This Roast Beef Salad Sandwich Spread is a quick and easy way to turn leftover roast beef into something completely different and incredibly delicious. Use it to make sandwiches or spread it on your favorite crackers!
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Finely chopped leftover roast beef mixed with creamy mayonnaise, crunchy celery and onions, and seasoned with salt and pepper... so simple, but so tasty. If you've never had roast beef salad, once you try it, you'll be like, "Where the heck has this been my whole life?"
In fact, you might just find yourself making bigger roasts from now on so you can have enough leftovers to make it. I always do. We so look forward to it!
Now, if this is the first time you're hearing about roast beef salad and it sounds weird to you, I get it. But, trust me, you just have to try it.
David introduced me to this dish many, many moons ago while we were still in college. He made it for lunch one day, and I'm pretty sure I gave him my confused, one-raised-eyebrow, what-you-talkin'-'bout-Willis? look when he told me what it was.
Sure, I loved chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna salad. But roast beef salad? Who ever heard of that? Not me. I thought it sounded odd. I don't know why it did. It just did.
He told me it was a recipe that his grandmother made all the time, and he loved it, and everybody loved it, and he was sure that I would love it too.
And I did love it! It totally kicked the butt all of those other salads, and it became and remains my all-time favorite salad for making sandwiches. Thank you, Grandma Bert!
Ingredients You Need
- Leftover cooked roast beef
- Celery
- Onion
- Mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
Equipment you need:
- Food processor (or heavy-duty blender)
Note: If you don't have a food processor or heavy-duty blender, you can finely chop the roast beef by hand.
How to Make Roast Beef Salad Sandwich Spread
Tips & Tidbits
- I prefer to use a roast that has been very simply seasoned with just with salt and pepper (which is how I usually make my roast beef) so that there are no other strong/competing flavors in my salad.
- I use a food processor for this recipe because it makes such quick and easy work of finely chopping the roast beef all at once. If you don't have one...
- David said his grandma used a blender. I haven't tried this. If you do, I would probably recommend using a heavy-duty blender that can handle chopping the meat. You may also need to cut the chunks smaller and/or process in smaller batches.
- Of course, you can finely chop the meat by hand. It will just take a little longer.
- This isn't a super mayonaisse-y salad (because that's how we like it best), so feel free to add more if you'd like.
- You can eat it immediately, or you can let it chill out in the fridge for a few hours before serving. It does get better as it sits!
- Leftover roast beef will last for up to 3 to 4 days (covered) in the refrigerator, so just remember to start counting from the day you made the roast and not the day you made the salad.
I really enjoy a simple roast beef salad sandwich with just a little lettuce for extra crunch either on a potato bun, like you see above, or between two slices of lightly toasted bread. And spreading it on a simple saltine cracker is just super yummy.
Doing low-carb? Use this salad as the filling for lettuce wraps, or just place a scoop on a bed of lettuce.
I hope you try this Roast Beef Salad Sandwich Spread recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
More Salad Sandwich Recipes to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went. Please leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Roast Beef Salad Sandwich Spread
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cold leftover cooked roast beef
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- ¼ cup finely diced onions
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Chop the roast beef into large chunks (about 1-inch pieces).
- Place the roast beef chunks in a food processor fit with the metal blade. Pulse until the meat is finely chopped into small pieces (be careful not to take it too far and turn it into a paste; you still want it to have a nice texture).
- Transfer the chopped roast beef into a large bowl. Add the diced celery, onions, and mayonnaise; stir until well-combined.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Use to make sandwiches, or you can spread it on crackers.
Notes
- I prefer to use a roast that has been very simply seasoned with just with salt and pepper so that there are no other strong/competing flavors in my salad.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can try using a heavy-duty blender (you may need to cut the meat into smaller chunks and/or process it in smaller batches), or you can finely chop the roast beef by hand.
- This isn't a super mayonaisse-y salad, so feel free to add more if you'd like.
- You can eat it immediately, or you can let it chill out in the fridge for a few hours before serving. It does get better as it sits!
- Leftover roast beef will last for up to 3 to 4 days (covered) in the refrigerator, so just remember to start counting from the day you made the roast and not the day you made the salad.
Jan says
I've made roast beef salad for years, just this weekend actually. I also made chicken salad and I love to make popovers, cut them partially open and spoon the salad inside. College Football Saturday...SEC, SEC, SEC!!
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing this, Jan...and those popovers filled with salad sound really delish!
paula says
I grew up eating this for roast leftovers. We also added sweet relish, hard boiled egg and finely diced jalapeño. The mixture is great as a hot appetizer stuffing it in crescent rolls with provolone cheese!
Michelle says
Hi, Paula! Thanks for sharing this with us...your version and appetizer both sound yummy too!
Judy says
My Mom and Grandmother made this just as your recipe called for. Occasionally she added sweet relish. With 7 kids she could stretch out leftovers and we thought that we had the best cold lunches for school. I often tell people that a recipe is just a suggestion...everyone can tweak it to fit their own tastes, right?!
