Instant Pot French Dip:
Tender beef bursting with flavor, and layered with cheese. These easy french dip sandwiches made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker for a quick and flavorful meal.
Serve with air fryer sweet potato fries, or oven baked steak fries, for a fun meal.
Instant Pot French Dip
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If you want fall apart tender, flavorful, and oh so juicy french dip, then look no further. Cooking your roast in the instant pot to make an amazing French Dip is like what the pressure cooker was made to do. It is living its best life when a chuck roast is inserted in it. Trust me on this one.
Since the Instant Pot is designed to be such a multifunctional pot, it is perfect for making something like a french dip because you can sear your roast, then cook it all in the same pan! Amazing. And it only takes about 2 hours start to finish to get a totally tender, absolutely amazing french dip meat! It takes me 8-10 hours in the slow cooker, so while you can totally make this in the slow cooker, trust me, it is sooooo awesome in the instant pot.
If you do not have an Instant Pot, get one here: Amazon!
How do you make French Dip Sauce?
- Ok, I have to tell you, that making your own au jus is absolutely key to a delicious french dip sandwich. You could in theory use a packet. But one of the best parts of this Instant Pot recipe is the same stuff that flavors the meat makes for an awesome french dip sauce.
- The broth and seasonings you cook the meat in is going to double as your au jus. Once you finish cooking the roast, you have to strain it to make your dipping sauce.
What kind of meat do you use in a French Dip?
- Typically when cooking a french dip, you use a chuck roast.
- You want a chuck roast that is well marbled. The marbling makes it juicier and keeps it moist.
- The drawback to a well marbled chuck roast is you will want to trim all the fat off when you shred it so that you do not end up with a mouthful of fat.
- And take a look at it, doesn’t it just look so juicy and delicious? Well that is because it is.
What kind of cheese do you use in a French Dip?
- The best kind of cheese for a french dip is Provolone. But one thing I have found when it comes to cooking is that the best meals are the ones that use your favorite ingredients. If you want cheddar, use cheddar. If you want swiss, use swiss. Use what you want!
Instant Pot French Dip Tips
- Make sure you spread some olive oil over the bottom of the pot before searing the roast.
- Deglaze the bottom of the pot. If you do not cook with any wine, use some beef stock. If you don’t, the instant pot will have trouble pressurizing because it will read as burning.
- To get the most amazingly tender meat, you want to make sure to let it cook for the full 100 minutes, and to naturally depressurize for 30.
- When moving the valve to “steaming”, even after you let it naturally depressurize, it might still spit a little, so put a rag over the valve so you don’t get burned.
- When everything is done, and you assemble your sandwich, it is helpful to rub butter on the buns and toast them a little.
- Garnish! A little fresh parsley lightens things up a little, and makes everything even better.
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Instant Pot French Dip
Instant Pot French Dip: Decadent and flavorful french dip sandwiches made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker for a quick and flavorful meal.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 706kcal
Ingredients
- 2.5 pound Chuck Roast
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Au Jus Sauce
- 1/4 cup red wine optional
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbs brown sugar
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 Tbs dry minced onions
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp minced garlic
The Rest
- 1 onion sliced
- 6 soft rolls
- 1 tbs butter melted
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Take salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix together in a small bowl, then cover the exterior of the chuck roast with the seasonings. Let sit to come to room temp, about 10-15 minutes.
- Put olive oil into Instant Pot pot, and turn pot to Saute.
- Using kitchen tongs, sear the roast on all sides in the pot, once all sides are seared, remove from pot and add onions in, keeping it on saute.
- Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions become fragrant and start to soften.
- Add red wine to pot, and let it come to a simmer, use it to deglaze the pan, by scraping the brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. If you don’t cook with wine, you can use beef stock in its place.
- Once you have scraped the brown bits off, add in the remaining sauce ingredients (soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, beef broth, minced onions, dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaf, and minced garlic).
- Return the chuck roast to the pot, and close the lid, make sure the pressure valve is set to “sealing”.
- Hit the meat/stew button, and set time for 100 minutes. Let cook.
- When pot is done, let it naturally depressurize for half an hour, then turn to “venting” to release any excess pressure.
- Remove roast from pot, and shred or slice.
- Strain liquid to make au jus for dipping.
- Turn oven to broil, and, cut rolls, and brush inside with melted butter, broil for 2-3 minutes to toast them, lightly browned.
- Layer with meat and provolone cheese
- Return to broiler, and broil until cheese starts to melt (another 2-3 minutes)
- Serve with a side of au jus, and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
100 minutes is not a typo, the roast could however be tender at a lesser time, but I have found this to be a fool-proof time for cooking so that no matter how marbled your roast is (or isn't) or how tough the cut ends up being, you get fall apart tender.
Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan after you add the wine or broth to deglaze it so the pot does not read "burn"
I used an Instant Pot -Lux that is 6 Quart size to make this recipe.
Total cook time reflects the few minutes it takes to come to pressure as well as time for assembling sandwiches. It may be off by a few minutes.
Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan after you add the wine or broth to deglaze it so the pot does not read "burn"
I used an Instant Pot -Lux that is 6 Quart size to make this recipe.
Total cook time reflects the few minutes it takes to come to pressure as well as time for assembling sandwiches. It may be off by a few minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 706kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 2171mg | Potassium: 848mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 275mg | Iron: 15.7mg
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Jane, The Heritage Cook says
Question: In the recipe the amount of wine shows as a question mark. How much did you use? Love this recipe and your photos are amazing!
June koval says
Same question, how much wine in French dip recipe?
