Ok, I do not know what my deal is lately, but I cannot last a whole day without some down time in the sun. I think this winter really took a toll on me. It was just so cold and lasted forever, so now I feel like I have to soak up every last bit of sunshine because before I know it I’ll be drowning in snow again. Ugh, it just seems wrong to even mention that word!!! When it does come this Arby’s Beef n Cheddar copycat recipe is probably the only thing that will get me through the day.
I’ve never been a fan of fast food, or hamburgers actually, but growing up I would always go for an Arby’s Beef and Cheddar. A soft bun full of hot roast beef, tangy sauce and the best part-cheeeeeeeese sauce. Don’t hate! It’s a guilty pleasure ok! I think I’ve only had one Arby’s sandwich in the past like, 8 years, but that’s mostly because we cook so much here and there are so many new restaurants I just don’t really have the need to eat out. Well, and let’s be honest, it’s not exactly the healthiest out there. Not at all.
A while back I discovered this new bacon wrapped roast beef from Eckridge Meats, and I instantly thought of my childhood favorite sandwich. I just knew I had to recreate it. And guess what? It’s like the easiest ever. Ok, you do need to use processed cheese, but listen, everything in moderation folks. It’s worth it. Kinda like how I secretly love that ballpark nacho cheese. You KNOW that’s not real cheese, but you do it anyway. We threw together a super easy Arby’s sauce which we served with the Arby’s Fries that we found in the frozen foods section. All we had remaining was cooking up the sliced roast beef in a pan and chowing down. It was awesome. I ate too much and almost went into a copycat fast food coma, but I’m here today to say it’s worth it!!!!
Can You Freeze Cooked Roast Beef?
You can freeze cooked roast beef.
After it has cooled completely, pack in heavy duty freezer bag or wrap in plastic and then foil.
Freeze for 2-3 months.
How Do You Reheat Roast Beef?
There is an easy way to reheat roast beef without it becoming overcooked and dry.
Wrap your frozen or refrigerated rare roast beef with a foil.
Place the foiled roast beef into a microwavable or oven-safe bowl.
Fill half of the pot with water and bring this to boil.
Turn off the heat and place the bowl with roast inside the pot until the meat is hot.
Arby’s Beef N Cheddar
Arby's Beef N Cheddar
Description
Ingredients
- Onion Buns
- Thinly sliced Roast Beef
- 4 oz American Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
For the Arby's Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Ketchup
- 2 Teaspoons Water
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the meat and place a lid over the top, and then turn the heat to medium low.
- Meanwhile, stir together the sauce and spread on a bun.
- In a microwave safe dish, add the cheese and milk.
- Microwave on low for 20 second intervals, stirring between until smooth.
- Place the meat on the sauced bun, add the cheese sauce and a little more Arby's sauce if desired.
- Serve immediately with curly fries.
Notes
Nutrition
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Brian
Beef n cheedar, this is what I do and everyone loves them. get onion buns, cheedar cheese sauce from gordons foods comes in a big can and tastes just like arbys. hillshire farms thin sliced roast beef and the red ranch, marrzettis sweet French or western dressing. you will like these.
Sweet Basil
So simple! Thanks!
Kathleen Potter
Nice try….but a Beef and Cheddar would require CHEDDAR cheese, not American. And your basic tangy catalina salad dressing is the best replacement for the sweet red ranch. Keep trying tho!
