These delicious slow cooker roasted garlic beef sandwiches are one of the best beef sandwiches you will ever eat.

If I was a food blogger worth my salt (get it?), I would have come up with some clever theme for the last two weeks. Like, Slow Cooker Bonanza Week or Slow Cookerpalooza (too much?) since, unintentionally, every main dish I’ve posted in the last two weeks has been a slow cooker wonder.

But. Since I didn’t come up with a clever theme or tagline, I’ll just make peace with my one track mind that’s clearly focused on slow cooker meals right now (and I’m pretty sure if the stars align, I have a killer slow cooker soup coming next week, too).

A roll cut in half and filled with shredded beef on a white plate.

Just like the slow cooker lasagna and slow cooker butternut tortellini (holy cow, I can’t believe how many of you have tried that one already!), this roasted garlic beef is spectacular.

It’s no surprise that the beef cooks up tender and delicious.

I mean, that’s the whole appeal to a slow cooker in the first place. But the roasted garlic? That smashed, caramelized, roasted garlic thrown in there with the flavorful bits of meat puts it waaaaay over the top. Way.

A hand lifting a roll filled with shredded beef off of a white plate.

If you’ve never roasted garlic before, you’re in for a treat.

The sometimes harsh, strong flavor of garlic totally mellows as it roasts in the oven, browning and becoming butter-soft. It adds such a delicious layer of flavor to the slow cooked roast beef (and about a million other things).

I figure if we all start roasting garlic on a regular basis and putting it in everything, no one will even notice the arlic-gay eath-bray issue.

BTW, these incredible and easy French bread rolls (or their whole wheat counterparts) are the perfect sandwiching option for this tasty garlic roast beef.

A square white plate with a half-eaten roll filled with shredded beef.

What to Serve With This

One Year Ago: Pumpkin White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake {Egg-Free, Easily Gluten Free}
Two Years Ago: The Best and Only Pie Crust Recipe {& Tutorial} You’ll Ever Need
Three Years Ago: Sweet Potato Casserole

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Slow Cooker Roasted Garlic Beef Sandwiches

4.68 stars (53 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chuck roast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cups low-sodium beef broth or stock, use less salt above if not using low-sodium broth
  • 2 full heads garlic

Instructions 

  • Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and brown sugar. Rub and pat the spice mixture evenly on the roast.
  • Place the roast in a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker. Pour the beef broth around the roast, cover, and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
  • While the meat cooks, roast the garlic (you can do this several days in advance and refrigerate). Peel most of the paper skin off the heads of garlic (making sure all the cloves stay intact). Slice about 1/4-inch or so off the tip of the head of garlic so the ends of the garlic are exposed. Place the two heads of garlic cut-side up on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil. Wrap the foil around to cover completely and bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is starting to look caramelized and brown and the texture is very, very soft.
  • Let the garlic cool until it doesn’t burn your fingers off before squeezing the soft garlic out of the skins. Mash and lightly chop the garlic; set aside.
  • When the meat has finished cooking, remove the roast and liquid from the slow cooker. Shred the meat into small pieces, discarding any pieces of fat. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir in the liquid, 1/2 cup at a time, until it’s as moist as you want it to be (I don’t add it all back in because I don’t want the sandwiches dripping and soggy but add it to your personal taste). Stir in the mashed garlic and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Cook on low until ready to serve (up to an additional hour, if needed).
  • Serve warm on rolls.

Notes

Flavor: if you really want to max out the flavor, rub the spice mixture (in step 1) on the beef, cover and refrigerate overnight before putting in the slow cooker.
Freezing: this freezes wonderfully – when reheating, if it seems dry, add a little beef broth.
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 432kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 156mg, Sodium: 990mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g

Recipe Source: adapted from Jessica’s recipe at How Sweet It Is after my virtual friend Heather emailed me telling me it was amazing