Cube Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Cube steak with mushroom gravy is a hearty and inexpensive family dinner featuring tender seasoned cubed steak smothered in a luxurious brown gravy.

Reach for that cast iron pan, dust off some memories of grandma's kitchen, and step back in time with this old-fashioned dish brimming with flavor. It is hard to find a more unpretentious meal to serve at dinner time than cooking this easy cube steak recipe.

The star of this easy recipe is the savory mushroom gravy, which is served over seasoned tender cube steaks. The gravy consists of a brown gravy base with mushrooms simmered in the liquid, infusing their rich flavor throughout.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Vegetable Oil - Olive oil or canola oil are both great cooking oils, otherwise, butter can be used.
• Beef Cube Steaks - Cube steak is a very affordable cut of beef from the top round or top sirloin. Similar in size to hamburger patties, a cube steak is "cubed" with an electric meat tenderizer that flattens the beef steak and gives it its distinctive appearance. However, you can also purchase a sirloin steak from the grocery store and tenderize it yourself with a meat mallet.
• Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Beef Broth - I like low sodium broth for this recipe because it gives me more control over the salt content. Beef stock is also an equally good substitution.
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Fresh Mushrooms - Sliced white button mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms are both great.
• All Purpose Flour
• Butter

How to make it

To make the cube steaks first, combine all-purpose flour, onion powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Then season your steaks with salt and black pepper and dredge them in the seasoning mixture.

Add cooking oil to a 12" cast iron skillet set over medium heat on the stove top, then place the cube steaks in the hot oil and cook until they are browned on each side. Next, add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sliced mushrooms. Then let the covered skillet simmer for two hours over low heat.

After simmering, remove the tender cube steak from the skillet and set aside. Then strain the liquid and mushrooms to separate, reserving the liquid in a bowl.

Making the gravy

The key to making this gravy mushroom gravy recipe is the roux. A roux is a mixture of flour and fat that is whisked together over low heat in a skillet to remove the flour taste. Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in flour, but be careful to keep stirring and not to have the heat too high or the roux will burn. If it burns, there is no saving it, scrape out the roux and start again with fresh butter and flour.

The reserved liquid should be added back to the cooked roux. Add additional beef broth to equal two cups total. The liquid is best added in small amounts at a time to ensure it fully incorporates into the gravy.

Once all of the liquid has been added, place the steak back into the frying pan and continue to simmer until the gravy has thickened. Then serve the mushroom gravy over the cube steaks, along with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Any leftover cube steak and gravy should be kept in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to one week. The gravy will thicken as it is stored, so it is best to thin it out with a little liquid prior to reheating. You can warm up any leftovers in the microwave until heated through.

This recipe was originally published April 20, 2022.

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