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Home Recipes By Type Copycat Recipes

Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich

This copycat recipe for Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich with homemade cheddar cheese sauce tastes just like the original, and it's easy to make.
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By: Diana Last updated on November 7, 2022

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copycat arby's roast beef and cheddar sandwich on a plate.

If you love the beef and cheddar from Arby’s, you are going to fall in love with this copycat recipe for Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich! It’s easy to make, with a quick homemade Arby’s sauce, smooth cheddar cheese, and tender deli sliced beef.

copycat arby's roast beef and cheddar sandwich on a plate.


Cook up some seasoned curly fries, and get ready to enjoy a delicious homemade Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich in the comfort of your own kitchen!

I’m showing you how to make a copycat recipe that tastes just like the real thing, with fresh, flavorful ingredients that you can feel good about eating.

Skip the drive-through, and enjoy all of your favorite fast food copycat recipes at home! Some of my most popular include Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets and McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes, but you’ll find recipes from Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, and Panera Bread too!

Looking for more roast beef sandwich recipes? Try my French Dip Sliders recipe next.

a copycat arby's sandwich cut in half on a plate with curly fries

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  1. Homemade Arby’s Sauces – An Arby’s Sandwich just isn’t right without the signature sauces. Here we’re making a smooth cheddar cheese sauce and a simple ketchup sauce that tastes just like classic Arby’s sauce.
  2. Real Ingredients – Who even knows what kinds of strange ingredients are in fast food dishes anymore? If you’d rather not know, I don’t blame you! Instead of worrying about additives, food dyes, and preservatives, you can make a delicious roast beef sandwich using fresh ingredients that you can see and pronounce.
  3. Quick and Easy – It’s easier than you think to make a homemade Arby’s beef and cheddar. You can be enjoying these sandwiches in about 15 minutes.

Ingredients In Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich

Here’s what you need to make these copycat sandwiches:

the ingredients you need to make a copycat arbys roast beef sandwich

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

  • Homemade Arby’s Sauce: An expertly crafted mixture of ketchup, vinegar, mayo, sugar, and spices creates the same sauce that comes in those little packets, and you just have to whisk it up in a bowl!
  • Roast Beef: Thinly sliced deli roast beef is similar to what Arby’s serves, and the best choice to make this copycat sandwich. You can get this from the deli counter, or buy the pre-packaged beef if that’s easier. For four sandwiches, get a pound of roast beef.
  • Beef Broth: This is the key to warming the beef without drying it out. We’ll simmer the beef and the broth together very briefly on the stove
  • Onion Rolls: An Arby’s Beef and Cheddar comes on a soft roll with onions on it. Look for onion sandwich rolls, or use your favorite soft rolls instead.
  • Cheddar Sauce: We aren’t buying pre-made cheese sauce because it’s really easy to make it fresh! You’ll need butter, flour, milk, sharp cheddar cheese, and a bit of salt.

Tip!

If you’re buying roast beef at the deli counter, ask them to “shave” the beef, or slice it as thin as they possibly can!

How To Make an Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich

two images showing how to make homemade arby's sauce
  1. Make the Arby’s Sauce: Combine ketchup, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, sugar, and mayonnaise in a bowl and whisk to combine. If needed, you can thin out the sauce with 1-2 tablespoons of water to get the right consistency.
  1. Make the Cheddar Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the flour and cook for 1 minute. Then slowly pour in the milk while whisking. Cook for another minute while whisking to fully combine. Then add the shredded cheddar cheese, and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the sauce has thickened.
a collage of four images showing how to make an arbys roast beef sandwich
  1. Warm the Roast Beef: Heat the beef broth in a large skillet until it comes to a simmer. Add the roast beef, separating the slices as you do, and warm in the broth for 2 minutes.
  2. Assemble the Sandwiches: Spread the homemade Arby’s Sauce on the bottom of the onion buns. Top with warm roast beef, cover with cheese sauce and close the buns. Serve immediately.

Tip!

Arby’s buns are usually slightly toasted. I like them soft and untoasted myself, but you can add the rolls to a hot non-stick skillet to lightly warm them up before assembling the sandwiches if you’d like!

