These slow cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches are the best way to up your leftover beef Rib Roast. Easy to make in the slow cooker, these sandwiches really make the best out of your roast beef! Take a classic Rib Roast and make Roast “Planned-Overs” with these easy beef sandwiches. SO MUCH FLAVOR!
Making a roast at the holidays is one of my very favorite meals. I love the way a roast (and the sizzle of that beef!) can bring people together and make you feel so festive. Our family of 3 will make a roast, but then have a TON of leftovers, so this Roast “Planned Over” recipe for Italian Beef Sandwiches is one of my favorite ways to turn a holiday meal into lunch for days.
I love cooking a big Rib Roast for the family, but I’m always stuck when it comes to making the most of those leftovers. Well no more! These Italian Beef Sandwiches are so delicious, I just know you’re going to love them!
How to make the best Italian Beef Sandwiches
How to make the best Italian Beef Sandwiches
This is a recipe for using your leftover roast to make sandwiches. You can find a great Rib Roast recipe HERE.
Grab your leftover roast, chop it into cubes and remove excess fat and pop it into your slow cooker. Add in the seasonings, pepperoncini, juice, red peppers, onion, and broth. Give it a stir and cook on low for 2 hours.
Shred the meat and place it on the hoagie buns and top with cheese. You can serve them like this or wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven.
How to Pick the Perfect Roast:
Not sure where to start when picking out the perfect Roast for your family? My friend Natasha, of Natasha’s Kitchen, has all the answers, and I encourage you to check out her recent post on the process! This is my go-to guide for finding the best cut of meat.
Want to know all there is about making the ultimate roast? Here are some other great resources:
Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches made with Leftover Roast
The holidays are no time to skimp on the nutrition. It’s not all cookies and cakes, its amazing main dishes too. Keep things balanced and delicious by adding beef to your holiday table. Whether you’re making Prime Rib, or these Italian Beef Sandwiches, beef makes every holiday better. And bonus, beef provides protein, iron, and zinc, which are important for brain health.
Beef gives me and my family the strength and nutrients to be our best selves during the crazy and hectic holiday season. These Italian Beef Sandwiches make sure not a piece of your holiday roast goes to waste. They’re SO EASY TO MAKE and are packed with flavor and nutrients thanks to the star ingredient, BEEF!
You can find out so much more by visiting the ultimate website for all things Beef: BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com
The importance of balancing your plate
We are big fans of beef in our house. It’s important to make sure your plate is balanced with lots of elements. I love feeding Henry a balanced meal of a powerful protein, like beef, mixed with veggies, dairy, and whole grains. This sandwich has it all in one package!
These sandwiches are packed with veggies like roasted red peppers, pepperoncini, and onion. Adding dairy with the provolone is not only tasty, its nutritious! Top it off with a quality hoagie bun for your grains, and you have a great sandwich for on the go, or an entire meal.
We paired these Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches with a simple Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing. It was as easy as tossing together fresh baby spinach, crumbled feta, sliced strawberries, and Poppyseed Dressing. Yum!
Chuck Knows Beef
If you have an Alexa or Google Home, you can activate Chuck Knows Beef, the only all-knowing beef virtual assistant. Chuck is the only helper that you need in the kitchen this season. Chuck can tell you exactly how to prepare that holiday roast, including how to follow the right cooking temperatures and even suggest recipes the whole family will love. Check out Chuck at ChuckKnowsBeef.com.
Just say “Alexa, Activate Chuck Knows Beef” or “Hey Google, Activate Chuck” to get started. You can ask him about temperatures or cooking times, cuts of beef, and more! He’s not all business, he’s fun too. I love using Chuck to get all the best info about how to cook beef, so so helpful!
If you don’t have a device that’s loaded with Chuck Knows Beef, you can also find him at ChuckKnowsBeef.com, making it accessible to everyone!
Easy slow cooker beef sandwiches
Cooking beef in the slow cooker means that it is wonderfully tender and you can shred it with ease for your sandwiches. The beauty of making the beef in the slow cooker is that you don’t have to be pot watching, just set it and leave it until you are ready to make the sandwiches.
What do you serve with Italian beef sandwiches?
These sandwiches are great for a hearty lunch or as a main meal. You can serve them up with a veggie side or salad, kicking things up a notch.
- Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
- Zesty Panzanella Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Easy Cucumber Salad
- Crispy Baked Zucchini Recipe (Easy and Cheesy!)
Can you make the Italian shredded beef ahead of time?
