Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches are made with tender shredded beef, melty provolone cheese, and tangy giardiniera loaded on a garlic butter toasted hoagie roll. Throwing these together is SO easy using the Instant Pot, and the total hands-on prep takes just 10 minutes. If the slow cooker is more your speed, I have instructions for making Italian Beef sandwiches in the slow cooker as well!
Make these sandwiches on busy weeknights, game days, or anytime you’re craving this classic Chicago sandwich.
“I’ve made this a few times and my family absolutely loves it!!! Great and easy directions to follow.” – Tee, So Much Food reader
Table of contents
Italian Beef Turns Out Juicier and More Tender in the Instant Pot
If you prefer hot sandwiches, this Instant Pot version of classic Italian beef sandwiches is bound to become a new favorite. To assemble the sandwiches, hoagie rolls are brushed with garlic butter and loaded with juicy shredded beef, sliced provolone, hot banana peppers, and giardiniera (a type of Italian relish that has a puckery flavor).
The Italian beef sandwich originated in Chicago, with roots dating back to the 1930s. It was developed by Italian immigrants in Chicago working in the meatpacking industry. They’d bring home tough cuts of meat, cook them slowly until tender, and eat the meat on Italian bread.
I don’t claim for this recipe to be authentic, but it takes a lot of inspiration from the Chicago classic and is so incredibly delicious!
Grab These Kitchen Tools
- Instant Pot (Slow Cooker option included in recipe card, too!)
- Baking sheet
- Tongs
- Pastry Brush
The Main Ingredients You’ll Need
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Beef. The secret to Italian beef sandwiches is to use a good cut of beef. I like chuck roast or shoulder, something with a good amount of marbling and fat.
- Pepperoncini. The beef for our sandwiches is cooked with whole pepperoncini peppers plus some of the pepper juice. It may sound weird, but I swear it’s magical. The pepperoncini add so much tangy flavor to the otherwise very rich sandwich, and their brine helps tenderize the beef (which is essential when pressure cooking large cuts of meat!).
- Beef Broth. We want a nice bit of jus after cooking so I like to add some beef broth to the braising liquid as well. I serve some jus on the side, almost like a french dip sandwich.
- Hoagie rolls. Opt for a crusty hoagie roll, preferably something fresh from the bakery section of your grocery store. They should be sturdy enough to stand up to the juicy beef.
- Giardiniera. Giardiniera is a mix of pickled veggies (peppers, onion, cauliflower, carrots, celery, etc) that’s typically served on Italian beef sandwiches. It adds a bit of tang and crunch — delicious!
- Provolone. I’m not sure if authentic Italian beef has cheese on it, but melty provolone is AMAZING here.
- Worcestershire sauce. Don’t skip the Worcestershire, it adds so much flavor to the beef!
Jenny’s Tip: Chuck Roast Works Best for Italian Beef
There are many different cuts of beef that can be used to make Italian beef sandwiches, from beef shoulder, to brisket, to chuck roast or sirloin. Personally, I love chuck roast because it has great marbling and a rich, beefy flavor. It also shreds more easily than other roasts and is a more budget-friendly cut of beef, to boot.
How to Make Italian Beef Sandwiches in an Instant Pot
- Brown your beef. Don’t skip this step, because this lays the flavor foundation of the entire dish and is what makes the shredded beef taste so rich and meaty. The beauty of making Italian beef in an Instant Pot is that everything happens right in the Instant Pot! Set it to the ‘saute’ function and brown the seasoned chuck roast on both sides.
- Pressure cook the beef. To the browned beef, add the pepperoncini, bell pepper, onion, garlic, pepperoncini juice, and beef broth. Let the beef manual pressure cook on high for 1 hour, then do a natural release.
- Shred the beef. It should be fall-apart tender after 1 hour in the Instant Pot. If you’re struggling to shred it easily (and I mean very easily) with two forks, you might need to pressure cook it for another 10 minutes. This can happen if your cut of beef is larger than 3 pounds.
