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!
Easy Swiss Steak
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 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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This recipe tastes wonderful. Easy to make. Pure comfort food. I serve over mashed potatoes OR white rice. DELICIOUS!
I made this for dinner this evening and both my husband and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you….
Maybe I missed it, but at what point do you slice the meat? Before dredging in flour or after it’s cooked prior to serving?
We use 1 ½ pounds of round steak and we use a meat mallet to pound it to ½″ thickness instead of slicing it.
Delicious! i skipped the optional step or thickening it with cornstarch due to hunger— and I enjoyed it a lot! Family all loved it. Thanks!
I made this today and its so easy. I added celery and green pepper and 1 8oz can of tomato sauce. in the oven now and cant wait to try it!
I’ve never heard of putting carrots in swiss steak before.
Where are the strips of bell peppers?
Used to make swiss steak when I cooked for a living,customers loved it.
We love the addition of carrots, hope you do too, Don! The strips you are seeing might be the way we sliced our onions? Or the diced tomatoes that were added.
I have never heard of bell pepper in Swiss Steak. Is it good?
Making it now :) can’t wait. I don’t see salt in the ingredients but I see it in the instructions?
There is a jump to recipe button at the top, the instructions are located just below the ingredients.
Can I substitute with Sirloin tip?
Hi Debbie, we have only made this recipe as listed but that should work well. Let us know how it turns out!
Can someone tell me how you would tweak this recipe to make in crockpot? Do you just add everything to the crockpot?
We use this recipe for Crock Pot Swiss Steak. Enjoy!
Fabulous recipe..just as I remember growing up. Very flavorful and the recipe was easy to follow! This is the first of your recipes that I’ve tried, but it won’t be the last!
Sounds good. I am 77 years old. wish I had some one to cook it for me. It would be a lot better than a frozen TV dinner.
This recipe is so yummy, Gerald. If you get the chance to try it I am sure you will love it!
Can i substitue rtomato paste for stewed tomatos?
Hi Jennifer, for this recipe we use diced tomatoes with juice. Tomato paste won’t produce the same consistency in this recipe.
I would make.it for you….
I used the Swiss steak recipe and it was awesome . Thank you for your time and effort!!
Holly, I just adore your recipes, and this one is no exception! When I’m searching for a recipe for just about anything, and I want one that I KNOW is going to turn out well, more often than not I choose the one from you. Thanks so much for the library of ‘tried and true’ recipes!
Thank you so much for your kind words Alie, so glad you’ve loved the recipes!
After trying (and failing) to make a good, tender swiss steak, this recipe was my final attempt. You nailed it! This was the best swiss steak I have ever had. Thanks for putting out a recipe that normal folks can make with normal ingredients!
You’re so very welcome! You made my day Shari!
Very simple and great tasting recipe. I’ve made this twice and it is excellent. I will be making it again and again
It’s soo good reminds me of my grandmother delicious wholesome comfort food thank you. I will definitely make this again!
Very easy, very good. I used VENISON steaks. After 2 hours in the oven my husband was ready to eat. The meat was tender, the carrots were perfect. It’s always good to have another recipe that works with game meat.
It was so delicious. The beef was nice and tender. The tomato, carrots, and onions with the beef bullion and Worcestershire was very tasty.
Tender, tasty and easy. My family loved it. Will make again and again.
So good and tender. Instead of chopping the vegetables I sliced the onions and carrots. They were yummy.