Crock Pot Cubed Steak
Crock Pot Cubed Steak with Gravy is the ultimate no-fuss weeknight dinner recipe. They are so tender, they literally melt in your mouth!
A Budget-Friendly, Family-Friendly Dinner
This meal is not only inexpensive but it is one of those “set-it and forget-it” type meals. You can toss everything into your slow cooker and dinner will be ready when you are! With only a handful of ingredients, you can have the most delicious, comfort food ready and waiting for you by the time you get home! It’s a meal the whole family will love and you won’t even need a knife to cut it!
Hard to believe that cube steaks can be this tender, I have made several times and is great!
– Steve
Frequently Asked Questions:
If you are sensitive to salt, don’t enjoy salted food or need lower sodium for dietary restrictions, you will need to purchase lower sodium or no sodium options where possible. You can always season with salt after it has finished cooking.
You could substitute with Beef Consommé or beef broth (you will use same amounts that you would use if using canned French Onion Soup.) Again, if you need lower sodium options, purchase those instead.
It helps to have a digital crock pot. That way you can cook it for a certain amount of time so and then set it to automatically go to a keep-warm setting. That would be ideal for this recipe.
This is where the crock pot comes in. Using a slow cooker so the meat can slowly cook in gravy will produce cubed steak that you can cut with a fork.
No. If you want the most tender cubed steak, it needs to only be cooked on low.
I serve this cubed steak and gravy with my Million Dollar Mashed Potatoes and smother it in the gravy. You could also serve with rice or egg noodles. For vegetable options, try Italian Green Beans, Bacon Garlic Green Beans or Maple Glazed Carrots.
Cubed steaks come from the cow’s shoulder which is a tough cut of meat since the cow is constantly using its shoulder. The more a cow uses a certain area of its body, the more that area will become tough. Cubed steak is run through a meat tenderizer (which gives it all those tiny little holes) to help make it just a bit more tender.
Yes but make sure you have a large enough crock pot.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- au jus gravy mix – if you can’t find this in a lower sodium option, substitute it for some low sodium brown gravy mix.
- cream of chicken soup – as I stated above, please be aware of your own sensitivities or aversion to salt/sodium. Use low or no sodium options where possible. Cream of mushroom can also be used.
- French onion soup – the same applies for this soup. If necessary, use low or no sodium options.
- cubed steaks – This recipe works for 4 cubed steaks. Anything more and you will want to use a larger crock pot and also double the recipe.
- cornstarch and water – this is to make a cornstarch slurry to thicken up the gravy. If you don’t want a thicker gravy, then just skip this step.
How To Make Crock Pot Cube Steak
In the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, combine cream of chicken soup, French Onion soup, packet of au jus and water. Stir well. Put cubed steak in slow cooker with gravy mixture.
Move the steaks around to coat them with the gravy. Cover slow cooker and cook steak on low.
After cooking, it’s time to thicken gravy. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water. Stir mixture into crock pot. You do not need to remove the cubed steaks to do this unless you find it easier to whisk it in. I would put the cubed steaks back in the pot as soon as you’ve mixed it in. Turn the setting to high and cook until gravy is thickened.
Then serve with your favorite sides.
Craving More Recipes?
- Crock Pot Salisbury Steak
- Crock Pot Swiss Steak
- Crock Pot Pepper Steak
- Crock Pot Round Steak
- Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
- Crock Pot Beef Tips and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef
- Chicken Fried Steak
- Chicken Fried Steak Fingers
- Stovetop Mashed Potatoes
- Crock Pot Lasagna
- Crock Pot Meatloaf
- Crock Pot Pork Loin
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Swiss Steak
- Stick of Butter Rice
Crock Pot Cubed Steak
Ingredients
- 10.75 ounce can cream of chicken soup (see notes below about low or no sodium)
- 10.5 ounce can French onion soup (see notes below about low or no sodium)
- 1 packet au jus gravy mix (see notes below)
- ½ cup water
- 4 cubed steaks
To thicken gravy:
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 Tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- In the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, combine 10.75 ounce can cream of chicken soup, 10.5 ounce can French onion soup, 1 packet au jus gravy mix and 1/2 cup water. Stir well.
- Put 4 cubed steaks into gravy mixture and make sure it is coated well.
- Cover slow cooker and cook steak on low for 6-8 hours.NOTE: I don’t recommend cooking on high. See cooking notes below.
- After cooking, it's time to thicken gravy. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 Tablespoons cornstarch and 3 Tablespoons cold water. Stir mixture into crock pot. You do not need to remove the cubed steaks to do this unless you find it easier to whisk it in. I would put the cubed steaks back in the pot as soon as you've mixed it in.
- Turn the setting to high and cook for 30 minutes (until gravy is thickened.) Then serve!
