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
This was so good! My picky kids ate every bite!
I made this for supper last night. It was so easy to make, and it was delicious! Will definitely make it again! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
We had this for supper tonight. I love gravy and this did not disappoint. Cube steaks were so tender and delicious. We had some frozen goats beard mushrooms so I added some of those. DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Way too easy!! Fixed a or if rice to go with it … yummmmy
Thanks so very much Dena!
I cut my cube steaks in half for senior family members. Low heat makes these so tender you can cut with butter knife.
I’m with you girl I could drink a good gravy for supper. Love me some gravy!! I will try this recipe.
Hope you love it Kathy!
Can I double everything and cook the same amount of time! I have 8 cube steaks I need to use
You can as long as you are using a large enough slow cooker so they aren’t too crammed in there and you must cook on low not high or they won’t cook evenly and won’t be as tender. 🙂
Omg delicious !!!!!
This is my go-to recipe for cube steak. Love it!! Only 1 change, I use cream of onion instead of cream of chicken.
Made this for dinner last night. It was delicious and so easy to make. Everyone really enjoyed the meal and I certainly will be making it again,
That makes me so happy to hear Charlene! Thanks so very much!!
I made this for the first time last night, for some reason the meat turned out to dry for me, everything else was perfect. Any suggestions.
This is delicious!!!Going to make this more often!
Thanks so very much Donna – I really appreciate it!
I cooked this tonight. It was very good but I am not crazy about French onion. Is there something g else I can use?
Is it the onion flavor you don’t really love? You could use a can of beef consommé (you can find it with the other canned cream soups). If you still like that onion flavor (just not the soup) you can throw in a few slices of onion in there to still get a bit of that flavor. Or just plain ole beef broth 🙂
Sure, use a beef or vegetable broth. Enjoy
Tried this tonight with the family and it was very tasty. Next time I’ll have to make more there were no left overs!!
Woo hoo!! Thank you SO much Jennifer! So glad it was a hit with the family!!
Made this yesterday. We loved it. Fork tender and a great Sunday meal. Thanks
I made this over the weekend and it was fabulous. Easy to do. I have left overs for tonight.
Thank you for all your hard work that you do for all of us.
Do you have a good recipe for slow cooker short ribs?
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I replaced water with beef stockand use 1 cup ( no water ) and also added 1/2 tin cream of mushroom soup along with the cream of chicken.
Family loved it, will become a regular.
I’m really excited I’m trying out this recipe for the first time. I couldn’t find the right amount of cubed steak at my store and I didn’t want to drive all over town, so I added fresh mushrooms to my cockpot, to help keep the saltiness balanced. I also substituted the cream of chicken with cream of mushroom. It already smells really good. I love that this recipe is different compared to the same roast recipes I normally see.
I’ve cooked this twice now and my husband and I love it!!!! It tastes so good!!! I filled the soup can up with water after I had dumped the soup in so the mixture isn’t so salty. Going to try out the crock pot white queso dip tomorrow for game day.
I made this for my hubby last night and he LOVED it. I love your site and recipes
This I would give 10 stars if it allowed! Was amazing! Even my 3 year old granddaughter ate every bite. Definitely a keeper in our rotation! Thank you for sharing!
Great easy recipe! Thanks!
I used cream of mushroom because I had no cream of chicken on hand and add a little beef broth hope that doesn’t mess the taste up
This is the first time making this recipe I went by the recipe except for the cream of mushroom and little beef broth everything else was exactly what it called for can’t wait for it to get cooking yum yum
Hope you loved it!
I am currently doing the same. Only had cream of mushroom on hand. How did yours turn out?
Total comfort food. I had chicken mushroom soup and Lipton onion soup mix and just adjusted the water. Used an envelope of brown gravy mix and didn’t have to thicken the gravy
Love hearing that Dave! Thank you!!
This was easy to make and very good the cube steak was fork tender and the gravy was so tasty
So very happy to hear that Kathy! Thanks so very much!
Can this be doubled to feed a larger family?
Yes, just make sure your slow cooker is 6 quarts or larger.
This turned out so amazing. I normally pan fry cubed steak and I was slightly worried this wouldn’t be so good in the crockpot because I couldn’t make it have a seared texture. It turned out better than my pan fried cubed steak. The crockpot completely tenderizes the meat and the gravy mixture is perfect. My family loved this and I will be adding it to my recipes during busy weekdays at work.
Yay!! Love hearing that Amanda! I’m glad you decided to give it a try! Thanks so very much for taking the time to comment!
