Crockpot Swiss Steak Recipe

This crock pot Swiss steak is the kind of supper my family asks for by name. Cube steak simmers low and slow in a tomato sauce with onions, smoked paprika, and oregano until it’s tender enough to cut with a fork.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Crockpot Swiss Steak
Serves: 4
Main Ingredients: cubed steak*, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder
Why You'll Love It: This crockpot Swiss Steak recipe is a tender beef main dish with a unique taste and wonderful oomph thanks to the choice in seasonings.

Everything goes into the slow cooker in the morning, and you walk away. By suppertime the whole house smells like Sunday dinner at Mama’s.

An Old-Fashioned Supper From Aunt Kathy

My Mama’s sister, Aunt Kathy, is the one who told her about this Swiss steak recipe, and it’s been passed around our family for decades. Aunt Kathy cooks hers in a Dutch oven. I love my Dutch oven too, but I reach for the slow cooker any time I can skip heating up the big oven.

It’s one of my favorite Sunday suppers to set and forget before church. The beef and onions cook down in a rich tomato sauce, and all you have to do when you get home is put on a pot of rice.

If you’d rather bake yours like Aunt Kathy, I have a Swiss steak in the oven recipe too. This one is for the days you want supper waiting on you.

Ingredients for Crock Pot Swiss Steak

You only need a handful of pantry staples. Here are the ones that matter most. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.

Cube steak: Also sold as cubed steak. It’s round steak the butcher has already tenderized, so there’s no pounding or browning. Use 1 or 2 pounds. The sauce amount stays the same either way.
Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce: Diced, stewed, or crushed tomatoes all work. Stewed tomatoes make a slightly sweeter sauce. Can sizes keep changing, so anything from 14 to 16 ounces is fine.
Smoked paprika: This gives the sauce its depth. Regular paprika works if that’s what’s in your cabinet.
Oregano and garlic powder: Simple seasonings, but after a day in the crock pot they make the tomato sauce taste like it simmered on the stove for hours.
Onion: One yellow onion, sliced any way you like. It melts right into the sauce.

Helpful Tips Before You Start

Skip the browning. Cube steak gets tender in the slow cooker on its own. Browning adds a little color, but you won’t miss it under all that sauce.
Use a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker. The steaks can overlap a little. Just make sure the sauce covers them.
Know your slow cooker. A newer slow cooker can run an extra hour with no trouble. Older ones, around 7 to 10 years old, tend to cook unevenly and can scorch, so keep an eye on yours.
Leave the lid on. Every peek lets heat out and adds cook time.
Thaw the steak first. Frozen meat stays too long at unsafe temperatures in a slow cooker, so thaw cube steak in the refrigerator overnight.
Want a thicker sauce? Stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir it into the crock pot and cook on high, uncovered, for the last 20 to 30 minutes.

How to Make Swiss Steak in a Crock Pot

1. Mix the Sauce

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to a large bowl.

Place tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings in a bowl.

Give it a good stir.

2. Slice the Onion

Slice the onion however you like. Thick slices hold their shape, and thin slices melt into the sauce.

3. Layer the Steak and Onions

Place the cube steaks in the bottom of the slow cooker. There’s no need to pound or brown them first.

Scatter the onions over the top.

4. Add the Sauce and Cook

Pour the tomato mixture over everything. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Add sauce to steak in crockpot and cook.

5. Serve

When it’s ready, the Swiss steak will be so tender you can cut it with a fork. Spoon plenty of that sauce over the top and serve it over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

How Long to Cook Swiss Steak in a Crock Pot

On low: 7 to 9 hours
On high: 4 to 5 hours

Low gives you the most tender steak, but high works fine when you get a late start. On a newer slow cooker, an extra hour on low won’t hurt a thing. The steak just gets more tender.

If your steak still seems a little tough, put the lid back on and give it another 30 to 60 minutes. Cube steak firms up partway through cooking before it relaxes and turns tender.

Easy Swiss Steak Variations

Add more vegetables: Stir in 1 cup each of chopped bell pepper, carrots, celery, or mushrooms with the onion.
Try a different cut: Round steak, chuck steak, or cubed stew meat all work here. Thicker cuts may need the longer end of the cook time.
Bump up the flavor: Swap the garlic powder for a couple of cloves of minced garlic, and add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
Keep it lower carb: Serve it over cauliflower rice instead of white rice.

What to Serve With Swiss Steak

I like mine over white rice. I buy rice in bulk, so working it into a few suppers each week helps our grocery budget. That sauce needs something to soak it up, though, so anything starchy works.

Under the steak: rice, egg noodles, cheesy mashed potatoes, or garlic mozzarella mashed potatoes
On the side: sweet and sour green beans, candied carrots, or fried cabbage with bacon
For sopping: homemade dinner rolls or a skillet of cornbread
To finish: a tall glass of sweet tea and a bowl of homemade banana pudding

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating

Fridge: Store leftover Swiss steak and sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze the steak and sauce together for up to 4 weeks. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheat: Warm it in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave until hot all the way through.
Make ahead: Stir the sauce together and slice the onion the night before. Keep them in the fridge, and loading the slow cooker the next morning takes about two minutes.

If you keep a batch of freezer mashed potatoes on hand, leftovers turn into a full supper with almost no work.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak FAQs

What is Swiss steak?

Swiss steak is beef that’s been tenderized and then braised low and slow in a tomato sauce. The name comes from “swissing,” an old term for pounding or rolling meat to tenderize it.

Is cube steak the same as Swiss steak?

Cube steak is the cut of beef, and Swiss steak is the dish you make with it. Cube steak is usually round steak that’s been run through a tenderizer, which is why it works so well here.

Do I need to brown the cube steak first?

No. The long, slow cook time makes it tender without browning, and the tomato sauce gives it plenty of color and flavor.

Can I put frozen cube steak in the crock pot?

Thaw it in the refrigerator first. The USDA advises against cooking frozen meat in a slow cooker because it can stay at unsafe temperatures for too long.

Why is my Swiss steak tough?

Most of the time it just needs more time. Cover it and keep cooking for another 30 to 60 minutes, then check again.

What’s the difference between Swiss steak and chicken fried steak?

Chicken fried steak is breaded, fried, and served with cream gravy. Swiss steak is never breaded and simmers in tomato sauce instead. If you love cube steak, try my Southern cubed steak and milk gravy next.

More Southern Steak Suppers

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