Both cube and round steaks are a cheaper, tougher cut of meat. They can be difficult to deal with. If you cook it wrong it can be tough and a severe disappointment at dinner. But NOT if you use your slow cooker. And this crock pot swiss steak recipe is an awesome example of super easy crock pot deliciousness...

AND it uses those cheap cuts of meat. So you can be economical AND make a delicious dinner!

Not just that. If that wasn't enough 🙂 But it's also a 5-minute prep recipe AND it’s a freezer meal too. So, if you come across one of those huge packets of round steak on sale you’ve got no worries!

Buy it, get a bag of onions and several cans of cream soups…and you’ve got a back stock on your freezer meal stash! It couldn’t be easier AND it saves the stress of “what the heck do I cook for dinner THIS time?”

Crock Pot Swiss Steak Topics:

Legal Stuff: Our posts sometimes contain affiliate links. So, if you purchase something through one of the links, SlowCookerKitchen makes a small commission. It does NOT increase your cost. Everything we recommended is stuff we've tried or have researched to the point of insanity. Here's the full disclosure policy if you want to read it.

What is the Difference Between Round Steak and Swiss Steak?

Crock Pot Swiss Steak Ingredients

Again, super easy here, you'll need:

Round or Swiss steaks
Cream of "Something" Soup
Sweet Onions, diced

NOW, I also used garlic powder, Himalayan salt, and black pepper. You don't have to use any of those. We simply LIKE garlic a lot.

Round Steak vs Swiss Steak

Round steak is a just tough. Swiss steak is the manually tenderized version of round steak (or other rough cuts). And they are the way they are because of muscle.

I'm not going into a scientific explanation of all that. BUT if you want to learn about it so you "get it", this article explains the difference between round and cube steak very well.

AND cube steak and swiss steak are the same things. I do not know why they have two different names. I THINK it depends on exactly what sort of machine they are run through. The little "markings" on the meat itself.

Money and Time Saving Crock Pot Cooking Tips:

Converting Big Packs of Meat into Freezer Meal Portions

This certainly isn't a formula. It's just a little math. And it makes shopping SO much easier. If you hit sales...and I sure as heck do...this will come in handy.

You'll need 1 can of cream of "something" soup per 1 pound of meat. Or about. If it's not exact, it hurts nothing. I used cream of onion.
Then, you also need (about) a half cup of onions per 1 pound of meat too.

So, say you find an 8-pound package of round steaks on sale for $2.19 a pound... Yep. I did it! I was astounded. It wasn't icky meat either. It wasn't top of the line obviously. But it was a very good meat market. They just put it on sale because they had a lot. So SCORE for me!

Anyways, 8 pounds of meat. So I also need 8 cans of cream of something soups and 4 cups of onions. Plus a few freezer bags and all, but you get me. This will make us a LOT of meals.

Mind you, they won't be eaten "back to back". Too much of just about anything gets old. But as long as you remove as much of the air as possible from the freezer bags, these will last about 3 months in the freezer.

Handy Freezer Meal Helpers

When you're attempting to do freezer meals you never seem to have enough hands! Freezer meals are all about saving time. How can you save time when you need at least 4 hands? Two to hold a freezer bag and two to put the contents inside? Guess what? Here's a great solution!

Hands-Freezer Bag Holders

Here's the solution to the second pair of hands! I've been using mine for years....

They are surprisingly durable.
They store flat, so they don't take up a lot of space.
You can wash them in the dishwasher (top rack, of course)...so clean-up is a breeze.
Using them will save you a ton of time and spills.
They are NOT expensive.

I bought the Jokari brand. There are others. I can't attest to those. I CAN tell you when my pack of 6 baggie holders I purchased breaks...I'll be upgrading to the 12-pack!

Vegetable Chopper

Chopping onions can be a pain. Literally. Usually, when there are only a few, I can handle it. But when there are LOTS I get out this little chopper.

It's strong! It actually chops onions without issue.
Fast prep work too. The faster onions are done, the better. I chopped 5 onions with it in the time it took me to chop one manually.
It's compact. So, it does NOT take up much room.
Psst. It's pretty cheap too. Money's gotta count 🙂

Printable & Pinnables for Crock Pot Swiss Steak

Recipe

3-Ingredient Crock Pot Swiss Steak

Gwen

Have you been looking for slow cooker recipes for round steaks? How about this crock pot swiss steak...it's super easy, yummy AND it works as a freezer meal too!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 9

Total Time 9 5

Course 5-Ingredients or Less, Crock Pot, Crockpot, Freezer Meals, Main, Main Course, Meals, Quick & Easy, Slow Cooker

Cuisine 5-Ingredients or Less, American, Comfort Food, Crock Pot, Crockpot, Freezer Meals, Quick & Easy, Slow Cooker

Servings to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup diced onions
2 pounds round or cube steaks
2 cans cream of onion soup
Salt & Pepper if desired
1 tsp garlic powder if desired

Instructions

Lightly butter or oil the crockpot insert.
Season both sides of the steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Lay in the slow cooker.
Top with diced onions.
Pour the soups over the meat and onions.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (depending on steak thickness); 4 to 4 1/2 hours on high (high really isn't recommended, the meat will NOT be nearly as tender).

Freezer Meal Directions:

Season both sides of the steaks as desired.
Place 1 to 2 pounds in a pre-labeled, one- gallon freezer bag.
Toss in 1/2 cup of onions per each pound of meat.
Pour in your "cream of something" soup. One can per pound of meat.
Partially close the bag, lay on its side, and squeeze out as much air as possible.
Freeze flat and use within 3 months.
Defrost overnight before cooking.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Crockpot Swiss Steak Serving Suggestions & Side Dishes

SO, if you DO find an epic meat deal and freeze a bunch of crock pot swiss steak...then what? What do you serve it with? Sometimes (for me) that seems to be the worst part of meal prep. So here are a few suggestions: