from cooking the roast
Instructions
- Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker, and then put the roast in. Add the onion and garlic around the sides of the roast. Sprinkle the following evenly across the top: dried Italian seasoning, dried oregano, sugar, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, pepperoncini, and giardiniera. Drizzle the beef broth and pepperoncini juice over the top of everything.
- Cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with 2 forks.
- While the meat is still in the slow cooker, use 2 forks to shred it. Stir the meat into the juices so it’s coated.
- To serve, split the rolls in half lengthwise and top each with meat and the toppings of your choice: cheese, sliced pepperoncini, and/or giardiniera. If desired, serve each sandwich with a small cup of the cooking liquid for dipping.
Notes
- Nutrition Information: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated without the optional ingredients for making sandwiches.
- Serving Size: This recipe makes 4 large servings (with a generous amount of meat per sandwich), so if need be you can make smaller sandwiches to get more servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: You can reheat this in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Stovetop: Bring the au jus to a simmer in a pot on the stovetop. Add the meat and reheat until warm.
- Microwave: Put the meat in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a generous splash of the au jus. Put a water-dampened paper towel on top of the meat. Microwave until warm in 45-second intervals, stirring between each interval.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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