Amy
I love Arby’s Beef & Cheddar Sandwich but I don’t want to spend a small fortune to feed my family at their restaurant. So I went on a search to find a similar recipe. I think we all know that Copycat Recipes are not going to be exactly like the real deal but instead make something that is pretty close. Which is good enough for me in my opinion. I almost always go off of people’s reviews about a recipe but when I seen the uncalled for nasty reviews on this site I was shocked to see how many people had nothing better to do then to leave nasty comments about a recipe! I mean really! Grow up! If you didn’t like the recipe then simply say that it wasn’t for you or it didn’t work out and move on! The lady was kind enough to share a recipe and Just because it says Copycat doesn’t mean that the ingredients are the exact ingredients! Copycat means they try to copy the recipe to the best of their ability! I don’t know this lady and all I was doing was looking for a similar Arby’s sandwich recipe but when I seen the nasty reviews I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing and it reminded me of a bunch of teenagers being bullies! I’m sorry but I had to say something as the reviews and the internet trolls behind them disgusted me! I Thank you for sharing your recipe and I’m honestly going to try and make it and if it comes close to the actual Arby’s Sandwich then I’m going to be very happy as will my family. Please keep on doing what you love and sharing it with the world. Thank you.
Sweet Basil
Wow, Amy! Thank you!! We feel the same way you do! There is way more good to do in the world than to spend time trying to bring people down. Let’s just build each other up! Thanks for building us up today! Xoxo! Hope you and your family enjoy this recipe!
MK
These are delicious! My whole family loved these! Made them for extended family and they enjoyed as well! Thank you for the recipe💕 (Too bad there’re so many haters leaving negativity😑)
Sweet Basil
Thank you, thank you!! We sure love them and happy that your family did too!!
scaramoche
I am sure this has been mentioned in the comments before. This is NOT a beef n cheddar. American cheese?!? It’s name even has cheddar in name. The sauce part of this is a the recipe that Todd Wilber came up with years and years ago. By the way he copyrighted it. The.Red Ranch that’s used contains no ketchup. It does contain beet juice for color and is almost clear without it. Need a rework on this re recipe please
Brianna Martin
This is not close to Arby’s beef N Cheddar. The ketchup for the sauce is disgusting.
Sweet Basil
Did you make it into the sauce and not just as ketchup? Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, and if you come up with a different sauce we’d love to try your recipe.
Julie Loewe
Arbys beef and cheddar has western dressing on it. Ketchup? No.
Sweet Basil
The ketchup is just used to make the dressing. 🙂
Jessica
Red ranch is what they use on a beef and cheddar not arbys sauce arbys sauce is a barbecue sauce and the red ranch is like French dressing. They use aunt Millie’s bread so use aunt Millie’s onion buns for this you can buy them at the store. Also arbys roast beef is amazing and the angus beef is cut straight off the cow. Not processed, You don’t see what I saw in the back being pulled off the food truck. I worked there for a few years. We also do cook our roast beef for 4-6 hours every day along with a lot of our other meats so some of this of what people are saying is just ignorant people who don’t like arbys so they make up excuses for why it’s bad. I’ve never found roast beef or turkey that tastes just like arbys. It’s their specialty. I love it. I also don’t know any other cheese substitute, their cheddar cheese is special to them to. But velveta melted sounds like around the same consistency.
Sweet Basil
Great tips Jessica!! Thank you so much!
Kathi
Arbys roast beef is horrible. Not like when they started out and you could actually see the beef roasting in the window. They have gone the route of processed and pressed garbage the really (REALLY) smells bad and has no taste that isn’t processed. (Have one and then see just how thirsty you are afterwards). I will have to try this, either by buying roast beef from the deli or roasting my own. Thanks for posting this.
Sweet Basil
Roasting your own will be especially wonderful. Thanks Kathi!!
Jenna
This isn’t even close to being a copycat of Arby’s Beef ‘n Cheddar. Arby’s uses a cheddar cheese sauce (not American cheese mixed with milk), hence the name Beef ‘n Cheddar! And where is the zesty red ranch sauce that is on the sandwich? Arby’s does not even put Arby’s sauce on this sandwich! This version may be good, but it should be considered a clone of a Beef ‘n Cheddar from Arby’s.
Jenna
*It should NOT be consired a clone of a Beef ‘n Cheddar from Arby’s.
dm
Arby’s uses Marzetti’s honey french on there beef and cheddar not arby’s sauce
Dave
Thanks!!
