Description

This Italian Beef recipe features a tender 3-4 pound beef roast slow-cooked with Italian dressing mix, seasoned with salt and pepper, and infused with the tangy flavors of pepperoncini peppers and their brine. The beef is cooked until fall-apart tender, shredded in its flavorful juices, and served on sub rolls with melted provolone or mozzarella cheese, making a perfect hearty sandwich that’s both delicious and easy to prepare.

Ingredients

Scale

Beef and Seasoning

3-4 pound beef roast (chuck or blade recommended)
1 package Italian dressing mix or garlic herb seasoning (about 2 tbsp)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ cups low-sodium beef broth

Pepperoncini and Serve

1 jar pepperoncini peppers (12 oz or 375 ml)
12 sub or hoagie rolls
12 slices provolone, Havarti, or mozzarella cheese

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Instructions

Prepare the beef: Place the beef roast into a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Season it thoroughly on all sides with the Italian dressing mix or garlic herb seasoning, salt, and pepper to ensure deep flavor penetration.
Add liquids and peppers: Pour 1½ cups of low-sodium beef broth and ½ cup of the brine from the jar of pepperoncini peppers into the bottom of the slow cooker. Then add ½ cup of sliced pepperoncini peppers on top of the beef. To reduce spice, use only the brine without the sliced peppers.
Cook the beef: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 10 to 11 hours until the beef becomes fall-apart tender. For a quicker method, cut the beef into 3 to 4 smaller pieces and cook for about 8 hours on low.
Shred and serve: Once cooked, shred the beef directly in its juices to soak up all the flavors. Serve the beef on sub rolls or hoagie buns with slices of provolone, Havarti, or mozzarella cheese. Add extra pickled pepperoncini peppers if desired for more tang and heat.

Notes

Adjust spice level by varying the amount of pepperoncini juice and sliced peppers used; more juice and peppers increase the heat.
For an authentic experience, serve with giardiniera or toasted ciabatta buns, though simple buns with cheese and pepperoncini are delicious as well.
Cutting the beef into smaller pieces can reduce cooking time to 8 hours without sacrificing tenderness.
Use low-sodium beef broth to control salt content.
Leftover beef can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for longer storage.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Calories: 430 kcal
Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 650 mg
Fat: 20 g
Saturated Fat: 8 g
Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 35 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 30 g
Cholesterol: 95 mg