French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

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I love French Dip Sandwiches, but don’t love the time it takes to make the classic version. Enter my super speedy method! Roast Beef lunch meat and store bought Au Jus are jazzed up with a few extra ingredients to make this whole sandwich taste amazing and come together in about 15 minutes. It’s a killer dinner and so so delicious with Macaroni Salad or Potato Salad.

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (1)

French Dip Sandwiches in 15 Minutes

I know that title seems a little unbelievable, but it’s true! I’ve rigged the classic French Dip Sandwich and shaved down as much time as possible to create a fast but still delicious and flavorful sandwich you are going to love. With the help of your broiler and a few store bought ingredients, you will be enjoying these French Dips in no time. Makes amazing lunches or fast dinners.

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2)
French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (3)

Main Ingredients Needed

Here is the really short list of grocery items needed to make these French Dips at home!

  • Au Jus Gravy Mix– a powdered mix when whisked together with water creates a really tasty base for our Au Jus dip. This is the Au Jus Mix I used, but feel free to use the brand you prefer.
  • Roast Beef– thinly sliced lunch meat. I look for the roast beef that has the least amount of fat in the deli case. That’s just my preference, though. Use a brand you like.
  • Garlic + Bay Leaves– used to flavor the au jus so it tastes more homemade
  • Hoagie Rolls– I like toasting the exterior of these rolls just a touch before opening them up and toasting the insides. The toasting is completely optional, but I do find that it helps them hold up a little better.
  • Butter-used to butter the inside of the toasted rolls
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How to Make French Dip Sandwiches

Again, this is a speedy recipe. No special equipment or tools needed. For increments and more specific directions, check the recipe card at the bottom of this post, right before the comments.

Step 1: Make the Au Jus + Warm the Beef

Whisk powdered Au Jus together with water in the bottom of a pot or deep skillet. Mine called for 3 cups of water, but double check yours to make sure that increment of water to powder is correct. You want to make it according to package directions.

Smash two cloves of garlic and add them to the au jus. Add the bay leaves. Transfer to stove and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add in the roast beef to warm. Keep meat warm over low heat.

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (5)
French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (6)

Step 2: Toast and Butter Your Rolls

While au jus/meat is warming, toast your hoagie buns. I like to toast the bottoms of the rolls, and toast the insides. Watch your bread closely as you don’t want it to burn. The toasting is definitely optional but it helps keep your bread together when you add the juicy meat. Also optional, but feel free to spread butter on the exterior of the roll too. It miiiight be overkill, but man is it good.

Once the insides of the bread are toasted, spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter onto each half and rub with raw garlic clove. SO much flavor is added when you rub the bread with the garlic. Don’t skip this step! It makes such a difference.

Step 3: Assemble the French Dips

Divide the meat between each bottom half of the sandwich and add the provolone cheese, 1 slice per sandwich. (You can always add more if you like it cheesy.) Broil again briefly to melt the cheese; should take 30 seconds to 1 minute since the meat is already hot.

Add the top, cut in half and serve with hot au jus.

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (7)
French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (8)

Favorite Sides for Hot Sandwiches

While the warm French Dip Sandwich is really filling and delicious on its own, here are a few tasty sides that would made this meal more complete:

  • Fruit Salad
  • Classic Coleslaw
  • Homemade Kettle Chips
  • Caesar Salad
  • Ambrosia
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Love French Dip Sandwiches? Try these other Favorites:

  • Egg Salad Sandwiches
  • Low Carb Bagel Sandwiches
  • Easy Chicken Melts
  • Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sliders

Anyways, I hope you love love love this recipe as much as my family has come to love it! It’s a simple dinner that has made our dinner menu three weeks in a row. While I love spending the time on classic recipes from time to time, sometimes its nice to have a quick recipe in your back pocket for those busy nights. Enjoy, friends!

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (10)

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5 from 4 votes

French Dip Sandwiches

Make this homemade French Dip Sandwich recipe at home in no time. Slow-cooked flavor with a few store-bought ingredients and little effort.

servings 4 sandwiches

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 Powdered Au Jus Mix
  • 3 cups water to make the au jus, check package directions
  • 3 cloves garlic divided
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 14 oz Roast Beef Lunch Meat
  • 4 Hoagie Buns/Rolls
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 4 slices provolone cheese

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Turn oven onto broil. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

  • Whisk powdered Au Jus together with water in the bottom of a pot or deep skillet. (Mine called for 3 cups of water, but double check yours to make sure that increment of water to powder is correct. You want to make it according to package directions.) Smash two cloves of garlic and add them to the au jus. Add the bay leaves. Transfer to stove and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add in the roast beef to warm. Keep meat warm over low heat.

