Prep
Cook
Serves
10 mins.
30 mins.
4
I love a good nostalgic meal and this is one that takes me right back to third grade. Our school lunch manager came up with the idea to allow each class to add a meal to the lunch menu. My third grade teacher contributed her Swiss Steak recipe. It was a memorable meal since my mother didn’t make Swiss Steak at home it was the first and only time I ever had Swiss Steak. Now, nearly 35 years later, I’m trying to recreate the memory in my own home.
Traditionally, Swiss Steak is made with a Round Steak cut about the size of your palm, but I wanted a quick weeknight meal and an Easy Swiss Steak, so I used a small pre-cut steak pieces from the meat department.
The steak that I purchased was cut for tacos into 1/2 inch size thin pieces. The small thin cut makes stewing the meat much faster and it’s easier to achieve a tender texture when you use smaller cuts of meat.
If you can’t find pieces of pre-cut meat that have been cut into small cubes 1/2 inch in size, check with your butcher. They will generally work with you to ensure that you walk away happy.
Fajita pieces will work for this recipe as well, I would cut my pieces into smaller sizes, but if you don’t want to go to the extra trouble then you may need to add a little more broth or water as the meat simmers/stews to ensure that the sauce doesn’t dry out in the pan of Swiss Steak.
I didn’t purchase an expensive cut of steak. Since other ingredients are added to the skillet and the meat stews in a gravy of sorts, I didn’t feel that a more expensive steak was necessary.
Serve the Easy Swiss Steak over a bed of Pressure Cooker White Rice or even Cauliflower Rice if you’re cutting carbs out of your diet.
I hope that you’ll try this recipe today and leave a comment below. Also, for daily updates, follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest using the social media links found on this page.
Wash and dry the vegetables. Dice the onions and peppers into 1/2 inch to 1 inch size pieces, and do the same with the tomatoes, remove the seeds and core from the pepper and tomatoes. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes use a 15 ounce can of stewed tomatoes (don’t drain). Dice the celery into small pieces.
If your steak isn’t already cut into small bite sized pieces cut it smaller if you prefer a shorter stewing time. In a large nonstick skillet, over medium high heat, warm 1 Tbsp. of oil. Add the steak in batches so the pan doesn’t crowd up, since it will prevent browning. Brown the steak pieces on both sides. Make sure to sprinkle a portion of the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and dried parsley over the steak as it cooks, saving some of the seasoning for the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Go easy on the salt since beef broth has quite a bit of salt in it.
Once the steak is browned remove it from the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil. Warm the oil and then add the bell pepper, onion pieces, and celery. Sprinkle them with the remaining seasonings and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. Next, add the diced tomatoes to the pan, and cook them for about 3 minutes.
Add the steak back to the skillet, and pour over the beef broth. Stir everything together and allow the ingredients to come up to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium low to maintain a low simmer. Stir the Easy Swiss Steak often. As the tomatoes cook they will break down and thicken the sauce.
If your sauce doesn’t thicken enough, towards the end bring it up to a boil to reduce the sauce, or add a cornstarch slurry (I didn’t need to do either since I wanted the full amount of sauce that was left in my pan).
My Swiss Steak pieces were tender within 30 minutes of starting the dish, but test your pieces and adjust the cooking time and seasoning if necessary at the 30 minute mark. Serve over white rice or cauliflower rice.
Note – the leftovers make a delicious quesadilla filling.
