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This Grilled Steak Salad recipe is light and fresh, super satisfying, and takes less than 40 minutes from start to finish, including the homemade honey balsamic dressing. It’s perfect for dining al fresco this spring and summer!
For more delicious and refreshing meal salads, try my Big Mac Salad, Crispy Chicken Salad, or Buffalo Chicken Salad next!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Homemade Dressing – It’s so easy to shake up in a jar and uses simple ingredients. You’ll want to use it on other salads, like on this Arugula Salad.
- Grilled Steak – Grilling steak (on the grill or even a grill pan) is one of my favorite ways to make steak. I love the grill marks and slight char.
- Customizable – You can easily mix up the veggies and cheese in this steak salad to please everyone!
What you need
Ingredient Notes
- Sirloin Steaks – I used small, 6-ounce steaks in this recipe.
- Red Onion – Sliced into 1” thick rounds then grilled to caramelize. You could use white onions or shallots cut in half to grill. I just think the purple onions look the prettiest, and are naturally sweeter.
- Olive Oil – You’ll use this both to oil the steaks and onions for grilling and to make the vinaigrette.
- Garlic Powder – This adds a little extra flavor to the steaks in addition to the standard salt and pepper.
- Mixed Greens
- Arugula – The arugula works really well in this salad as it can stand up to the heavy ingredients and has a nice peppery bite to counterbalance the sweet dressing.
- Veggies – This recipe uses red bell pepper, English cucumber, and cherry tomatoes, but you can swap in or out other veggies!
- Feta Cheese Crumbles – Goat cheese would be a great substitute for the feta cheese.
- Balsamic Vinegar – This is the base of the vinaigrette.
- Honey – Adds a little sweetness to the salad dressing, you can easily adjust the amount used to suit your tastes.
- Dijon Mustard – Mustard is a key ingredient when making a vinaigrette. It acts as an emulsifier and stabilizer – which means it helps the vinaigrette combine into a creamy, combined dressing.
- Minced Garlic – Freshly minced garlic has the best flavor, but you can use the pre-minced garlic in a jar in a pinch.
How To Make the Perfect Steak Salad
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Fire up the grill, or grill pan, and top a simple, fresh salad with grilled steak and onions.
Prep – Start by getting the grill or grill pan preheating over medium-high heat. Give the onion slices and steaks a brush with olive oil and add seasoning.
Grill Steaks and Onions – Grill the steaks until your desired doneness and add the onions to the grill. When steaks are done, set them aside and give them time to rest. The onions will take about 10 minutes; they’re done when they are slightly caramelized on the outside, but still have some firmness to them.
Balsamic Vinaigrette – In a small jar with a tight fitting lid, shake together the dressing ingredients until well combined.
Build Salads – Toss the mixed greens and arugula together on a large platter. Scatter the vegetables and feta cheese on top. Slice the steaks into thin slices, cutting against the grain and fan them out on top of the salad. When ready to serve, dress with the balsamic vinaigrette.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cut of steak is best for salad?
Sirloin steaks are great for salad because they are a leaner cut of meat. Flat iron or strip steaks also work well! While you can also make this recipe with a large flank steak, just be sure to watch for your preferred temperature when cooking, as flank steak is thinner and should be cooked to no more than medium to remain juicy.
I avoid using fattier, marbled cuts, like rib eye steaks, because the extra fat can be too rich on top of the lettuce.
Storage
Store leftover, undressed salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Dress leftovers right before serving.
Salad that has already been dressed with the balsamic should be tossed, as the lettuce will get very wilted if it sits in the dressing. I like to let each person dress their portion of salad, versus dressing the whole platter. This way everyone can dress it to their liking and any leftovers can be stored for later.
Recipe Tips
- Other Lettuce – You can use any mix of salad greens you like. Butter lettuce, romaine or little gem lettuce are great for this salad.
- Tip for Grilling Onions – Use a spatula to flip the onions, not tongs. For the easiest way to grill onion slices, you can skewer them horizontally through the middle of the slices with 2 skewers that have been soaked in water. This will make the onion slices easier to turn and less likely to fall through the grill grates if you are cooking on an outside grill.
- Salad Dressing – This balsamic dressing is the perfect complement to the flavors in this salad, but a Bleu Cheese Dressing or Ranch Dressing are also good options.
- Mix it Up with Different Veggies – This salad is so customizable! Try adding some grilled corn or sliced avocado.
More Salad Recipes
- Napa Cabbage Salad
- Cauliflower Salad
- Strawberry Chicken Salad
- BBQ Chicken Salad
- Bibb Lettuce Salad (Bibb & Blue Salad)
- Ramen Chinese Chicken Salad
Steak Salad
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Sirloin steaks 4 (6-ounce) steaks
- 1 Large red onion sliced into 1” thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 4 cups Mixed greens
- 2 cups Arugula
- 1 Red bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 English cucumber halved and thinly sliced
- 1/2 pint Cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 ounces Feta cheese crumbled
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Meanwhile, in a small jar with a tight fitting lid, shake together the dressing ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
- Preheat an outdoor grill or an indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush the onion slices and steaks with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Place the steaks and onions on the grill. Grill the steaks until your desired doneness; about 4-5 minutes per side for medium (130-140℉). When steaks are done, move to a plate, cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Grill onions until they are slightly caramelized on the outside, but still have some firmness to them; about 10 minutes.
- While the steaks are resting, build your salads. Toss the mixed greens and arugula together on a large platter. Scatter the vegetables and feta cheese on top. Slice the steaks into thin slices, cutting against the grain, and fan them out on top of the salad. When ready to serve, dress with the balsamic vinaigrette.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
