Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (2024)

Jump to Recipe

These Three Easy Round Steak Meals start with fork-tender round steak in a flavorful gravy then they’re combined with other ingredients to create three completely different meals. A shortcut meal idea that your family and you are going to love.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (1)

My daughter called me the other day and wanted my round steak with gravy recipe. I don’t really have a recipe. It’s just one of those dishes that I make without measuring. So the next time that I made it I was careful to note the ingredient amounts so that I could post it for her and you.

It’s a family favorite and it’s so easy. You cook the meat and gravy once and get three different meals from it.

Pin It:

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (2)

Also included in this post is a Recipe Round-Up. I’ve joined a fun group of bloggers to put together a roundup of recipes on the first day of every month. This month we’re sharing beef and pork roast recipes.

I’ve updated the post with a quick video to show how versatile and easy it is to make.

[mv_video doNotAutoplayNorOptimizePlacement=”false” doNotOptimizePlacement=”false” jsonLd=”true” key=”bbimwlhfansygogf81tx” sticky=”false” thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/v1595545426/tramvsusag7zh95bltgu.jpg” title=”Three Easy Round Steak Meals” volume=”70″]

What is Round Steak

Round Steak comes from the cow’s hind legs. It’s a lean cut of meat and can be tough if not cooked properly. Tony’s Meats and Market has this photo of classic round steak with a good explanation of the different parts that make up a classic round steak.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (3)

Stores use to sell round steak as pictured above. I’d buy a big thick round steak, about two inches thick and weighing about 6 lbs to make three meals.

Unfortunately, stores don’t usually sale the whole big thick round steaks anymore. Instead, they cut the meat into separate cuts usually bottom round steak, top round steak, or eye of round roasts.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (4)

So now instead, I’ll buy 6 lbs of round steak roasts. When I made it this time, I bought two 2 lb. Round Steak Sirloin Tip Roasts and one 2 lb. Eye of Round Roast. I prefer the Sirloin Tip Round Steak roasts.

What to Do With Round Steak

Round steak is often what you’ll buy at the deli for roast beef sandwiches. It’s cooked just until it’s medium rare and then sliced paper-thin. It can become tough if it’s overcooked, so if you’re not serving round steak for sandwiches, you’ll want to braise round steak as shown in this recipe.

In a large dutch oven brown steak (roasts) on all sides in a hot pan with a little vegetable oil, until the meat is dark brown and you have lots of dark brown bits on the bottom of the pan. The browning adds so much flavor to the gravy, so be sure and brown the meat well.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (5)

Add water (be careful because it may spit at you) at least enough to cover the meat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of beef base (Better Than Bouillon) or 4 beef bouillon cubes if you don’t have Better Than Bouillon and 2 tablespoons dehydrated onions. You’ll need lots of gravy for all three meals, so add plenty of water and add more Better Than Bouillon to taste after cooking when making the gravy if necessary.

If you prefer to use fresh finely diced onion, saute it before you add the water in a little oil. My mom used dehydrated onion and I’ve just continued using it for the convenience.

Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and roast in a preheated 350º oven for about 3 hrs until the meat is fork-tender. It could take longer than 3 hours to become fork-tender, it just depends on how thick and tender the roasts are to begin with.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (6)

Remove from the oven, place the meat on a cutting board and slice ⅓ of the round steak into thick individual serving portions. Cube the remaining ⅔ of the steak.

To make the gravy, mix about ½ cup flour with ½ cup water and gradually stir into the pan on the stove over medium heat until it thickens. You may need to add more of the flour mixture or more water to get the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the sliced round steak to a serving dish and top with ⅓ of the gravy. Toss the cubed round steak in with the remaining ⅔’s of the gravy. Divide in half and freeze in two Ziploc bags for two shortcut meals another day.

How Can I Make Gravy Smooth?

Gravy is a great way to add tons of flavor and to stretch a meal just a bit further. You’ll get lots of flavor from deglazing the pan after you seared the meat before braising the round steak.

How do you make a smooth gravy with no lumps? It’s all in whisking your thickener before adding to the pan.

