Name: Creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak (Gluten Free)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 16 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 to 4 lbs chuck roast, similar roast, or round steak (I used two venison tenderloins); About ¼ cup gluten-free flour mix (or a single gluten-free flour, such as finely ground white rice flour or sifted coconut flour; 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces; 1 can full-fat coconut milk; 1 tbsp minced garlic; 2 tsp Italian seasoning; ¾ tsp sea salt; ½ tsp pepper; 1 small onion, thinly sliced; Several mushrooms, sliced

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I’m delighted to bring you this creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe today. Mr. GFE and I have always loved Swiss Steak. Before going gluten free, I used to buy the McCormick Swiss Steak Bag & Seasoning packet that came with an oven cooking bag. I believe you only added flour, tomato sauce, and water to the seasoning packet.

Although most of the time I’m a do-it-yourself kind of gal and dismiss such products as totally unnecessary, admittedly, I kept going back to that one. That was because even though I didn’t want to rely on that product, every time I’d try a new Swiss Steak recipe, each was way too heavy on the tomato component, plus the resulting sauce/gravy was never creamy enough for our liking.

So I decided to create my own creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe, adding less in the way of tomatoes and using full-fat coconut milk. Those two ingredients in combination with the juices released from the steak itself—plus some seasoning components as well—create a creamy and flavorful gravy.

I’ve heard others say that coconut milk is not suitable for savory recipes, but I strongly disagree. I’ve had great success using canned full-fat coconut milk in savory dishes. In fact, I’ve used them to “save” or elevate a recipe many times. Too spicy soups, too thin soups, bland sauces, and the like, all become something special with the addition of coconut milk. Full-fat coconut milk, that is.

It might be true that most of the coconut milk beverages—the kind that comes in cartons—are usually not suitable for savory recipes. I know some who use culinary coconut milk, but that’s different from canned full-fat coconut milk. Culinary coconut milk contains water, coconut cream, and guar gum, with the main ingredient being the water.

I use Native Forest canned full-fat coconut milk. The main ingredient is coconut. There is some guar gum, but there is no water included. I love this product for its simplicity and the creaminess and “body” it can give to a recipe. Plus, I find that its hint of sweetness can be a perfect balance to the acidity of some other ingredients, such as the tomatoes in this Swiss steak recipe.

There’s also a new Native Forest Simple, which is coconut only—no guar gum. I have not tried it yet, but I’ve heard it works well although the texture is slightly different. For those who can’t do gums, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Incidentally, it seems that the ingredients in the McCormick Swiss Steak Bag & Seasoning packet itself were actually gluten free, before the gluten-full flour was added. However, this product is no longer being made.

Last, while I know a slow cooker can be great to use during the summer, I don’t actually use mine much during the summer. The foods I make in my crockpots (yes, plural—I have many of them) tend to be heartier, comfort food recipes, which are not what I usually have an appetite for in the summer. Am I alone in that?

If you are a fan of Swiss Steak, I hope this recipe will pass your taste test! Before we get to my creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe, you may want to check out some more savory recipes that use the magic of coconut milk below.

Seven More Gluten-Free Savory Recipes That Use Coconut Milk

~ Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes from gfe

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

~ Coconut Curry Sauce with Veggies from In Johnna’s Kitchen

~ Dairy-Free Corn Chowder from Hunter’s Lyonesse

~ Meat Lovers’ Chicken from gfe

~ Pot Pie (with Chicken, Turkey, or Vegan) from gfe

~ Sweet and Sour Sausage Stew from gfe

~ Uncondensed Chicken and Rice Casserole from gfe

Creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak (Gluten Free)

Finally, a Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe that is worthy! Not too many tomatoes, not too thin on the sauce, and perfectly flavored in a creamy sauce that's just thick enough.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Inactive Time 8 hours

Total Time 16 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs chuck roast, similar roast, or round steak (I used two venison tenderloins)
About ¼ cup gluten-free flour mix] (or a single gluten-free flour, such as [finely ground white rice flour] or sifted [coconut flour
1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Italian seasoning
¾ tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Several mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

Place meat in slow cooker. (I recommend a large oval crockpot or the Ninja 3-in-1 cooking system for this recipe.)
Sprinkle flour over meat. Use fingers to press flour into meat. Flip meat and repeat.
Add tomatoes, coconut milk, garlic, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper to large mixing bowl. Mix ingredients well with hand mixer. If you have an immersion blender and like a very smooth sauce without chunks of tomato, you can use that. I recommend using it for about 30 seconds to further blend the mixture.
Stir mushrooms and onion slices into the mixture.
Pour mixture over roast in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Check for doneness at 8 hours. Roast should easily cut, but not fall apart. If you want a “fall-apart” roast, continue cooking for a while longer.