Sweet Basil
Jenna, how interesting that yours has a zesty ranch and doesn’t come with the sauce. Our does. In fact as a kids I didn’t know how good the sauce was so my dad used to have to request it without for me and occasionally they would still add it. Now I know better. 😉 Sorry it doesn’t live up to the one your local restaurant serves. 🙂 Have a good day.
Jenna
It’s not my local restaurant standards, it’s ALL of Arby’s restaurants. If you go too Arby’s website and click on the sandwich, you will see all of the ingredients listed they put on this sandwich, which includes the “cheddar cheese sauce” and “zesty red ranch sauce”… not Arby’s sauce. I’ve grown up eating this sandwich as a kid too and lived all over the US and Arbys sauce (if you wanted it) is something you had to requested extra. I see I’m not the only one who has made a comment regarding the missing zesty red ranch sauce on this sandwich (and it is a sweet sauce, sweeter than Arby’s sauce). ? I’m now curious to taste the Beef ‘n Cheddar at your Arby’s, hearing it’s different than what their website states it should be.
Sweet Basil
How interesting. It’s definitely not ranch though, that’s just a name. Here’s the ingredients, but we prefer to leave out the processed. Water, Corn Syrup, Tomato Paste, Distilled
Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Modified Corn
Starch, Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Garlic (dehydrated),
Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Onion (dehydrated),
Spice
So pretty much ketchup, sugar and vinegar. 😉
Ginger
That “zesty ranch” is actually called “red ranch” at Arby’s. You can buy it at the store…it’s called Wsrern Ranch from Wishbone dressings.
Nikki
What?! *zooms to nearest grocery*
Sweet Basil
haha, hope you love it!
Erin
In TN is does not come with a sauce either. My husband always orders the beef n’ cheddar and he has to ask for Arby’s sauce so your version is correct! 🙂
Monica
Ex-Arby’s employee checking in.
Jenna, Arby’s uses a processed american cheese product for their beef ‘n cheddar sandwich. The “cheddar” is in theory only, as some american cheese sauces use cheddar as an ingredient and some do not. Arby’s doesn’t use the same distributor internationally and the ingredients vary. So she’s right, american cheese is on the Arby’s version. And the only thing missing from her sauce recipe for the red ranch sauce is added vinegar and sugar which technically, are in ketchup.
Sheesh.
I prefer a buttered and toasted onion roll, but this recipe looks delightful! I am glad I don’t work there anymore, I’d weigh a ton, haha!! Nice food shots BTW, those can be tough to do. Thanks for sharing, it’s great that you are so creative and made this new twist on an old fave, and I’ll bet it’s even better cause it’s made with love 🙂
Sweet Basil
Haha!! Yes, I can only imagine the temptation of working around fast food. Thank you for your thoughts.
jeanne
Arby’s does not use Arby’s sauce on this sandwich. The red sweet sauce that it comes with is their red ranch sauce. That might be why it did not taste the same to some. I worked there as a teenager.
Sandra
The sandwich is definately better than Arby’s! Since I am not a fan of processed cheese, any other suggestions?
Sweet Basil
You can actually make your own cheese sauce which we do often, https://ohsweetbasil.com/nacho-cheese-sauce-recipe.html
Sandra
Thank you. Can’t wait to try it with this cheese sauce. I guess I’m somewhat of a cheese snob.
Patti
I am thinking this is not a copycat, but instead better than Arby’s. Their meat is processed pressed, or otherwise salty never-to-spoil junk. I would get a nice rump roast or round, roast it to med rare, slice thin and use your recipe for the remaining ingredients. Yum.
Sweet Basil
Haha, true, we do use real meat. 🙂
Kerry
These look fantastic! I just wanted to share that the Cobblestone Bread Co. Toasted Onion Rolls are the EXACT same buns that Arby’s actually uses. The same company makes and supplies them to Arby’s and then also packages them as Cobblestone. So if you want the sandwiches to be super authentic try those. I will definitely be trying these ASAP!!
