Name: French Dip Sliders
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons butter; 1 medium onion (red or yellow) (approximately 1 cup, sliced ); 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 12 slider rolls ((King's Hawaiian recommended)); ½ cup butter (melted and cooled); 1 ½ tablespoons ranch seasoning mix ((about 1/2 of a one-ounce packet)); 8 ounces Swiss cheese slices ((12 slices) ); ¾ pound deli roast beef (thinly sliced); 1 ounce Au Jus gravy mix (prepared according to package directions (McCormick brand recommended))

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What could be better than tender roast beef and melty Swiss cheese on slider rolls, with warm au jus on the side for dipping? These French Dip Sliders were made for game day! Good luck stopping at one.

A classic French dip is one of the great main dish sandwiches. It’s thinly sliced roast beef and melty cheese on a soft roll, served with richly flavored juice for dipping. These sliders take everything wonderful about that sandwich and turn it into a party-sized format.

Nine French dip sliders on buns, with a bowl of fries and lettuce in the background, plus a side of au jus.

The French dip has been around for more than a century. Two Los Angeles restaurants, Cole’s and Philippe’s, both claim to have invented it in the early 1900s, and the debate over which one got there first has never really been settled. Despite the name, the sandwich is American through and through. The word “French” simply refers to the bread it’s traditionally served on.

My slider version takes a slight departure from the classic ingredients. Instead of the usual garlic butter on top, I brush the rolls with a ranch-based butter, then serve the sliders with the au jus on the side. If that ranch and au jus pairing sounds familiar, it’s the same combination that makes the famed Mississippi Pot Roast so good.

These are always a hit for game day, but they’re just as good for a family supper.

Recipe Snapshot: French Dip Sliders

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12
Cuisine: American

Cooking Method: Oven/Stovetop
Primary Ingredients: Roast beef, sliders rolls, ranch dressing mix, onion, au jus mix
Skill Level: Easy

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What Makes This Recipe Special

These sliders are savory and satisfying with a filling of roast beef and melty Swiss cheese, plus deeply caramelized onions with ranch-flavored butter brushed over the top to tie it all together.

A single 9×13 dish makes a dozen sliders, and you can easily scale the recipe up if you need more. Assemble them ahead and bake when you need them. Handy for game day, a party, or a weeknight dinner.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients for French dip sliders: Swiss cheese, butter, slider rolls, onion, seasonings, and roast beef.

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King’s Hawaiian rolls — King’s Hawaiian seems to be the most frequently used rolls for constructing sliders. For me, they’ve always held up well to the beef, cheese, and onions without falling apart, and they go a nice golden brown with the ranch butter brushed on top. Any brand of slider roll that you like will work fine.
Deli roast beef — Ask the deli counter to slice the roast beef very thinly. The thin slices fold and layer so much more easily.
Swiss cheese — Swiss cheese is my personal choice with roast beef for its mellow flavor and easy melting ability. Tillamook Swiss cheese is always a good choice. If you prefer, you can substitute provolone, white cheddar, or Gruyère. Each one brings its own flavor and will melt just as nicely.
Onion — A sliced onion, cooked down slowly until deeply caramelized, adds a layer that rounds out all the flavors. I usually choose a red onion, but yellow is a touch more mellow and just as good.
Ranch seasoning — Ranch seasoning whisked into melted butter makes a glaze that flavors the rolls from the top and bottom. Hidden Valley is probably everyone’s go-to brand for ranch. I pair it with au jus gravy mix in this recipe to echo the flavor of the popular Mississippi pot roast recipe.
Au jus gravy mix — I always have a packet of McCormick au jus mix in the pantry because I make Mississippi pot roast fairly often.

The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Recipe Variations

Change the cheese. Swiss is what I typically use, but this recipe easily adapts to whatever you like. Provolone, white cheddar, or Gruyère all melt beautifully and give the sliders a slightly different flavor profile.
Add Dijon mustard to the ranch butter. A spoonful of Dijon mustard whisked into the ranch butter adds a little sharpness.
Use onion soup mix in place of the ranch seasoning. Swap the ranch seasoning in the butter for a dry onion soup mix to create a more classic flavor.

How to Make French Dip Sliders

STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
STEP 2. Butter or grease a 9×13 baking dish or pan and set it aside.

Sliced red onions cooking in butter in a frying pan, with bread and cheese on the side.

STEP 3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sliced onion and toss to coat with the butter.

Sliced red onions sautéing in a pan with butter, next to cheese slices and bread rolls on a white surface.

STEP 4. Season the onions with the onion powder, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 13 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft, golden, and caramelized. Remove them from the heat.

