Slow Cooker Tri Tip French Dip
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Rosemary Garlic Tri Tip is slow cooked in a crock pot. It’s then shredded and served on Rosemary Focaccia Bread with au jus to create this scrumptious French Dip sandwich recipe!
It only takes about 20 minutes of hands-on time to prepare this easy tri tip recipe. The crock pot will do the rest of the work for you! Serve this sandwich with a side of Rosemary Garlic Sweet Potato Fries or Rosemary Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes.
Hello juicy flavorful beef, layered with creamy horseradish and melty cheese! Let’s toss you in the middle of some crispy rosemary focaccia bread and dip you in some warm au jus! You down? I thought so!!
Seriously this sandwich beats out all of the other sandwiches. And it’s super easy to make! The slow cooked tri tip starts off the sandwich party.
Simply toss a tri tip in the crock pot with fresh rosemary, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Pour in some beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, then let it do it’s thing!
Once the tri tip has cooked all day in the crock pot, (and made your house smell amazing!) shred the beef apart. Place the beef on a rosemary focaccia roll, then top with horseradish cheddar cheese or swiss cheese and some creamy horseradish.
Dip out some of the delicious broth, or as the french call it “Au Jus”, from the crock pot to serve on the side for dipping. And just like that, you have created the best sandwich ever!
Table of contents
How to make tri tip in a Crock Pot
- Add sliced onions to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Combine crushed garlic, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Rub this mixture on a 3 lb trimmed tri tip.
- Place the tri tip in the crock pot.
- Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce to the crock pot.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 10-12 hours.
- Once the tri tip is cooked, reach two forks into the crock pot and shred the meat.
How to make a french dip
- Place slow cooked shredded tri tip on the bottom half of a rosemary focaccia roll.
- Quick Tip! You can usually find these rolls in the bakery at your local grocery store. You can also use my homemade Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe. Instead of making two loaves of bread, simply divide the dough in 6 and make six rolls.
- You can also use a french roll, which is what the original French Dip sandwich was served on, hoagie rolls or ciabatta bread.
- Quick Tip! You can usually find these rolls in the bakery at your local grocery store. You can also use my homemade Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe. Instead of making two loaves of bread, simply divide the dough in 6 and make six rolls.
- Cover the tri tip with sliced or shredded horseradish cheddar cheese or swiss cheese.
- Quick Tip! Cabot Horseradish Cheddar Cheese is my favorite on this sandwich! It can be found in the deli section of most grocery stores with the other specialty cheeses.
- Place the sandwiches under the broiler on low in the oven for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Spread creamy horseradish on the top half of the focaccia roll and place it on top of the sandwich.
- Dip a cup of the broth, or au jus, from the crock pot and serve on the side of the sandwich for dipping.
What is au jus?
The sauce you see on the side of a French Dip sandwich is called Au Jus. Au Jus is the French word for “with juice” which refers to the juices given off by meat as it’s cooked.
In this recipe, the au jus is a combination of the beef broth added to the crock pot before cooking and the juices give off by the tri tip while cooking. This flavorful sauce is perfect for dipping your sandwich into and why the sandwich was give it’s name! French for the french roll it was served on and dip for dipping the sandwich into the au jus.
How to store and reheat
The cooked tri tip will last in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Delicious sandwiches for an entire week, coming at ya!
If you want to switch it up a bit, try adding the tri tip to a baked sweet potato. I’ve done this several times with this recipe and I honestly love it just as much as the sandwich! The rosemary garlic tri tip pairs perfectly with a creamy roasted sweet potato!
Just pop a potato in the oven at 400°F for about an hour (depending on the size of the potato). Slice the potato open and fill it with juicy, flavorful shredded beef!
The tri tip can be reheated in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes, or in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
More slow cooker recipes
Looking for more easy recipes to toss in your slow cooker? Check out these popular posts!