Sweet Basil
No way! That’s so awesome!
Tony Jenkins
Check out my attempt at the recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE41dP1LBaE
Sweet Basil
Tony, I loved your video! I’ll have to share that on facebook!
Tony Jenkins
Thanks! It was a lot of fun to make. 🙂
Melissa
Your video convinced me to try this recipe! Too funny
Dgarye
This recipe is for the ‘original’ Arbys. If you’ve been there recently you will notice it is not real cheese but some sort of cheese product which is really nasty! I used to love beef and cheddar at Arbys, now it just makes me barf!
Sweet Basil
Oh boy, that does not sound delicious. We make them ourselves now so I haven’t been there in years and years, and I don’t think I will.
tracy
I made these. They are awesome get boars head meat bakery onion rolls, i made my own cheese sauce with a roux with evaporated milk, i cheat i go to arbys and rack up on their sauce,and horseradish, so freaking good
John
Ok. This is really good. If it tasted exactly like Arbys then your website would be all like arby.com. This is very good to make at home although I do recommend the Worcestershire sauce at about 1/2 tsp. and 1/3 cup corn syrup. It also seems as if most of the people don’t even make it before they write something. If I could grab it through the screen is not a review. Try it then speak. Wrapped in foil then warmed and served with the frozen curly fries they sell will be a good quick dinner.
Laura
I so agree. I can’t stand when people review a picture.
Brit
Did you use just sliced American cheese or like velvetta cheese?
This looks so good and I can not wait to make this for me and my husband. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Sweet Basil
Velveeta 😉
Brit
Thank you. I am planning on doing these for the family. I can’t wait!
Rudy Gallus
We tried to make an Arbys roast beef at home before. Finally we found some individual roast beef packets at (W)Falmart. .99 each and we bought 4 and took them home with large sesame buns. We put the roast beef (chip beef) in the microwave for 30 seconds and toasted the underside of the buns. Finally we mixed full fat mayo and horseradish to make the sauce.Finally add cheese wiz on top to make it a cheddar and beef. The trick is to use the cheapest, most nitrated pre-sliced, lunch meat roast beef and the most rank fake yellow melted cheese
lynne
Arbys is terrible. Processed and pressed beef that tastes like a mouth full of mush. I ate at Arbys often as that was the only drive thru near my job and learned my lesson.I got so sick one day and never went back. This version is good because you can actually see how it’s done and your the one who is handling the product. I don’t think ppl would eat at fast food restaurants if they actually saw what really goes on. Yuck. I’ve heard and saw some unsavory happenings. Sorry.
Erica
My hubbs made this tonight because we had some extra roast beef (and I had previously eaten). Didn’t have the right buns for it so he made it into a grilled cheese sandwich…. it was so good! I kept stealing bites even though I had already had dinner. Thank you for this recipe! SO good! 🙂
Sweet Basil
Oh, you’re seriously the best.
Karen
These look so enticing and makes my mouth water to make this sinfully rich cheesy sandwich. Our Arby’s tore down their building and are rebuilding. Oh no! No Arby’s?
Sweet Basil
oh, lame! that’s too bad!
Elyse
Just making this for dinner. One suggestion… I added some Worchestershire to your recipe for the Arby’s sauce. It definitely needed that extra flavor to rival Arby’s 🙂 thanks for the recipe!
Sweet Basil
Can’t wait to try that!
Arby’s Lover
I managed to eat this, but it wasn’t great, and it tasted nothing like a Beef n Cheddar. First, the Beef n Cheddar doesn’t use Arby’s sauce, even if this did taste like Arby’s sauce – which it doesn’t. Second, I don’t think they use American cheese for the cheese sauce.
It was edible but I wouldn’t associate it with the Arby’s product.
Worked at Arby’s
You’re right about the cheese and the sauce. The cheese is melted cheddar and the sauce is what they call “Red ranch” which is basically Catalina dressing.
