Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches made with a chuck roast, bbq seasoning rub and barbecue sauce will feed a crowd without firing up the grill or the smoker!
Looking for delicious sandwiches? Look no further than these BBQ Beef Sandwiches. Or, you know, these Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes or my newest favorite – Bacon Brown Sugar Sloppy Joes.
Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Sandwiches are quick, easy and feed a crowd. Plus, we love the fall apart tender meat bathed in sauce. These Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches are fall apart tender and taste AMAZING thanks to the homemade bbq seasoning rub.
How do you make pulled meat sandwiches in the slow cooker? Here are some great tips!
- Use an adequately fatty cut of meat: Use a chuck roast, not an eye of round. Use chicken thighs, not breasts. Use pork butt/shoulder, not pork tenderloin.
- Season after searing: If you season then sear the meat hard you’ll scorch the seasonings. Plus with the long cooking time you’ll find the seasonings have plenty of time to flavor the meat.
- Let it cook without a bunch of added liquids: This chuck roast will release a bunch of liquid, you don’t want the meat floating in liquid.
- Let it cook another hour after adding sauce: Warmed sauce is infinitely more delicious that cold bottled sauce and the meat will stay moist in the slow cooker with the added sauce.
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Homemade BBQ Rub Seasoning Recipe:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
If you prefer to buy your BBQ rub my absolute favorites are this one, this one and this one. Plus I have extra love for the Traeger rub as I just got a new Pro 34 Traeger smoker I’m absolutely in love with.
Things I’m in love with in this recipe? Not standing outside in the heat looking at the smoker. It’s been over 100 degrees outside all week!
You can make these sandwiches infinitely better toasting the hoagie rolls with a bit of brushed on melted butter. If using hamburger buns you can use brioche rolls like I do anytime we enjoy sloppy joe recipes.
If you’re making these sandwiches ahead of time for lunches just be sure to package the filling in a separate container or ziplock bag or saran wrap pouches.
Want to make the bbq sauce from scratch? THIS one is the one I ALWAYS make.
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 5 pound chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
- 8 hoagie rolls
- 8 slices sharp cheddar (or your favorite cheese)
Instructions
- Add the canola oil to a heavy bottomed skillet or aluminum slow cooker insert.
- Heat the oil on medium high heat and sear the meat until well browned on all sides (about 2-3 minutes on each side).
- In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Rub the spices all over the chuck roast and add it to the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- Shred the beef with two forks and mix in the barbecue sauce.
- Cook on low for 1 hour.
- Serve on toasted hoagie roll with cheese.
Nutrition
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I’ve been hanging onto this recipe for a long time and finally made it last night. ??????????! It was delicious. I poured off all the juice left in the crockpot (which wasn’t that much because I got a good, hard sear on the meat), and used your recipe for the homemade BBQ sauce. Wouldn’t change a thing! We all loved it and couldn’t stop eating.
Super easy and super delicious!! Used the homemade BBQ sauce and it was a hit for the family and friends.
Leftovers were used to make bbq pulled beef burgers topped with onion straws and cheddar cheese the next day and everyone said it was the best burger they’ve ever had.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe, it’s definitely a family favorite!!
Made this a couple of weeks ago and my family loved it. I used the leftovers to make a BBQ Beef pizza the next day and that was a hit as well and let me use up most of the leftovers. Making this again today to take over to my parents’ for dinner.
I wish I could find a stainless steel insert for my slow cooker as mine is a glazed ceramic.
Thank you for the recipe!
What a great use of the leftovers! Sounds amazing!
Wonderful recipe! I normally make pulled chicken or pork in the slow cooker for pulled bbq sandwiches. I was in the mood for something different, yet easy. It’s way too hot to monitor my smoker all day! Even my picky husband loved them. Very flavorful and delicious! The only change that I made was using smoked paprika in place of regular. A sweet, smoky bbq sauce really brought it all together. We will definitely make these again! Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion!
This recipe is okay, not the best.
Any tips to convert this recipe for an instant pot? It seems like it would work well for it, especially searing the meat first, but I’m not sure how long to pressure cook it for.
I haven’t tested it but I’m sure if could be adapted. You might be able to find a recipe online using similar ingredients and use that as a guideline.
Do you haft to sear the meat before you put it in the crock pot? Or can you just rub all the spices on the meat then place it in the crock pot?
You’ll want to sear it first.
I’ve made this 7 ir 8 times so far and it has become a family favorite. We don’t use the bbq sauce. The juices and the spot on seasoning mix makes it just as delicious as can be. Thank you for changing my mind about meat in the slow cooker. It’s 2 am and I just got it in the slow cooker again for us to smack on all weekend.
Yum!!
I made this about a year ago I can’t remember if I used the chuck roast or the brisket is it okay to use the brisket thanks
Can I make this recipe work with only 2.5 lb chuck roast?
It’ll still work just use the slider tool to adjust the recipe card and it’ll give you new measurement for the other ingredients. Enjoy!
I like this. However when I make it, it produces a *lot* of liquid, even though I don’t add any – the beef & spices go into the slow cooker “dry.”
Might I not be searing the beef enough? Or searing it too much? Or what else might be causing this? Or is this normal? (How much liquid is normal?)
It will cook down and create liquid but it shouldn’t be a lot of liquid coming from the chuck roast. Next time, make sure it’s fully thawed and seared. Some brand do pump liquid into their meat also so check the label and ensure nothing is added. Hope this helps!
It turned out to be the searing. Previous attempts were fully thawed and with injection free chuck roast, and gave a lot of liquid as I noted above. This time I made sure to sear thoroughly, and ended up with much less liquid: A reasonable amount rather than a huge excess.
Should I get rid of the juices from the meat or add it back in with the bbq sauce?
No need to drain, just add in the bbq sauce.
Looks so delicious! Can this be made ahead of time and frozen if needed?
Thanks!
Yes, just make sure to store it in a freezer safe container. It should last 3-4 months in the freezer. Enjoy!
AMAZING!!!! My very picky eater had two servings ?. The whole family loved it!! Thank you so much!!
I’d call that a winner!
Looks really good and easy. Definitely making this recipe.
I hope you enjoy it!
Another DELICIOUS recipe. This came out tender and perfect. I loved the sandwiches. The cheddar adds a nice balance. I think you are my food soulmate!
Haha, love it!
My slow cooker is glazed ceramic, do I need to adapt anything for this recipe or is my slow cooker just not suitable for this recipe? Thank you
It’ll still work for this recipe but you’ll need to sear your meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
The roast was so good with the seasoning I thought about no adding the BBQ sauce. I was concerned about no adding any liquid but the roast made enough natural juices and this allowed the outside to get a nice crust. Thanks Again
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely deliciousness on a roll. I used homemade bbq, because hubby freaked out when he saw how much HFCS was in our (and your) favorite bbq. Other than that this recipe is a home and camping staple. Thank you.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know, Ashley! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
This will be a sure hit for game day! And looks perfect for weeknights too!
Definitely!
These look so fun and tasty!
This looks SO good! A perfect weeknight meal!
Thank you!
Which store bought BBQ sauce works well with this dush?
Mm these look so juicy!
It’s so good Delaney!
That beef looks so tender and juicy! I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks Meghan!
These look irresistible!! I know my whole family will love them – can’t wait to cook them up!
Enjoy!