Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy Recipe

Name: Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 10 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lbs cube steak (6 pieces); 1 packet (1 oz) onion soup mix; 2 packets (0.87 oz each) brown gravy mix; 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup; 2 cups beef broth; 1 onion, sliced; 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional but encouraged); 1/2 tsp black pepper; Mashed potatoes, for serving

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 6 hrs Total: 6 hrs 10 min Servings: 6

Crockpot cube steak smothered in rich onion mushroom gravy

Cube steak is the most underrated cut at the meat counter — already run through the tenderizer, priced like ground beef, and born to be smothered. Six hours in the crockpot under an onion-mushroom gravy turns it silky and rich, the kind of plate that needs mashed potatoes and a vegetable you'll ignore. This is true Southern weeknight cooking: five minutes of assembly in the morning buys you a supper that tastes like somebody's grandmother stood over it all afternoon.

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Ingredients

2 lbs cube steak (6 pieces)
1 packet (1 oz) onion soup mix
2 packets (0.87 oz each) brown gravy mix
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
1 onion, sliced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional but encouraged)
1/2 tsp black pepper
Mashed potatoes, for serving

Instructions

Whisk the onion soup mix, gravy mixes, cream of mushroom soup, broth, and pepper in the crockpot.
Add the sliced onion and mushrooms, then nestle in the cube steaks, spooning gravy between the layers.
Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours, until the steaks are fall-apart tender.
If the gravy needs thickening, stir in a cornstarch slurry and cook on HIGH 15 minutes.
Serve the steaks and a generous flood of gravy over mashed potatoes.

Ingredient Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitute	Notes
Cube steak	Round steak, pounded thin	Add an hour of cook time
Cream of mushroom	Cream of onion or celery	Same body, slightly different accent
Gravy packets	3 tbsp flour whisked into the broth	Season with 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder
Mashed potatoes	White rice or egg noodles	The gravy carries any of them

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 4 days, steaks submerged in gravy.

Freezes well for 3 months. Reheat covered and low — the gravy is happiest warmed gently with a splash of broth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is cube steak?

Top round or sirloin that the butcher has run through a mechanical tenderizer — the “cubes” are the tool marks. It's built for braising and smothering.

Why is my cube steak rubbery?

It needs more time, not less. Rubbery at 4 hours becomes fork-tender at 6 — the tenderizing marks are a head start, not a shortcut past braising.

Can I brown the cube steaks first?

A 2-minute flour-dusted sear per side deepens the gravy noticeably. Optional on a rushed morning; recommended when you have the minutes.

Is this the same as chicken fried steak?

Same cut, different destiny — chicken fried steak is breaded and fried crisp, this one is braised soft. Both end up under gravy, as cube steak should.