Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside, Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is a dinner the whole family will love. It’s simple to make and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
I’m a lover of southern food- so much so that I sometimes wonder if I were actually raised there and somehow transplanted to the north without any recollection of living elsewhere.
Except for my love of southern comfort foods, Spanish moss and sweet tea.
If given the opportunity to pick just one food to eat for the rest of my life…it would be a toss up between crispy fried chicken or Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy. It truly is my absolute favorite thing to eat on the planet.
And Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy couldn’t be simpler to make. It all starts with a cube steak which is, essentially, a beef round steak that’s been tenderized into oblivion then dredged in a seasoned flour mixture, egg and then back into the flour before being lightly fried to a crispy golden brown.
Why is it called Chicken Fried Steak if there is no chicken in the recipe?
I know it’s confusing! This recipe doesn’t contain any chicken, but it’s is so-named because the cooking method is similar to that of pan-fried chicken breast cutlets.
It’s actually quite genius if you ask me, and whoever created this beautiful thing decided that you MUST make a creamy pan gravy from the drippings to drape lovingly over your crispy fried goodness. How dreamy does that sound?
Do you know what’s even better? This easy to make Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is ready in less than 30 minutes. That’s right….30 minutes!
Because the steaks are thin, they cook quickly and evenly. They’re perfect for busy weeknights and always a huge hit with my family.
Where can I find cube steak to make Chicken Fried Steak?
You should be able to find cube steak in your regular market. It’s not your usually “throw on the grill” kind of steak. Ask your butcher to assist you if you are unable to find it.
To me, it looks a little bit like ground beef. It’s steak that has been pounded with a tenderizer until it creates little dimples all over the steak. This helps greatly with tenderizing the meat and making it easy to cook as it will all be an even thickness.
And you know what the best thing is? This recipe is totally family friendly. In fact, your family will love you to pieces if you serve this for dinner, and they’ll be begging you to make it again. I view it as the perfect Sunday night dinner.
We may not be from the south but I certainly try to channel my inner southern belle when I’m in the kitchen. And this recipe is simply fabulous.
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is a comfort food, treat-yourself kind of meal for sure. But it’s totally worth the extra 1/2 hour on the treadmill, and everyone you serve this to will be so happy and content with your dinner choice.
So many people have enjoyed this recipe. I love to read through the comments to see what people who have made the recipe are saying. A lot of people say that Chicken Fried Steak is much better than fried chicken. And I have quite a few people asking if they can try this recipe with actual chicken in place of cube steak. I haven’t tried it that way, but let us know in the comments if you do!
For me, I truly enjoy the crispy coating on the steak, and the white country gravy really puts it over the top. I don’t make this often but when I do… my family is so very excited. It’s the perfect Sunday night dinner.
Chicken fried steak with Country Gravy is comfort food to the max. And it’s a classic that thousands of RecipeGirl readers really seem to be enjoying!
If you enjoy this recipe, I have recommendations for a few more Southern favorites too. Cheesy Shrimp and Grits is one that a whole lot of people have been enjoying. My first time having shrimp and grits was in Savannah, Georgia, and this recipe rivals that experience for sure!
Truly Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, Caramel Cake, Southern Savory Corn Pudding and Southern Pimento Cheese are four more favorites the the Southern cooking category.
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy
Recipe Details
Ingredients
STEAKS:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 pounds cube steak
COUNTRY GRAVY:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1½ cups low sodium chicken or beef broth
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
PREPARE THE STEAKS:
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until ripples begin to form.
- While the oil heats, whisk 1 cup flour, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and water.
- Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Dredge one steak in the flour mixture, then the egg and then back in the flour mixture to coat.
- Add the steak to the skillet. Repeat with the remaining steaks adding more oil as needed. Work in batches if necessary as to not overcrowd the pan. (Overcrowding will cause the steaks to steam and the coating will not get crisp.) Cook the steaks for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Flip the steaks and continue cooking for an additional 4 minutes until golden. Transfer the steaks to a platter or baking sheet and cover with foil to keep warm.
PREPARE THE GRAVY:
- Add butter to the skillet and sprinkle with flour. Whisk together in the pan and cook until golden. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and continue cooking until thickened. Stir in the milk until smooth and beginning to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the steaks immediately with the gravy.
So Tasty! This is the first recipe I came across for cube steak, which I had never used before but it was in my beef quarter so I needed a recipe. My husband and I loved it so much that I haven’t bothered looking for any other cube steak recipes! This will be the one and only go-to for sure!
