Slow Cooker Balsamic Roast Beef Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Balsamic Roast Beef Sandwiches
The holidays are here! Cue the jingle bells.
Well, actually, for those in this house, the jingle bells ring all year long. I’m a bit of a Christmas nut. In fact, our kid sings 3 songs: the My Little Pony Song, the ABCs, and Jingle Bells. Yep Jingle Bells. She particularly loves to “sing” it while in her crib, jumping up and down, generally refusing to go to bed. Her crib Christmas concertos last for hours. No lie. Hours.
Toddlers are fun, aren’t they? Especially at 11:30 pm when bed time has been going on for hours.
So now you know the bed time struggles. That just adds to an already hectic time of year for us. Between get togethers, shopping (because yes I generally leave all my shopping to the last minute), and trying to cram in as much Christmas magic and as many gingerbread chai lattes as I can into one short month, I get a little frazzled from time to time.
So this time of year, I’m all about no stress slow cooker meals. I like a meal that I can prep in 5 minutes and sort of forget about as it does its thing. These slow cooker balsamic roast beef sandwiches make that kind of stress free meal, perfect for grab and go during the hustle and bustle of the season. You could even get away with serving these while entertaining. Braising the beef and onions slowly in this mix of balsamic, wine, and broth makes for a roast that isn’t dry and packs a nice complex flavor. It’s a little sweet from the balsamic, rich from the broth, and well wine. Wine just makes everything taste better. And if you really want to make it a dinner to remember, serve it with this Parmesan garlic twice baked potato casserole. It’s a match made in heaven.
The prep for these delightful sammies was really basic, and not the kind of basic I am (hello yoga pants). My prep consisted of quartering 6 onions, pausing for a moment to chase onions down the hallway courtesy of said toddler mentioned above, then adding onions, meat, seasoning, and liquid to a crock pot. The end. About 6 hours later, I shredded the meat with a fork. And chased another onion down the hall.
Toddlers, you know?
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck or loin roast
- 6 onions
- 5 cloves of garlic pressed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup of red wine of your choosing
- 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
- 2-3 cups of beef broth*
Instructions
- Quarter the onions and remove peels. Place half the onions on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Season both sides of the roast liberally with salt and pepper. Place roast on the bed of onions.
- Press garlic cloves and put directly on roast.
- Cover with remaining onion quarters.
- Add 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1 cup of wine. Then pour in just enough beef broth to cover the roast. It will vary based on size and shape of the roast. I used 2 3/4 cups. Add the mustard, whisking it with a fork briefly to incorporate it. Finish by adding 2 bay leaves and a sprig of fresh thyme.
- Cook covered on low for 6 hours or until you can pull the roast apart with a fork.
- At the 6 hour mark, shred the roast with a fork, turn heat to high and let cook for another 30 minutes. Serve on rolls, topping with cheese if desired, or serve with a bed of mashed potatoes.
Perfect timing to see this. I was thinking about doing some kind of balsamic roast this weekend. This looks delicious. And a potato recipe in there too! Thanks
Enjoy Sara!!
This looks delicious! Going to pin it for later!
As a side note I love your jingle bells story. My first kid was born in December so I was always singing silent night as his lullaby and now it’s like the household bedtime song for both of the kids. And they insist on it!
Awww. That’s adorable. Have you seen the diaper commercial where they sing Silent Night to the babies? I think it’s pampers. It came on a lot the year my daughter was born and it used to make me cry lol.
Yummy recipe. Thanks for sharing. Also – Great photos!
Thanks Julie!
Oh my goodness, so glad I found this recipe! We always have a house full over the holidays and this is perfect – gotta love meals from a slow cooker!!!
For sure. A full house can be fun, but can be exhausting too!
YUM! I love using my slow cooker all year long. Although my girls are no longer toddlers, now I get to run them around from school, to swimming, to gymnastics, to dance, and to soccer. Slow cooker meals are the best, pinned!
Thanks Ayanna. Sounds like tons of running around!
These sandwiches are drool-worthy! I love cooking with balsamic and never turn my nose up to wine. What a delicious recipe!
Thank you Jessa!
Yummy, yum, yum!!! These look amazing. I love to use the slow cooker in the winter time so these will be perfect!
Enjoy Tammy!
I don’t know why I automatically default to thinking of only roast beef in the slow cooker – but I can’t wait to try this recipe! A good beef sandwich is a classic!
Well, it is roast beef, technically. Just with a twist 🙂
This looks great! I love my slow cooker, easy and yummy!
Exactly!
These look like the perfect easy dinner on a busy weekend. Need to try this this weekend!
Enjoy Rae!
This recipe sounds AMAZING! Roast Beef and Balsamic—YES PLEASE!
Thank you Kiley!
Oh Goodness! My mouth is watering just reading this article! The photos are perfect and now I really want a roast beef sandwich.
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Thank you!
Slow cookers are the best, especially when you’re trying to put dinner on the table while chasing around a toddler or carpooling teenagers (as I am). Love the flavors in this recipe!
Is carpooling preferable to chasing? Answer honestly!
Anything made in the slow cooker has my vote… plus, it looks pretty darn good. 🙂
The slow cooker is a winner for sure.
These look so tasty! I need to try making them 🙂
Enjoy Katherine!
This sounds SO delicious! It just went on my weekly menu. 🙂 I have a ton of beef in the freezer that needs to be eaten up.
Enjoy Emily!
Oh, these looks fantastic! We had really good balsamic glazed pork last night, so I’m all about the balsamic now. And you can make these in the slow cooker! Love it.
Thank you!
Oh my gosh, these look so good!
http://www.styledmuse.com
Thank you!
OMG! You’re killing me! I want to grab that sandwich right off my screen. I am so making this over the weekend. @waldorfsaladcottagefries
Ohhh I hope you made it!
That looks decadent! Onions and beef are my favorite combos.
The onions get all caramelized. Soooo goood!
This recipe looks perfect for a football party. It could be left on “warm” all day for sliders!
Exactly!
I’ve seen many crock pot/slow cooker recipes this Christmas time.
Maybe it’s time I invest in one and see it work its magic!
Am sending your recipe to my husb, he’s the chef of the house 🙂
It’s time! You are missing out on some easy and delicious recipes without a slow cooker!