Grab a whisk and a small mixing bowl, or a measuring shaker, and add your thickening agent (flour or cornstarch typically – lots of people love Wondra Flour for thickening gravies), then add cold water and shake or whisk until no lumps. This only takes a small amount of time so you can make sure it is lump-free before pouring the slurry into the pan or skillet to thicken the gravy liquid.

If you often have trouble with lumpy gravy, try adding some of the hot braising liquid to the flour/water slurry to warm up the slurry before adding it to the pan.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (7)

Beef and Gravy

I’ll typically cook the beef and gravy base on a lazy Sunday. Then I’ll serve it cut like you would a typical roast over mashed potatoes. It’s old fashioned comfort food at it’s finest and my family loves the smell as it braises all afternoon.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (8)

Beef and Noodles

Another night I’ll serve the beef and gravy beef bourguignon style with lots of cracked pepper over noodles with sour cream on top.

The beef is already tender and flavorful. So all I have to do is warm it up, or thaw it if I’ve tucked it away in the freezer, boil some noodles and it’s ready to serve on a busy weeknight.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (9)

Round Steak Beef Stew

The third meal you can make from the cubed meat and gravy is Round Steak Beef Stew. It’s a great shortcut for making beef stew.

The beef is already tender and the gravy flavorful, so all you need to add is the vegetables and change up the gravy a little bit. Then you’ll have a quick homemade stew ready in just minutes.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (10)

If you don’t want to cook enough round steak to make all three meals, I also have the recipes for each round steak recipe individually.

I also have an Eye of Round Roast recipe with carrots, onions, and mushrooms that’s terrific if you’re looking for an eye of round roast recipe.

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (11)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

4.43 from 40 votes

Three Easy Round Steak Meals

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs

Additional Time15 minutes mins

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 18 servings

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Barbara Bakes LLC

Ingredients

  • 6 lbs round steak roasts top round, bottom round, eye of round, or sirloin tip round steak
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 cups of water
  • 3 tablespoons beef base Better Than Bouillon*
  • 2 tablespoons dehydrated minced onion or 1 large onion finely chopped
  • Gravy
  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup cold water

Instructions

  • In a large dutch oven brown steak (roasts) on all sides in a hot pan with vegetable oil. The browning adds so much flavor, so be sure and brown the meat well. Add more oil if necessary to brown all the roasts.

  • If using fresh onion, add it to the pan with some additional oil and saute until tender. Add 1 cup of water to the pan (be careful because it may spit at you) and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits. Add remaining water, add more if necessary to almost cover the meat. (You’ll need lots of gravy for all three meals, so add plenty of water.)

  • Stir in beef base (Better Than Bouillon) and dehydrated onions, if using.

  • Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and roast in a preheated 350º oven for about 3 hrs until the meat is fork-tender. It could take longer than 3 hours to become fork-tender, it just depends on how thick the roasts are to begin with.

  • Remove from the oven, place the meat on a cutting board and slice ⅓ of the round steak into thick individual serving portions. Cube the remaining ⅔ of the steak.

  • To make the gravy, mix about ½ cup flour with ½ cup water and gradually stir into the pan on the stove over medium heat until it thickens. You may need to add more of the flour mixture or more water to get the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  • Add the sliced round steak to a serving dish and top with ⅓ of the gravy. Toss the cubed round steak in with the remaining ⅔’s of the gravy. Divide in cubed meat and gravy in half and refrigerate or freeze in two Ziploc bags for two shortcut meals another day.

Video

Notes

*Can substitute beef bouillon cubes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 307mg

More roast recipes you might like:

Slow Cooker 3 Packet Pot Roast
Sauerbraten
Three Easy Round Steak Meals
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Rump Roast
How to Cook Prime Rib
Pork Loin

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (12)

Pin It:

Pin

Share

Tweet

Three Easy Round Steak Meal Recipes | Barbara Bakes (2024)

FAQs

What's the best way to cook round steak so that it's tender? ›

The best way to cook Round Steak is with moisture, which makes this cut of meat much more tender. Moist cooking includes slow cooking and braising.

