This Poor Man’s Steak Recipe is SO easy to make but is a family favorite! It’s such a budget-friendly way to feed big appetites!
Recipe created by my older sister, Brigette.
Poor Mans Steak — Sure to be a new family favorite!
This stick-to-your-ribs recipe is sure to be a favorite for all those meat-and-potatoes guys out there! Growing up, it was always a meal that the men in our house looked forward to. Now, my little boys gobble up man-size portions of this and still ask for more! Although it requires a little bit of prep work, the ingredient list is simple and short.
What is Poor Mans Steak?
The original recipe came from an old church cookbook, submitted by a long-time family friend.
It’s an easy recipe that uses ground beef instead of a pricier piece of meat (like an actual steak). The ground beef is mixed with several ingredients similar to meatloaf, except before baking it in the oven, you fry smaller squares of the mixture in a pan (or you could do it on a grill or griddle) then cover the meat in a cream gravy before baking it fully in the oven.
This hearty recipe is especially delicious during the chilly winter months, but could work any time of the year!
Poor Man Steak Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup cracker crumbs (or bread crumbs)
- 1 cup cold water (or milk)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (you may need more)
- Oil for frying (start with 1/4 cup)
- 1 can (10.5 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup (or homemade equivalent)
How to Make Poor Mans Steak
1. In a very large bowl, mix together the ground beef, cracker crumbs, water, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
2. Press beef mixture into a jelly roll pan (or a 9×13 pan if you’re only using 2 lbs of meat) and chill until the mixture holds together well. You could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
3. Dumb flour into a shallow bowl or dish.
4. Cut chilled meat into squares and coat each square with flour. Set aside.
5. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet or frying pan.
6. Working in small batches, fry a few meat squares at a time, just until golden brown on both sides (but not cooked through).
7. Place fried squares in a single layer on a large rimmed baking pan (there will be a lot of grease, so make sure your pan can handle it!)
8. Once all squares are fried, pour the cream of mushroom soup over them.
9. Bake in a 350º preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked through.
10. Drain grease off meat and serve.
Variations of Poor Man’s Steak Recipe
This recipe is very flexible and can be made to suit your taste buds or whatever foods you have in the house.
- Try ground turkey, ground pork, or a combination of ground meats.
- Use your favorite seasoned breadcrumbs instead of cracker crumbs if you don’t have crackers in the house.
- Use milk, or even buttermilk instead of water.
- If your meat mixture feels crumbly or like it won’t stick together, try mixing in 2 eggs.
- Add in some fresh or dried herbs for a burst of flavor.
- Mix up the gravy on top — make your own, or go with more of a BBQ sauce or spicy sauce. It will totally change the flavor profile!
How to Serve This Poor Man Steak Recipe
My mom has been making Poor Man’s Steak for almost 30 years! She usually served it with some kind of potatoes, a tossed salad, and fresh homemade bread. Yum!
It’s also great with a bunch of roasted vegetables and sweet potato fries.
And any leftover “steak” is great for sandwiches or salads the next day.
Storing This Poor Mans Steak Recipe
If you have leftovers, simply refrigerate them in sealed food storage containers.
You could also freeze individual serving sizes for grab-and-go lunches later on.
How Do You Reheat Poor Man’s Steak?
This is one of those recipes that often tastes even better the next day — so definitely enjoy those leftovers!
Simply reheat the “steak” in the microwave for a minute or so, until it’s heated through.
Poor Man’s Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup cracker crumbs or bread crumbs
- 1 cup cold water or milk
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour you may need more
- 1/4 cup oil you may need more
- 10.5 ounce cream of mushroom soup canned or make your own
Instructions
- In a very large bowl, mix together the ground beef, cracker crumbs, water, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
- Press beef mixture into a jelly roll pan (or a 9×13 pan if you’re only using 2 lbs of meat) and chill until the mixture holds together well. You could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Dumb flour into a shallow bowl or dish.
- Cut chilled meat into squares and coat each square with flour. Set aside.
- Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet or frying pan.
- Working in small batches, fry a few meat squares at a time, just until golden brown on both sides (but not cooked through).
- Place fried squares in a single layer on a large rimmed baking pan (there will be a lot of grease, so make sure your pan can handle it!)
- Once all squares are fried, pour the cream of mushroom soup over them.
- Bake in a 350º preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked through.
- Drain grease off the meat and serve.
Notes
- Try ground turkey, ground pork, or a combination of ground meats.
- Use your favorite seasoned breadcrumbs instead of cracker crumbs if you don’t have crackers in the house.
- Use milk, or even buttermilk instead of water.
- If your meat mixture feels crumbly or like it won’t stick together, try mixing in 2 eggs.
- Add in some fresh or dried herbs for a burst of flavor.
- Mix up the gravy on top — make your own, or go with more of a BBQ sauce or spicy sauce. It will totally change the flavor profile!
Nutrition
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Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy and another on the way. She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
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I make this and my family loves it! Your recipe is just like mine 🙂
Add a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce to the meat and use a can of ready made brown gravy instead of mushroom soup. Yum!
I used to put Worcestershire sauce on my ground meat recipes until I found out it has fish as an ingredient and my daughter’s bf is allergic. I never read the back of the bottle.
