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Square image of one sandwich with melty cheese with curly fries and mozzarella sticks around it.
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5 from 3 votes

Copycat Arby's Beef and Cheddar

This Copycat Arby's Roast Beef and Cheddar sandwich is made from thin, flavorful roast beef, cheese, and homemade sauce on an onion bun. A Tasty sandwich anyone will fall in love with.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Sandwiches
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 565kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

For the Arby's sauce:

  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder

For the cheese sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For the sandwich assembly:

  • 2 cups low sodium beef broth
  • 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
  • 4 onion hamburger buns

Instructions

  • In a small mixing bowl, add the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and onion powder and whisk to combine, before setting it aside.
  • Over medium heat, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, continuing to stir.
  • Slowly and carefully pour in the milk while whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a simmer, for 5 minutes before removing it from the heat. Stir in the cheese until melted, and set aside.
  • In a separate large skillet over medium heat, add the beef broth and bring it to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Separate the slices of roast beef, one by one, and drop them into the broth. Adding them individually helps them not stick together, as we don't need to cook the beef, just warm it and flavor it, you only need to let it stay in the broth for 1-2 minutes.
  • Grab an onion hamburger bun and add the homemade sauce from the bowl and spread it on the bun.
  • Top with the roast beef, then add the cheese sauce on top followed by the top of the bun. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Notes

  1. This copycat recipe makes 4 large sandwiches. If you don’t have that big of an appetite or prefer smaller sandwiches, it would be enough for 8 smaller sandwiches.
  2. I like to make the cheese sauce just before assembling the sandwiches so it is still warm. If the cheese sauce gets cold and you try to reheat it, it will most likely break. That may happen but it is still delicious.
  3. I don't recommend freezing this sandwich.
  4. Serve this sandwich with curly fries, mozzarella sticks, and jalapeno poppers for the full Arby’s experience! You can find all of these items in the frozen food section at the grocery store.
  5. These can easily be doubled to serve more people.
  6. You can use any of your favorite deli roast beef, just make sure that it is sliced nice and thin.
  7. Onion buns our our preference for these as that is how they are served at the restaurant, but use any buns that you'd like.

Nutrition

Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 2770mg | Potassium: 873mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 770IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 772mg | Iron: 4mg