I made this but not sure if I over cooked the meat as I set it before leaving the house and then had my son turn it to warm at 7 1/2 hours later. The flavor was amazing, even my husband who is not a gravy fan loved it.
This is sooo good! I didn’t have the French onion soup or the au jus so I used a Lipton onion soup packet in beef broth and added 2 beef boulion cubes for good measure along with the cream of chicken soup. I put in my frozen venison cube steaks and it cooks in about 4 and a half hours on low.
Delicious!!!
how can I make this a freezer meal? (:
This dish is superb. I used Cream of Celery soup and any variety of cream soup should suffice. I used one Knorr beef bouillon cube vs. au jus packet. Added one-half onion separated rings in addition to French Onion soup. Only used onion powder, garlic powder. black pepper to season steaks. Soups and bouillon had ample sodium. The slurry the last 30 minutes thicken the gravy. Best cube steak which was fork tender. Ready in 4 hours cooked on high in slow cooker. 5⭐
I made this over the stovetop instead of the crockpot and it still came out great. Used cream of mushrooms though because that’s what I had.
Is there a substitute for French onion soup?
I’m trying Lipton Onion soup mix (1/2 packet) instead. Just finished preparing, now letting it cool down so the hot broth doesn’t cook the cube steak prematurely and spotted. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂
If you do not have French Onion soup, substitute beef broth or stock add one-half fresh onion separating rings. Voila!
Can this be made in a roaster? I have 36 cube steaks to cook and although I have an 8 qt slow cooker I don’t think there is enough room.
I’ll be honest, I’m terrible at big batch cooking & I’ve also never attempted it in a roaster. It seems like it could work but cubed steak can be finicky. Sometimes they’re cubed thinner & some are thick & the last thing you want is chewy meat. That many definitely won’t fit into an 8 quart unless you have a few people willing to share their crock pots to split it up.
Perhaps someone on here has tried it in a roaster and can give us some guidance with how they did it.
Love love this recipe!! I replaced the cream of chicken soup with cream of celery soup and my husband loved it. It’s my go to when I have a busy day ahead. I serve it with mashed potatoes. Comfort Food it is!
Penny
I am so thrilled to hear that Penelope! Yay! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review!
Gravy thickened nicely and the whole meal turned out well.
Wonderful to hear – thank you Allison!
For those who want a smoother gravy, here’s what I do: take all the gravy ingredients (the two soups, the au jus and the water) and but them up in the blender before putting in the crock pot. Voilà! Smooth delicious gravy! My husband thinks he doesn’t like mushrooms, so I blend it up, hide the can in the trash and he LOVES the gravy!
I hadn’t had cubed steak in a LONG time so I was looking for a recipe on the internet and this one popped up first. One word……..DELICIOUS! It is the perfect cubed steak recipe. I was a little skeptical with the mix of creamy chicken soup, the french onion, and then the Au Jus packet. But I will admit…..true to what it said in the description……IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GRAVY. The Gravy is absolutely incredible. Perfect companion to mashed potatoes and green beans along with fresh baked yeast rolls. It’s a tummy filler for sure and you will probably lick the plate. Yeah….it’s that good.
Made this tonight and we loved it! Followed the recipe exactly, thickened the gravy at the end, and served with brown rice. Awesome! Will definitely make again!
Wonderful recipe. Easy prep, tender meat and delicious
I’ve been using this for a few years. Love it!
Oh my!!! So delicious, easy, and tender! Paired it with million dollar cream potatoes, cream 12 peas, and broccoli. Definitely will try again and again.
My wife and I tried the cube steak in a crock pot could not believe how tender it was thank you very much for sharing
I’ve been cooking this for years and recently used Lowery au jus mix in place of the McCormick and what a difference! Went from good to excellent!
One of our family favorites. I add a can of cream of mushroom soup too mine. It’s also delicious to substitute white rice instead of potatoes. Highly suggest!!
Excellent recipe! The only thing is that my cube steak came out a little dry. It was super tender. Did I over cook it? 8 hrs on low. Thanks!
I made this with Cream of Mushroom instead of the Cream of Chicken and it was delicious! 🙂
An excellent recipe cube steak was tender and not to salty made before and my husband loved. Quick and easy to make
Made cubed steaks and served with garlic mashed potatoes, yum ! . Very tender meat, easy meal, husband loved it. I thought it could use a little garlic but than realize I had more than 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of meat in the slow cooker ! I’m definitely going to make this again with the correct amount of meat. Thank you for all your great recipes.
Going to cook this 2mar night!! Love awesome! I love cube steak!