Gluten-Free French Dip Sandwiches (Instant Pot or Crock Pot)

Instant Pot French Dip sandwiches transform beef roast into a fall apart, melt in your mouth sandwich. Crunchy bread is stacked with meat then dipped into a gluten-free au jus. This recipe can be made in your pressure cooker or left to cook all day in the slow cooker.

Are you ready for a melt-in-your-mouth sandwich? I don’t know about you but a tender French Dip is definitely at the top of my favorite sandwiches list.

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Related: How To Use An Instant Pot: A Beginners Guide

Enjoy this recipe & get ready for your family to request French Dips for dinner regularly. It’s a meal everyone agrees on!

If you haven’t gotten adventurous with your Instant Pot yet, check out Instant Pot Bone In Chicken Thighs, Pulled Pork Roast Instant Pot Recipe, Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs and Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti.

How To Make

1. Place beef into the instant pot.
2. Add beef broth, French onion soup, beer, and spices.
3. Cook on high pressure for 1.5 hours.
4. You can choose to do a natural release or turn to venting for a quick release.
5. Remove any visible fat. Slice or shred.
6. Turn on the broiler. Spread french rolls with butter or mayo if desired. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the bread starts to brown.
7. Serve meat on crusty rolls with an individual side dish of the au jus juice for dipping.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. rump roast
• 14.5 oz. beef broth
• 14.5 oz. French onion soup
• 1 can light beer
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. salt
• 10 crusty French rolls

Instant Pot Guide

1. First, place the bowl into the base of the Instant Pot. After that, add the ingredients (it is important that there is at least a cup of liquid as an ingredient).
2. Next, check the lid of your Instant Pot to make sure the sealing ring is in place.
3. Then, secure the lid onto the base.
4. Turn the valve on the lid to “SEALING”.
5. The next step will differ for each model so check your manual! For my Instant Pot, I press “PRESSURE” but other models require you to press “MANUAL”.
6. Press the PLUS or MINUS signs to set the cooking time.
7. The Instant Pot should say “ON“. When the machine first turns on, it is building pressure. The time that it takes for this pressure to build does NOT count toward the cooking time. On my machine, I know the pressure is built when the silver pin on top is raised. 
8. Once the pressure is built, the cooking time will start counting down.
9. After the cooking time is complete, release the pressure. To release the pressure, you can wait for the natural pressure release (NPR) OR release the pressure manually by turning the valve to “VENTING“.
10. Lastly, take off the lid once it is unlocked.

Place the beef roast into the instant pot.

What meat do you use

I always use a rump roast, also known as bottom round oven roast or bottom round roast. A rump roast is a lean cut of meat that requires a long cooking time over relatively low heat. By using your Instant Pot or slow cooker to cook this rump roast, you will end up with tender meat for your French dips without the extra fat. 

A chuck roast is another popular cut of meat that could be used for a French dip. To learn the major differences between a chuck roast vs rump roast, click HERE.

Add beef broth, French onion soup, 1 can beer, and spices.

Spices

• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. salt

Beer Options

• Lakefront New Grist
• Redbridge
• Glutenburg Blond Ale
• Omission Lager

Cook on high pressure for 1.5 hours. You can choose to do a natural release or turn to venting for a quick release.

Remove any visible fat.

If cooking with a rump roast, there should be minimal fat to remove. However, it is important to remove any visible fat especially if shredding the meat – no one wants to bite into a chunk of fat.

Turn on your broiler. Spread french rolls with butter or mayo if desired. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the bread starts to brown.

INGREDIENT SWAP: Instead of spreading the French roll with butter or mayo, add a slice of cheese! The cheese will slowly melt under the broiler onto your French roll. Traditionally, a slice of provolone is the top favorite. 

Once your bread is crunchy, add the shredded or sliced roast. 

What Do You Serve With French Dip?

The possibilities are endless when it comes to side dishes. For inspiration, choose one of these popular recipes:

• The Best Baked Brussels sprouts
• Caramelized Butternut Squash
• Baked Zucchini Squash Rounds
• Green Beans For Kids
• Dill Pickle Baked French Fries

Finally, dip your sandwich into au jus & take a bite! You are going to be amazed by the tenderness of the meat combined with the flavor bursting French dip sauce. It is truly the perfect sandwich combination. 

How Do You Make Au Jus

Making au jus is by far one of the easiest sauces to make. All you have to do is take the broth and seasonings that you cooked the roast in & ladle into a small dish. It is really that simple! 

If you want to get fancy, you can turn your Instant Pot to saute mode (after the beef has been removed) and toss in thinly sliced onions. Saute until translucent then add to the top of your sandwich while pouring the remaining sauce into a bowl.

If preferred, French dips can be made in a slow cooker. A great option if you are looking to throw ingredients into your crockpot and let cook all day. 

How to make in the Crockpot

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-8 hours.
3. Remove any visible fat. Slice or shred.
4. Turn on the broiler. Spread french rolls with butter or mayo if desired. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the bread starts to brown.
5. Serve meat on crusty rolls with an individual side dish of the au jus juice for dipping.