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Cube steaks are my go-to budget comfort food. They’re quick, cozy, and smothered in gravy. I love them with mashed potatoes or veggies, and I’ve got a simple trick to keep them melt-in-your-mouth tender every time.
Steak Night, Simplified
- Steakhouse Taste On a Budget: All the flavor of a fancy cut, without the high price tag. Which we all need in this economy!
- Gravy-Soaked Goodness: Juicy steaks smothered in rich, savory gravy that begs for bread or potatoes to soak it up.
- Tender Every Time: With the right cooking tricks, these steaks turn melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Ingredients for Cube Steaks
- Low Sodium: If you are on a low-sodium diet or are sensitive to salt, be sure to use low-sodium beef broth and soup mix, or make your own homemade onion soup mix.
- Use More Soup Mix: Want extra flavor? Stir the rest of the onion soup mix into the gravy. It’ll be a bit saltier, but if that’s your thing, go for it
How to Make Cube Steaks
Cooking cube steak doesn’t have to be tricky! Just follow along and you’ll have dinner on the table in no time. Make my garlic parmesan green beans and mashed potatoes for the perfect sides!
- Pound the Steaks: Cover the cube steaks with a sheet of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound the steaks are ¼-½-inch thick and even. Do this even if the steaks are already tenderized, as this will help prevent them from being tough.
- Season: Combine the flour, pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Coat: Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture until fully coated, shaking off the excess.
- Sear: Add the olive oil to a large skillet, then heat over medium-high heat. Add the cube steaks to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the steaks from the skillet and place them on a plate or wire rack to rest.
- Sauté Onions and Mushrooms: Add the olive oil and onion to the skillet the steaks were cooked in and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for about 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and golden brown.
- Make the Gravy: Add the beef broth and onion soup mix to the skillet and stir to combine. Combine the cornstarch and the water in a small bowl to make a slurry and add it to the gravy. Stir to combine, then add the steaks back to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the gravy has thickened. Serve immediately.
Perfectly Tender Cube Steak Tips
Before you start, take a peek at these quick tips! They’ll help you get tender steaks, rich gravy, and a meal everyone will rave about.
- Bring to Room Temp: Let steaks rest 20–30 minutes before cooking for even results.
- Pat Dry First: Blot steaks with a paper towel so they sear crisp and golden.
- Skip the Slurry: Cornstarch is optional. The flour from the steaks often thickens gravy just fine.
- Pound Again: Even if pre-tenderized, give them a quick mallet pound for extra-juicy meat.
- Don’t Overcook: 2–4 minutes per side is plenty of time. If they are on for too long, they’ll turn tough.
- Make More Gravy: Double the ingredients if you want extra sauce for potatoes or rice!
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Cube Steak
This cube steak is tender, flavorful, and swimming in gravy! It's the kind of comfort food that saves the day when you need dinner fast.
Ingredients
- 1 pound cube steaks about 4 steaks
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Mushroom Gravy
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup sliced onion about half a medium onion
- 6 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 ⅔ cup beef broth
- 1 ½ tablespoons onion soup mix about half an envelope, or 6 teaspoons
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Cover 1 pound cube steaks with a sheet of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound the steaks until they are ¼-½ inch thick and even. Do this even if the steaks are already tenderized, as this will help prevent them from being tough.
- Combine ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder in a small bowl. Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture until fully coated, shaking off the excess.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the cube steaks to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the steaks from the skillet and place them on a plate or wire rack to rest.
Mushroom Gravy
- Add the 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ cup sliced onion to the skillet the steaks were cooked in, and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add 6 ounces sliced mushrooms and continue to cook for about 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and golden brown.
- Add 1 ⅔ cup beef broth and 1 ½ tablespoons onion soup mix to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl to make a slurry and add it to the gravy. Stir to combine, then add the steaks back to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the gravy has thickened. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Can you make it ahead of time? Yes! Tenderize the steak and prep the gravy up to 24–48 hours ahead. Store in the fridge until ready to cook.
- Can you freeze steak? Yes! Cook and cool the steak, then freeze it with the gravy in a flat ziplock bag (or airtight container) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- How do you reheat cube steak? Warm gently in a skillet on medium-low heat, or reheat in the microwave until hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 404kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 29gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 942mgPotassium: 805mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
More Easy Steak Recipes
I love to cook beef, and steak is one of my favorite ways to do that! For more simple steak recipes, try this Garlic Butter Herb Steak Bites with Potatoes, this delicious Brown Sugar Garlic Flank Steak, or these yummy Creamy Garlic Steak Bites with Mushrooms.
Great recipe, but you need to correct your amount of onion soup mix. 1 1/2 tablespoons is 4 1/2 teaspoons, not 6.
I have been cooking and measuring for 68 years and have had lots of experience.
I have some leftover homemade mashed potatoes, was looking for a main dish to finish them off and came across your recipe and have some cube stakes going to try this tomorrow. I love mushrooms, eat them all the time. your pictures look divine. hope mine come close to what your looks like. Thank you for posting.
Daniel
Just made this recipe, it was easy and my wife and family lover it.
It looks really good in the pic. However, the packaged onion soup mix has soooo much sodium & loaded with chemicals. Hopefully you can find a good replacement for that.
Hi Tina, you can use my homemade onion soup mix recipe! I hope this helps!
Absolutely delicious! Only changes we made were to cut recipe in 1/2 as there’s only 2 of us. We also used reduced sodium chicken broth as we had no beef broth, we omitted the salt in the flour mixture to further reduce sodium and we added double the amount of mushrooms. Cooked the steaks 3 minutes per side, and they were very tender. Going back to the store to look for more cube steaks!
We tried this recipe today and I have to admit that it was very good. Had some cube steak in my freezer that I’m not sure how it got there but I didn’t want it to go to waste and I also didn’t want to make chicken fried steak. I made this with some mashed potatoes and grilled oven roasted asparagus and both my husband and myself enjoyed it.