Best Steak Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
This is the steak salad of your dreams! It's loaded with a juicy steak, your favorite veggies, and a creamy balsamic vinaigrette. It makes a delicious healthy lunch or dinner salad!
If I ate this steak salad once a day for the rest of my life I'd be a happy woman. ā truth!
With Mother's Day coming up, I thought this would make the perfect lunch to share with mom. And yes, I know that steak is normally reserved for Father's Day. But why can't us moms have a juicy steak for our day? I think we need to change the stereotypes. (And can someone pour me a glass of whiskey while we're at it.)
Fall in love with this steak salad
- The juicy rib-eye steak is pan-seared to absolute perfection. It doesn't get any better than this. (And I'll share the secret of how easy it is to create this masterpiece steak.)
- Peppery arugula. Because arugula is my all-time favorite.
- Creamy avocados. Yes!
- Sweet cherry tomatoes.
- Crunchy cucumbers.
- An easy to make balsamic vinaigrette with grainy AND dijon mustard to make it creamy and delicious.
How to make the best pan-seared steak
To make the best steak salad, you need to cook the best steak. Luckily, that's really easy.
- Season your steak well. I've listed 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the ingredient list, but you could double this. The first time I had a really well-seasoned steak, my mind was blown. It makes all the difference.
- Cook the steak in a blazing hot pan. If you have a cast iron pan, use it. I set mine on the element on high heat and don't put the steak in the pan until it's smoking like mad. This crazy high heat is what gives the steak a gorgeous char without overcooking it.
- And because you're using such high heat, oil the steak instead of the pan.
- Make sure the steak you buy is at least 3/4 inch thick. More is better.
If you salt your steak well and cook it quickly over super high heat, you'll have the best steak ever for your steak salad. Just look at this gorgeous steak! ā
Steak salad dressing
This creamy balsamic vinaigrette is a favorite of mine and goes perfectly with this steak salad. Even though it's creamy, there's no dairy in this salad dressing.
When you mix dijon mustard with oil it becomes thick and creamy. So thick that you'll need to whisk in a little water to make it pourable. All you need for this dressing is:
- Dijon mustard
- Grainy mustard
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
Once you mix those 4 ingredients together and season lightly with salt and pepper, you'll just need to add a little water to thin it. About a tablespoon will do.
This simple vinaigrette is one I often make. While I've given the exact quantities you need for this steak salad recipe, it's really easy to make a larger batch. And since it will keep for weeks in your fridge, you can have it on hand whenever the steak salad mood strikes. (Like, tomorrow.)
Make this steak salad recipe your own
If there is one truth about salads, it's this: they are the masters of flexibility. They can handle swapping ingredients like nobody's business. This is great news if you're rummaging through your fridge trying to throw a healthy salad together.
Instead of:
- Arugula, try baby greens or crunchy romaine
- Cucumbers, try celery or bell peppers
- Tomatoes, try mangos or persimmons
- Red onion, try radishes
- Avocado … wait, please don't substitute avocado. It's too good!
And to switch things up some more, a little blue cheese or goat cheese is amazing sprinkled on top. Especially the blue cheese. I LOVE blue cheese.
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Best Steak Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
The Steak
- 10 ounce grilling steak, boneless prime rib
- Ā½ teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
The Salad
- 4 ounces arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Ā½ English cucumber, diced
- Ā½ avocado, sliced
- Ā¼ cup thinly sliced red onions
The Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- Ā½ tablespoon EACH: grainy mustard, dijon mustard, and balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Take the steak out of your fridge and evenly coat both sides with the salt and pepper. Add all the salad ingredients to a salad bowl.10 ounce grilling steak, Ā½ teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper, 4 ounces arugula, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, Ā½ English cucumber, Ā½ avocado, Ā¼ cup thinly sliced red onions
- Heat a cast iron or heavy-bottomed pan over high heat. Drizzle the avocado oil over both sides of the steak. When the pan starts to smoke, add the steak and let it cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Flip the steak over and let it cook for 2-3 minutes more. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest.1 teaspoon avocado oil
- While the steak is resting, whisk the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Thin the dressing with up to a tablespoon of water, as needed. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.Ā½ tablespoon EACH: grainy mustard, dijon mustard, and balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, A pinch of salt and pepper
- Thinly slice the steak across the grain and serve it over the salad.
Notes
So yummy! I crave this!!! Super easy to make too
Fantastically delicious!! Used double the grainy mustard as I didn’t have regular dijon. I might make a bit more dressing too. We used NY strip for steak and grilled it. We also used feta cheese. So, so good!! Thank you!!
Wowser! I made this steak salad with (filet mignon) the creamy balsamic vinagrette tonite for my husband myself and it easily scored 10 out 10 for taste and visual appeal for both us! The detailed instructions were perfect each step of the way covering both the steak and the salad. With a bottle of wine to go along with it — we toasted a winning dinner. Two thumbs up for an excellent recipe that we will be making again and again in our house.
