Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles
This Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles recipe is just like Grandma used to make – talk about comfort food at it’s best!
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I know many folks out there (perhaps yourself included) write food blogs as a way of passing down recipes to their children. I love that! I just wish things like recipe blogs existed back in my grandparents’ time. But alas, recipes back then were written on index cards and saved shoved crammed into wooden recipe boxes. While there is definitely a certain charm to the hand-written recipe, the downside is they disappear much too easily.
Over the years, my sister and I have tried to figure out my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. That recipe was legendary! The cookies were slightly chewy and thin. Like really thin. Like the kind of thin that would make you eat a dozen and still want more. No one really knows what happened to that recipe. We’ve asked family members, and everyone remembers the recipe…but no one has it. At this point, we’ve accepted that it’s gone. (Although secretly I still want to go on a chocolate chip cookie baking crusade to see if I can come up with a similar version!)
Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles
This Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles recipe is another one that was lost to the ages…until now. Fortunately, this recipe is pretty simple. My grandmother used to make a similar recipe, and I can vividly remember the smell of the beef simmering away in the kitchen all day long. (She used to cook the beef in a huge stock pot. I’ve converted it over to a slow cooker instead.) While I don’t have her exact measurements, this recipe is easy enough to figure out.
There are only a couple of key components to this Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles recipe – slow cooked beef that shreds apart easily, gravy made with the cooking liquid from the beef and egg noodles. Unlike baking and those mysterious chocolate chip cookies, there is no exact science here. This recipe – or some variation of it – is a classic old-timey recipe for a reason. It’s an easy recipe that will remind you of the one grandma used to make!
Truthfully, Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles is pretty darned similar to Beef Stroganoff. One of the main differences is that Beef Stroganoff usually includes mushrooms while this crock pot beef & noodles is sans-‘shrooms. (Although you could totally add mushrooms to this recipe.) Either way, the flavor of this recipe is fantastic – it’s the very definition of cold weather comfort food!
Variations: This dish definitely lends itself to the addition of veggies if you have any on hand. We’ve made it in the past with a handful of diced carrots and frozen peas, and it tastes amazing! I think broccoli and/or green beans would also be good additions here, too – although I might recommend adding those when there’s ~1 hour of cooking time left.
This recipe freezes quite well, too! We usually just enjoy the leftovers on the next day, but they can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you think it’ll be longer than that, just put the leftovers in a freezer bag and freeze them for up to 6 months. (I would recommend just making fresh egg noodles when you pull it out, though. The beef and gravy freezes well, but the egg noodles turn a bit mushy.)
It’s getting chilly here in upstate New York, and I’m all about some classic comfort food like grandma used to make. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! (And if you happen to have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes thin but chewy cookies, then send it my way.) Cheers!
Did you make this Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Old Fashioned Beef & Noodles
Ingredients
For the Beef and Noodles
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 3-4 pound beef chuck roast
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 Tbsp onion soup mix
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 16 oz. egg noodles
- fresh parsley for garnishing
For the Gravy
- 3 Tbsp corn starch
- 2 Tbsp water
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups reserved cooking liquid
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
For the Beef and Noodles
- Place vegetable oil in a large skillet and place skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chuck roast and sear for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Using a large slow cooker, add minced garlic, diced onions, onion soup mix, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; stir until well combined.
- Add chuck roast and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours. Once the beef is fork tender – it should fall apart easily. Break roast into bite-sized pieces. Reserve 4 cups of cooking liquid from slow cooker to make gravy.
- Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain noodles.
- To serve, place egg noodles on a large plate and top with beef.
- Pour several spoonsful of gravy on top of beef before serving.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
For the Gravy
- Using a small bowl, add cornstarch and water; whisk together until well combined. Set bowl aside.
- Using a large saucepan, add butter and place on stove top over medium-low heat. Once butter has melted, add flour; continue sautéing, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes or until mixture turns golden brown.
- Add 4 cups of reserved liquid from the slow cooker along with the ketchup and apple cider vinegar; stir until well combined. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, add cornstarch mixture. Using a whisk, stir until mixture is well combined.
- Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, for 3-5 minutes, or until gravy thickens noticeably.
- Reduce heat to low to keep gravy warm.
Looking for more tasty comfort food recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
I remember dishes like this one from when I was a kid. Loved them! This really is comfort food, so filling, so warming on a chilly evening!
Sometimes old-fashioned recipes are the best when you’re craving comfort food, right? 🙂 Thanks, Frank!
I love rummaging through old recipes – there are some real treasures and then there are a few that I have to wonder about… This one looks like a keeper for sure!
This beef dish is total comfort food and perfect for this time of year. I can’t wait to give this a try!
Oh man, I’ve come across some rather ‘suspect’ recipes, too, Kathy. Yikes! In fact, I should write about those sometime! (I won’t remake them, though…haha.) This beef + noodles recipe is a classic old-fashioned recipe. It’s the perfect comfort food if you ask me!
