These Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Sandwiches are made with fall-apart tender tri-tip on toasty bread and topped with cheese and sweet, tangy BBQ sauce.
Tri-tip is a great cut of meat, and when you make it in the slow cooker, it comes out fabulously tender and perfect for making into sandwiches.
It’s also incredibly simple to make. In the morning, you just rub your tri-tip with seasoning salt and then let the tri-tip hang out in your crockpot on low for 8 hours.
At the end of the day, your house will smell amazing, and you just shred the meat and pile it onto sandwiches topped with BBQ sauce and cheese. With almost no effort, you get to enjoy homemade BBQ without ever having to step foot outside. And that’s living the BBQ dream if you ask me. 😉
Ingredient Notes
- Tri-tip: Unlike my Oven-baked Tri-tip, I recommend using a trimmed tri-tip roast in this recipe but if untrimmed is all that’s available, that will work too. Just roughly (it doesn’t need to be beautiful) trim away and discard the fat cap (the thick layer of fat over one side of the meat) before cooking. While fat is usually delicious, in the crockpot it does nothing but make a blobby mess.
- French rolls: A good-sized soft French roll is my favorite for tri-tip sandwiches, but any soft white bread will do. Hot dog or hamburger buns are great as is sliced French bread or even plain, sliced sandwich bread.
- Seasoning salt: If you don’t have seasoning salt, not a problem. Mix together 2 teaspoons each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and use it in place of the seasoning salt.
A Note on Tri-tip: Tri-tip is most popular in California and along the west coast. If you are outside of California and having trouble finding tri-tip in the store, you might find it under other names like “The California Cut” or “Bottom Sirloin Tip.”
How to Make Tri-tip Sandwiches
- Sprinkle seasoning salt over the entire tri-tip. Place tri-tip and water or broth in the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8.
- Assemble sandwiches with mayonnaise, cheese, and cooked tri-tip.
- Bake until bread is toasted and cheese bubbly.
- Add BBQ sauce and enjoy!
FAQ
Can I freeze tri-tip sandwiches?
You don’t want to freeze assembled bbq sandwiches (they will get soggy), but the cooked tri-tip is a great candidate for freezing. Just store portions of cooked meat in freezer-safe plastic bags with some of the juices and freeze for up to 3 months.
How many sandwiches will this make?
A standard 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pound tri-tip is enough meat to make about 5 to 8 sandwiches. If you’re a small household, and that’s too many for you, freeze the extra tri-tip. You can also use it in salads, burritos, or burrito bowls.
Can I sear the tri-tip before cooking it in the slow cooker?
Absolutely. If you’d like to brown your meat before slow cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown both sides before transferring to the slow cooker.
This step is optional as it does deepen and improve the beefy flavor, but isn’t super noticeable when being eaten in a sandwich and requires you to wash another dish.
What to serve with tri-tip sandwiches?
- Microwave Corn on the Cob
- Butter and Garlic Green Beans
- Small Macaroni Salad
- Smashed Red Potatoes with Garlic Aioli
- Baked Potato Salad
More Slow Cooker Favorites
Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Sandwiches
Ingredients
Special Equipment
Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Sandwiches
- Seasoning salt *
- 1 trimmed tri-tip *
- 1 cup water, beef, or chicken broth
- 5 french rolls sliced open
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup barbecue sauce warmed in the microwave if desired
Instructions
- Sprinkle seasoning salt over the entire tri-tip. Place tri-tip and water or broth in the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8. The meat is done when you can easily pull it apart with a fork. Use two forks to shred the meat in the slow cooker.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread mayonnaise over the inside of the rolls and top with the shredded tri-tip and shredded cheese. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until bread is toasted and cheese bubbly.
- Add BBQ sauce and enjoy!
Notes
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