I just made this last week, and it was a hit, even with my fussy “foodie” husband. I just eliminated the canned soup and subbed homemade beef gravy instead, because I try to avoid processed foods. Thanks for a winner!!
I see that some people state that they don’t fry the meat, but do you still dip the “steak” in flour ? THANKS !!!
Maybe the following video on making Béchamel(white…soup-base) sauce will help someone new to it. So many possibilities with the end result(creamed vegetables…peas or in green bean/mushroom casserole, etc.) Thanks so much for sharing the homemade equivalent link for the ingredient variations along with the main recipe(coarse/extra coarse grated celery, garlic, & onion … http://www.rachaelraymag.com/fun-how-to/makeovers/cheese-graters … can be hidden in the meat mixture and carrots can jump in there, too)! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfTR7juCgUg
Other mother sauces ~
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/sauces/tp/Mother-Sauces.htm
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My guys and I enjoyed this very much today(didn’t use canned soup…made mushroom) ~ thanks! 🙂
hi ladies, for those who have made this when you bite into it, is the texture like a meatloaf or a cubed steak? just wondering, it looks great
Not as firm/sliceable as meatloaf(no egg binder) but not quite cubed steak with the fibrous aspect. It’s very tender though holds the shape…I used milk(actually sweet cream buttermilk powder with water mixed…low to no fat but very tasty) rather than water and the guys chose Ritz over saltines. Hope this helps ~
yes that does, thank you for your response
This is a family favorite, only I don’t bake it, instead I cook it on low for 4-6hrs. in the slow cooker. Turns out great!
Congratulations Brigette to you new bundle of energy on the way. What a wonderful blessing! 🙂
Love the slow cooker idea! I am going to have to try it. 🙂 Thanks for the congrats – we are excited! Just a few more weeks, and I am glad that the end is in sight! 🙂
We had something similar growing up but mom used cube steaks instead of ground beef. Same process of dipping in flour and cracker crumbs and frying. We called it “mushroom meat” because it was the same breading as she used for frying the morel mushrooms we find in the spring.
And I can always find cube steaks for cheaper!
Oooh! Now I will have to try it with cube steaks!
It is also good made with pork cutlets.
I’ve been making this for about 12 years now and it’s delish! So, I’ll add in a few tips:
1) You can form 1-2 “loafs” out of it, wrap in saran wrap, and chill (takes up a LOT less space than a 9×13. I’ve actually never heard of doing it that way.).
2) Flavored bread crumbs are delicious to use as well. But, if you’re using cracker crumbs (and I usually do), Ritz are the best for this recipe! Any variety of Ritz really!
3) You don’t “have” to dip it in flour (I’ve never done that), but I would think that that is a “better” way to do it. Just putting it out there in case someone despises doing that, LOL, just letting you know you don’t have to. And, as the author here says, do it just until browned–NOT cooked (that’ll happen in the oven).
4) Depending on the brand of cream of mushroom, it may or may not “pour” over the top. So, I usually mix (in a separate bowl) the soup with some milk until it IS “pour-able”….and then pour it over the top. The thing is….it doesn’t really “melt” in the oven, so if you’re just clumping it on top, it’s going to come out of the oven just like that (only, browned…). So definitely make sure you can “pour” it over the top.
This is one of my husbands FAVORITE recipes….and my husband is a huge steak fan, haha! Good luck ladies, and thanks to your guest poster for sharing this much-loved recipe!! :o)
{PS: I originally got it out of an Amish cookbook. The Amish are very frugal and are amazing at being able to turn out some delicious, stick-to-your-rubs food with very few, very inexpensive ingredients!}
I can’t stand my typos above. *blush* Just sayin’.
Wow! These are some very helpful tips!! Thanks SO much for taking the time to type this out. 🙂
Thanks for these awesome tips! I really wanna try this for our family 🙂
We make a version of this. The only differences are we use milk instead of water and put a package of onion soup mix on before the mushroom soup. This is a favorite of many people. I make this every few years for our church’s valentine dinner that I help coordinate. Makes a good main dish that is liked by many, hard to mess up (like dry pork chops or chicken), and is not expensive per serving.
Do you sprinkle the onion soup on top before pouring the soup or mix it with the meat? Thanks!
I sprinkle it on the meat then put the soup on top of that.
Love these ideas – thanks!
Do you add any type of liquid to the soup before pouring over top? Or just leave in condensed form?
I don’t add any extra liquid – however, if you read the comments of Tasha below, she has some really helpful tips that will thoroughly answer this question!
My Great Aunt used to make this and we all loved it! Pinning for later!
It is so awesome to see one of our families favorite recipes on this blog!! I’ve been skipping the ‘fry in oil’ part and it turns out just fine. This is a great dish to make in batches and freeze.
Thanks for the ‘can be frozen’ tip.
At what point do you freeze it? Raw or after baking? I thought that the “cream of” soups didn’t freeze well.
I freeze the browned patties without any topping. When you do that, you can actually dump them into a pan while frozen, pour the soup on top and bake. Great for a VERY last minute company meal!
this looks fantastic, thanks so much!
You are welcome!
is there anything that can be used as a sub for the cream of Mushroom soup , my mother-in-law is highly allergic to them and cant eat anything that has them in it
Thank you
Just pick your favorite cream soup… maybe cream of onion
I agree with susan l… Any kind of cream soup that compliments ground beef flavor, or make your own cream or brown gravy.