Salad with Steak Recipe
With premium ingredients and special touches like homemade pickled onions and feta dressing, this Steak Salad is like a high-end steakhouse salad right at home.
Steak Salad Recipe
Everybody in my family loves a really hearty salad with lots of delicious ingredients for dinner. We take our dinner salads seriously! They have to be enticing enough that we can’t wait to sit down at the table, and filling enough so we’re not snacking all evening.
This simple but gourmet-tasting steak salad recipe is one that’s on our menu time and time again, especially during grilling season. With special touches like seasoning the tomatoes separately, homemade quick pickled red onions and homemade dressing, it feels really special even though it’s not a lot of work.
And I’m sharing my little steak salad secret today – I use basil as a salad green. As in, I put so much basil in my salad that you might mistake it for spinach on first glance (and there is also spinach going on here). It sounds odd, but it adds such a burst of bright flavor that pairs so well with the rich steak and avocado. Try it and I hope you’ll love it, too.
Why You Will Love This Steak and Salad Recipe
- With premium ingredients like steak and avocado, this recipes allows you to recreate the experience of a high-end steakhouse salad right at home.
- Almost every single element can be washed, cooked, chopped and/or prepped in advance. It’s perfect for meal prep. Keep everything in the fridge and combine just before eating.
- Customize this recipe with your favorite add-ins or change up the dressing.
Steak Salad Ingredients
- flank steak – the main protein source of the salad, providing rich, savory flavor.
- salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and paprika – for seasoning the steak before grilling it.
- tomatoes – I like quartered grape or cherry tomatoes here, but you could use 1 large tomato, chopped up.
- greens – I like a combination of arugula and spinach (which is sold in a convenient 5 ounce package at many grocery stores), but you can use all arugula, all spinach, or any other type of greens you like.
- basil – I like to use so much basil that it could be considered an additional salad green, but you can measure the basil with your heart, to your preference.
- radishes – these add a crunchy texture and nice peppery flavor that goes so well with the steak.
- avocados – add a creamy, rich texture to complement the crisp vegetables.
- cucumber – contributes a cool, refreshing crunch.
- pickled onions – I like to add about a half batch of Quick Pickled Red Onions to this salad for a tangy, slightly sweet addition that pairs so well with the steak and avocado.
- dressing – more on this below, under “Best Dressing for Steak Salad.”
How to Make Salad with Steak
1. SEASON STEAK. Stir together the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and paprika and rub it on all sides of the steak. Refrigerate the steak at least 30 minutes so the spice rub has a bit of time to soak into the meat.
2. GRILL. Grill the steak over medium-high heat until it is grill-marked, and then reduce the heat and continue cooking until the center of the steak reaches 130 degrees F for medium-rare. Allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain. You can also do this step in a grill pan or cast iron skillet if you do not have an outdoor grill.
3. SEASON TOMATOES. Place the tomatoes on a small plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. GREENS. Arrange the arugula and/or spinach, and basil in on a large platter of divided among 4 salad bowls, and toss to combine.
5. FINISH. Arrange the radishes, avocados, cucumber, tomatoes, and sliced steak over the greens. Serve with the pickled red onions and dressing.
Home Chef Tips
- Invest in an instant read thermometer before grilling steak. This is the best, easiest way to check doneness without slicing into the steak and having its juices seep out.
- It’s important to let the steak rest for 5 minutes after cooking so that the juices can redistribute. Don’t skip this step!
- Make sure you are slicing crosswise against the grain of the steak for the tenderest bites. You should be able to see the grain if you look closely.
- Some other fun additions to this salad are corn kernels, pepitas, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
How to Serve Steak with Salad
This salad is essentially a meal in itself, especially when you serve it with our homemade garlic bread recipe or easy yeast rolls for mopping up any extra dressing.
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Best Dressing for Steak Salad
The dressing can make or break a salad, and there’s lot of great options to drizzle over your bowl:
- Creamy Feta Dressing – my top choice for this salad with steak recipe, as I like the way the funky and salty feta pairs so well with the beef (as well as the little bit of Worcestershire sauce in the dressing). You can also make this same dressing with blue cheese.
- Honey Mustard Dressing – another great pairing for this best steak salad recipe. The sweetness of the honey and tanginess of the mustard is a great dressing for peppery arugula.
- Raspberry Vinaigrette – maybe not the first dressing you think of for this salad, but it works really well here!
- Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar – the simplest, and a classic for a reason. A little bit of lemon juice or lime juice squeezed over this salad, along with some olive oil, is also a great “dressing.”
Storing Steak Salad
All elements of this salad can be washed, cooked, chopped and/or prepped in advance, except for the avocado, which I would slice up fresh right before eating. Keep the ingredients in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator until it’s time to toss it all together. This is also the best way to store leftovers.
Steak with Salad Recipe FAQs
Yes, steak and salad can be a very healthy meal option, with lots of protein, iron, fiber and essential vitamins.
Flank steak, New York strip steak, top sirloin steak and ribeye steak are all tender and flavorful choices for salad, so you can pick the one that fits your budget the best. No matter what cut you use, always slice the steak against the grain for the best results.
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Steak and Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ¼ pounds flank steak
- ½ pint grape tomatoes quartered
- 1 package (5 ounces) arugula or arugula and baby spinach mix roughly chopped
- ½ to 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 radishes thinly sliced
- 2 avocados peeled, pitted and sliced
- ¼ English cucumber thinly sliced
- ½ batch Quick Pickled Red Onions
- ½ batch Creamy Feta Dressing
Instructions
- In small bowl, stir 1 teaspoon salt, chili powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and paprika until well combined. Place steak on plate and rub all sides of steak with spice mixture, pressing the spices into the meat so they adhere. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer steak to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Preheat grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Transfer steak to grill and cook 4 minutes, turning once halfway through. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking 6 to 8 minutes longer or until center of steak reaches 130 degrees F for medium rare, turning occasionally.
- Transfer steak to clean plate and cover lightly with foil. Let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain.
- Meanwhile, place tomatoes on small plate and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Arrange arugula and basil on large platter and toss lightly to combine.
- Arrange radishes, avocados, cucumber, sliced steak and tomatoes over greens. Serve with Quick Pickled Red Onions and Creamy Feta Dressing.
