Salisbury steak — ground beef patties, slathered in a creamy, delicious mushroom sauce — is a dinner that’s basically brown on brown on brown. Not exactly a dish that’s trying to win any awards for flair or elegance. But many of us have a deep affection for this comforting meal. Maybe it’s something that your own mom (or dad, or Grandma) served on the regular, or that you always ate out at a special diner. Whatever this all-American meal means to you, our Salisbury steak recipe is sure to hit the spot. Ready in about 30 minutes, this quick, easy dinner recipe is also easy on the budget (yay!) and most kids will happily eat it up! For more kid-approved ground beef dinners, don’t miss our easy Sloppy Joes and cheesy Patty Melts, too!
Ingredient Essentials
- Beef: Use lean, 90/10 ground beef for the “steak” patties, and then you’ll also use beef broth and beef bouillon to give the Salisbury steak sauce a really rich and beefy flavor.
- Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms are our favorite, but regular white button mushrooms are fine, too.
- Onions: The onion flavor is quite pronounced, so sweet and mild yellow onions is best here.
- Eggs: Together, eggs and breadcrumbs bind the beef patties together.
- Breadcrumbs: While we love panko in recipes like panko chicken, plain, regular breadcrumbs are perfect for this classic recipe.
- Whole milk: The milk adds just a little moisture to the patties — you could use 2% or skim, in a pinch.
- Ketchup: Our forever ‘secret’ ingredient, ketchup is a classic way to punch up old-school recipes like this (see also: Mini Meatloaf!)
- Fresh garlic: While we’re using garlic powder in the patties, we like to use fresh garlic in the sauce for a bold and bright flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce: Unsung hero of beefy recipes like this, we rarely cook beef without it!
- Pantry seasonings: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, salt & pepper
- Flour: To make the mushroom sauce thick and creamy.
- Butter: To add just the right amount of richness to the sauce.
How To Make Salisbury Steak
- Mix the ground beef with all the seasonings, eggs and breadcrumbs.
- Form the meat into six, roughly equally-sized oval-shaped patties. These are your ‘steaks.’
- Brown the patties: They don't have to be cooked through yet, just be sure to get the outsides nice and brown.
- Make the mushroom gravy: Sauté the onions, garlic and mushrooms, add the garlic. Add butter, let it melt, then stir in the flour, seasonings, broth, bouillon and Worcestershire. Bring the gravy to a gentle boil.
- Simmer the patties in the gravy, until they’re done.
- Dig in!
Tips For Making Homemade Salisbury Steak
- Use your hands to mix the ground beef mixture, and try to have a light touch, just as you would if you were making meatballs. It'll keep the "steak" tender, not tough.
- Take your time getting the patties nicely browned, and work in batches if you need to. You really want that nice, slightly crispy texture on the outside of the ‘steaks.’
- It can be hard to tell exactly when the patties are cooked through, so use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. You want to see an internal temp of 160°F for ground beef.
Serving Ideas
You can throw this dinner together in about 45 minutes and it doesn’t need to be served with anything too fancy, but it does benefit from at least one or two simple sides.
- Salad: Your Grandma might have served Salisbury steak with an iceberg Wedge Salad, and that’s a pairing we can seriously get behind. YES YES YES. But if you want to be a little fancy, or want your lettuce to have a little more nutrition, a Simple Butter Lettuce Salad would be nice, too.
- Mashed potatoes. You cannot beat a mound of creamy Classic Mashed Potatoes underneath a Salisbury steak — you’ve just gotta have something to soak up all the mushroom sauce, right? If you’re feeling ambitious, make Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes.
- If you want a green veggie, a side of Green Beans with Apples and Sage Butter would be classic, or simple, Perfect Roasted Broccoli is always good.
How To Store + Freeze
Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days and are pretty darn delicious! While the finished dish doesn’t freeze perfectly, you can easily mix up the ground beef mixture, form the steak patties and freeze them for up to 3 months. You’ll still need to make the mushroom gravy freshly on the day you want to eat them, but you’ll have saved yourself some time and mess. When you’re ready to eat them, defrost the frozen patties in the fridge, and go from there.
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