Video
Notes
- If you don’t want to use French Onion Soup you could substitute with low sodium Beef Consommé or Beef Broth.
- I don’t recommend cooking on high. Cubed steaks are a tougher cut of meat and they really need that low and slow cooking time to be tender.
- Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: January 2012
Updated photos & republished: March 2024
Absolutely DELISH!!! Will definitely make this again!!!
Thank you for such a delicious meal very easy to make you can use pork chops chicken and just about any kind of meat we used round steak run through the tenderizer three times that seems like to many times but it comes out perfect.
I used cream of mushroom with roasted garlic instead of cream of chicken. It was delicious.
Great recipe,the whole family liked it
Wonderful recipe, thank you!
The gravey was amazing. . I just boiled potatoes and covered them with the sauce. I wasn’t to crazy with the meat choice. Think I will try pot roast next time. Love the crock pot method. Thank you it was very tasty ????
We have made this recipe a couple times already and it is so satisfying on a cold night! Stick to your bones good! We have a family and both work full time so it’s so nice that it is so simple too. Appreciate you sharing!
This is a very good recipe. I substituted pork cutlets at a much better price. I floured and browned each cutlet. I put a layer of the soup mixture and a layer of pork cutlets until finished. I also doubled the recipe. I set the crockpot on low for 7 hours. I did not have to make the slurry to thicken the gravy as the flour batter took care of that.
I know I cooked it but my goodness!!!! This was DELICIOUS!!!!! Keeping this recipe!!!
Kinda messy browning the cutlets but it was definitely worth the time, trouble, and mess to take this step. Once that is done it cooks itself! Make some creamed potatoes, a vegetable, and some rolls and you have an awesome dinner!
We carrried a plate to my father-in-law for dinner. He called back as said it was wonderful. He’s never made such a complement!!!!!
Really good!!!!!!!
I totally get that Amber!! This is a good one because it is totally fine hanging out for a while!
I made this today and it was delicious. I added two cans of water instead of just half a cup and didn’t add the cornstarch like the recipe calls for. The gravy still came out perfect. The extra water made it perfect, and it wasn’t salty tasting. I added egg noodles right to the pot after the meat was cooked and they cooked in under 10 minutes. The meat was so tender it was falling apart. My daughter loved it so much, she asked if she could eat it for breakfast LOL!
Do the steaks need to be thawed out first or can I put them in still frozen?
I really want to try this but we’ve got some picky eaters in the house that don’t like onions or mushrooms. Do you have any recommendations for substitutions for the French Onion Soup?
I made this last night. The steak came out tender.
I can’t wait to try this one.
Do you take the meat out at the end to make the gravy?
Hi Jen! You don’t have to but it may make it a bit easier to whisk it all together. You can then put the steak back in after you have stirred it.
Hi Kathi!! That is awesome! I love hearing how folks take a recipe and make it their own! Good job!
angie voltz, use beef broth or bullion instead of French Onion Soup and it comes out great!
It is a little salty and the gravy is rich. Next time I will add more water.
This was excellent. The meat was so tender. Served it with mashed potatoes and a corn casserole. Now this is comfort food at its best!
One word delicious, I’ve made this dish twice now and it’s awesome followed the recipe didn’t change one thing and my entire family enjoyed it thank you so much for this easy to follow recipe
This is what we called Salisbury steak when I was a child some 50 yrs ago. When you ordered it at a restaurant, you received this also with large slices of fresh mushrooms and slivers of onions. Mom would make this a day or two after having pot roast, using the juice/drippings as part of the gravy.
Do I take out the steak before I thicken the gravy?
I made this while my mom came for the weekend. I buy meat in bulk and portion it out to meals for my family, plus two. I told my mom that we had to still cut the steaks in half to make it work since I didn’t precut the large steaks I bought at my grocery store. Well, thanks to her not halving a steak (which she dug in first before I could even get plates down), I ended up being the one that didn’t get any meat. So, today, I made it again. Today I FINALLY got a piece of meat. I think browning the meat beforehand will work great, but I don’t think it’s necessary. The gravy was delicious the first time (without the meat), but it was even better with the meat this time! I paired it with egg noodles and green beans and it turned out phenomenal!
My husband says this is the best brown gravy he has ever had! Frequently requests this dish simply for the gravy. Thanks!
Confused… the picture shows a packet of brown gravy mix but its not shown anywhere in the ingredient list or directions. Not sure if I use it or not??
Wendy, it is a packet of Au Jus Gravy mix and it is listed in the ingredients. Sorry you were confused on that.
What I like most about the recipe is no pre-browning of the meat. Less work and a lot less mess to clean up. This also freezes well–not that I expect to have much left over.
