Smothered in a rich brown gravy with mushrooms and onions, this smothered cube steak recipe is ultra tender and ready in just 30 minutes! Serve over garlic mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles for the perfect easy comfort food dinner.
Why I Love This Cube Steak Recipe
This steak dish is so tender, beefy, and addictive with the rich and velvety gravy made with beef stock. Honestly, it’s my favorite way to prepare cube steak! I love nothing more than taking something as inexpensive as cube steak and elevating it with simple ingredients. You don’t need to break the bank at the grocery store in order to prepare a dinner party worthy meal! It also helps that this recipe is quick and easy – but that can be our little secret. Check out why it’s part of my weeknight dinner routine:
- Flavorful: Breaded cube steak is seasoned and pan fried till perfectly crisp and tender. We then use the pan drippings to make an ultra flavorful, savory brown gravy made with mushrooms and onions. The steaks are smothered in the gravy and served immediately. Prepare to go back for seconds!
- Easy: This is a mouthwatering steak dish that tastes like you have spent hours making dinner, but is easy to make in 30 minutes with just one skillet! With no complicated directions and basic simple ingredients, this is an easy comfort food dish that won’t leave your kitchen a mess.
- Affordable. Steak is so delicious, but the downside is that it’s usually pricy. It’s so expensive to go out for a nice steak dinner, and even when you cook it at home, most cuts of beef cost a pretty penny these days. But this recipe uses cube steak, which is a super affordable cut of meat. The way it’s cooked makes it taste like a much pricier piece of beef, but this is a fancy dinner that won’t break the bank.
Featured Reader Review
Surprisingly all 5 in the family came to consensus that it was a keeper. That doesn’t happen often. Instead of using flour to thicken the gravy, I used cornstarch. Other than that, followed it exactly. Thank you for sharing.
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this smothered cube steak recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Cube Steak: Keep in mind that this is not the same thing as ground beef!
- Oil: You can use any type of oil that has a high smoke point, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Just a splash will help deepen the flavors in your gravy. I don’t recommend swapping this ingredient with anything else.
- Onion: A yellow onion is best for this recipe, but a white or red onion will also work.
- Mushrooms: You can use any mushrooms you like, we prefer to use baby portobello mushrooms.
- Beef Stock: Beef broth is also just fine if that’s what you have on hand.
What Is Cube Steak?
Cube steak, also called ‘Minute Steak’, is an inexpensive round steak that has been flattened and tenderized by a machine or meat tenderizer. It is perfect for breading and frying, like in chicken fried steak, or cooking long and slow like in the Cajun classic grillades and grits.
How to Cook Cube Steak
This smothered cube steak is so tender and moist inside, with a perfect crust that’s drenched in a hearty brown gravy. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- Season and dredge: Coat the steaks with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, then dredge in flour.
- Sear: Cook the steaks in a skillet, searing on both sides, then set aside.
- Cook the onions: Add butter and scrape off the bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the pan, then sauté the onions with Worcestershire sauce.
- Make the gravy: Make a roux, then add the beef broth to form a gravy. Stir in the mushrooms and cook.
- Finish: Add the steaks back to the skillet and cover them with the gravy, mushrooms, and onions, then simmer. Serve immediately.
Cook’s Tips and Variations
- Don’t Use Cold Beef: For best results, pull the cube steak out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before starting the recipe. Cold meat will seize up when it hits the pan, and it will also cook unevenly.
- Cook in Batches: If you don’t have a large skillet, your steaks might not fit comfortably in the pan. If they don’t, just cook the beef in batches. You don’t want to crowd the pan, or else the meat won’t cook evenly. If the cube steaks are crowded, they will have a tougher texture and they will not get a good sear.
- Hot Oil: If you have a really large skillet, you may need to add more oil. It’s also very important that you let the oil get sufficiently hot before adding the steaks to the skillet. Before you add the meat, put a pinch of flour in the skillet. If it sizzles, then you can add the meat. If it doesn’t, then let it keep heating.
- Rub in the Seasonings: Cube steak has lots of little nooks and crannies. To make sure that your smothered cube steaks are sufficiently seasoned, press the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and flour into the steak with your hands. Then do the same again with the flour.