My family loved this recipe! So easy to make and leaves you wanted more!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!
when I finally go home am going to fix this It looks sooo good. Thanks for sharing so many good looking recipes.cindy buchanan
I made this and I added I little Worcestershire sauce to the gravy and pepper to the steaks and gravy and it was great
made your recipe, in Australia we find it hard to get the steak you suggest but, i found the perfect solution we have minute steak so used that perfect.
My husband LOVES this. Asked for it for his Father’s Day meal
Worked great on chicken gizzards also. unused and non contaminated leftover seasoning stores well in frig.
The meat used in the video is NOT cube steak. It appears to be some other type of thinly sliced steak. If you pound and flatten cube steak, you might get it to look similar to that used in the video, which would enable it to cook faster and be a little more tender. But my experience with cube steak is that it must be cooked for a LONG time, bet done in the oven. It would not be suitable for this dish, in my opinion. I will try this because it looks easy and delicious, but I will not use cube steak.
I am southern and my mother made this dish many times, over her lifetime. You can also use round steak or a veal steak, but you have to cook it longer on a lower heat so that it’s tender. Southern food is, as you say, is comfort food. No one does it better than Paula Deen.
This was very good. I used pork cube steaks because that’s what I had on hand. I think they were more tender than steak cubes in the end. Will use those from now on. Lots of flavor. The gravy was very good too. Thank you so much!!
That’s great to know that it was good with pork too, thank you!
Mine did not turn out crispy. What am I doing wrong?
Having the pan sufficiently hot before cooking helps make it more crisp.
If you cooked it on a lower temp, you can turn the heat up on high, at the end of your cooking time, and crisp the outside as you take it up out of the skillet.
This is THE BEST chicken fried steak I’ve ever made. Meat tender, the breading crispy and the seasonings delicious. The pan gravy was outstanding. Served it with mashed potatoes and corn. Took under 45 minutes including prep time. My son said it was the best dinner I’ve made in years!! And I home cook on the regular. This went straight to my personal recipe book and posted on Facebook with a pic. OUTSTANDING !!!
I would also like to know if there is another kind of steak to use cube steak is often grisly
I’m not sure- that’s traditional for this recipe!
I’ve made this and finely crushed a tasty flavoured handful of corn chips and added them to the flour for super extra crunch.
Have you ever tried chicken fried chicken with a chicken breast?
Please send me your recipes.
I have not!
Great recipe once you scroll past all the useless information about it!
My name is Anne and I’m from the south, the DEEP south in fact – Mississippi !! I now live in Fl. And have lived here 20 years- comfort food is somethin that’s a part of you when u grow up in the south and are brought up eating foods like this!! I too also luv CFS and fried chicken- my grandma raised us kids growing up and everyday we ate home cooked foods such as this and corn bread was served everyday with every meal!! Her luv was cooking and she fed everyone that came through the front door and got insulted if u wasn’t eating! She made the best of EVERYTHING but the ones she made I luved the most was her fried chicken, CFS and chicken n dumplings!! No one made those better than her! And now living in Fl. And not getting to eat her delicious cooking anymore I copy her recipes and have recipes from her recipe box and I keep our family tradition going with what I learned from her!! … the ONLY reason I didn’t give your recipe a 5 star rating is bcuz of the gravy, we always had buttermilk gravy with ours and once u have had it with yours u will NEVER go back to plain white gravy!! The country fried steak was good though.
Thanks– I’d love to know how you make your buttermilk gravy!
Ann your mother sounds like mine. Her mother taught her to cook, I’m sure, and like you her mother was born & raised in Mississippi. They didn’t move to Texas until the 1890’s. My mother used round steak for this meal. She would crisp it then turn the heat down low (like a simmer) and then turn it back up on high as she was ready to take it up. That’s also how she cooked her fried chicken.
I too make this and fried chicken as well as gravy for biscuits
Cube steak is very very tough and grisley. Is there another kind of steak you can use//
I’m southern. This would work with round or veal steak. That said you should lower the heat and cover it so it cooks slowly and will be tender. You can raise the temp up as you’re taking it up, to make sure it’s crisp.
Why can’t I print the recipe or email it??
I’m not sure! You should be able to scroll down to the bottom to view the recipe card. Click “PRINT” on the recipe card.
I had the same problem I always have when I attempt to make chicken fried steak. The meat is stringy and hard to chew. Am I doing something wrong? The taste is good and the gravy came out delicious. Just wish the cubed steak wasn’t stringy.
