Swiss Steak is a perfect family dinner; it’s easy to make and can be cooked either in the oven or in the slow cooker. This dish has delicious tender beef in a rich tomato gravy and is perfect served over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes!
© SpendWithPennies.com
Swiss steak is one of those dishes I associate with comfort; I grew up eating this for dinner on Sunday evenings, and as I got older, it became one of those dishes I craved. These days it is a family favorite dinner option. We all love it for the incredible flavor, but also, as the grocery shopper for my family, I appreciate that an inexpensive cut of steak can become something so tender and delicious!
Swiss steak is often confused with Salisbury Steak, but there is a difference between the two. A Salisbury steak is made with ground beef and shaped into a patty while Swiss steak is actually steak! Salisbury Steak generally has a beef broth based gravy while Swiss steak has a tomato based gravy.
I cook this Swiss steak recipe in a dutch oven, but don’t worry if you don’t have a dutch oven! You can cook it in a frying pan and then transfer it to a casserole dish for baking, or you can put it in a crock pot for 7 to 8 hours to have dinner done when you come home from work.
When preparing your Swiss Steak, make sure you pound your steaks to tenderize them (I use a mallet style tenderizer). You can use round or chuck steaks, which are generally a tougher cut of meat, so the tenderizing process is important.
Believe me when I say there is nothing quite as nice as having a hot dinner that is packed with comfort from a great steak flavor with all of that creamy gravy!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds round steak
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or as needed
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 10 ounces beef broth 1 can
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional, see note below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a meat mallet, pound meat to ½″ thickness.
- Combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, pepper & salt to taste. Dredge meat in flour mixture.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. Brown steaks on each side (adding additional olive oil if needed). Set aside.
- Place onion & carrot in the bottom of the pot. Top with browned steaks.
- Add remaining ingredients except for cornstarch. Cover and cook for 2 ½-3 hours.
- Serve over mashed potatoes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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How long would you cook this in slow cooker
I would cook it 7-8 hours on low or until tender.
If you’re doing it in the slow cooker.. do you still need to brown the meat on the stovetop first?
Yes, to cook in the slow cooker, you will follow the recipe placing everything in the slow cooker in step 5. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. If you’d like to thicken the sauce, you can add the slurry directly to the slow cooker, cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until thickened. Enjoy!
Made this for fsmily supper is delicious will make it again
Happy to hear your family loved it Maggie!
I am going to try the recipe as is but with cube steak and potatoes added, no carrots and just cook it in the dutch oven on the stovetop, on low heat for a couple of hours, give or take.
I really like your site. It has a clean, fresh look and is easy to navigate. Signed up for your emails as well.
Thanks MaryAnn, please let us know how it goes for you!
Can this be made with cube steak, and with only onions? I don’t have carrots
Can you make it in a dutch oven on the stovetop, and just cook on low heat for (say) 1 – 1 1/2 hours?
Love your site, clean and easy to navigate.
Thank you MaryAnn, this recipe should be just fine without carrots. I haven’t tried it stove top but I’d say an hour and a half should work. You’ll just want to make sure the meat is tender and if not, cook it a bit longer. :) Enjoy!
How long do you cook this in an oven? Thank you!
You cook it in the oven for 2.5-3 hours.
Awesome recipe. It’s a keeper~ I have been looking for a recipe like this for so long. I had ribeye steak on hand so I cut them in half and doubled the recipe except the broth. I added Montreal Steak Seasoning, used two cans of tom. After after I browned the meat I put it in a baking bag and mixed the tom w/ juice, broth, and Worcestershire in a bowl then added it to the meat. I didn’t need the cornstarch for the thickening of the gravy. Thank u so much for sharing. Kitty from Alabama
Kitty, I’m so happy to hear that you’ve found this recipe and love it!
Came out great. I added chopped celery with carrots and onions and thickened sauce at the end just by removing steaks and adding a cornstarch water mixture while sauce was still very hot. Going in my book!
Glad you loved it Connie!
Can I use a 13×9 pan and cover with foil?
I think that should work just fine!
I made this and loved it. I didnt have diced tomatoes so I used 2 14oz cans of stewed tomatoe came out great. Served with mashed potatoes baked with parmesan cheese on top. Winner Dinner
So glad you loved it!
I have made this for years, Love it,, I use Round steak and make it in my electric fry pan.. ONE Pan for the whole works..
I love a good one dish recipe!
Made this for dinner, it was very easy, I added bell pepper to mine as I didn’t have much onion. I served it over rice, it was really good and my husband liked it also. I will definitely make it again.
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe Ginny!
Can this be done in the instant pot?
I haven’t tried it in the Instant Pot, but I’m sure it would work. Let us know if you try it!
Hi.
Recipe looks awesome. Have it in crock pot
Right now
My husband can’t wait for it to cook
Thank you
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Will definitely make again. I thickened the sauce and served this over mashed potatoes. Yummy!
Oh my heavens this was a delicious meal. I put it oven at 250 for 4 1/2 hours since I had to be away from the house all afternoon. The steak just fell apart and the flavor was fantastic!
So glad you loved it!
I’m not sure if I used to much flour when dredging the steak. I just took it out of the oven it seems kind of doughy. Going to try scraping it off and mixing it with the sauce, hopefully this works to thicken it instead of adding cornstarch. Other than that it smells amazing and hopefully my boyfriend likes it.
Oh no, I hope it worked out for you! The video in the post might help you get a good idea of the dredging, it’s more like a dusting. :)
Just wondering what kind of paprika everyone uses, regular or smokey? And does it make a difference in the flavor?
I use regular in this recipe. Smoked paprika would definitely have a different flavor.
This was really really tender and delicious..my did not look as tomatoey as the picture..and I can’t really figure out why. Followed recipe to the T. We both enjoyed it..he actually said it was one of his favorites. I think the flour part may be why it wasn’t a red with tomatoes..it was like a veew stew..with chunks of tomatoes. Any ideas?
So glad your family loved it! I can’t say for sure, but maybe the canned tomatoes you used were in smaller pieces than the ones I used.
This looks great I had to put in smoked paprika in as that was all I had and added a regular chopped tomatoes and sml chilli . I am hopeing I don’t ruin it will let you know tonight. Thank you
I am making this today in the crockpot for dinner tonight. I am really looking forward to it also. I like the idea of no bell peppers…they cause heartburn for boyfriend. And we both like carrots..so it’s a win win for us.