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These Slow Cooker Amish ground Beef gravy noodles are an easy, comforting dinner with tender Ground Beef, savory gravy, and wide egg noodles that cook right in the crockpot. You’re going to love the no-browning method and minimal cleanup.
Why You’ll Love It
- No browning required — the ground beef cooks gently right in the slow cooker.
- Minimal cleanup — everything comes together in the crockpot.
- Noodles cook in the gravy — wide egg noodles soak up all that savory flavor.
- Serves six comfortably — especially with green beans or a simple salad alongside.
Ingredient Notes
Use lean ground beef here, since it cooks right in the slow cooker without skillet draining. I usually buy the 90% lean kind if it is on sale, though anything reasonably lean works. If a little fat floats on top after the beef cooks, just spoon some off. No need to get dramatic about it.
The brown gravy packets are the regular little envelopes from the grocery store—two 0.87-ounce packets. Different store brands all do the job. The fancy organic gravy mix may be perfectly fine, but this is not really that kind of recipe. Save money for decent coffee or a new pair of socks that actually stay up.
Low-sodium beef broth is helpful because gravy mix can already be salty. Add a pinch of salt at the end if needed, but oversalted food cannot be fixed with potatoes, extra water, or more noodles. That can leave enough bland beige food to feed the whole county.
Wide egg noodles are important. They have that soft, Old-fashioned texture that works so well with the gravy. Regular short pasta can work in a pinch, but it may need more broth and a little extra time. Wide egg noodles are the right answer, though.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 (0.87-ounce) packets brown gravy mix, about 3 tablespoons each
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, uncooked
- Salt and black pepper, just a pinch at the end if it needs it—I usually wait and taste first
Instructions
Place the raw ground beef in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Break it up gently into big chunks with a spoon or your hands, but do not brown it first. Although browning may feel instinctive, it really is fine.
Sprinkle both packets of brown gravy mix evenly over the ground beef, trying to coat as much of the meat as you can. It does not have to look perfect; this is dinner, not a science fair project.
Pour the 3 cups of low-sodium beef broth evenly over the seasoned beef. Do not stir it at this point. Let the layers stay put so the beef cooks gently in that seasoned liquid. Put the lid on and walk away.
Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the beef is fully cooked and easy to break apart. Check toward the early end of the time range.
Remove the lid and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the cooked ground beef into small crumbles right in the slow cooker. Stir everything well until the gravy mix, broth, and beef come together into a smooth, savory gravy. If there is a layer of fat on top, skim off some with a spoon before moving on.
Add the uncooked wide egg noodles directly to the slow cooker. Press them down gently so they are mostly submerged in the hot gravy, then stir them around as evenly as you can. A few noodles may stick up at first; they will soften soon enough.
Cover the slow cooker again and cook on HIGH for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the noodles are tender but not mushy and the gravy has thickened around them. Start checking around 20 minutes because egg noodles can go from perfect to floppy faster than seems reasonable.
Taste the beef gravy noodles and add a little salt and black pepper only if needed. Serve hot, straight from the slow cooker, preferably with something green on the plate.
Variations
Stir in sour cream at the very end, after the heat is turned off, for a lovely creamy, stroganoff-ish version. Use about 1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how creamy you want it. Plain Greek yogurt works too, though it is a little tangier.
Frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables can go in with the noodles if you want to stretch the meal. One to two cups is plenty.
You can also replace 1/2 cup of the beef broth with dry red wine for a deeper flavor, or add a little splash of Worcestershire sauce before cooking. A small knob of butter and chopped parsley at the end makes it feel more dressed up.
Rotini works eventually, but it takes more broth and longer cooking, and the whole thing is a little too thick. Not bad, exactly. Just not worth reinventing the wheel when wide egg noodles are sitting right there.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days in a covered container. The noodles will absorb more gravy as they sit, so they tend to look rather thick and clumped together. Add a splash of beef broth or water before reheating, then stir it halfway through.
The microwave is easiest for a single bowl. Cover it loosely and heat in short bursts, stirring between them. For a larger amount, warm it in a saucepan over low heat with a little extra broth. Do not blast it over high heat unless scraping gravy cement off a pan sounds appealing.
Freezing is possible, and it is edible after thawing, but the noodles get softer than preferred. A cucumber salad on the side makes a good meal.
Final Notes
There is something about a slow cooker dinner that makes the house feel steadier, even when it absolutely is not. Dinner is bubbling away, and the windows are fogging a little if it’s cold out. For a few minutes, things line up.
This recipe is not glamorous. It is brown gravy and beef and noodles. It will not win a cooking show or make a statement with plating. Thank heaven. Some nights do not need a meal with a backstory or a garnish tower. This is dinner that tastes like care went into putting a lid on the crockpot before the day got away.
And if there is a little left in the bottom for later, well… that’s about as close to winning as most weekdays get.
Slow Cooker Amish Ground Beef Gravy Noodles
Ingredients Â
- 1 packet brown gravy mix 0.87-ounce packet
- 1 packet brown gravy mix 0.87-ounce packet
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles uncooked
- salt a pinch at the end, if needed
- black pepper a pinch at the end, if needed
- 3 tablespoons brown gravy mix approximate total amount from the two packets
InstructionsÂ
- Place the raw ground beef in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker and break it into large chunks without browning it first.
- Sprinkle both packets of brown gravy mix evenly over the ground beef.
- Pour the low-sodium beef broth evenly over the beef and gravy mix without stirring.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, checking toward the early end, until the beef is fully cooked and easy to break apart.
- Break the cooked beef into small crumbles with a wooden spoon or spatula and stir until the broth, gravy mix, and beef form a smooth gravy; skim off excess fat if needed.
- Add the uncooked wide egg noodles to the slow cooker, press them mostly into the hot gravy, and stir them as evenly as possible.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the noodles are tender but not mushy and the gravy has thickened.
- Taste the beef gravy noodles and add salt and black pepper only if needed, then serve hot from the slow cooker.