Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, there was no shortage of restaurants that served Italian beef. From dry to dipped, sweet or hot peppers (or both) and yes, of course I want cheese on that! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this delicious feast, Italian beef is thinly sliced roast beef, cooked with peppers and Italian spices, served on an Italian style roll and can be topped with mozzarella cheese. There is also a whole gravy ceremony that goes along with serving it but more on that later. Bottom line, it’s amazingly delicious and is the perfect type of meal for Superbowl parties or anytime you need a super easy crock pot dinner.
The one problem the numerous Italian-beef-serving restaurants face, happens every year during Lent. For about six weeks every year in March/April, those who observe Lent do not eat meat on Friday (or Ash Wednesday) during those weeks. So what are all of these restaurants that dish out massive amounts of Italian beef and other meaty treats to do when so many people are abstaining from a good portion of their menu? Serve pepper and egg sandwiches of course!
Right off the bat, pepper and egg may not sound like the most exciting thing. If so many people weren’t forced to try it due to lack of other choices, it may not be as popular as it is. Is it an appropriate substitute for someone craving a red meat fix? Not a chance. It is, however, a surprisingly delicious sandwich when you want Italian beef but can’t have it, or when you want a simple, flavorful vegetarian sandwich. I use the same Italian spices and peppers that I use in the regular Italian beef and serve it on the same type of bread so you really get similar Italian flavors even sans the beef.
This may be one of those things you just have to trust me on. If you have a bunch of eggs you’re trying to use up, give it a try. If you’re egg freaks like we are because you have your own backyard chickens, add this recipe to your list. If you have a group of vegetarians to feed, or even if you just want a healthier alternative to most meat based crock pot recipes, this is the recipe for you. Added bonus: pepper and eggs in the crock pot take half the time of most other crock pot recipes so you could realistically start this after breakfast and it would be ready by lunch.
We’ll start things off with the original Italian beef recipe first. Super quick prep, super easy, super delicious.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 4-8 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 3 lbs beef chuck roast
- 3 ounces dry Italian dressing mix I use zesty Italian mix.*
- 16 ounces pepperoncini juice and all. I use mild, sliced but you could also use hot, whole.
- 1 cup water
- 2-3 loaves Italian bread I like the crustier baguette* type bread but any hoagie roll or sub style bread will work too.
- 6 slices mozzarella or your favorite cheese.
Ingredients
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- Throw everything in a crock pot (except the bread and cheese). Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- An hour or two before serving, shred the beef with 2 forks or shredding claws*. You could even do this right before serving but I like to let it cook a little longer after shredding to let the juices soak into the meat more.
- Cooking time will vary depending on your crock pot. We have two crock pots and one will cook this on low in 4 hours and the other takes the full 8 on low. Fortunately, beef does really well when cooked for long periods of time so I usually start it out on high for the first 4 hours, regardless of which pot I'm using, then check it and decide whether to turn it down or leave it. I usually end up leaving it on high the whole time.
- If your bread isn't already in single serving portions, slice them into about 6 inch sections. Then slice each roll open but don't cut all the way through it. Leave about a half inch uncut so the roll holds together and cradles the filling. This is one reason I prefer crustier bread. The thicker crust holds together much better and keeps everything from falling out of the bottom. Softer rolls tend to disintegrate once the meat is added. It will taste delicious either way though. 🙂
- Load each roll with the Italian beef and pepper mix. Top with mozzarella cheese. Meat will be very juicy already but you can serve with additional gravy on the side or dip each sandwich in the gravy. (see below)
- The gravy is basically the leftover juices that the beef has been cooking in. When ordering an Italian beef in Chicago, you can get it a few different ways:
- Dry - excess juice will be squeezed out before adding the beef to the bun.
- Wet - juice will be ladled over the meat after being added to the bun.
- Dipped - the whole sandwich is dipped in the juice. Glorious but super messy when getting a to-go order.
- Gravy on the side - perfect for sandwiches on the go.
- Different restaurants have slightly different terminology but the above are the basics.
- When making Italian beef at home, especially if you shred the beef an hour or two before serving, most of the juice, or gravy, tends to get soaked into the meat. If you really want to have extra juice to drain off afterward and have the option of serving your sandwiches "dipped", you can add 2-3 cups of water or beef stock and an extra packet or two of Italian seasoning. Add this in at the beginning so everything cooks together. Then drain the excess liquid into a bowl or small pot before serving so it can be ladled over sandwiches or sandwiches can be dipped in it.
- This is the dressing mix I use. The packets are .6oz and come 4 per box so I put all 4 in. Other brands have closer to 1 oz per packet. Going a little over or a little under 3 oz doesn't make too much of a difference. Just get as close to 3 oz as you can.
- These are the shredding claws we have. Definitely not necessary if this recipe is all you are using them for but my husband loves them when he makes pulled pork and the like and was thrilled that I used them when making this dish. 😉
- I'm working on perfecting a baguette recipe which I'll post here as soon as it's done. Until then, this is the shape of bread you're looking for.
Now for the meat abstainers, veg heads or egg freaks, here is the vegetarian alternative to Italian beef: the pepper and egg sandwich. The proportion of peppers to eggs can be changed up easily according to your preferences. The restaurants generally serve them with more eggs than pepper. I prefer more of an even mix, slightly heavier on peppers, so that’s what this recipe reflects.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 4-8 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 7 bell peppers Any color, cored, seeded and sliced into 1/2 inch slices.
- 0.6-1 ounces dry Italian dressing mix I use 1 packet worth of zesty Italian mix.*
- 16 ounces pepperoncini JUICE DRAINED. I use sliced, mild but you could also use hot or whole.
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded, or your favorite shredded cheese
- 12 eggs
- 1/2 cups milk
- 2-3 loaves Italian bread I like the crustier baguette* type bread but any hoagie roll or sub style bread will work too.
- 6 slices mozzarella or your favorite cheese.
Ingredients
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- Add peppers, pepperoncinis, dressing mix and cheese to crock pot.
- Crack eggs into a separate bowl. Add milk and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add to crock pot.
- Cook on low for 2-3 hours, then fluff mixture with a fork. If eggs are already cooked through at this point, turn crock pot to warm for remainder of time.
- Cooking time will vary depending on your crock pot. Even the warm setting on our crock pot will start to brown the eggs after 8 hours. This doesn't take away from the flavor fortunately, it's just not as visually appealing. I tend to pay more attention to the peppers and set the temperature according to how cooked I want them to be by a given time.
- If your bread isn't already in single serving portions, slice them into about 6 inch sections. Then slice each roll open but don't cut all the way through it. Leave about a half inch uncut so the roll holds together and cradles the filling. This is one reason I prefer crustier bread. The thicker crust holds together much better and keeps everything from falling out of the bottom. Softer rolls tend to disintegrate once the filling is added. It will taste delicious either way though. 🙂
- Load each roll with pepper and egg mixture and top with cheese.
- This is the dressing mix I use. The packets are .6oz and come 4 per box so I just put 1 in. Other brands have closer to 1 oz per packet. Going a little over or a little under 1 oz doesn't make too much of a difference. Just get as close to 1 oz as you can.
- I'm working on perfecting a baguette recipe which I'll post here as soon as it's done. Until then, this is the shape of bread you're looking for.
Who’s willing to give homemade pepper and eggs a try? Dry, dipped or gravy on the side? Comment below!