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Home » Slow Cooker » Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Beef

Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Beef

December 18, 2016 by Judith Hannemann

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Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite

This slow cooked creamy beef dinner only has four ingredients, but it packs a lot of flavor!

Italian Beef: Simple Yet Full Of Flavor

Last month, one of my local supermarkets had chuck roasts on sale for a ridiculously low price. Naturally, I had to buy several pieces to stock up and freeze.

As the weather has turned colder here after a long stretch of relatively mild weather, my thoughts turned more to comfort food rather that quickie meals. So I turned to my freezer stash of those chuck roasts!

To begin with, chuck is a very flavorful meat, so that’s the basis of the flavor in this recipe. It also lends itself to long, slow cooking whether that’s braising on the stove or in the oven, or in the crock pot.

Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite

Salad Dressing Mix Wears Many Hats

Using ranch dressing mix as a seasoning has become pretty standard, but have you ever thought of using other flavors of dry salad dressing mixes? My brother-in-law has done this for years, especially with Italian salad dressing mix. One of his most simple recipes is mixing an envelope of the Italian with a pound of ground beef for his grilled burgers. I’ve done it too with my 3-Ingredient Italian Chicken (which I may add was not my idea but another cook I came across on Pinterest). But now I wanted to try it as a flavoring for this slow cooker meal.

Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite

Soup It Up

Condensed soup is a common ingredient in many slow cooker recipes because it holds up to long cooking times. I find that if it’s dressed up with other flavors, it’s actually a wonderful base for creamy gravies. It’s often maligned, but it’s actually a useful ingredient to have at all times in your pantry. If you prefer to make your own, my friend Holly from Spend With Pennies has the best recipe I’ve found.

When it comes to canned cream soups, I will almost exclusively use the low-sodium variety. This is important especially if you are using commercial gravy or seasoning mixes which are pretty heavy-handed with salt. Therefore, I try to reduce the salt any way I can, whether that be using lower-sodium products or making my own. Remember, if it’s too bland for your taste, you can always add salt easily. However, it’s not quite so easy to remove it.

Originally, I was going to use cream of chicken–yes even with beef–but decided in the end to use cream of mushroom. I admit I found using cream of chicken enticing, therefore, next time I make this I will use it.

Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite

The Recipe

 

Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite
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Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Beef

This slow cooked creamy beef dinner only has four ingredients, but it packs a lot of flavor!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time6 hrs
Total Time6 hrs 5 mins
Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Slow Cooker
Cuisine: American
Keyword: creamy italian beef, italian beef, slow cooker beef
Servings: 4 -6
Calories: 748kcal
Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

  • 2-4 lb chuck roast cut in large chunks
  • 2 cans 10.75 oz each cream of mushroom soup (low sodium preferred) see NOTES
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 envelopes dry Italian salad dressing mix
  • 8 oz cream cheese cubed
  • 2 tbsp cream

THICKENING

  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  • Place meat in a 5-7 quart slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl, mix the soups and the salad dressing mix. Pour over the top of the meat. Add the mushrooms.
  • Cover and cook on low 5 hours or 3 on high.
  • Add the cream cheese and the cream, stir and cook for an additional 1-2 hours.
  • Stir making sure the cream cheese is well blended
  • If thickening is desired, turn cooker to high and mix the flour and water so there are no lumps. Stir into the meat and sauce in the crock pot. Cook for 15-30 additional minutes until flour is cooked.
  • TIMES ARE APPROXIMATE SINCE ALL COOKERS COOK DIFFERENTLY. THESE WERE MY TIMES--YOURS MAY REQUIRE MORE OR EVEN LESS

Notes

If you prefer to make your own condensed soup, there is a link in the post to a very good recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 748kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 237mg | Sodium: 1504mg | Potassium: 1100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 901IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @midnitebaker or tag #midnitebaker!

 

Slow cooked beef chunks in a creamy Italian-flavored gravy. Sure to become a family favorite
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Filed Under: Beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Slow Cooker Tagged With: beef, crock pot, italian, slow cooker

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Comments

  1. Marianne says

    December 21, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    When do you add the mushrooms?

    • Judith Hanneman says

      December 21, 2016 at 11:21 pm

      At the beginning Marianne.

  2. Tammy says

    January 9, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    This is very interesting. I am making it right now. Excited to taste the finished result over brown rice. Thank you so much for the recipe.

    • Judith Hanneman says

      January 9, 2017 at 8:51 pm

      Hope you like it as much as I did–and it will taste super with brown rice!

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