- Assemble the hot sandwiches. Stuff the hoagie rolls with the shredded beef, provolone, giardiniera, and sliced banana peppers. Brush all over with garlic butter and bake at 450ºF just until golden brown.
Jenny’s Tip: Don’t forget to serve your sandwiches with the warm au jus — it really makes the dish!
What to Serve with Italian Beef Sandwiches
Whether you’re serving these sandwiches on a game day or a regular weeknight, here are the side dishes we love serving with them:
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Sandwich Recipes for a Crowd
- Banh Mi Hot Dogs
- Italian Picnic Sandwich
- Grilled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches
- Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- Sheet Pan Italian Sausage Sandwiches
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Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
Italian Beef:
- 3 lbs beef chuck roast
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 whole pepperoncini peppers
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini juice
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
Sandwiches:
- 6 hoagie rolls
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 8 slices provolone cheese, cut in half
- 1 cup giardiniera, chopped
- 1/4 cup hot banana peppers
Instructions
- Brown the beef. Season both sides of the chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper. Set the instant pot to 'saute' on high and add the oil to the pot. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, place the beef in the pot and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side.
- Cook the beef. After browning the beef, add the remaining ingredients for the beef to the Instant Pot. Change the setting to 'manual' and set to high-pressure cooking or 1 hour. Allow for natural release. Open the lid and reserve 1-2 cups of the broth for dipping. Shred the meat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and leave in the remaining juice.
- Assemble the sandwiches. Preheat an oven to 450ºF. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and simmer with the garlic until the garlic is no longer raw. Slice the hoagie rolls (if not already sliced) and layer in the beef, provolone cheese, and chopped giardiniera. Brush the sandwiches all over with the garlic butter. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes until golden brown and the cheese is melty. Remove from the oven and top with hot banana peppers. Serve with beef jus for dipping.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Follow all the same recipe steps, including searing the beef (optional), and then combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Add 1 extra cup of beef broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Nutrition
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Rate & Review This Recipe
[…] Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches — SO MUCH FOOD […]
Quick, easy and AMAZING! Love these sandwiches!
I wish I could give more stars cuz this recipe is just that good. The house smelt so good while cooking and after the first bite my husband literally let out a “daaaaaaaaang” . My kids ate all of their sandwich without argument so you know it’s good! These were easy to make a winner in our house. Will definitely be making these on a regular basis
I’ve made this a few times and my family absolutely loves it!!! Great and easy directions to follow.
Tee,
So happy you loved the recipe! It’s one of my favorites too!
These are as delicious as they look in the pictures. This recipe was absolutely on point. Thank you! I’ll be keeping these in the repertoire.
Delicious. This recipe is great and so easy to follow, but, Um, what do you do with the garlic and butter from the saucepan???
Oh my gosh, this was a huge oversight on my part, so sorry! You brush the sandwiches with the garlic butter before toasting the sandwiches in the oven. Thank you for bringing that up, I’ll get that changed ASAP!
Loved this!!! I added all the juice from the pepperoncinis and about 3/4 of them for the extra kick my family loves. As the recipe blogger mentions in the recipe, you can add or subtract based on your likes. The best part that sets this recipe apart from others? The garlic butter brushed on at the end. I added a little bit of parmesan cheese to the rolls after the brushed on butter. This dipped into the au jus…so good and so easy to make! AND leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Thanks!
Melissa,
So happy you loved the recipe! It’s one of my weeknight favorites and I love the extra added peppers!
I have made this recipe several times and it is DELICIOUS!!! The whole family loves it. The garlic salted toasted buns sets this recipe apart from all of the other recipes on the internet. Wish I could give this recipe a higher rating.
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for your kind review!
Thank you for such an outstanding recipe! We devoured these. This will from now on be my go-to for Italian beef sands. So incredible.
I made this tonight for my husband and 2 teenage sons. They loved it! This recipe was really easy to follow. The peppers and juice made this delicious!
So glad you loved it and that it’s teenager approved!