Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Amish Poor Man's Steak

Slow Cooker Amish Poor Man's Steak is old-fashioned comfort food at its simplest: tender beef patties in a creamy mushroom gravy, made with just four ingredients. Despite the name, there's no steak involved. "Poor man's steak" means ground beef shaped into thick, steak-like patties, a budget-friendly stand-in for the real thing.

The slow cooker keeps the patties moist as they cook gently in the gravy for hours. By dinnertime they're fork-tender and there is plenty of gravy for a big pile of mashed potatoes.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Only four ingredients. Ground beef, saltine crackers, milk and cream of mushroom soup. Nothing else is required.
• About 15 minutes of hands-on work. Mix, shape, chill and let the slow cooker take over.
• Budget friendly. Two pounds of ground beef makes six hearty patties, and the rest are pantry staples.
• Gravy included. The soup and the beef juices turn into a creamy gravy right in the pot.
• Kid-friendly comfort food. Mild, savory flavors that go with almost any side.

The Four Ingredients

Ground beef. Use 85% lean. It has enough fat to keep the patties tender over a long cook without leaving a pool of grease. 80/20 works too; just skim more fat at the end. Beef that is 90% lean or leaner tends to turn dry and crumbly.

Saltine crackers. Crushed saltines are the binder and the seasoning. Soaked in milk, they hold the patties together without an egg and keep the meat soft. Crush them finely, in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor, so there are no big pieces to make the patties crack.

Whole milk. Two-thirds of a cup softens the cracker crumbs for the patties, and the remaining ⅓ cup loosens the soup into gravy. 2% milk also works.

Condensed cream of mushroom soup. Two cans give you enough gravy to cover the patties and serve over potatoes. Use the condensed kind, not ready-to-eat soup.

About salt. The crackers and soup are both salty, so the recipe doesn't need added salt. Black pepper is an optional extra.

How to Make Poor Man's Steak in the Slow Cooker

The full recipe card with every step is at the top of this page. In short:

1. Soak the crackers. Stir the crushed saltines with ⅔ cup of milk and let them soften for 5 minutes.
2. Mix and shape. Gently mix in the beef and shape 6 oval patties about ¾ inch thick.
3. Chill. Refrigerate the patties for 30 minutes. This firms them up so they hold together in the gravy. The chilling time is included in the 45-minute prep time.
4. Layer. Arrange the patties in one layer in the slow cooker, whisk the soup with the remaining milk, and spoon it over the patties.
5. Cook and check. Cook on LOW or HIGH until the thickest patty reaches 160°F.

Do you need to brown the patties? No. Browning isn't needed for safety or for the patties to hold together. Chilling them takes care of that, and skipping the skillet keeps this a true one-pot meal. If you want more color, see the variations below.

LOW and HIGH Cooking Guide

• LOW: 4 to 5 hours. This gives the most tender patties.
• HIGH: 2½ to 3 hours.

How to tell they're done. USDA lists 160°F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground beef. Check the center of the thickest patty with an instant-read thermometer. Don't rely on color: USDA notes that ground beef can turn brown before it reaches a safe temperature, and some cooked patties stay pink even at 160°F.

Slow cookers vary by brand and age, so start checking at the early end of each range. A 6-quart oval slow cooker holds six patties in a single layer, which helps them cook evenly.

Recipe Notes

• Yield. Six patties, one per serving.
• Optional extras. ½ teaspoon of black pepper mixed into the beef and chopped fresh parsley for garnish are nice additions but are not needed for the base recipe.
• Prep time. 15 minutes of hands-on work plus 30 minutes chilling the patties.
• Keep the lid on. Each peek lets heat escape and adds cooking time.

What to Serve With Poor Man's Steak

These sides are not part of the four-ingredient recipe, but they round out the meal:

• Mashed potatoes are the classic choice for soaking up the gravy. Try these creamy mashed potatoes.
• Egg noodles or rice also work well under the gravy.
• Green vegetables like green beans, peas or broccoli. For something heartier, try these country-style ranch green beans and potatoes with bacon.
• Glazed carrots, such as these Amish-style slow cooker honey glazed carrots.
• Dinner rolls or biscuits for wiping up the plate.

Storage, Reheating and Freezing

Refrigerator. Refrigerate leftovers, patties and gravy together, in shallow airtight containers within 2 hours of cooking. They keep for 3 to 4 days.

Reheating. Reheat until the patties reach 165°F. Warm them covered in a skillet over medium-low heat with the gravy, adding a splash of milk if it has thickened, or microwave single portions covered, turning halfway. Don't reheat in the slow cooker; it heats food too slowly.

Freezing. Freeze patties and gravy together in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as above. The gravy may separate slightly after freezing; whisk it smooth as it warms.