Slow Cooker Italian Beef

Boneless chuck roast is flavored with herbs and spices in this slow cooker Italian beef recipe. It slow cooks until super-tender and makes the best Italian beef sandwiches.

Also try this slow cooker chicken stew, Mexican shredded beef, a meatball stew, or this mouthwatering Italian pasta and chickpea stew.

Why You’ll Love It

Easy:  This Italian beef recipe is made in the slow cooker, so you can simply add the ingredients and forget about it for hours
Hearty: Crockpot Italian beef sandwiches are satisfying enough to enjoy for dinner, either as they are or paired with chips or another simple side.
Flavorful:  Slow cooking really coaxes out the incredible beef taste, and the tender pulled beef and peppers in tangy zippy broth paired with provolone cheese in hoagie rolls ensures a memorable flavor experience.

Crockpot Italian Beef Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Chuck roast: A great cut of meat for slow cooking.
Grapeseed oil: You can use any cooking oil you prefer.
Seasonings: Italian seasoning, onion powder, fennel seeds, black pepper, and dried thyme add great flavors to the meat.
Beef broth and pepperoncini jus: For the au jus/gravy.
Giardiniera: Italian pickled vegetables – take your pick from regular or spicy giardiniera.

How to Make Italian Slow Cooked Beef

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Prepare the meat: Salt the beef and bring it to room temperature.
Sear the beef: Sear it all over until golden brown.
Cook the chuck roast: Slow cook Italian beef with the broth and other ingredients for 9 hours.
Shred the beef: Once the roast beef is shredded, give it another hour in the crockpot or until meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
Fix the sandwiches: Toast hoagie rolls with provolone and serve topped with the beef and pepperoncini.

Substitutions and Variations

Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, choose gluten free buns (these are pretty good!)
Chuck roast: Feel free to substitute top round roast, eye round roast or rump roast for the chuck roast. In fact, any kind of stewing beef would be good.
Garlic: Throw in some minced fresh garlic if you like.
Spice it up: Swap some of the pepperoncini with pickled jalapeños for an extra kick. Or add red pepper flakes.
Bell peppers: Add sliced bell peppers for more color and flavor.
Provolone cheese: Mozzarella cheese would work in place of the provolone if that’s something you prefer. Swiss cheese would work too, although that isn’t Italian of course!
Beef broth: I love using homemade beef broth but you can also use readymade.

Serving Suggestions

Appetizers: Snack on million dollar deviled eggs or antipasto farro salad while the Italian beef is slow cooking.
Chicago style: The classic way to serve it is to make an Italian beef sandwich recipe with hoagie rolls or similar, giardiniera and provolone cheese. You might like to add onion rings on the side too.
Side dishes: Because the shredded beef is prepared au jus, you might not want to waste all that extra juice on crusty rolls. Mashed potatoes or rice would be good with the tender beef and soak up all those tasty juices. For a low-carb option, mashed cauliflower or spaghetti squash would work.

How to Store Italian Beef

Store: Cool the Italian beef to room temperature and then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Cool completely and then freeze in a Ziploc bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost your Italian beef overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Warm leftover Italian beef back up gently in a pan on the stove or microwave it until hot.