Pro Tip

Don’t rush the onions. It’s tempting to turn the heat up to speed things along, but higher heat can brown them too much before they have a chance to soften. Let them cook low and slow for about 13 to 15 minutes.

STEP 5. Using a serrated knife, slice the rolls horizontally in half to create one solid top layer and one solid bottom layer. Place the bottom layer in the prepared baking dish.

Small glass bowl ranch-butter mixture, surrounded by cheese slices and deli meat.

STEP 6. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter with the Ranch seasoning until combined.

A buttered layer of rolls sits in a white baking dish, ready for more ingredients.

STEP 7. Brush the bottom roll layer with about one-third of the Ranch butter.

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Six slices of Swiss cheese are layered on bread in a white baking dish, ready for baking.

STEP 8. Space 6 slices of Swiss cheese evenly over the bottom roll layer.

Four slices of roast beef and four slices of Swiss cheese layered on sandwich buns in a white baking dish.

STEP 9. Add the sliced roast beef in an even layer over the cheese, covering the rolls all the way to the edges.

White dish with layers of sliced meat, melted cheese, and caramelized onions, ready to be baked.

STEP 10. Top the beef with the caramelized onions.

Six slices of Swiss cheese layered over deli meat in a white baking dish, ready for baking.

STEP 11. Top with the remaining 6 slices of Swiss.

Twelve golden-brown dinner rolls in a white baking dish, lightly brushed with butter.

STEP 12. Butter the cut side of the top roll layer with about half of the remaining butter mixture, then set it in place over the filling.
STEP 13. Brush the remaining butter evenly over the tops of the rolls.

Twelve golden-brown rolls in a white baking dish, viewed from above.

STEP 14. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sliders are heated through.
STEP 15. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
STEP 16. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the sliders cool in the pan for 5 to 8 minutes before cutting them apart.

STEP 17. While the sliders cool, prepare the au jus according to the package directions.
STEP 18. Serve the sliders warm with the au jus on the side for dipping.

Close-up of French dip sliders on soft buns, arranged on a wooden board.

Recipe Tips

Slice the beef thinly. Thin deli slices layer, fold neatly, and stay tender through baking. A thick cut tends to become somewhat chewy when baked.
Salt lightly (if at all!). Between the au jus mix, the ranch seasoning, and the deli beef, there’s a good bit of salt in this recipe. However, a small additional amount is required to draw out moisture in order to caramelize the onions. You shouldn’t need any more salt at all.
Keep the au jus warm for serving. Au jus is at its best while hot. Make it toward the end of the slider cooking time, then keep it warm over low heat, or make it in advance and rewarm it just before the sliders go to the table.
Plan on two to three sliders per person. For a main dish, count on two or three sliders per person. When they’re part of a larger selection of party food, one per person is usually enough.
Serve them fresh from the oven. These are at their peak immediately after baking, while the cheese is melted and the roast beef nice and warm. If you need to hold them a few minutes, tent them loosely with foil to retain the heat.

How to Serve

Because these are hearty and rich, I like to keep the sides a little lighter. For a family dinner, a tangy coleslaw is a natural match, and a bowl of Southern potato salad is always welcome.

For game day, keep the sides easy and casual. Offer these with a basket of chips and my favorite kosher dill pickles to balance the richness. Or create a slider smorgasbord of French Dip Sliders with au jus alongside, ham and cheese sliders, and Mississippi chicken sliders.

Make Ahead

This recipe is a great one for making ahead. Assemble the sliders, cover the dish, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake, let the dish sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes while the oven heats, and then bake as directed. Make the au jus while the sliders bake.

How to Store and Reheat

Store leftover sliders in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep any leftover au jus in a separate covered container.

Reheat in the oven at 325 degrees F or in the air fryer at 300 degrees F for 4-5 minutes. Rewarm the au jus separately on the stovetop or in the microwave.

In my opinion, sliders simply don’t freeze well. The texture of the rolls and the beef just isn’t the same when they’re thawed. That said, if you really want to try, wrap the baked and cooled sliders tightly and freeze for up to a month. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as above. Freeze the au jus separately, or remake it fresh.

A hand dips a french dip slider on a bun into a bowl of sauce, with more sliders nearby.

Questions and Answers: French Dip Sliders

Can I use leftover or homemade roast beef instead of deli?
Yes. Thinly sliced leftover pot roast, prime rib, or home-roasted beef all work well. Slice it as thinly as you can so that it layers easily.
Why are they called French dip if the sandwich isn’t French?
The name comes from the bread, not the country of origin. The original sandwich was served on a French roll, and it’s dipped in au jus (French for “with juice”), so it became known as a “French dip” even though it was created in Los Angeles.

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