Steak Salad – a seriously delicious grilled steak salad recipe (perfect for grilled steak) and topped with juicy steak, fresh blueberries, walnuts and blue cheese! This is going to be on permanent rotation all summer long!
Best Steak Salad Recipe
We are BIG fans of anything steak-related over here (if you haven’t tried these Amazing Steak Tacos yet, you need to) and this steak salad recipe with blue cheese is on constant rotation all summer long. The perfectly grilled, tender steak slices (or cubes) tastes so good with the bite of blue cheese and pop of sweetness of the blueberries – top with some balsamic dressing (or balsamic glaze) or you can use some blue cheese dressing. Either way this recipe is perfect for lunch or dinner.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Simple – this super simple recipe can be tossed together in a matter of minutes and the flavor combination is out of this world!
- Real ingredients – this recipe is made with some seriously amazing real food ingredients and the best part is that you can change them up and play with different flavor combos.
- Meal prep – so easy to toss some steaks on the grill Sunday night, chop it up and pack in a lunch bag with the salad ingredients separated out into dishes!
Steak Salad Ingredients
- (optional) Steak Marinade: if you want to marinate your steak before cooking it here is our favorite steak marinade!
- NY Strips, Ribeye, or Filet Mignon steaks – just grab your favorite cut of beef – any type will work! Personally, I love a good NY Strip or Filet Mignon but a flank steak, sirloin steak or flat iron steak would work great too!
- Spring mix lettuce – the perfect base to a great salad.
- Blue cheese crumbles – in my opinion you can never go wrong with these on a steak salad! That slight tangy and salty flavor is just amazing! Of course you can always use gorganzala or even feta too.
- Blueberries & dried cranberries – a little fresh and dried fruit to add some sweetness and both a great source of fiber!
- Walnuts, chopped – perfect for a little added crunch!
Steak Salad Toppings + Salad Dressing
For this recipe we went with fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, and chopped walnuts but you could easily add or substitute any of your favorite salad toppings like avocado, red onions, corn, cherry tomatoes, etc.! You can also use a store-bought dressing (I would recommend a balsamic or blue cheese dressing) instead of making your own.
Meal Prep Idea
This is such a great meal prep option for lunches during the week! You can throw a couple steaks on the grill Sunday night, chop them into bite-size pieces, and separate the salad into separate lunch containers. Just make sure to keep your steak, salad, and dressing separate so that you can easily heat up the steak and so that your salad doesn’t get soggy from the dressing.
How to Pan Sear a Steak
If you don’t have a grill or don’t want to grill your steak, you can easily pan sear it following these directions:
- Pat steak dry with clean paper towel.
- Sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper (you could also use a steak dry rub).
- Bring a cast iron skillet to high heat and add a drizzle of avocado oil or a tablespoon of butter.
- Sear a 3/4-1 inch steak for approx. 2-3 minutes per side. Use an internal meat thermometer to track the temp – see the Notes section of the recipe card for a guide to internal temps.
- Remover and let rest 5-10 minutes before cutting.
How to Make Easy Steak Salad
Grill your steaks. Don’t forget to let them rest so the juices can redistribute! Cut steak against the grain into bite-sized pieces.
Gather your salad toppings.
Mix together your balsamic dressing ingredients (of course, feel free to buy store-bought too if you want).
Place all of your salad ingredients in a bowl.
Drizzle with the dressing and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- Steaks: we love using a NY Strip or Filet Mignon but any steak will work!
- How much steak for each person? Generally a serving of steak is about 3-4oz.
- Steak leftovers: Grilled steak will be good in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Non-grilling option: Feel free to cook your steak however you want! You can even just use some leftovers you have in the fridge! But pan-frying your steak would work great too!
- Balsamic Dressing: We have a great Balsamic Vinaigrette on the blog that we are linking to here and that is include in the recipe card, but here is a great store-bought one from a little tiny store in Minnesota I love!