Recipe Tips

  • Make it Your Own: This recipe was developed to taste as close to an Arby’s sandwich as possible, but you can make adjustments if you want things a bit different. Try adding some hot sauce to the sauce to make it spicier, or using a small amount of Velveeta with the cheddar to make the cheese sauce extra creamy.
  • Don’t Overcook the Beef: Deli beef is already cooked, so all we need to do is warm it up. Just a minute or two in the simmering broth is plenty, any longer and the meat will get dry and tough.
  • Try Other Sauces: Experiment with other homemade sauces on your Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. Raising Cane’s Sauce or horseradish Cocktail Sauce could be amazing!
a roast beef and cheddar sandwich on an onion roll on a plate with curly fries

Storing Tips

These sandwiches are best served immediately, but you can make the cheese sauce and Arby’s sauce ahead of time. Store both in the refrigerator in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Let the Arby’s sauce come to room temperature and re-heat the cheddar sauce on the stove before warming up the beef and making the sandwiches.

What To Serve With Copycat Arby’s Sandwiches

Curly Fries! You can buy Arby’s curly fries in the frozen section of your grocery store. I suggest tossing some in the air fryer while you’re getting the sandwiches ready. Save some Arby’s sauce for dipping!

You might also enjoy making homemade french fries from scratch. There’s nothing like freshly fried potato fries, dipped in fry sauce or ranch dressing.

Make your meal a bit healthier by serving a salad on the side. Try my Strawberry Spinach Salad or Healthy Red Cabbage Slaw.

More Restaurant Recipes

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

Chick Fil A Cool Wrap

Thai Chicken Pizza

Cinnamon Honey Butter (Texas Roadhouse Butter)

All Copycats →

FAQs

Can I reheat Arby’s Cheese Sauce?

The scratch-made cheddar sauce here is best when enjoyed right after making it, but you can reheat leftovers if needed. Heat the sauce and a splash of milk on the stove over very low heat, stirring frequently until just warmed through.

Is Arby’s Roast Beef Real Meat?

There have always been rumors about the tender, tasty roast beef from Arby’s being less than natural, but it seems that the fast food chain does use real beef to make their sandwiches, that they cook in store each day.

What can I use instead of an onion roll?

Try regular hamburger buns or sesame seed rolls.

A great roast beef sandwich is easy to make using this recipe, and you’ll love how much this sandwich tastes just like Arby’s Roast Beef and Cheddar! Make sure to Pin the recipe so more people can find it.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
copycat arby's roast beef and cheddar sandwich on a plate.
4.88 from 8 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 15 minutes mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe
This copycat recipe for Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich with homemade cheddar cheese sauce tastes just like the original, and it's easy to make.
4 sandwiches
This copycat recipe for Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich with homemade cheddar cheese sauce tastes just like the original, and it's easy to make.

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • Saucepan
  • Skillet or saute pan

Ingredients 

For Arby's Sauce

  • ⅔ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
  • water if needed to thin sauce

For Cheddar Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For Roast Beef

  • 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 4 onion rolls or other sandwich rolls

Instructions 

  • To make the Arby's sauce, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. If the sauce seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to thin it out.
  • To make the cheese sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. melt the butter and the flour and cook for 1 minute. Then slowly pour in the milk while whisking. Melt the cheddar in the sauce, and season with salt. It should become smooth. Remove from heat, and set aside.
  • In a large, deep skillet, heat the beef broth until it simmers, then separate the slices of roast beef and add them to the broth. Warm the meat for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
  • Spread the homemade Arby's sauce on the bottom of the onion buns. Divide the roast beef evenly over each. Add cheese sauce and close the sandwich with the top bun. Serve immediately, preferably with curly fries.

Notes:

  • Don’t overcook the beef. Deli beef is already cooked, so all we need to do is warm it up. Just a minute or two in the simmering broth is plenty, any longer and the meat will get dry and tough.
  • If you’d like to, toast the buns briefly in a non-stick skillet to warm them up.
  • To Store: It’s not a great idea to make the sandwiches and save them for later, but you can make the sauces ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • To Reheat the cheese sauce: Heat the sauce and a splash of milk on the stove over very low heat, stirring frequently until just warmed through. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1sandwich, Calories: 619kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 121mg, Sodium: 3289mg, Potassium: 582mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 917IU, Vitamin C: 53mg, Calcium: 756mg, Iron: 5mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

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  1. Headings says

    Posted on 4/25/23 at 23:26

    5 stars
    Love em, making again real soon!

    Reply
  2. Gordon says

    Posted on 1/3/23 at 17:17

    4 stars
    First time I very tried it easy to follow enjoyed it 4/5

    Reply

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