- Slow Cooker French Onion Soup with Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Honey Pulled Pork Tacos
- Dr Pepper Pulled Pork Sliders
- Buffalo Crock Pot Mac & Cheese
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Cheesy Sausage Balls
- Crock Pot Taco Soup
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
Made this Slow Cooker Tri Tip French Dip recipe and loved it? Be sure to rate it 5 stars below! ↓
Slow Cooker Tri Tip French Dip
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped + 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 3 lb tri tip steak, fat trimmed
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 rosemary focaccia rolls, click link for homemade recipe
- 2 cups horseradish cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup creamy horseradish
Instructions
- Place the sliced onion in the bottom of a slow cooker, set to high heat.
- Combine the kosher salt, black pepper, crushed garlic and chopped fresh rosemary in a small bowl.
- Rub this mixture on the tri tip, place in the slow cooker on top of the onion.
- Pour the Worcestershire sauce and beef broth into the slow cooker.
- Add the bay leaf and rosemary sprig to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 10-12 hours.
- Once the tri tip is cooked, use two forks to shred the beef apart in the crock pot.
- Slice the focaccia rolls in half and place a heaping spoonful of shredded tri tip and slow cooked onions on the bottom half of the roll,
- Top with the horseradish cheddar cheese.
- Place under the broiler on low in the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted over the meat.
- Place the top half of the buns in the broiler with the sandwich to toast for 1-2 minutes.
- Spread a light amount of creamy horseradish on the top half of the roll, then place it on the sandwich.
- Drain the liquid from the slow cooked tri tip to serve as the au jus on the side for dipping.
Notes
- Cheese: Sliced swiss cheese can be used in place of the horseradish cheddar cheese.
- Bread: French rolls can be used in place of focaccia rolls.
- Focaccia Rolls: If using the focaccia bread recipe linked to in this post, divide the dough into 6 balls to make 6 rolls instead of 2 loaves of bread.
Nutrition Facts
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17 Comments on “Slow Cooker Tri Tip French Dip”
My daughter loves the recipe. Have you made this with any other cuts of beef. I currently live overseas and tri tip is har to find
Hi Margaret, I love to hear that! Instead of a Tri Tip, you could use a brisket, bottom sirloin or chuck roast.
I made this recipe a few weeks ago, and did the homemade bread as well. My husband and I LOVED it! It’s for sure a favorite of ours, and I’ll be making it again very soon 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing Maia!
My boys loved this! I love my slow cooker!
Love to hear that! I love my slow cooker too!!
I love the addition of rosemary to this recipe! It’s incredible!
Pretty much my son’s favorite sandwich! I had never tried it with rosemary before, though! Thanks so much for such a great (and easy!) recipe!
Mmm! This sounds great – and thank goodness for the slow cooker this time of year!
I recently discovered tri tip and love it!! I found your recipe and it is going to be on the menu this week!
Added some stone ground mustard, liquid smoke and a dash of vinegar to the rub, used sodium free boullion for the broth, served on toasted sourdough with provolone cheese and it was amazing. Hubby and roommate both went back for seconds. Thank you for sharing.
I was wondering if the meat was meant to be cooked on low for 8 hours. I was worried the meat would be over cooked if left on high for 8 hours
Hi Josie, I know that newer slow cookers sometimes cook at a higher temperature, therefore faster than the older version I was using here (the one I used for this post is 20 years old!) so you might try either on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 6 hours if you have a newer slow cooker. Enjoy!
i have made this twice now and is currently in the crockpot. We haven’t made the bread yet but going to do it today! My husband said this is one of the best meals i have made. I am originally from Houston, Texas and just moved to California. We had never heard of tri tip but now its my favorite thing in the world! I followed the recipe as is and had no changes. I have shared it with everyone i know. What would be a good sub for tri tip if someone couldn’t find it? Delicious!!!
Hi Lindsay, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe! A round tip roast would be the best substitute if Tri Tip can’t be found.
Well, I feel silly now. Just realized you made a San Diego city guide. Lol. If you have any additions to that (new discoveries) let me know!
Hi Whitney! I came across your blog while searching for ragu recipes (found a great one and can’t wait to make it) and found out you are from San Diego! I recently moved to the area and am trying to discover the hidden gems in the city for us foodies! I would love to hear your favotire spots here! also, where do you get you parpadelle from? Besides Trader Joes, I never find it at the “regular”grocery store!
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