I loved cubed steak growing up but never could make it taste as good. Now I can make it easily and it tastes great. If anything, it’s even better than in the days of old when it was dredged and fried. It was done that way because they worked with what was available. If they’d had slow cookers, they would have used them often, no doubt.
I thought it was a little strange using cream of chicken in a beef dish. I did see some people substituted other things in the comments but I thought I’d try the original first before making any adjustments. In the slow cooker now, looking forward to giving it a try!
I absolutely love this recipe. The only thing I did differently was substitute the cream of chicken soup with cream of mushroom soup and it was delicious!! Thank you for this quick, easy and delicious recipe????
Made this tonight…we loved it.Thanks for sharing:)
I have it cooking in the crockpot now. First time trying cubed steak in the crockpot. Smells delicious! Can't wait for dinner. Thanks for the recipe.
I had pinned this once but it no longer showed up. I hope this one stays on Pinterest! Thanks for your great recipes!
Awww – you made my day – thank you!! So happy y'all love this one!! It is one of my "go-to" meals for sure. For those of you asking, you can use a round steak for this. Any cut of beef will work fine (or venison) 🙂
I have been looking for a quick and easy recipe for venison cube steak, and believe me i found it! This was fantastic. Wife and 2 young children loved it. Thank you so much, this will give me a reason to get back in the woods.
Could I use round steak?
I have only had cube steaks once when my husband prepared them for me and they were tough and awful(he loved them). I was leary to try this recipe but decided to give it a go. It was AMAZING!!! I've made it several times and the only thing I had to adjust was not using the french onion soup (hubby hates onions). The gravy was just as delicious without it!!! Served it with egg noodles and it was fantastic! Thanks for all the yummy recipes! Have loved almost every one I have tried!
I am in Australia what is Aus Ju & what can I use in place of it please.
Can this be made in the oven? I can't wait to make!
I have never tried cube steak & am so excited to try this recipe! I love, loves your recipes but most of all i love how you post a picture of the ingredients, it really helps me when i dont know what some of the items are. Thank u soooooi much!!!
Love, love, love this recipe!!! It is one of my husbands favorites. I have made it several times since seeing it on your page and it is always a hit even with my 1 and 2 year olds:). Thank you!
Can anyone tell me about how much gravy this makes? Feeding 5 people.
Thanks SO much!! So happy you like this one! I appreciate you coming back to let me know! 🙂
Saw the post, love to cook in the crock pot. Tried the Cube Steak with gravy, big hit with the family! Will be trying more of the recipes, thanks
Sheila Flynn
I have never used cubed steak for anything other than Chicken Fried Steak!! I will be giving this a try in the very near future. Thank you for all of your recipes and ideas!!
I can taste it already just from looking at the photo. Yummy! I would like to make this for our church carry-in dinner and wonder how many people your recipe would feed then I can calculate for a larger group?
Put it together this morning. Left out the brown gravy and hope that's not to big of a deal. My local IGA did not have ANYTHING with lower sodium so that's a bummer. cant wait to try after work.
Though I did alter it a bit (I didnt have french onion soup, so I used a lipton's onion soup packet) same concept, and my kids LOVED it. They aren't big meat eaters, but I didn't have to coerce them into taking a few more bites. Thank you so much! Your blog is fantastic!
Do you not have to brown the steak first?
I made this today, and the gravy was delicious (I used low-sodium soups), but oddly enough, the steaks were a little dry ?? I put them in straight from the freezer, and cooked it on low for 9 1/2 hours. Did I cook it TOO long?
Hi! Yep, it sounds like it was a bit too long. The directions state 6-8 hours but you were cooking from frozen so I would have kept it between the 7 or 8 hour range. Plus, cube steak can vary from thinner to thick. It really depends on how your supermarket sells it. I have one store in my area that only does it fairly thin but I can go to Wal-Mart and find thicker cuts. So if they are pretty thick, they need slightly longer cooking time but ones on the thinner side will obviously cook up faster. Hope that helps and I'm glad you still enjoyed it!
Definitely going to try this and likely will add quartered potatoes or perhaps red new ones. That should aid in the high sodium content as well. If you over salt a dish and it has enough liquid adding a peeled whole potato will absorb a good amount of the salt.
Great tip and advice – thank you for sharing!
Found this on Pinterest and decided to try it because all I ever seem to make in the crockpot is chicken. This turned out awesome! It makes the whole house smell great as well. I used microwaveable baked potatoes as a side dish. I will definitely be adding this to the slow cooker rotation.
Good morning! I have just put this is the slow cooker. Have been following you for awhile on Facebook but am new to your site. (Bookmarked it!) Every dinner this week is coming from you! 🙂 We had the baked Ravioli last night, and are doing this tonight. I just happen to have all ingredients on hand except for the French Onion soup, so I substituted Beef Consommé and a can of water. I hope it won't be too salty. Will let you know!
Barbara