If you need to use up your leftover roast beef, but not ready to eat it straight away, this is the recipe for you! Cook the beef in the slow cooker, let it cool to room temperature and place it in airtight containers or freezer bags. It will keep in the fridge for around three days and it also freezes really well.
If you freeze the beef, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then you can reheat it on the stovetop to 165 degrees F. Italian beef sandwiches whenever you want!
Top tips to make this recipe
- Be sure to remove any excess fat from your leftover roast beef before cooking in the slow cooker.
- Adjust the amount of pepperoncini if you like it more or less spicy. I used mild, but you can also purchase it spicy if that’s what your family prefers!
For more delicious beef recipes:
- BBQ Beef Brisket Recipe & Oven Baked Brisket
- Best Beef Tenderloin Recipe (Beef Tenderloin Roast)
- Easy Beef Bolognese (Best Bolognese Sauce Recipe)
- Best Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Meatball Subs
- Cheesy Beef Breakfast Scramble
Best Italian Beef Sandwiches (Leftover Roast Recipe Idea)
Ingredients
- 1 6 pound rib roast cooked according to these instructions
- 1 ounce Italian Seasoning mix 1 packet
- 1/2 ounce beef au jus seasoning 1/2 packet
- 8 oz pepperoncini pepper slices + 2 tablespoons juice from jar use more juice if you like things spicier
- 12 ounces roasted red peppers drained and diced
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 14.5 oz beef broth
- provolone cheese sliced
- hoagie buns
- horseradish sauce for serving
Instructions
- This is a recipe for using your leftover roast to make sandwiches. You can find a great roast recipe HERE.
- Take your leftover roast and chop into cubes, removing any excess fat.
- Place roast cubes into a large crock pot. Sprinkle with the Italian Seasoning Mix and au jus seasoning. Add in the pepperoncini, juice, roasted red peppers, and sliced onion. Pour the beef broth over everything. Stir to combine/coat.
- Cover with lid and cook on low for 2 hours or until everything is hot and the beef is easy to shred with two forks (or chop with a sharp knife). (this recipe is using COOKED roast, it is an idea for leftovers. If cooking a roast from raw, you would cook on low for 9 hours). After shredding, cook on low for another hour or until ready to serve.
- 15 minutes before ready to serve, scoop the shredded meat on half of the hoagie buns and top with provolone cheese. Spread horseradish sauce on the back of the top piece of bun. Place the top half of the bun on the sandwich. You can serve as is, or I like to wrap tightly in foil and cook in the oven (350F) for 10-15 minutes or until cheese and bun are hot.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
Hi, I have not made this yet, waiting on an answer to a question so I’ll give it a 3 because you have to give it something. My question is how many pounds of LEFT-OVER beef do you need for this recipe? 6-pounds is what you start with but I can’t imagine anyone have 6 pounds left-over, so that’s my question how many left-over pounds for this dish? TIA!
We can’t give an exact number, as the bone size and weight can vary greatly. You will probably lose anywhere from 10-15% of the weight once the bones are removed, so we would aim for about 5 pounds of leftover beef.
Thanks, but you and I have different ideas of what left-overs are. Dictionary.com says left·over NOUN leftovers (plural noun) something, especially food, remaining after the rest has been used. Seems like it might be an excellent recipe but I’m looking to use left-over beef. I’ll save it for a party. Thanks again.
Hi Vicky, You asked how many pounds of leftover beef would be needed for this recipe. You’ll need 5 pounds of leftover beef to make the recipe as written, or you can budget for about 1/2 pound per person and reduce the remaining ingredients to suit. This recipe does serve 12 people, so you can adjust accordingly.
I made this last winter with LEFTOVER Prime Rib. It was delicious. I put the leftover slices in and did the rest the same. Experiment with it based on taste. The seasoning packets might seem too salty. If I remember correctly, I halved the packets from what the recipe quoted.
Sweet Becky , Your delicious recipes are getting me through the sadness of every day news. Thank you so much💚💜💙🧡❤
I’m glad I could help, even just a bit! Hope you are staying safe and well :)
I am always looking for ways to use my left over roast beef. Can this be used with a round roast or rump roast? Where do I get the roasted red peppers?
i could eat these daily!
Me too, they’re sooo good!!
Can this be made with a pork roast?
Thanks
From lexibites.com
Yes, absolutely!
What a genius way to use up leftovers. I love the juiciness of the meat and that it tastes nothing like leftovers!