This fantastic Swiss Steak recipe is pure comfort food at its best flavor. Beef round steak is tenderized, browned, and slow-cooked to perfection with onions, garlic, and carrots in a lightly seasoned tomato sauce. For the ultimate meal, serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta!
This is comfort food at its best. If you like this recipe, try my beef tips, gravy, and chicken fried chicken.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Beef: bottom round or top round
- Seasonings: for a flavorful Swiss steak, use salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried marjoram, dried thyme, and paprika
- All-purpose flour: to seal in moisture and brown the meat
- Vegetable oil: or canola oil
- Vegetables: yellow onion, carrots, garlic, canned diced tomatoes
- Tomato paste: to thicken the sauce
- Beef broth: low sodium is best
- Worcestershire sauce: for flavor and complexity
How to make Swiss steak
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
Start by tenderizing the round steak with a meat mallet. Season the beef with salt and pepper on both sides. Then, dredge the meat in flour, shaking off any excess. Now heat a little oil in a Dutch Oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef on both sides.
Remove the meat to a plate. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in the pot over medium heat. Then add the onions and carrots, cooking until the onions are tender. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, cooking for about 1 minute while stirring constantly.
Then add the tomato paste, beef broth, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, thyme, paprika, and the browned beef. Gently scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the brown bits. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Then bake for about 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Serve over mashed potatoes, white rice, or egg noodles with the gravy and meat spooned over the top.
Preparations Tips
- Unlike Salisbury steak, which is made with ground beef, Swiss steak is typically made with tougher cuts of meat, like round steak and chuck steak. Always use a meat mallet to tenderize your steak. Cover the round steak with plastic and beat the round steak to about a 1/2 inch thick.
- You can make this recipe in a Dutch oven, stock pot, ovenproof skillet, or casserole dish. If the vessel does not have an ovenproof lid, cover it with aluminum foil before placing it in the oven.
- Peel the carrots so they have that beautiful bright orange color.
- I like to use fire-roasted tomatoes, but diced tomatoes work well too.
- You can substitute dried oregano for dried marjoram. I like marjoram because it is a little sweeter, less pungent, and more subtle overall.
Stove Top Instructions
Follow all the directions up to and including adding the tomato paste, beef broth, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, thyme, and the browned beef to the pot.
Then cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is fork tender and the sauce is reduced. Stir every 30 minutes to ensure the mixture does not burn to the bottom of the pan.
Slow Cooker Instructions
Follow all the directions, including reducing the heat to low and adding the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute while stirring constantly. Then, transfer everything to the crock pot.
Add the tomato paste, beef broth, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, thyme, and the browned beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours or until the beef is fork tender.
Store and Freeze
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power.
- Freeze in a sturdy freezer container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve it with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted red potatoes, white or brown rice, or egg noodles. Other great side dishes to serve with it are roasted asparagus, sauteed spinach, or green bean bundles.
More Tasty Beef Recipes
Swiss Steak
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. bottom round or top round steak pounded 1/2 inch thick
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion sliced half moon
- 3 carrots peeled and cut in 1 inch chunks
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Tenderize the round steak with a meat mallet.
- Generously salt and pepper on both sides of the beef. Add the flour to a shallow bowl and dredge the beef in it. Shake off any excess flour.
- Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a Dutch Oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat on both sides. Remove the meat to a plate.
- Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until the onions are tender approximately 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute while stirring constantly.
- Add the tomato paste, beef broth, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, thyme, paprika, and the browned beef. Gently scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the brown bits. Cover the pot and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
- Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. If desired, serve over mashed potatoes, white rice, or egg noodles with the meat and sauce ladled over the top.
Notes
- Unlike Salisbury steak, which is made with ground beef, Swiss steak is typically made with tougher cuts of meat, like round steak and chuck steak. Always use a meat mallet to tenderize your steak. Cover the round steak with plastic and beat the round steak to about a 1/2 inch thick.
- You can make this recipe in a Dutch oven, stock pot, ovenproof skillet, or casserole dish. If the vessel does not have an ovenproof lid, just cover it with aluminum foil before placing it in the oven.
- Peel the carrots so they have that beautiful bright orange color.
- I like to use fire-roasted tomatoes, but diced tomatoes work well too.
- Dried oregano may be substituted for dried marjoram. I like marjoram because it is a little sweeter, less pungent, and overall more subtle.
Nutrition
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Celebrate Woman Today
Your cooking and presentation are so unique! Just by looking at each of your recipes makes me hungry.
Rosey
Oh wow, you’ve unlocked a memory. My mom used to make swiss steak when I was a girl. I forgot all about it!
Nadalie
Thanks for the awesome swiss steak recipe. My grandma used to make this and your recipe was a great reminder of how much I enjoyed her cooking. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Beth. I wil make this again and again.
Melanie
My husband loved this swiss steak. It was fall apart fork tender with so much flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Beth.
Marie Cris Angeles
What a great recipe. This is comfort food at its best. Thanks for sharing!
Alita Pacio
Wow, one swiss steak will easily feed a whole family. Thank you for this!
Sam
My new favorite swiss steak recipe. It was so tender and tasty. I served it over mashed potatoes. We loved it.
Jupiter Hadley
I have never heard of Swiss Steak before – it sounds like a big step up from salsbury steak! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Beth Pierce
They are quite different.
karen
The steak was soooooo delicious omg….I had never had swiss steak, I loved it!
khoingn
This dish is similar to a dish in my country. But we call it different name. And we usually make more broth for this.
Knycx Journeying
looks absolutely delicious and thanks for the recipe. I am visiting Switzerland soon and wonder if there’s any great place to try the authentic dish as well!
Linda
Swiss steak isn’t named for the country. It’s so named because of the traditional method used to tenderize the meat.
Sally
Wow, this Swiss Steak recipe is truly amazing! The beef round steak is so tender and flavorful, and the slow-cooked tomato sauce with onions, garlic, and carrots is just perfect. It’s definitely the ultimate comfort food, especially when served over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. Yum!
Mandy
Looks like the perfect hearty and comfort meal. And even better is that it seems rather simple to make!
Debbie
This Swiss steak was so amazingly delicious. My husband loved this recipe. Thank you for the easy to follow instructions, too!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Debbie!
Lisa
We love this swiss steak and we make it often. I just made it last week and every one gobbled it up. Thanks for the great recipe, Beth.
Stephanie
This Swiss steak recipe is such a comforting meal and seasoned perfectly. We enjoy it over mashed potatoes – I think we will try the leftovers with egg noodles as you suggest.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Stephanie! We love it too!