7 Sandwich Dinners That Feel Like a Real Meal

Edited by Isabel Ehlert

There was a time in my life when serving sandwiches for dinner felt like a confession of failure. Like, “I gave up, here is a sandwich.” Then I had a kid who actually preferred a really good sandwich dinner over a sit-down plate of meatloaf, and I realized I had been carrying around a weird rule that did not need to exist.

A really good sandwich dinner is a real dinner. It is hot. It is satisfying. It usually involves a slow cooker that did all the work. These are the sandwich dinners I make on nights when nobody wants to sit at a table for forty-five minutes but everybody still needs to eat something real.

Maid-Rite Loose Meat Sandwiches▼

This is the Iowa diner sandwich that I love and that confuses people who did not grow up in the Midwest. Seasoned crumbled ground beef on a soft white bun with mustard, onion, and pickle. No tomato sauce. No barbecue. Just plain, beefy, salty perfection.

If you have never had one, you will think it cannot possibly be that good. And then you will eat one. And then you will eat another. And then you will text me to thank me.

Get the recipe: Maid-Rite Loose Meat Sandwiches

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches▼

This is a sandwich that feels like a real grown-up dinner. Tender slow-cooked beef on a hoagie roll with melted provolone, served with a little cup of au jus for dipping. The crockpot does all the work, and the result feels like the kind of sandwich you would order at a real restaurant.

I make these on Sundays when I want dinner to feel a little special but I do not feel like doing anything special. The dipping is half the fun.

Get the recipe: Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

Crockpot BBQ Chicken▼

Chicken breasts in the crockpot with barbecue sauce, shredded with a fork, piled onto a soft bun. It is the easiest sandwich dinner on this list, and the kind of dinner that becomes a summer Sunday tradition before you even notice it happened.

Add coleslaw on top if you grew up that way. Skip it if you did not. Either way, the sandwich is a hit.

Get the recipe: Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak▼

The slow cooker version of the Philly classic. Tender beef, peppers, onions, and provolone, piled on hoagie rolls. It is the sandwich that feels like an indulgence even though you made it in the slow cooker with almost no work.

This is the dinner I make when my teenager has friends over. The boys eat their weight in cheesesteaks. The girls eat just as much and pretend they did not.

Get the recipe: Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak

Sloppy Joes▼

The homemade version of the school cafeteria sandwich, except about ten times better. Ground beef in a saucy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy sauce, piled onto a soft bun. It is messy. That is the point.

If you have a kid who claims to hate sloppy joes from the can, make them this one. The homemade version is a different sandwich entirely.

Get the recipe: Sloppy Joes

Pulled Pork Burritos▼

Technically a burrito, spiritually a sandwich. Slow-cooked pulled pork wrapped in a warm tortilla with cheese, rice, beans, and whatever toppings you have around. It is the dinner that works as a sit-down meal or a grab-and-go meal, which I appreciate on practice nights.

I make a big batch of pulled pork on Sundays. We eat it as burritos one night, on buns another night, and over rice a third night. Endlessly useful.

Get the recipe: Pulled Pork Burritos

Pulled Beef▼

The slow cooker pulled beef that becomes whatever kind of sandwich you want it to be. Pile it on a hoagie roll with cheese, on a bun with barbecue sauce, or in a tortilla with salsa. The beef is tender enough to shred with a fork and savory enough to anchor any sandwich it ends up in.

This is the recipe I make when I want a week’s worth of different sandwiches from one batch of meat. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Get the recipe: Pulled Beef

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