Michelle says
Yes, you're absolutely right, Judy...thank you so much!
LA T says
Great idea for leftover pot roast. I added chopped pickles and jalapeños. Also included jalapeño brine, mustard, wort sauce and raw garlic. Super delicious.
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing how you adapted the recipe!
Julie Mattson says
Our recipe is roast beef, eggs, sweet pickles, salt, pepper, a touch of sugar and mayo…. Our favorite summer go to. Mom used to put it in quart jars in the cooler for camping trips. Kept it so cold that way.
Michelle says
Hey, Julie! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Maria says
Thank you for sharing!
I made mine using my own homemade mayonnaise (it's a little tangier than store bought, but not sweet at all) and threw in 4 pickled peperoncini.
Otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly. It is absolutely delicious! 🥰
Michelle says
Thank you, Maria! So happy you enjoyed it!
Julie Iamele says
I never knew this was an actual recipe; Mom frequently made a roast on Sunday (beef, lamb, pork or ham) and by Wednesday we'd have chopped meat sandwiches in the lunchbox. Hew version, and now mine, includes mayo, onion, pickle relish and salt & pepper served on white bread. I really enjoy seeing the other versions and can't wait to try them!
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing your version of this salad, Julie! It sounds delicious, and I'll have to try it. Hope you give this one a try and enjoy it!
Elizabeth Caudill says
Michelle,
I first tried "Beef salad" like your recipe at an Amish run restaurant in Lancaster County PA about 35 years ago. I still remember sitting at a long wooden table with my parents and other families that we did not know. The young lady that was serving us brought out a dish of what she called Beef Salad. It was so good! I have looked through the years in Amish cookbooks but never seen this. Thanks for the recipe and a walk down memory lane.
Elizabeth
Michelle says
Hi, Elizabeth! Thank you for sharing this story...it's so awesome how food can evoke such wonderful memories from our past!
Fatzinger Diana says
This is the exact recipe I was looking for. I think that anyone who’s ever had a roast beef sandwich would know how good this must be. I’m a Hellman’s (or Best Foods) fan. Thanks, Michelle
Michelle says
Thank you, Diana! I'm so glad you found this recipe! I'm a Hellman's fan as well. I tried Duke's recently, and it's really good too!
Ann Jones says
This was delicious. I did add a tsp. Sriracha sauce and it was a little tangy and made a great sandwich spread. It was delicious without the sauce too!!
Michelle says
Thank you, Ann! I'm so glad you enjoyed it (I'll have to try adding a little sriracha sometime!), and I appreciate you taking the time to comment and rate the recipe!
Ruth-Marie says
I remember my mother making this as early as 1950. The recipes is exactly as hers except she used a meat grinder. It was wonderful as a child and it still is. Love to watch people try it. For some reason it confuses people when you say it’s roast beef salad. “You know. Like Chopped chicken or tuna salad”? Everyone has always loved it.
Michelle says
Hey, Ruth-Marie! Thanks for sharing your story...so glad you love it as much as we do!
Kelly says
We always used a meat grinder and our official recipe was Miracle Whip and pickle relish.
Michelle says
Hi, Kelly! Thanks for sharing how you like to make roast beef salad!
Steven B. says
Hello Kelly...
I checked with my grandma's and mother who are 107 and 85...they both said you don't put onions and celery in beef salad. In fact, both thought that sounded ridiculous unless you're adapting some strange chicken salad recipe. Beef salad was made using a meat grinder and adding miracle whip and chopped up sweet pickles. NOTHING else. Period. There is no secondary recipe...unless you're a Mayo lover and well, good luck fatty.
So...Kelly, you nailed it.
Michelle says
Hello, Steven. First, there is no need for name-calling and impoliteness over a roast beef salad. Second, there's really no absolute right or wrong way to make most recipes. Every recipe has variations, and people make their own recipes based on what they enjoy. This is the way my husband's grandma made roast beef salad, and we happen to love it!
Leslie says
This is how Mom made hers, except she also added some sweet gherkins to hers. Nothing fancy, we just called it "ground up meat" sandwiches.
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing, Leslie!
JW says
Laughed at"well, good luck fatty." But, not everyone likes Miracle Whip. We are Duke's Mayo fans. To each his own.
T Squared says
My mom used MiracleWhip in everything. The first time I tried tuna salad made with mayonnaise was an epiphany. Chicken salad, every sandwich you can think of. Marvelous. Maybe there was a distrust of mayonnaise in the 60s?
Sungirl says
How rude Steven B! It’s really to bad your mother and grandmother didn’t raise you with better manners.
The recipe was lovely and tasted fabulous ❤️
Michelle says
Thank you, Sungirl...thank you for the kind words and so happy you enjoyed the salad!
Sonny says
My mother made her beef salad with a food grinder, then added the celery, onion and mayo. She would be around your grandmothers age. This is also how my mother in law made it
. I guess it depends on where you grew up as to what you added to the roast beef. My mother was from Kentucky and my mother in law from New York.
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing this, Sonny! I always love hearing about other families' favorite ways to make recipes!