Tasty! Used with already leftover steak – which made the steak stretch to feeding two people the next day. I should have made more dressing because we like a lot of dressing on our salads (but we also used more greens). If you tend that way, would definitely recommend making multiples of the dressing recipe. Still we really enjoyed it! I agree that the avocado is a big part of the appeal. Looking forward to trying the steak directions and trying it with the blue cheese crumbles as suggested. Had been looking for a good steak salad recipe to satisfy a craving – no need to go to a restaurant now! Thank you!
Loved the dressing, didn’t thin it with water as suggested. A strong consensus in our family of six isn’t easy to accomplish. Can’t wait to try it again.
Could you use Feta cheese instead of Blue?
Feta would be very tasty on this salad!
Used Rib Eye. Not a fan of raw onions so I used red and white radishes.
This was a delicious lunch.
Wonderful dressing. Didn’t have grainy mustard so doubled up on reg Dijon. Best quality meat is important. Great flavors!
This was so simple to make and amazing, thank you!
Very good and easy.
This looks like a great dinner idea! It’s grilling season. Can’t wait to try this out.
So delicious!Ā
I added 1 Tbsp of maple syrup for a bit of sweetness because my wife doesnāt like mustard and she absolutely loved it! You may be tempted to drink the dressing!
Like the first line of this post says, she could have it everyday! Thank you for the recipe!š
I added some sugar. It definitely needs some sweetness.
Made it!!
Delicious!
Love this meal, definitely having this at least once a weekĀ
It’s really good, but perhaps not the best option when you live in an apartment with average height ceilings. Set off my fire alarms :’) Will I do it again? Yeah probably, but I’ll slap an air purifier right next to it.
Happens to me every time lol!
Can this be made for a potluck?
Yes! I recommend cooking the steak ahead of time, letting it chill, then thinly slicing it and serving it cold. Make sure to either serve the dressing on the side or toss the salad right before you serve it. š
The diced cucumbers make this a great salad.thank you.
Great combination of ingredients
Made this for tea tonight, the steaks were cooked to a tee, dressing was scrumptious and adding blue cheese was divine!
Very easy to make, would highly recommend everyone makes this!
There are any number of good steak salad recipes out there. But yours excels above all in its discussions. A definite ‘yes’ to rib steaks. And to saute it first, then cut it up. (I even do this for my Asian stir fries now). For four of us I did two steaks, After cutting the first one up, I got the second one and while cutting it up, put the first cut up one back in the still hot pan to finish them off ‘medium’ for those who like their steaks a little more done.
And who would have thought that coarse ground mustard does a better job in thickening a salad dressing. Not me. But know I know.
ps – you might get a kick out of my steps for sauteing eggs. Browned butter, or pork or chicken fat.
Sounds like we cook eggs a similar way. I always use brown butter and whatever leftover fat I have in the fridge – tallow, lard, chicken, or (the best!) bacon fat.
made this today! seriously so good! thank you so much
You’re very welcome!
Umm… I think I just learned how to make a great steak. Making this tonight. Just subscribed.
yay! That’s so great to hear!
Can it make a night ahead?Ā
Yes! You can make the dressing, prep the salad, and even cook the steak in advance. Wait until just before serving to mix in the dressing and serve the steak cold if you cook it ahead of time. It’s delicious!
How do you keep the other half of the avocado good to eat the next day?Ā
I leave the pit in it then wrap it in a bees wax food wrap – plastic wrap also works. The cut surface does get a little brown but it’s very easy to cut off and what is left underneath will be good to use. š
That really turned out great. Best steak salad ever!
Thank you for the comment, Dave! So happy that you liked the recipe!
I will do this and for sure, they’ll gonna love it!
Thanks, Mercy!
This is SO yummy! I have made twice now and my husband (not a salad lover) has said this is one of his favorite recipes!Ā
That’s so awesome to hear!!
One of the best salads Iāve ever had! Super simple also quick to prep and put together, very filling while also still being quite healthy!
Awesome! So happy you like the recipe!
Whoa!!! This salad looks FANTASTIC. What a perfect start by using arugula. Definitely one of my favorites. And then all the other ingredients – simple but it looks delicious. Salads are the ultimate summer dish. And your’s is perfect as an entrĆ©e with bringing in the prime rib. The salad dressing with both mustards and the balsamic vinegar is the perfect finish. Thanks, Kristen for sharing.
Thank you so much! It really is my favorite dinner salad!
This is my kind of salad for sure. Hearty and nourishing! Looks awesome, Kristen!
It’s really delicious!!
This steak salad looks insane, Kristen! I already have most of the ingredients and I’m totally making it tonight.
Thank you! It’s so seriously delicious. And don’t you just love it when you have all the ingredients on hand. So perfect!