Rachael says
My apologies 1/4 cup
Rachael says
Thank you Jane, so sorry for the typo, it is 1/4 cup wine to make this French Dip
Valerie says
The summarized times at the start of the recipe don’t match the detailed instructions – the 100 minutes of cook time plus 30 min depressurize time already pass the 2 he 15 min total time without including the searing, cooking of the onions, and other prep. I’m wondering if the cook time should be 1 hour (1:00) instead of 100 minutes? I wouldn’t want to overcook it, as this sounds delicious!
Rachael says
Thank you for pointing this out. My math skills aren’t what they should be. It is 100 minutes. So you have sear time of about 8 minutes, cook time and NPR time of 2 hours 10 mins, and then you pop it in the oven on broil for a couple minutes. So approx 2 hr 20, plus a little for it to come to pressure, etc. I will update. Thanks
Rachael says
Hi Valerie, It seems there can be a little bit of a difference between models of instant pots and size. So I while I have made this several times (at least a dozen) with success at 100 minutes, several readers have commented that theirs was tender enough to shred at 75 minutes. So, you could start at a shorter cooking time and then add more if needed if you would like.
Katie says
If I doubled this recipe, should I still cook it for100 minutes? I’m fairly new to cooking with an instant pot 🙂
Rachael says
Hi Katie, For this one I would say yes. If when you open your pot it is not super tender, you could cook for longer. Many people have found it is shorter for them. There is some variation between Instant Pot models and sizes, which makes it a tiny bit tricky to give the exact time. But my suggestion is to start at 100 minutes if you double it, and if you need to cook longer you can!
EJ says
Do you really believe that a 2 1/2 pound chuck roast that was in a 36 degree fridge will come to room temperature in 10-15 minutes? (Hint, it won’t). Why even have that step?
Rachael says
Hi EJ, I included that step because I give it that 15 minutes to start coming up to room temp, which will impact how long it takes the pot to come to pressure. I like to include anything I do in the recipe to help people get consistent results with what I get. I realize it won’t be fully at room temp, but it will be on its way!
Marilyn says
You say add the onions and sauté until soft but I see no onions in the ingredients only dried minced onions. Is that what you are sautéing?
Thanks!
Rachael says
Hi Marilyn, The onion is included under “The Rest” at the bottom of the recipe because you don’t actually eat the onions, you just use them to flavor the roast. So I should probably move that up above the Au Jus part. Sorry that was confusing.
Holly says
What temp was your instant pot set on?
Rachael says
I used the manual setting, which is high pressure on my pot. Depending on your model of Instant Pot, you could probably cook it for a shorter period of time. A few people have mentioned they only cooked for 75 minutes.
Julie says
I really think that my au jus came out WAY to sweet. I wish I hadn’t added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, maybe 1 tablespoon?? Also, I only pressure cooked for 75 minutes with 20 minute natural release and my 2.5 lb. chuck roast was totally done.
Rachael says
I am sorry you found it to be too sweet. I tend to like things sweet. I should have made a note about that in the recipe. Glad yours cooked faster.
Janet Kempner says
Hi, can i start with a frozen piece of meat?
Rachael says
You can. I have made this Instant Pot French Dip with a frozen roast a couple of times now. Thanks for asking.
Lia says
Hello, If I use the frozen piece of meat should I let it cook longer than 100 minutes?
Rachael says
I don’t think you would need to, many have found success with this recipe at 75 minutes, so I guess it depends on how large of a roast you use. Just remember it will take longer to come to pressure with a frozen roast.
Jaynie says
These were delicious! My beef was ready to shred after 75 minutes. The au jous was AMAZING. Thanks for a great recipe!!
JT says
Awesome. I had a 3.5lb roast and I cooked it for about 75 minutes too. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and will definitely make this again. Thanks!
Rachael says
Thank you JT, it seems to be a consensus that 75 minutes works. So I think I may have to adjust the recipe to 75 minutes, and cook longer if needed. Thanks for the feedback, so glad you enjoyed it.
Nicole says
Hi. I have a power pressure cooker xl and it says chicken/meant and the most I can do it was an hour. So that’s what I did on a medium setting. Is that ok?
Jennifer Glackin says
This was fantastic and my family loved it!! Followed directions and 3 lb chuck roast was so tender. Thank you!
Rachael says
Thank you Jennifer for letting me know! We love this French dip too, it is a regular around here.
Jennifer says
Making it again today as this was my 15 year old’s request for his birthday dinner. 🙂
Rachael says
That is awesome! I am so glad. Happy cooking, and happy birthday to you 15 y/o.
Tatiana says
This is a fabulous recipe. I too decreased the sugar by about half, but otherwise made as written.way better use of a chuck roast than the stew I tried previously.
Brandi says
This was great! Per reading the reviews, I changed the cooking time to 75 minutes and added less sugar. Delicious! Thank you
Brenda says
I mde this and it is perfect. The bomb i tell you a real keeper. Thanks so much.
Christine says
Just made this! Perfect! Thank you!
Jaime says
Could this be made a day ahead? I’m just wondering if the jus would get gross?
Rachael says
Yes you can make it ahead, we eat it as leftovers all the time.
Kelly says
How long do you think I should cook this for in the crockpot? Looks delicious!
Rachael says
Hi Kelly, in a crock pot it takes about 8 hours! Thanks for asking.
Erin says
I made this tonight and my entire family (husband, 5 y/o, 3 y/o, and 1 y/o LOVED it! Thank you for sharing!
Rachael says
Hi Erin, I am so glad your family loved the French dip! Have a great day.
Shawn Syphus says
Definitely a keeper! Super quick to make, set it and forget it. I followed the directions to a T and it came out perfect. Meat was falling apart, the dip was perfectly seasoned and everyone enjoyed the sandwiches. I only wish I would have doubled the recipe so I could have leftovers!
Rachael says
Thank you! We love French dips, and this one really is so easy, despite several ingredients. Glad it turned out for you and that you enjoyed it enough to want more!