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Beef

Slow Cooker Cube Steaks and Gravy

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Cube steaks and sliced onion slow-cooked in mushroom gravy until fork-tender. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Slow Cooker Cube Steaks and Gravy, served
A computer-made picture of the finished dish, not a photo of this recipe.
Serves
6
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
Low 6 to 8 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours
Slow cooker
4-quart

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Cube steaks are an inexpensive cut that a butcher runs through a tenderizing machine, which leaves the little square marks. Cooked slowly in gravy, they turn fork-tender. This is old-fashioned steak and gravy with no flour dredging and no frying: steaks, onion and a can of soup in the cooker, and supper is ready when you get home.

The gravy is cream of mushroom soup, a packet of brown gravy mix and water. As the steaks cook, their juices darken it into a rich, savory sauce. Layer the steaks with the onion between them so the gravy reaches every piece.

Spoon the steaks and plenty of gravy over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice, with green beans or corn on the side. Because cube steak has been tenderized by machine, it must be cooked to at least 145°F, never served rare. The long, slow cook takes care of that.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 2 pounds beef cube steaks, about 6
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 (0.87-ounce) packet brown gravy mix
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

To serve

  • mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice, for serving

Directions

  1. If your meat is frozen, thaw it completely in the refrigerator first. Never put frozen meat in the slow cooker. Whisk the soup, gravy mix, water and pepper together until smooth.
  2. Spread a few spoonfuls of the gravy in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker.
  3. Layer the steaks in the cooker with the onion slices between them. Pour the rest of the gravy over the top.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours.
  5. Check the thickest steak with a thermometer. It should read at least 145°F and cut easily with a fork. Let the steaks rest 3 minutes.
  6. Serve over mashed potatoes, noodles or rice, with the gravy spooned over.

It's done when every steak reads at least 145°F in the center and is tender enough to cut with a fork. Let them rest 3 minutes before serving. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Cooking for two

Use 3 cube steaks (about 3/4 lb) and half the onion. Whisk the soup, gravy mix, water and pepper as written and use about half of it. Use a 2-quart slow cooker, which they should fill about halfway. Start checking at 5 hours on low or 2 1/2 hours on high; the thickest steak should read at least 145°F.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • For a thicker gravy, take the lid off for the last 30 minutes on high.

Food-safety sources

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