Comfort food is right, David! I haven’t had beef and noodles for ages and now you have me craving it. Looks wonderful!
Now you have me curious about your Grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. I wonder if she used melted butter instead of at room temp? LOL! I’d love to help you get to the bottom of the mystery. 😉
Hmmm…melted butter, eh? I’ve never made chocolate chip cookies with melted butter. That kinda makes sense to me, though. I’ll have to try that out sometime soon to see what it does. My sister and I have been on a quest for 10 years to find that recipe! Thanks for the idea, Marissa!!
Such a classic right here, YUM! I bet this is the perfect dish to enjoy as the weather gets chilly. Recipes that have a family significance like this are so special, I love that this was inspired by your grandmother’s recipe. And with your skills David, I have NO DOUBT that one day very soon, you and your sister will successfully recreate that cookie recipe! It sounds absolutely addicting! (And when you do recreated it, I hope it finds its way onto Spiced so we can all enjoy it, too! 😋)
Well, I don’t know about that cookie recipe, Shannon. My sister and I have been hunting for that recipe for years. Sadly it disappeared at some point, and we haven’t been able to figure out how she made it. Marissa had a good idea to use melted butter instead of room temperature butter. I’ll have to try that! And you better believe that recipe will show up here if we can ever get close to it! 🙂
how comforting does this look david?:-) a very hearty dinner. sad how some family recipes disappear when granny dies… My MIL died a few years ago, and somehow all her family recipe books (handwritten) disappeared after her death. no-one knew how it happened.
Yes! We had the same thing happen. I have no idea what happened to that chocolate chip cookie recipe. She must’ve made hundreds of dozens of those cookies in her life – and now the recipe is just gone. Hopefully we can recreate it. Fortunately, it was a bit easier to recreate this beef + noodles one!
Family recipes are the best! I don’t know if it’s because of years of perfecting, nostalgia or taste (or perhaps a little of everything). This looks like the ultimate comfort food, David. Woke up to frost this morning so a big plate of this is certainly in order. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
I’m thinking nostalgia plays a huge role in family recipes. I mean I can still remember the taste of those chocolate chip cookies! Are they the best I’ve ever had? I don’t know. I’d have to try another one today to see. But I do have great memories of the tin of those cookies sitting on the counter whenever we’d visit! Also, frost requires comfort food. Winter is coming, my friend…stay warm!
Definitely comfort food at its finest, David! This is something my grandmother would make also. I could eat it every day of the week!
I hadn’t had beef + noodles in ages…but man did this bring back memories! It’s a classic comfort food for sure. Thanks, Kelly!!
Now that’s what you call a comfort meal. That beef is so fork tender!
It is a classic comfort food meal for sure! Thanks, Raymund!!
Old fashion beef and noodles sounds like the greatest comfort food. My hubby would love this one.
This is a real classic comfort food recipe, Dawn! You should totally make it for your husband on one of these chilly nights!
What a fallish dish for one to enjoy. Brings back memories of eating lunch at an Amish resturant in Ohio. Only difference was that the it was old fashion beef and noodles served over mashed potatoes. It was a really tasty…
Oooo…beef and noodles over mashed potatoes!? I could totally get on board with that idea, Ron! Talk about combining two classic comfort foods into one recipe!
What you said is so true, very hard to maintain the handwritten – heirloom recipes, those recipes are like treasure! This is one of the reason, for me to start a blog. The look of this dish, makes it so tempting , I like how you’ve used slow cooker, I’m sure sure it must have been a comforting meal!
I totally understand the appeal of a good handwritten recipe…but the problem is they can disappear (or get lost) all too easily. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my own blog to make family favorite recipes that I’ve posted over the years – it’s easier than hunting for the recipe again! Thanks so much, Aarthi!
Beef and noodles, it doesn’t get more comforting than that. I’ll have to try adding cider vinegar…I’ve never used it in gravy before.
The cider vinegar adds a nice tanginess to this recipe, Karen – give it a shot! This one is classic comfort food at its best. 🙂
That looks gorgeous! Yes, grandmas…and mums did it best but one problem was they never had specific measurements, always played by ear…or taste, in fact. Much as we try, somehow, we always find that it’s not quite there. Love the look of yours though – the beef especially!
Ah, you said it perfectly! Grandmas (or mums) would make dishes like this all the time, but good luck getting them to tell you measurements. Haha. This one is a great comfort food recipe – and it includes measurements. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
Bratton tested and approved!
Hah – awesome! Thanks, Isaac. Glad you enjoyed this one!
Making this for the family right now…smells heavenly!
It’s a cold, gray day here…perfect for making this recipe! I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do, Julie. (Now I’m craving it…haha!)
This looks so yummy! Craving for comfort food right now…
Thanks so much, Blanca! This is definitely classic comfort food right here. 🙂
Why would you add 1 tsp of kosher salt? Onion soup mix is essentially onion flavored salt, plus the 4 cups of beef broth, negates any need for salt.
Feel free to leave it out!