Cube Steak with Gravy

Cube steak is covered generously with brown mushroom gravy and cooked until tender in the oven or crock pot is delicious! This is one of the easy family meals that my mom has made for decades.

Cube Steak and Gravy Recipe

Tender beef covered in a simple gravy makes some of the best comfort food our family eats! With only four ingredients this meal can be mixed up in five minutes and then cooked in the oven or a slow cooker.

Our cube steak recipe is an easy way to make this value cut of beef by covering with a generous amount of gravy at a low temperature in the oven or slow cooker.

The brown gravy is made with cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix, and a package of brown gravy mix OR a package of mushroom gravy mix.

Whether you like to serve over Farmhouse Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Red Potatoes, Creamy Potato Bake or a package of instant potatoes, cube steaks and gravy pair really well with potatoes.

A vegetable like Bacon-Onion Green Beans or California Medley Casserole rounds out this meal nicely.

My mom got this baked steak and gravy recipe from a cookbook our elementary school PTO put together in the early 90s. She uses round steaks or any kind of cheaper steak that needs to cook low and slow for a long time to get tender.

One of my mom’s tricks is to double the amount of gravy so that the steaks are fully covered and fall apart after cooking.

Why This Recipe Works

• Making Cube Steaks in the oven is a fuss free way to get a warm dinner on the table.
• This recipe is a regular on our family’s menu and helps keep us on a budget.
• Only 4 simple ingredients create an easy and flavorful baked steak and gravy.
• Any type of cheaper steak that needs to be further tenderized while cooking can be substituted for cubed steaks.

In the Crock Pot

Cube steak laid in a single layer, covered with gravy in the crock pot cooks on low in 3 to 4 1/2 hours.

I find the crock pot to be the best way to make cube steaks.

Cube Steak in the Oven

The key to baking tender cube steak is to keep the pan covered TIGHTLY with foil or a tight fitting lid. Holding all of the liquid in the dish will keep the beef so tender while cooking in the oven.

There is plenty of moisture in the gravy, the key is to hold it in the dish and keep the cubed steaks covered with sauce and soup as it cooks.

My mom prefers to make her cube steaks and Cocktail Meatballs in the oven. Just a couple of her signature recipes that we enjoy making regularly!

Ingredients Needed:

• Cube steaks
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Package dry onion soup
• Package brown gravy mix or mushroom gravy mix
• Water – soup can of water

How To Make Cube Steak Tender

Cube steaks are thin and should be covered with liquid or gravy to keep them tender while cooking. 

Keep the beef covered while cooking to hold in all of the moisture and keep the meat tender.

An easy combination of gravy ingredients cook to make a tender cube steak recipe in the oven.

What Makes A Cube Steak A Cube Steak?

Thin steaks with a unique, consistent pattern on each side are known as cube steaks.

This cut of beef known as cube steak comes from the sirloin or round cuts from the back end of a cow. These muscles are heavily used which makes them very lean. Lean meat is mostly muscle and has very little fat.

Lean cuts of beef are often mechanically tenderized by pounding, grinding or aging. Cube steak is pounded to tenderize and this process leaves the unique shape. 

Storage & Freezing

Cooked cube steaks with gravy can be stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 3 to 5 days.

The dish reheats well and can be frozen in an air tight container for up to 3 months.

Tips for Making Cube Steak

• Keep covered tightly to hold in moisture while cooking
• Put cube steaks in a single layer in the baking dish or crock pot
• Cube steaks can be substituted for round steaks or any kind of steak
• Can of cream of mushroom soup can be substituted for cream of celery or cream of onion if you prefer
• Brown gravy mix can be substituted for mushroom gravy mix, or recipe can be doubled and one packet of each used
• Dry onion soup mix can be substituted for onion flakes
• Gravy recipe can be doubled for gravy lovers; this recipe makes enough for 2 to 4 cube steaks that weight about 1/2 pound each

Cubes Steaks & Gravy Recipe

Place cube steaks in a single layer in a heavily greased baking dish or in a lined or greased crock.

If making in the oven spray pan well, even up the sides to prevent gravy from cooking down and burning.

Using a small silicone spatula empty a can of cream of mushroom soup into a small mixing bowl. Keep the soup can.

Pour the onion soup mix on top.

Add packet of brown gravy mix to the bowl.

Fill the soup can with water and add to the other gravy ingredients.

Mix well.

Pour that beautiful brown gravy over the steaks.

If needed use a spoon to spread the gravy around so that every bit of meat is covered with moisture.

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. We find that foil typically holds in moisture better than a glass lid.

Bake in a 325°F oven for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours until tender. OR cook in a crock pot on low for 3 to 4 1/2 hours.

Steaks are done cooking when they are fork tender. Serve warm over mashed potatoes and spoon the extra gravy over top of the finished plate.

This is such an economical way to feed the family warm and delicious food!

Other Easy Family Meal Ideas:

• Creamy Pork Chop Casserole combines pork chops, Swiss cheese, stuffing and white wine to make a very enjoyable casserole!
• BBQ Chip Fried Chicken is the most tender chicken strips we’ve ever eaten at home.
• Baked Mostaccioli is an easier version of lasagna that everyone in the family enjoys!
• Smothered Pork Chops is a simple recipe that easily gets five stars!
• Hot Dogs and Sauerkraut is a great way to use up extra hot dogs to make a simple meal.
• Salisbury Steak is another comfort food that looks so good!

Originally shared on December 8, 2020 with pictures updated on July 27, 2023.