Make this classic recipe for Swiss steak in the slow cooker with round steak, tomatoes and peppers which makes the best savory sauce!
This old-fashioned recipe is still wonderful to make today! You can also make Salisbury steak or cube steak, which has a different sauce but still has a vintage vibe.
If you’ve never heard of swiss steak, it is a recipe that has been around for decades. Some recipes call for “swissing” the steak (tenderizing with a mallet), but if you are cooking it in the slow cooker that is not necessary.
My recipe below is a mix of a few different recipes I found in my vintage recipe collection. I decided to thicken the sauce by dredging the meat with flour. It adds a nice touch to the sauce which many slow cooker recipes don’t have.
How to make swiss steak.
- You will need round
steaks, if you can’t find them you can use a top round roast or a bottom round roast. - Cut that roast into thick slices.
- Make a dredge for the meat by adding flour, salt
and pepper to a large plate. Coat the meat on both sides and transfer to a plate. Save the excess flour from the plate and you will add it to the slow cooker later. - In a large skillet set to medium-high heat add enough oil to coat the pan. When the oil is hot, brown the steaks on both sides, you may have to do this in two batches, be sure to add more oil to the pan for the second batch. No need to cook these through, just brown them.
- Add beef consumme to the hot pan and deglaze it but using a spatula and scraping up any brown bits.
- Add the browned steaks to the slow cooker, sprinkle over any remaining flour. Add the beef consumme from the pan over the steaks.
- Add diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic and worcesterchire sauce to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.
Can I use a different cut of meat?
Yes, just about any cut of beef will work in this! Try one of these cuts if you can find the round roast or steaks:
- Cube steak
- Chuck roast (leave whole, shred after cooking and degrease the sauce by laying paper towels over).
- Cubed stew meat
Can I add mushrooms?
Mushrooms are a great addition to this recipe! Add 1-2 cups at the beginning of the cooking time.
Other versions of swiss steak:
- Swiss Steak with Brown Gravy – by Tastes of Lizzy T
- Creamy Swiss Steak – Taste of Home
- Instant Pot Swiss Steak – by Savory Tooth
What to serve with Swiss Steak?
- Mashed potatoes or steamed rice
- Steamed vegetables or green salad
- Rolls or garlic bread
Have more beef? Try one of these beef recipes next:
- Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Beef
- Slow Cooker Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
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Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 2.5 lbs. round steaks or bottom or top round roast cut into thick steaks (2-4 pounds will work fine in this recipe)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 4 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 10.5 oz. Campbell's beef consomme or beef broth
- 29 oz. petite diced tomatoes (two 14.5 oz. cans) do not drain
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Instructions:
- On a large plate add the flour and salt and pepper. Mix this together.
- Dredge each steak in this mixture on both sides, transfer to another plate. Save any excess flour mixture, you will add this to the slow cooker with the meat later.
- Set a large skillet to medium high heat. Add enough oil to coat the pan. Brown the steaks on both sides, no need to cook through. You may have to cook the meat in two batches if your pan is too small, add more oil inbewteen batches. Add the browned steaks to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over any excess flour from the plate.
- Deglaze the pan that you browned the meat in with by adding the beef consomme and scrapping up any brown bits. Add to the slow cooker on top of the beef.
- Add the remaining ingredients, stir.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours with out opening the lid during the cooking time.
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- Cube steak
- Chuck roast (leave whole, shred at the end and degrease the sauce by laying paper towels over the sauce and discarding).
- Stew meat
- Over mashed potatoes or steamed rice
- Green salad or steamed veggies on the side
- Garlic bread or dinner rolls
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
The unique taste I have gotten with this recipe is add a good Worcestershire sauce (2-3 T. toward the end of cooking). I use petite diced tomatoes, onions, celery, flour steak and brown it. Then saute’ the veggies by adding a little oil after browning the steak, add diced tomatoes, 2 large cans, rinse cans with water and add to tomatoes, heat/simmer a bit. Then add browned steaks, cover and cook on top of stove about 2 hours till tender. Allow to rest in pot, add Worcestershire sauce, cover and let rest till dinner time. Serve over long grain rice. Add more Wooster sauce to taste.
As I read another comments, this recipe is a great starting point. I also added celery and carrots. Quite a bit more garlic, then was called four and onions, and I sautéed them and added flour to them. I browned my flour to get the raw flavor off then I added the consommé and extra salt and pepper and seasoning salt Which made a nice thick liquid to put over the meat another tomatoes to you it was amazing thank you for posting your recipe to get me started
We tried this last weekend, and the recipe is a great starting point. After reading so many comments about the lack of flavor, I added extra salt and pepper to the dredging flour and used Knorr Beef Bouillon at nearly double strength instead of beef consomme. I agree that there was too much liquid at the end of cooking, but two tablespoons of Corn Starch mixed with water thickened it up very nicely. We used a chuck roast cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices and then trimmed off most of the fat before dredging and cooking. In the end, it still needed some more salt, and I think that next time we try it, I’ll double or triple the garlic and perhaps add in some various “Italian” seasonings. Overall, not a bad recipe.