Happy to hear that you like the actual recipe… the problem with the meat must be the meat you’re using. I’m not familiar with it being stringy…
They came out great. Only thing I changed was deep frying the meat instead of cooking them in a little oil. I might add a little more cayenne next time.
Very easy to put together and tasted pretty good. The gravy itself was pretty good.
Question I followed the recipe to exactly what you have and the gravy was like water. Any advice? Also the steaks were on the rough side.
Must have made a mistake somewhere with the gravy as it’s definitely not supposed to be like water. Steaks– all in the quality of where you buy them. Sorry you had trouble!
In answer to the question if this recipe can be used on chicken….absolutely. It is then known as chicken fried chicken.
I had some steak in the freezer that I thought was good for the grill, wrong, very tough. Unfortunately I had bought quite a few pounds, so this is the meat I used. I tenderized it my self. This recipe was excellent, spices, flavor, thick gravy. I will definitely make it again, we had no leftovers.
The gravy makes the steak – so good!
This right here is heaven!! I need this in my life right now 🙂
Absolutely delicious — excellent recipe!
This looks absolutely delicious!! My family would LOVE it!!
This is one of my husband’s favorite recipes. SO SO good!
The cube steak you asked for is actually sliced off a sirloin tip roast at about 1/2 inch thick then run thru a tenderizer twice. I prefer to season the flour and place in a bowl and then dip the cube steak into BUTTERMILK then into seasoned flour. If a thicker crust is desired on the meat, dip again in buttermilk and then in flour mixture again. Serve it with sausage cream gravy with several pieces of hot sausage crumbled up (Jimmie Dean). Same thing can be done frying chicken and always use a double dip!!!
This was one of the best chicken fried steak and country gravy we’ve eaten! Better than some of the ones you get in the restaurants. I will definitely make this again and will pass this recipe on to my friends and family. Delicious!!!
Nicole – Make sure when you dredge the steak the first time you bang off all the excess flour. You should also pat it dry with a paper towel, before that first dredge, so it only gets a fine dusting of flour. If the flour is too thick on this layer it won’t stick the egg to the meat and breading falls off.
This was so darn good!!! Thank you!
My breading always falls off any ideas
This is the first time I made this at home and it was a bit of work, but it was delicious. We will definately make again.
Tonight is the night ??
Mmmm! Yes please! This looks so good!
This is comfort food at it’s finest.
This homemade version is so much better than at the restaurant!
I’d love to give this a try!
Love chicken fried steak and this one is great.
Such a fun and delicious recipe! Absolutely comfort food!
This is the food that dreams are made of!
My mother taught me this years ago, she just called it country fried steak, and haven’t cooked in years, until I ran across your recipe, liked your gravy better. Thank you
Oh good!
The recipe said cubed steak but in the video it’s not used…
it is cube steak in the video–it’s just hard to see the pound marks on the steak.
i make this frequently. I have made it with beef cube steak and also pork cube steak. we like it better with the pork. it always seems to be more tender and better flavor.
My husband was Wow’d and amazed at how good this recipe tasted!!!
Buy round steak and you butcher put t rough the tenderizer for free.
Chicken Fried Chicken …..Halve chicken breasts long ways. Gently us a tenderizing mallet to flatter the breast halves..they will spread out easily so be gentle with them. Season then dredge lightly in flour then into chilled beaten eggs and then fully dredge in the flour. Some of you say your flour falls off….let the dredged pieces set for at least 5 minutes before putting in the pan to fry. Once you put it in the pan…do not try to move it around….let the edges brown a little before you turn it over, This should help keep the batter from falling off. You can also add a little bit of cracker meal to the final flour dredge to aid in the crispyness…but only a small amount. We have this often and love it as much as we do chicken fried steak! Also great to use for chicken burgers.
my breading always falls off too! I bet this would be good as chicken fried chicken..mmmm
This is pretty much how I’ve always made cube steaks, except I bread them in crushed saltines instead of that second coating of flour mixture. Can’t wait to try your gravy recipe!
I can’t wait to try your recipe. We have chicken fried steak every winter, it’s one of the few dishes I only cook in the winter time. Something to look forward to and never get tired of. LOL I’ve always used beef broth for the gravy, since we like the gravy on mashed potatoes never been a fan of white on white. I may give it a try. I do over cook it so after reading so many recipes to cook for just 30 min I can’t wait to make it again. For me, I think the cayenne pepper is what’s going to make it over the top. Thanks for the recipe.
my breading always falls off
I just made this tonight for my BFS birthday, and it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it and the gravy was hands down the best gravy that I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe!!