What to Serve With Smothered Cube Steak
We like to serve this rich, mushroom-packed steak recipe with parmesan garlic rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes. It also is best served alongside some veggies, like roasted broccoli, sautéed zucchini and squash or roasted green beans. Don’t forget some soft bread or garlic bread to soak up the extra gravy!
Yield: 4 servings
Cube Steak
Smothered cube steak is tender and juicy, and covered in a beefy mushroom and onion gravy. It only takes 30 minutes and one skillet to make this easy comfort food dinner!
Ingredients
- 1½-2 pounds cube steak, (4 pieces)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cups beef stock, or beef broth
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- Optional: Set cube steak on the counter 20 minutes before cooking. (This helps your steak to be tender and juicy. Cold meat seizes up in the pan!)
- Coat the steaks, front and back, with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Then dredge the cube steaks through the flour and set aside. (Reserve 2 tablespoons leftover flour for later in the recipe.)
- Over medium to medium high heat, add the oil to a large heavy-bottomed skillet. When the oil is hot, carefully add the steaks to the skillet. Cook the cube steaks for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and set on a plate with foil (or a lid over them) to keep them warm.
- Melt the butter in the skillet, making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet to get any pieces that are stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Add the onions and Worcestershire sauce, sautéing the onions for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
- Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour over the onions, stirring until the flour starts to turn light brown and blend with the onions. Continue stirring while adding the beef broth to the skillet. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the broth to a soft boil, stirring constantly, until the broth begins to thicken into gravy.
- Add the mushrooms, stir, and let simmer for 2 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
- Add the steaks back to the skillet and cover them with the gravy, onions, and mushrooms, let simmer 5 minutes. Serve immediately over mashed potatoes, rice, or with pasta.
Notes
Storage: This recipe will last in the fridge for 5 days if you store it in an airtight container. To reheat the recipe, place it in a 400°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the meat is warm all the way through.
Freezing: This is a great meal to freeze. All you have to do is let the smothered steak cool completely, then add it to an airtight container and place it in the freezer for 3 months. Defrost or thaw completely before reheating.
Don’t Use Cold Beef: For best results, pull the cube steak out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before starting the recipe. Cold meat will seize up when it hits the pan, and it will also cook unevenly.
Cook in Batches: If you don’t have a large skillet, your steaks might not fit comfortably in the pan. If they don’t, just cook the beef in batches. You don’t want to crowd the pan, or else the meat won’t cook evenly. If the cube steaks are crowded, they will have a tougher texture and they will not get a good sear.
Hot Oil: If you have a really large skillet, you may need to add more oil. It’s also very important that you let the oil get sufficiently hot before adding the steaks to the skillet. Before you add the meat, put a pinch of flour in the skillet. If it sizzles, then you can add the meat. If it doesn’t, then let it keep heating.
Rub in the Seasonings: To make sure that your smothered cube steaks are sufficiently seasoned, press the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and flour into the steak with your hands. Then do the same again with the flour.
Nutrition
Serving: 1steak, Calories: 512kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 40g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 138mg, Sodium: 1029mg, Potassium: 1105mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 182IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 4mg
I made this recipe of smothered cubed steak for the first time and it was outstandingly delicious. We didn’t even need a knife to cut it that’s how tender it was. Thank you for the recipe.
I made this just as the recipe said except I used low sodium beef broth and it was delicious! I have added this to my favorites! Added cream potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts
Surprisingly all 5 in the family came to consensus that it was a keeper. That doesn’t happen often. Instead of using flour to thicken the gravy, I used cornstarch. Other than that, followed it exactly. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve never cared for cube steak, but we got some with half a cow that we got. So I decided to look up a recipe for it and found this one and it’s very good! I don’t like mushrooms, but my husband does, so I just pick it out of mine. But if you’re unsure about trying this, don’t be. It’s very good
It was delicious! I made it exactly the way the recipe told me to and it came out fantastic.
These were absolutely fantastic! I don’t particularly care for cubes steak but my hubby does. Thank you so much for the recipe. I ate it for leftovers! It is delicious and perfectly seasoned. I did cook these in my Ninja instant pot (pressure cooker option) and they were perfect.
How long to you cook it in your Ninja pressure cooker?