What is round steak best used for? ›

You can use round steak as a steak, though it is a little chewy. If it is cubed, it makes a great cube steak. The round steak can also be cut up in different ways to be used in fajitas, tacos, burritos, stir fry, or in a dish such as Spanish Rice or beef stew.

What steaks are good for baking? ›

Yes, you can cook any steak in the oven with this recipe. Instead of ribeye, you can also use sirloin, NY strip, t-bone, porterhouse, or filet. The important thing is to be checking your internal temperature to make sure each cut is properly cooked to your liking.

How do you cook round steak so it's not tough? ›

Here are a few methods to cook a beef top round steak:
  1. Marinate: Since top round can be tough, it benefits from marination. ...
  2. Tenderize: Use a meat mallet to pound the steak and break down its tough muscle fibers.
  3. Season: Season the steak generously with salt and pepper, or use your favorite steak seasoning.
Mar 1, 2024

How long does it take for round steak to get tender? ›

Bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 11/2 hours until tender.

Is a round steak a good cut of meat? ›

The round beef cut comes from the steer's hind legs, thigh, butt, and hams. These are the largest muscles in the body. It is a less expensive beef cut and also quite lean. Round beef cuts provide some of the best value for family meals.

Is round steak better than chuck steak? ›

Additionally, steaks cut from the center of the chuck are very delicious and easy to sear with good results, much like a ribeye, but less expensive. Anything cut from the round portion of the beef, on the other hand, is very lean—but not in a good way. Not like the filet/tenderloin or sirloin.

Which is better chuck or round steak? ›

While both are large, tough cuts of budget-friendly beef, the main difference that sets these two roasts apart is where on the animal they're cut from. Top round roast is cut from the rear leg and is more lean than chuck roast, which is cut from the shoulder and contains more fat.

Do you cook round steak fast or slow? ›

Meat – You can choose a top-round steak or a bottom-round steak. These cuts will come from the back side of the cow and are lean and tough textures. Slow cooking breaks down tough meat fibers and makes tender meat. Vegetables – Slice or buy pre-sliced mushrooms – white button or cremini varieties would be great.

Do you cook steak with butter or olive oil? ›

Much to our surprise steak cooked with olive oil brought out the natural flavors of meat and helped maintain a desirable texture much better than butter.

Should round steak be cooked dry or moist? ›

Lack of fat and marbling makes round dry out when cooked with dry-heat cooking methods like roasting or grilling, so this cut is best suited for slow cooking methods with gentle, moist heat. The low-and-slow cooking process helps to tenderize the meat, maintain its moisture, and result in fork tender steaks.

What is the hardest steak to cook? ›

Skirt, Flank, & Hanger Steak

"Both flank and skirt steaks, while flavorful, are also cuts of beef that are known to be tougher in texture, making them potentially difficult to cook at home–unless you have a grill that can get really hot or you're willing to trip the smoke alarm," says Nunez.

Is it better to cook steak in the oven or pan? ›

Is it better to cook steak in pan or oven? Most steaks can cook in a pan to medium rare. Cooking some steaks in the oven could lead to overcooking or drying out. However, thick steaks like filet mignon may need some time in the oven, too, to ensure that they cook enough on the inside.

How long to cook steak at 400 in oven? ›

As a general rule for a one inch thick steak at 200C / 190C fan / 400F: For a rare steak, cook for 10 minutes. For a medium-rare steak, cook for 12 minutes. For a medium steak, cook for 14 minutes.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rev. Leonie Wyman

Last Updated:

Views: 6197

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (79 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rev. Leonie Wyman

Birthday: 1993-07-01

Address: Suite 763 6272 Lang Bypass, New Xochitlport, VT 72704-3308

Phone: +22014484519944

Job: Banking Officer

Hobby: Sailing, Gaming, Basketball, Calligraphy, Mycology, Astronomy, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Rev. Leonie Wyman, I am a colorful, tasty, splendid, fair, witty, gorgeous, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.