Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
34 CommentsUpdated Feb 06, 2026
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Make this classic old fashioned recipe for Slow Cooker Swiss Steak with round steak, tomatoes and peppers which makes the best savory sauce!
Featured Comment
“We made this tonight and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! It reminds me of my mom’s. I used cube steak and the beef broth. My husband said he has never had cubed steak this tender before. This will become a staple dish in this household.”
– jan
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 meat mallet), but if you are cooking it in the slow cooker that is not necessary.
My Crockpot Swiss Steak recipe 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.
This grandma style is still wonderful to make today! You can also make Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak or Slow Cooker Cube Steak, which has a different sauce but still has a vintage vibe.
Key Ingredients
Beef: Sliced Round steaks can be bought. Or if you can’t find that, a bottom round roast, or top round roast can be cut into slices (these are all the same).
Flour: This will be used to lightly coat the steaks prior to searing with olive oil.
Beef Consomme: This is a highly concentrated beef broth.
Diced Tomatoes: You’ll need 2 cans of diced tomatoes, undrained.
Vegetables: An onion and green bell pepper are both diced and tossed into the crockpot to provide texture, flavor, and heartiness.
Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, freshly minced garlic cloves, and Worcestershire sauce come together to make the delicious Swiss steak sauce.
How to make Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
- Dredge and brown the steaks, then add them to the crockpot.
- Pour in the beef consommé and tomatoes, then add the veggies and Worcestershire.
- Cover and cook until the beef is fork-tender.
Tips & Variations
Mushrooms: Add sliced mushrooms at the beginning of the cooking time, add 1-2 cups.
Red Wine: You can add a 1/2 cup of red wine (such-as Merlot or Cabernet) for more flavor.
Cut Change: You can use cube steak or cheap cuts of steak.
Sauce Swap: Instead of diced tomatoes you can use 2 cups of marinara or pasta sauce.
Tender Steaks: Steaks not tender? The longer you cook this Swiss steak recipe, the more tender it will become.
What to serve with Slow Cooker Swiss Steak?
It’s best to serve this dish with a starch, here are my favorite ways to serve.
Starch: Swiss steak is meant to be served with a starchy side. You can choose from mashed potatoes, steamed white rice or egg noodles.
Veggies: Serve with vegetables like green beans or a green salad for a refreshing touch. We often make Crockpot Green Bean Casserole to go along with this meal.
Top it off: Rolls or garlic bread are always a great match when looking for something to sop up the juices.
Does the meat need to be browned?
Yes, for this recipe, it’s best to brown the meat (and dredge in flour) before adding to the slow cooker. It will add depth of flavor, and the flour will help thicken the sauce.
Slow Cooker Swiss Steak Recipe
How to Video
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 in between 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 scraping 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 without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
How to Store
This is the type of homestyle recipe that tastes even better leftover. Place in the fridge for up to four days or freeze the leftovers for up three months. Keep your starch you cooked for this meal in a separate container.
More Beef Slow Cooker Recipes
Mississippi Pot Roast melts in your mouth with its buttery texture and zesty kick, while Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast offers a rich, tangy depth of flavor perfect for a hearty meal.
Smothered in a savory gravy, Salisbury Steak Meatballs are a comforting dish, just like Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches, which pile tender, slow-cooked beef onto soft bread for a satisfying bite.
Sweet and savory, Slow Cooker Teriyaki Beef is slow-cooked until tender, making it a delicious option for rice bowls or sandwiches.
If you love cozy meals like this also try my crockpot beef tips, or crockpot london broil. For a tangy and savory meal, try my crockpot flank steak over mashed potatoes.
Looks so good
Yummy one-pot meal. Steaks were fork-tender. It made a ton of sauce, possibly 4 cups. After the meat & veg have been eaten, i plan to eat the delish sauce over bowls of grits and rice with other veggies. I used 2 pounds of bottom round that I cut into 8 steaks. I added 8 ounces of sliced white button mushrooms. I needed about 3/4 cup of flour to dredge the steaks in. And I added more s&p than the recipe called 4, as when I added the remaining ingredients after the steaks and beef broth.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Very good ! Added a little sugar. Will definitely make again
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.
These steaks were delicious and easy to cut with a fork, no knife needed.
Do you need to brown the cube steak with flour?
You don’t have to but it adds a caramelized flavor to the dish.
The best, we added a pre cooked, Cajun style long grain pre cooked rice in the last hour. Gave an extra flavor. I think I’ll try a teaspoon of paprika in the flour next time.
I tried this recipe and it was very good and definitely going into the dinner rotation. I did add 8oz of fresh mushrooms to the pot and it was delicious!!!