Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

What we love? These sandwiches are perfect weekend fare! Added bonus? Everyone adds their own favorite toppings!

If there are leftovers use them in this easy shepherd's pie. SO good!

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Tips
• Storage
• 🥗 Serve with...
• 🍽 Shop this recipe
• ☕ Kaffeeklatch
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

With only three basic ingredients this sandwich is super easy but there are plenty of options for personalizing it, too. I suggest adding the "extras" to the table in bowls for people to create their sandwiches their way.

• Lean beef like eye of round is perfect for this. It gets tender with that long, moist cooking and really soaks in the flavor. Any roast is fine, though - chuck roast, top sirloin, etc.
• Pepperoncini peppers are tangy peppers with a little heat but nothing like a jalapeno. They are generally sold in jars in the pickles section of the grocery store.
• Baguette or hoagie rolls are necessary to hold this bold, juicy sandwich filling

Expert Tip: Shred the meat after 7 hours even if you are cooking it longer than the required 8 hours. During that time the flavor of the other ingredient, pepperoncini peppers, soaks into the meat giving it a vinegary bite and just a smidge of spicy heat.

🔪 Instructions

Even an elementary school child can make these!

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
2. Put it in a slow cooker and add the entire contents of the pepperoncini jar (peppers plus juice).
3. Add minced garlic.
4. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
5. After 7 hours shred the beef with 2 forks and then let it cook in the juices for at least another hour. This infuses the meat with even more flavor.

💭 Tips

This is a casual meal. I like it for Sundays because it literally takes about 2 minutes to put together plus you can double it up easily to feed a crowd. These slow cooker Italian beef sandwiches are quite happy on a paper plate with a handful of chips on the side.

• If you use chuck roast, or a cut of beef with a lot of fat, be sure to trim it before cooking.
• The longer this cooks the more tender and flavorful it is. If you can give it 10-12 hours it's even better.
• Garlic butter is amazing on these - just spread it on the bread before you put the beef on. In fact, I like to slice into the bread, gently open it, spread it with garlic butter, and then toast it before I add the beef. The crust gets crunchy, the bread is chewy and garlicky, and the beef is juicy and tangy.
• The cooked, shredded beef freezes well. I like to vacuum seal in serving size packets for quick meals when I need them.

What next?

Ring the dinner bell and let everyone pile that juicy, shredded beef up as high as it can go on a crispy sourdough baguette. Set out plates of caramelized onions, sautéed peppers, Provolone  or whatever you like for family and guests to put on top. I usually go for just the beef or beef and onions.

Storage

Cooked Italian beef will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator as long as you put it in an airtight container. Make sure it’s completely cooled before you seal it. You can also use a vacuum sealer for longer storage.

Or, freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and you're ready to go!

🥗 Serve with...

I like to serve these with macaroni salad or cole slaw on the side. And you can't beat classic chocolate chip cookies for an easy dessert!

🍽 Shop this recipe

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I used to use the sliced pepperoncini in my Italian beef sandwiches but lately I've been using the whole ones. Why? Because I have some fussy eaters and it's easier to pick the whole ones out of the shredded meat than the sliced ones!

What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness!  Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!

☕ Kaffeeklatch

Everyone needs a fantastic, go-to recipe that's super-simple and so delicious that everyone raves over it.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches, meet Restless Chipotle readers. Restless Chipotle readers meet Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches.

I love using my slow cooker all year. In the winter it's nice on busy days because you throw everything in in the morning and it's ready when you get home.

In the summer I may like it even better because it's one way to keep the temperature in my kitchen from resembling Hell with the heat turned up when we're having our sweltering 115F days here in Texas. The slow cooker definitely gets a lot of use around here.

This recipe is perfect for game day, weekends, potlucks... just about any time you want something delicious AND effortless!

📖 Recipe

First published January 25, 2013. Last updated May 5, 2020 to improve readability, add ingredient images, and some technical stuff.