- Salad Add-Ins: You can add anything to this salad that sounds good to you – we also love avocado and red onion!
Other Recipes You Might Like
Easy Steak Stir Fry
Pulled Pork Salad
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Easy Grilled Chicken Salad
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Easy Steak Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 4 salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy Steak Salad – a seriously delicious steak salad recipe (perfect for grilled steak) and topped with blueberries and blue cheese!
Ingredients
The Steak:
- (2) 1-inch thick New York Strips, Ribeye or Filet Mignon steaks
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
The Dressing (optional):
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper
The Salad:
- 4 cups packed spring mix lettuce
- 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
The Steak:
- (optional) Marinate your steak first using our Steak Marinade.
- Clean grill and turn grill temperature up to High Heat (450-550 degrees F).
- If you opted not to marinate your steaks, sprinkle them with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside until grilling is hot.
- Place steaks over direct heat and close grill. Let sear for 3-4 minutes.
- Flip steaks, keeping them over direct heat, and close the lid. Let cook another 3-4 minutes.
- Open grill and take internal temperature of the steaks by sticking an internal meat thermometer into the side of the steak. If steak hasn’t reached your desired internal temperature (see Notes) then move steak to indirect heat (I usually just turn off my middle burner and move the steaks there) until they do reach your desired temperature.
- Once steak has been grilled let it rest for 5 minutes and then cut into cubes (or strips).
The Dressing (optional):
- Combine ingredients in small mixing bowl (or small mason jar).
- Whisk or shake well to combine.
The Salad:
- Divide lettuce, blue cheese, blueberries, walnuts and dried cranberries between four bowls.
- Once your steak has rested, cut into slices or cubes and divide between bowls.
- Serve with balsamic vinaigrette (or just a thick balsamic vinegar).
Notes
- Internal Temperature: Rare: 120-130; Medium – Rare: 130-140; Medium: 140-145; Medium-Well: 145-155; Well: 160.
- Balsamic Vinaigrette: sometimes I actually just use a balsamic glaze instead of a balsamic vinaigrette.
- How much steak per person: a serving a steak is generally around 3-4oz.
- Best kind of steak for salad: honestly you can’t go wrong, but I would say a NY Strip or a Filet Mignon would be my favorite for a steak salad.
- Non-Grilling Option: Feel free to cook your steak however you want! You can even just use some leftovers you have in the fridge! But pan-frying your steak would work great too!
- Salad Add-Ins: avocado or red onion would also be really good here! You could also swap out the blue cheese for feta cheese if you want!
Julie says
Fantastic!!!!
deb says
how does using quinoa instead of lettuce sound for this recipe?
Erin says
Hi Deb – I think if that sounds good to you, go for it! It would make a yummy steak quinoa bowl 🙂 maybe add in a handful of arugula for a bit of green? Let me know if you try it!
Kelsey says
This salad was fantastic. We added some shrimp and did it surf and turf style and it was so refreshing and delicious!
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed it, Kelsey! And thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it!
Lindsey Crepps says
This steak salad could not be easier or more delicious. We were looking for a quick, weeknight dinner that wouldn’t heat up the kitchen on an unseasonably warm day. The steaks grill up quickly and relatively mess-free outside and inside all that’s needed is some light prep work and throwing the dressing together. We used a super yummy white Stilton cheese with dried blueberries in it because I don’t like Bleu cheese and skipped the dried cranberries to keep this a little lower on carbs and sugar to make it work with our macros. Healthy, real-food dinner done in just under 30 and perfect for tomorrow’s lunch (I’d reco storing the greens and dressing separately and tossing once you’re ready to eat!)
Erin says
Thank you so much, Lindsey! Love hearing how you modified it and so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review + feedback!
Jen says
This salad is amazing! Great flavor and texture. Very satisfying. Highly recommend!
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed it, Jen! And thanks so much for coming back to leave a review – I so appreciate it! 🙂