Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Crock Pot
Packed with a tangy, bold flavor from pickled Giardiniera and Italian dressing mix, Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Crock Pot piles shredded chuck roast in a homemade au jus on an open-faced sub sandwich bun.
Slow cooker beef recipes like this, Slow Cooker Beef Brisket and Slow Cooker London Broil, are always a big hit around my house. Let’s dig in!
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A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Crock Pot
- ⏲️ Ready In: 7 hours and 30 minutes
- 👨👨👦👦 Serves: 8
- 🍽️ Calories: 738 calories per serving
- 💪 Protein: 46 grams
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Chuck Roast, Italian Dressing Seasoning Packet, and Pickled Vegetables
- 📋 Dietary Info: High Protein, Healthy Fats
- 💯 Why You’ll Love It: You’ll love how easy it is to make this flavorful beef chuck roast recipe. Set it and forget it, and come back to the perfect hearty sandwich.
I love a good chuck roast meal, especially one that’s no-fuss and cooked low and slow in the crockpot, like these slow cooker shredded beef sandwiches.
The rich and savory, tender chuck roast beef practically shreds apart on its own when it’s fully cooked. If you’re like me, you’ll probably want to eat it all by itself, right out of the Crock Pot.
But don’t dive in by yourself. Prepare several of them at once on a cookie sheet and then sit everyone down at the table at once. They require only minutes under the broiler to become melty and bubbly, and voilà, dinner is served.
This recipe will have your house smelling wonderful, too. It will make every person in your family want to show up for dinner ready to eat. It reminds me of my Braised Chuck Roast, except it’s made in the slow cooker, and it comes with sides like my Air Fryer Chuck Roast Potatoes and Carrots.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beef chuck roast: I think chuck roasts are the easiest (and most flavorful) to work with due to their high fat content. Once the meat is fully cooked, it will shred apart like no other.
- Dry Italian dressing seasoning mix: Any brand will work.
- Giardiniera pickled vegetables: I used the Mezzetta brand. You’ll find this ingredient in the pickle/condiment section of your favorite grocery store. The brine that pickles the vegetables adds loads of flavor to this roast and its juices, also helping to keep it tender and moist.
- Beef broth: I always keep Better Than Bouillon in my fridge. This is a broth concentrate, and it’s convenient for when you need a small amount of broth for a recipe. You can make it to any strength you prefer. Add water and stir to blend. Better Than Bouillon comes in a variety of flavors, too, including shrimp, ham, chicken, vegetable, and beef, to name a few.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: To season the roast, pat it dry with paper towels, then sprinkle half of the Italian seasoning packet all over both sides of the roast. Let the roast rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2: In the bottom of your slow cooker, combine the beef broth, remaining Italian seasoning, garlic, cornstarch, and Giardiniera juice; stir to combine. Place the seasoned chuck roast into the broth mixture. Spoon the Giardiniera vegetables over the roast, then scatter the butter chunks over the vegetables. Cover the slow cooker with the lid.
Step 3: Cook on low temperature for 7-8 hours or on high temperature for 5-6 hours, until the beef is fall-apart tender when tested with a fork.
Step 4: Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked meat from the simmering liquids to a platter. Discard any bones and/or fat that remain in the slow cooker. Using two forks, pull the meat apart on the platter and shred it into bite-sized pieces.
Step 5: To assemble the sandwiches, place the shredded beef onto the hoagie buns and sprinkle with cheese and oregano. Place under the broiler for a minute or so, just until the cheese is golden brown and melty.
Step 6: If desired, garnish the sandwiches with chopped pickled vegetables (the Giardiniera) for a pretty presentation and some added texture. Serve with the warm au just in the slow cooker for dipping.
My Recipe Tips
- Because my family loves this type of super tender beef so much, I often cook TWO chuck roasts at once in my 6-quart or 8-quart Crock Pot just so I can have extra shredded beef on hand in my fridge. No changes are needed to this recipe to prepare two roasts.
- Pulled beef, otherwise known as shredded beef, freezes really well. I shred the meat while it’s warm because it’s easier than when the meat is chilled. I like to freeze the beef portioned out in 2-3 cups per quart bag, a great size using in a family meal for 4 people.
Once you have the beef portioned into the freezer bags, flatten the beef out evenly in the bag with your fingertips or a rolling pin. Then, press out the air and seal the bags well and freeze. The flattened bags can be stacked easily in your freezer and they also thaw more quickly, too. - If you happen to have any pulled beef leftover, it reheats beautifully in the microwave the next day. We love to use the leftover shredded beef as an easy addition to stir into our mac and cheese. Or, if we are feeling like Mexican, it’s great to use the leftover beef for nachos or quesadillas.
Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Crock Pot FAQs
My favorite roast for pulled beef is a chuck roast. Chuck roast is a very economical roast that has lots of great marbling, connective tissue and fat.
Those qualities are important for always making one big thing happen: FLAVOR. As long as the roast you are using is slow-cooked until very tender so that it shreds apart easily, you can use any beef roast for this recipe.
My family always wants something warm and creamy, like spaghetti mac and cheese. I kind of prefer Shoe Peg Corn Salad or Italian Caprese Pasta Salad. A big slow cooker full of Ham and Scalloped Potatoes in the Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Creamy Corn is always a hit, too.
Cooking liquid, moist heat, and a pickled vegetable brine used in this pulled beef recipe will keep the pulled beef moist.
Cooking the roast in flavorful liquids such as beef broth and a vegetable brine that comes about halfway up the meat, but not fully submerged, helps keep the pulled beef moist and tender.
The crock pot also utilizes a moist heat cooking method, contained within by the lid, which leads to moist, pulled beef.
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Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Crockpot
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Ingredients
For the Roast
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 cup Giardiniera Pickled Vegetables I used the Mezzetta brand
- 1/2 cup brine from Giardiniera pickled vegetables jar
- 1 packet dry Italian dressing seasoning mix 0.7 oz
- 1 cup beef broth
- 6 cloves garlic smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 Tbs. cornstarch
- 1/2 cup butter cut into chunks
For the Sandwihes
- 8 Hoagie buns
- olive oil optional, for brushing the buns
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon oregano flakes optional
- chopped Giardiniera Pickled Vegetables optional, for garnishing
Instructions
Season the Roast
- Using paper towels, pat the chuck roast dry and season it all over with half of the Italian dressing seasoning packet. Let the seasoned roast sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes – 1 hour on the counter.3 pounds beef chuck roast, 1 packet dry Italian dressing seasoning mix
Make the Simmering Liquid and Prepare the Roast
- In the bottom of your slow cooker, combine the beef broth, remaining Italian seasoning, garlic, cornstarch, and Giardiniera juice; stir to combine.1 cup beef broth, 6 cloves garlic, 1 Tbs. cornstarch, 1/2 cup brine from Giardiniera pickled vegetables jar
- Place the seasoned chuck roast into the broth mixture.
- Spoon the Giardiniera vegetables over the roast.1 cup Giardiniera Pickled Vegetables
- Scatter the butter chunks over the vegetables. Cover the slow cooker with the lid.1/2 cup butter
Slow Cook the Roast
- Cook on low temperature for 7-8 hours or on high temperature for 5-6 hours (or a combination of both), until the beef is fall-apart tender. *Sometimes, to get everything going in a hurry, I'll cook my roast on high for a couple hours, then lower the temp to low to finish.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked roast from the simmmering liquids to a platter. Disard any bones and/or fat that remain in the slow cooker.
- When the simmering liquids have cooled down, pour them through a mesh strainer to remove the chunky ingredients (the veggies and etc) from the broth.
- Now pour the strained broth that into a fat separator, allowing the fats a minute or so to raise to the top. Squeeze the handle of the fat separator to allow the broth to escape from the bottom into a bowl; as the fat on the top gets close to escaping at the bottom, release the handle to keep it contained so you can discard it. Return the de-fatted broth (this is your au jus) to the slow cooker to keep warm on the lowest setting.
- Using two forks, pull the meat apart on the platter, shredding it into bite-size pieces.
How to Assemble Shredded Beef Sandwiches
- Preheat the oven broiler.
- Using a silicone pastry brush, brush the hoagie buns with a bit of olive oil.8 Hoagie buns, olive oil
- Top the buns with a generous amount of shredded beef, then sprinkle the beef with shredded mozzarella and a generous sprinkle of oregano flakes.1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 teaspoon oregano flakes
- Keeping a close eye on the sandwihes, broil just a minute or so until the cheese is golden brown and melty.
- Serve with au jus on the side from the slow cooker for dipping, if desired.
Notes
- Because my family loves this type of super tender beef so much, I often cook TWO chuck roasts at once in my 6-quart or 8-quart Crock Pot just so I can have extra shredded beef on hand in my fridge. No changes are needed to this recipe to prepare two roasts.
- Pulled beef, otherwise known as shredded beef, freezes really well. I shred the meat while it’s warm because it’s easier than when the meat is chilled. I like to freeze the beef portioned out in 2-3 cups per quart bag, a great size using in a family meal for 4 people. Once you have the beef portioned into the freezer bags, flatten the beef out evenly in the bag with your fingertips or a rolling pin. Then, press out the air and seal the bags well and freeze. The flattened bags can be stacked easily in your freezer and they also thaw more quickly, too.