I still do it my mother’s way…round steak, dredged in flour dipped in milk/egg back in flour then dipped last time and covered in crushed crackers and fried. I brown one side then turn and put the lid on and it is so tender but crunchy.
I’ve made this with chicken and beef. Both are good.
I make this all the time but use Round Steak instead of cubed. Best if you get it tenderized at the market or do it yourself. SO GOOD
Have you ever tried this with alterations such as almond flour instead of regular flour or even almond milk instead of regular milk? I HAVE to try this one – but we don’t normally do flour or milk. Thanks!
I haven’t tried making those substitutions. Let me know if you try it!
I love chicken fried steak, but have never tried to make it until now. This turned out SO delicious & the gravy is wonderful !!! Went great with mashed potatoes & corn in butter sauce. Thanks for the wonderful recipe and I can’t wait to try some of your others !!
Happy you enjoyed it!
I used sirloin steak that I tenderized with the pointy side of my mallet. Next time (and there will be a next time!) I’m going to have the butcher run the sirloin through the tenderizer. Other than that, I followed it exactly as written and it was delicious – and I’m not much of a meat eater. The spices were perfectly proportioned.
Fabulous recipe! Thanks for posting!
May have to try the milk with egg, the other way did not stick very well
Did you ask a butcher to cut your steaks so thin?
This looks delicious and I’m so eager to try it, but I have a question first. All the cube steaks I’ve seen locally are fairly thick. Yours do not look the same at all. Did you pound them thin? Am I missing something? Thanks.
We are trying to reduce/remove red meat from our diet. Would this recipe work with chicken cutlets? Would I have to make any changes? Thanks, Recipe Girl?
Lori, I grew up in East Texas and this was a staple. They didn’t have cubed steak back then but my mom had an old cake bottle she turned up side down and pounded the round steal until it was thin and very tenderized. It also tipped us off as to what was for dinner. My recipe is very similar to yours. Main difference is we use milk to mix with the egg instead of water. Also I’ve never tried the stock in the gravy. Will have to try that.
Can i make this with chicken
I tried this for first in my life….I’m 79…it turned out so good.hubby wants it twice a week now..one must follow directions as they are written..make no changes..our steaks were as big as a dinner plate…with mashed spuds and pour gravy all over spuds and steak….so good.
That’s wonderful- thank you for sharing!!!
Can you use anyother type of meat instead of cube steak!! Its a little gristly for me
I’m not sure- that’s what’s traditionally used for Chicken Fried Steak…
Can I make this with chicken?
Haven’t tried it!
How do you choose the steak, I have yet to find a tender steak, have had the store double cube it, I’ve beat the heck out of it and yet its tough. This is one of my husband’s favorite food.
I’m thi king of trying this with extra lean ground beef what do you think. Do I don’t have the steak.
I don’t think it will turn out anywhere near the same, unfortunately…
Great recipe. So much flavor. 2nd time I made chicken fried chicken – even better.
Why is it called chicken fried steak when it’s made with beef? Very confusing.
Despite the name, the dish contains no chicken, but is so-named because the cooking method is similar to that of fried chicken.
Great recipe, but when you have some of the steaks finished and are cooking the others – place them on a cooling rack set in a baking pan in the oven on lowest heat. This will keep them crispy and warm, if you cover them the steam they create will soften the crust you fried to crispy perfection. 🙂
It looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
I live in the South so of course I grew up eating chicken fried steak as well as chicken fried deer steaks. I am looking forward to trying your recipe, though, because your seasonings are a little different and I’ve never put chicken stock in my milk gravy. I’m sure my family will love it. Usually for sides with it, we have mashed potatoes and green beans cooked with the bacon in them. Your awesome pictures are making me very hungry!!! Those are fried to golden perfection. Wish I already had the steaks waiting in my fridge to cook.
This is fantastic! It has way more flavor than I imagined it would, since it was so simple to make! I followed the recipe exactly and it was really easy and quick. Even my 2 year old son loved it and ate every bite. The gravy has a rich, complex flavor that I absolutely fell in love with. This is my first time making or even eating this dish, but I adore it now, and I’m definitely making it again! Thank you so, so much for gifting us with this recipe. I’m so happy my family can enjoy this southern tradition now!