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Slow Cooked Steak Diane Casserole – a great make-ahead meal, perfect for a cosy evening. This isn’t your regular beef stew, this one is rich, creamy and luxurious. You can cook in the oven, on the hob (stovetop) or in the slow cooker.
“Just had this for dinner. Absolutely yum.”
Nicky’s Notes
I suppose it’s classed as retro these days, but I love Steak Diane.
I do have a steak recipe and a Diane sauce recipe too, but this is the one that I come back to the most: Steak Diane, re-made in casserole format.
Hands up here, it hasn’t got the posh-ness of a beautiful fillet steak, but it’s got all the taste, it can be made ahead, and you can serve a crowd without having to re-mortgage your house to pay for the ingredients.
I’ve served this up so many times when we’ve had people over for dinner, and it’s always an impressive meal, full of flavour and minimal stress.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Steak Diane Casserole
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Best cut of beef to use for Steak Diane Casserole:
- Chuck steak (also called braising steak) – comes from the forequarter – consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade, and upper arm.
- It’s a tough but very flavorful cut of meat. It has a lot of connective tissue, which needs long slow cooking to break down and become tender. This is the cut I always use for this casserole.
- Silverside (bottom round) – comes from the hindquarter – just above the back leg. This is a good alternative.
- It’s a leaner, inexpensive cut of meat with little marbling. The lack of fat means it doesn’t have as much flavour as chuck/braising steak, so make sure you use good quality stock to cook it in. It’s good for slow cooking, but must be cooked with moisture/liquid so doesn’t dry out and become tough.
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Brown seasoned and floured braising beef in a large casserole pan. Add onion then stir in garlic, tomato puree, brandy/whisky, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock and mushrooms and bring to a simmer. Place in the oven (see notes in recipe card for stovetop/crockpot) for 3 hours, then stir in cream and serve.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe makes a enough for 8-10 people. It freezes beautifully, so even if you’re only making for four, i’d recommend making the it this size so you can freeze some for another night. However, if you prefer, you can halve the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. So to make it for four people you would reduce all of the ingredients by half.
Keep a close eye on it and check it after the first 90 minutes of cooking, just to ensure it doesn’t cook dry (it’s more likely with a smaller portion as there’s a lot less liquid). If it starts to look a little dry, add a good splash of stock or water. - Swap out the cream for creme fraiche, or you can leave it out entirely if you prefer a non-creamy version.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
I love to serve this up some some kind of potato (usually mash) and green vegetables. Try my:
- Creamy mashed potatoes or crispy saute potatoes
- It also tastes amazing as a filling for a baked potato or a topping for chips
- Roasted broccoli, green beans or kale make lovely sides.
Potato Sides
📺 Watch how to make it
Slow Cooked Steak Diane Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1.5 kg (3.3lb) braising beef or casserole beef chopped into bitesize chunks
- 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour you can use gluten-free plain flour if required
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp tomato puree paste for US
- 4 tbsp brandy or whisky
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 litre (4 1/4 cups) beef stock 3 stock cubes plus water is fine, or use homemade stock or bouillon for gluten-free
- 300 g (10.5 oz) chestnut mushrooms thickly sliced
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch ins USA) mixed with 3 tbsp cold water, to make a slurry (optional)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
- small bunch fresh parsley roughly chopped
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F (fan).
- Heat the oil in a large casserole pan over a high heat.2 tbsp oil
- Place the chopped beef in a bowl and sprinkle on the flour, salt and pepper. Toss everything together, then add the beef to the casserole pan. Cook for 6-8 minutes, turning regularly until browned all over (you can do this in batches if you like, but I find it doesn't impact the look or taste of this recipe to cook it all in one go)1.5 kg (3.3lb) braising beef or casserole beef, 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Once the meat is browned, turn down the heat to medium and add the onion. Continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly until the onion starts to soften.1 large onion
- Stir in the garlic and tomato puree, cook for a further minute, then add the brandy/whisky, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and mushrooms.4 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 4 tbsp brandy or whisky, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 litre (4 1/4 cups) beef stock, 300 g (10.5 oz) chestnut mushrooms
- Stir everything together, being sure to scrape up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to the boil, stir again then place a lid on the pan and place the pan in the oven* to cook for 3 hours, until the beef is tender. Check a few times during the last hour of cooking to ensure the casserole doesn't cook dry. Add a good splash of boiling water or stock if it starts to look too dry.