Notes

The sauce that results from this slow-cooked Swiss Steak is its own wonderful gravy, but it also could be used to make a separate traditional gravy to be used for other meals. Admittedly, Mr. GFE and I are not big gravy folks, so I simple spooned some additional sauce on our servings of Swiss Steak each time we enjoyed it. I added the remaining sauce to my freezer container for future Everything Soup.

Originally published September 27, 2016; updated July 15, 2020.

Comments

Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations says
September 28, 2016 at 8:53 am
You sold me Shirley, I’m going to buy the ingredients for this at the store today and make it this week – sounds great!!!!
-Cassidy
- Shirley Braden says
  September 28, 2016 at 11:55 am
  Cassidy–I hope you really enjoy it! I’m ready to make it again myself. 😉
  Shirley
gina wall says
September 28, 2016 at 10:37 am
I see water as the 2nd ingredient. Not sure if I am looking at the same product you were talking about but it is linked in your blog, so not sure what you meant
- Shirley Braden says
  September 28, 2016 at 11:42 am
  Hi Gina–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 I’m talking about So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk. I looked at the ingredients listing on both Amazon and the So Delicious site here and it shows water as the first ingredient. I take it that you are you saying that you have the product in hand and the listing is different than that. That’s so odd, but if you use So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk on a regular basis for savory cooking and you like the results you get, then you should try it in this recipe.
  Shirley
Ina Gawne says
September 29, 2016 at 9:52 am
Looks yummy Shirley. Using coconut milk in savory dishes is wonderful…I too seem to use a crock pot for more of the comfort foods in fall and winter. Don’t think I have ever used it in summer.
- Shirley Braden says
  September 30, 2016 at 12:45 am
  Ina–That’s exactly how I feel about coconut milk in savory dishes! 🙂 I do use my crockpot in the summer some, for certain things, but I appreciate it far more as soon as it starts cooling off. 😉 Thanks for commenting!
  Shirley
Karen says
September 30, 2016 at 12:17 pm
Could I use a pot roast for this recipe? I don’t do roasts very often, need to become more knowledgeable about when to use what :).
- Shirley Braden says
  September 30, 2016 at 12:35 pm
  Hi Karen–It looks like you’re new here at gfe—welcome! 🙂 If you use a pot roast, which would be much thicker, I’d suggest flipping it towards the end of the cooking time so that the top does not dry out. (Be very careful when flipping so that no hot liquids splash on you.) I don’t think your resulting roast will taste just like Swiss Steak, but it’s still likely to be very good. I also recommend that you definitely use a large oval crockpot because a larger roast will release more juice as it cooks, of course. Please let us know how it turns out if you give it a try!
  Shirley
April J Harris says
October 23, 2016 at 4:38 am
I’ve pinned this recipe to try soon, Shirley! We love Swiss Steak and your recipe sounds fantastic. We all love Swiss Steak in our house. My son is cutting back/working to eliminate gluten from his diet as he feels much better when he eats less of it so I’m excited to give this one a try. I really like how you used the coconut milk too. Thank you for being a part of our Hearth and Soul Community!
- Shirley Braden says
  October 23, 2016 at 11:08 pm
  Thank you so much, April. I hope you all really enjoy this recipe! It’s a good example of a recipe that’s naturally gluten free. I’m sure that your son will see how much easier it is to eat gluten free if he focuses on “real food” and dishes made from real food. I truly hope he has great success, although I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend that he get tested for celiac disease before going completely gluten free. That is because testing will not be accurate once one goes gluten free. I’m happy to talk to you and/or your son more about that if needed. And, yes, coconut milk can be such an amazing ingredient in so many recipes—savory and sweet. I made hot cocoa using coconut milk this evening. Yum! I’m very happy to be part of the Hearth and Soul Community! 🙂
  Shirley
  - April J Harris says
    October 24, 2016 at 7:24 am
    Thank you so much for the advice, Shirley, and especially for the offer of help. I really appreciate it 🙂
    - Shirley Braden says
      October 24, 2016 at 6:02 pm
      You are very welcome, April! Any time I can be of help, I’m here. 🙂