  • While au jus/meat is warming, toast your hoagie buns. I like to toast the bottoms of the rolls, and toast the insides. Watch your bread closely as you don't want it to burn. The toasting is definitely optional but it helps keep your bread together when you add the meat.

  • Once the insides of the bread are toasted, spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter onto each half and rub with raw garlic clove.

  • Divide the meat between each bottom half of the sandwich and add the provolone cheese, 1 slice per sandwich. (You can always add more if you like it cheesy.) Broil again to melt the cheese; should take 30 seconds to 1 minute since the meat is already hot.

  • Add the top, cut in half and serve with hot au jus.

Notes

To make this more Macro Friendly, simply reduce the butter by half OR omit it completely.

Nutrition

Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 2124mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 521IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 557mg | Iron: 5mg

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: French Dip Sandwiches

French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

FAQs

What is a standard French dip? ›

French dip, a sandwich traditionally consisting of sliced roast beef (though pork, ham, turkey, and lamb are sometimes used), served on French bread, and eaten au jus (“with juice,” referring to the flavourful drippings of the meat left over from roasting).

Which LA Eatery lays claim to the invention of the French dip sandwich? ›

Inventors of The French Dip

In 1918, the French Dip Sandwich was created at Philippe's by accident and the rest is history.

What's the difference between French dip and Philly cheesesteak? ›

French Sandwiches FAQs

It is often accompanied by au jus, a flavorful beef broth for dipping. On the other hand, Philly Cheesesteak features thinly sliced beef steak, traditionally topped with melted cheese, such as Cheez Whiz or provolone, accompanied by bell peppers and/or mushrooms and served on a long roll.

What's the difference between a French dip in a roast beef sandwich? ›

French dip is made with cold roast beef that's heated either in the jus or on a grill, then put on a bun to serve with more jus on the side as the 'dip'. Cheeseseak starts with raw beef that's cooked on a grill -often with onions and peppers - then piled on a bun a topped with cheese - often 'American' or cheez whiz.

What is the French dip sauce made of? ›

To make it, you're going to place your roasting pan with the beef drippings on the stove top before adding your onions, garlic, thyme, beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer, then cook until slightly thickened. Soon, you'll have the most delicious dipping sauce to complete your French dip.

What is on classic French Dip & Swiss? ›

Roast beef. Swiss. Sub roll. French au jus sauce.

Who made the first French dip? ›

Philippe's was established in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, who claimed the distinction of having created the “French Dipped Sandwich.” One day in 1918, while making a sandwich, Mathieu inadvertently dropped the sliced french roll into the roasting pan filled with juice still hot from the oven.

Why do they call it a French dip? ›

There is further uncertainty about why the dish is called the French dip. It could be due to Philippe's heritage, the French roll it is served on, or because the police officer's name was French. The second restaurant that claims to have invented the French dip is Cole's, also known as Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet.

What is an interesting fact about the French dip? ›

It comes with a special sauce called jus which is usually made with the juice and fat that came off the roast beef when they were cooking it. It was not originally from France; two restaurants in Los Angeles, California, Cole's and Philippe's, both claim to have invented it.

What is another name for a French dip sandwich? ›

A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef (or, sometimes, other meats) on a "French roll" or baguette.

What cheese can I substitute for Philly cheesesteak? ›

The traditional cheese of choice is a provolone, but if you can't find that try using a good mozzarella. While it will lack the flavour of the provolone, it will still melt well, which is essential for a good cheeses teak.

Is cheese standard on a French Dip? ›

It is usually served plain but a popular variation is to top with Swiss cheese, onions, and a dipping container of beef broth produced from the cooking process (termed au jus, "with juice").

What makes a French Dip French? ›

There is further uncertainty about why the dish is called the French dip. It could be due to Philippe's heritage, the French roll it is served on, or because the police officer's name was French. The second restaurant that claims to have invented the French dip is Cole's, also known as Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet.

Why do they call it a French Dip? ›

And so was born the “French Dipped Sandwich,” so called either because of Mathieu's French heritage, the French roll the sandwich is made on or because the officer's name was French.

What kind of meat is a French dip sandwich made from? ›

BEEF Most French dip recipes are made with chuck or rump roast. The beef cooks until tender and we find it easiest to pull the beef into big chunks instead of cutting it. As long as it is braised in liquid and extra tender, it will be perfect in French dips!

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