Vegan French Dip Sandwich
Enjoy this savory Vegan French Dip Sandwich, made in 30 minutes with minimal ingredients and ready to tempt your taste buds with each bite. We love a good plant-based sandwich. I include this one in my easy vegan recipes repertoire, and you should, too!
If you like good, savory sandwiches, you’re going to love this Vegan French Dip. You should also try this Vegan Philly Cheesesteak recipe.
Truth be told, I saw a bunch of recipes for French Dip Sandwiches and I felt a little jealous. Like, how come vegans can’t have a little French Dip fun?
I will mire in my own self-pity for a bit, it’s true. You can ask Shawn and he will confirm it. But then, the self-pity gets old and that’s when I have to have a plan. A plan of action.
I like having a plan.
So I started mulling over a recipe for a Vegan French Dip Sandwich. And guess what? It’s a real winner!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Browning the beefless tips first helps create a firm, crispy exterior
- Adding cooked beefless tips to the sauce infuses them with flavor
- Baking the sandwiches with vegan cheese creates baked-in flavor and toasts the bread slightly, making every bite absolutely delicious!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Olive oil
- Vegan Beefless Tips — I buy Gardein Beefless Tips for many of my recipes, including this French Dip recipe.
- Bragg Liquid Aminos — This is basically a gluten-free soy sauce. So if you don’t have issues with gluten, use soy sauce or substitute tamari.
- Flour — I recommend all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Onions — I used a mild yellow onion, or you could substitute white or even red onion.
- Bouillon — I recommend No Beef Better than Bouillon (I ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived in 2 days), or you can substitute Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian and add a tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Seasonings — We’ll add some dried thyme and a bay leaf.
- French rolls or hoagie buns
- Vegan cheese slices — I recommend Field Roast Creamy Original Chao Slices or Follow Your Heart Provolone Slices
- Parsley — This is optional, but garnishing any recipe with some fresh chopped parsley is always a good idea.
How to Make Vegan French Dip Sandwich
- Cook beefless tips in an oiled skillet until browned on all sides.
- Combine the sauce ingredients, from the oil to the onions. Add the browned beefless tips and top with a bay leaf.
- Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Use a spatula to cut the beefless tips into smaller pieces.
- When ready to serve, heat your oven to 350°F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Remove the beefless tips and transfer the sauce to a bowl for dipping.
- Place hoagie buns on a baking pan. Top them with vegan beef and vegan cheese slices.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Place the top side of the bun on the sandwiches. Serve with reserved au jus.
Storage Tips
Store the leftover beefless tips in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also store baked sandwiches in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Serving Suggestions
Serve vegan French Dip Sandwiches with any of the following:
Marly’s Tips
- You can add some sliced mushrooms while you’re cooking the beefless tips.
- To create a gluten-free version of this sandwich, just replace the beefless tips with mushrooms.
- Adding some onions from this onion confit on top would be pretty amazing. Because caramelized onions make just about everything better.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Hannah
We make this regularly. It’s a HUGE HIT. We love it!
More Vegan Sandwiches
If you love this vegan French dip sandwich, be sure to try these as well:
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Vegan Au Jus Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 packages Vegan Beefless Tips thawed*
- 1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dry minced onions
- 1 tablespoon No Beef Better than Bouillon**
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaf
- 6 French rolls or hoagie buns
- 12 slices vegan cheese***
- Fresh Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Place the vegan beefless tips in the skillet and brown on all sides, a few minutes per side.
- In a bowl, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, Bragg, water, flour, onions, No Beef Bouillon, and dried thyme. Stir to combine. Pour this over the cooked beefless tips. Top with a bay leaf.
- Place the lid on the skillet and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or so. Use a spatula to divide the beefless pieces into smaller pieces. You can do this directly in the skillet or you can transfer them to a cutting board.
- When ready to serve, heat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Remove the beefless tips and transfer the sauce to a bowl for dipping.
- Split the hoagie buns and place the bottoms on your prepared pan. Top each bottom with vegan beef followed by 2 slices of vegan cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Place the top side of the bun on each sandwich. Serve with reserved au jus.
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
We make this regularly. It’s a HUGE HIT. We love it!! One thing I have missed dearly is French dip sandwiches!!
Hi Marly,
These are soo awesomely delicious! My hubby and I are “two month old vegetarians” (working towards vegan) and learning how to prepare food differently. I am eager to try all of your recipes. Thank you for sharing your wonderful knowledge!
Hi Bev! Thanks for your kind words. Shawn and I are veg couples too! We both started out as vegetarian and then moved on to a vegan diet. I went through that process more slowly than Shawn did. Having good veg/vegan recipes like this one can be so helpful in the process. Also, we still enjoy lots of comfort foods, like the things we both grew up eating. This sandwich is a great example. Hope you enjoy it!
I made these and they were soooo good! Thank you!
Oh, Stacy, so glad you liked this sandwich. It’s one of our favorites too! ❤️
What a beautiful recipe! We have been eating a lot more vegan recipes lately and this one will be added to the repertoire. Thank you for sharing!