- Once the meat is tender, remove from the oven. If you'd like to thicken the sauce a little, stir in the cornflour slurry.1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch ins USA) mixed with 3 tbsp cold water, to make a slurry
- Add the cream and stir, then top with freshly chopped parsley and a sprinkling of black pepper.120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream, small bunch fresh parsley roughly chopped, pinch black pepper
- Serve with mashed potato and green veg such as broccoli, green beans, and kale
Video
Notes
Make in the Slow Cooker:
If you’re cooking in the slow cooker, you’ll need to use less stock, as it won’t evaporate as it does in the oven or on the hob/stove top.Reduce the stock by half to 500ml (a little over 2 cups).
Once you’ve brought the casserole to the boil in step 6, transfer the contents to your slow cooker and cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours. This is the crockpot (<– affiliate link) I use. It has a searing function, so you can cook it all in the slow cooker without having to use a pan at all.
Make on the hob/stove top:
Instead of placing in the oven, you can cook this casserole over a very low heat on the hob/stovetop, with the lid on for 2-3 hours. Check the casserole and give it a stir a few times during cooking to prevent it from sticking. If it starts to look a little dry, you can add in a splash of water or stockCan I make it ahead?
Yes, make the casserole, then cool, cover and refrigerate it. Reheat in a lidded dish in the oven at 160C/320F (fan) for 35-45 minutes until piping hot throughout. Stir once or twice during this time to ensure it heats evenly. You can reheat on the hob if you prefer, although you will need to be careful when stirring so you don’t break down the tender chunks of beef too much. Reheat over a low-medium heat, stirring often until piping hot throughout – which should take 10-15 minutes.Can I freeze it?
Yes, cool, cover and freeze the casserole, then defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat as per the ‘Can I make it ahead?’ instructions above. Nutritional information is per serving, based on this recipe serving 10 people and doesn’t include the serving suggestions of mashed potatoes and green veg.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was first published in October 2017. Updated in March 2020 with tips, video and step-by-step photos then again later for housekeeping reasons.
🍲 More fantastic Casserole recipes
Equipment:
In order to make this Slow Cooked Steak Diane Casserole recipe you will need:
-
- A good Kitchen knife. I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.
- Chopping Board
- Casserole pan
- Garlic Press
- Measuring Spoons
- A frying pan/skillet
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.
- Potato Ricer HINT: Using a potato ricer makes the smoothest mash potato you will every taste. I recommend getting one!
Easy to slow cook. Added carrots for colour. Now a favourite.
Amazing recipe! Slow cooked for three hours and while the meat wasn’t as tender, it still taste awesome. Would it be okay to reheat the dish in a slow cooker after the cream was put in?
Can you please confirm – do I freeze this after adding the cream, or do I add the cream after defrosting and whilst re-heating? Thanks ..
So long as you’re using full-fat cream it should be fine to freeze after adding the cream.
Just had this for dinner. Absolutely yum.
Hi Nicky, I made this casserole tonight and boy, it was absolutely yum! Served steamed green beans and mashed potatoes with it and it was delicious.
For us, its definitely a keeper!
Omg looks so yumski Im Making today! but nowhere does it say what temperature to have the oven at Im doing it at 180 degrees celsius and keeping an eye on it . Cant wait to try it
Hi Kerrylee,
The recipe card is near the bottom of the post (there’s a jump-to-recipe button at the top of every post). That’s where you’ll find the full list of ingredients, instructions, nutritional information etc.
Step one says: Preheat the oven to 160C/320F.
Sorry you missed it, hope the recipe still turned out well for you.
Is there a substitute fort the whiskey or brandy?
An absolutely fabulous is recipe. Great for dinner party and never fails to impress. Thank you
What a treat and a change from the normal beef stew or stroganoff.
Didn’t have parsley so used thyme it seemed to be okay ..
Was very tasty… I did flour the meat and batch cook to get the colour and flavour.. it’s worth the extra time .
I just made this yesterday. It came out great.
I did use 3.5 oz non fat Greek yogurt in place of heavy cream.
I can’t handle heavy cream.