Sweet Basil
So interesting. To me catalina dressing doesn’t taste at all like it, so I’ll have to search for the right brand I guess.
Monica
I too worked at Arby’s. The cheese is not melted cheddar, it is a melted american cheese food product. This means that it may or may not have cheddar in it, depending on the local distributor.
Sweet Basil
That’s very true. We much prefer to make our own with real cheddar as I’m a die hard Tillamook fan after being raised on it but I’ll use American when we want more authentic.
Kevin
Actually, beef n cheddar sandwhiches do have arby’s sauce as an ingredient. Check your wrapper the next time you get one and you will see it in the instructions.
Jess
Actually it doesn’t. I worked at Arby’s for 5 years through college. It is red ranch sauce, way different then Arby’a sauce.
manda renee
we need a recipe for the curly fries ASAP!
Sweet Basil
Oh man, I’m working on it, but these are totally just the Arby’s frozen fries found in the grocery store.
LorettaM
I make a version of the Arby’s Beef and Cheddar but I use Ragu’s Double Cheddar sauce. I don’t use any other Ragu product and I have only found it at Walmart, but I would buy it by the case if it lasted that long at the store. I use the sauce thinned out a little with water or milk. I use that sauce for nachos, macaroni and cheese, broc. and cheese soup, etc.
Sweet Basil
Loretta, that is seriously a fantastic idea! Cannot wait to try!
Kelsey
These didn’t taste like Arby’s- they tasted better! It was the great taste of the beef and cheddar together without the old greasy flavor. So glad I found this!!
Sweet Basil
YAY!! So glad you enjoyed it Kelsey!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
Oh how yummy Carrian! And I’m loving the new look around here too 🙂
Deborah
I haven’t had one of these in ages, but now I’m craving it! And this homemade version sounds MUCH better!
Sweet Basil
why are those so good?! and their curly fries!!
Beechluver
What type of roast beef…..like from the deli….lunch meat??
Sweet Basil
yes, from the deli. I don’t like the pre packaged ones, they don’t taste as good for this sandwich
Midge
Sounds good except it isn’t Arby’s sauce that’s on a Beef’n’Cheddar. It’s really a Catalina dressing. The one Kraft makes is excellent and tastes just the same. (I worked at an Arby’s for many, many, many years.) They are the *best* sandwich.
Sandy
I made these last night and my son and husband loved them. So easy, thanks!
Sweet Basil
Hooray!! Thanks so much Sandy!
Gaby
I need this right now! Serious deliciousness going on here!
Des
I used to LOVE Arby’s Beef N Cheddar with lots of Arby’s sauce. O O O and curly fries! Your pictures are bringing back childhood memories. Looks soooooooooooo good.
Sweet Basil
I know, right?!! I miss you, lady! Come visit!
Emily
Haven’t had one of these in forever but they’re one of my faves. YUM!
Sweet Basil
Why are they so good?!
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs
This looks great and my brothers would love it. Thanks for the lovely idea, Carrian! x
Sweet Basil
It’s definitely something the boys would love!
Karly
Yesssss. I love a good Beef ‘n Cheddar from Arby’s. The Arby’s sauce is the best part, though. 🙂
Sweet Basil
Yes! It’s so yummy!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch
I really wish you could do instant delivery through the screen because I would for sure be placing my order RIGHT NOW!!! This looks amazing and I am making this very soon!!!
Sweet Basil
Wouldn’t that be awesome?! haha
Angie | Big Bears Wife
I love Arby’s Beef and Cheddar sandwiches!
Sweet Basil
They are so wrong but so right!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
Aaaaaand cue one of those moments when I REALLY wish I could grab things through my computer screen. This looks amaze!!
Sweet Basil
I swear it’s the fries that always pull me in more than anything
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor
Carrian, my mouth is watering! I wish I could have one of these right now, yum!
Sweet Basil
Me too! I’m craving it all over again!