Best Steak Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
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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 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. ← 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 we 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 mustard and Dijon mustard for a creamy, delicious finish.
Steak salad dressing
This creamy balsamic vinaigrette is a favorite of mine and goes perfectly with this steak salad. Although it’s creamy, this salad dressing contains no dairy.
When you mix Dijon mustard with oil, it thickens and becomes 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’ve mixed those four ingredients and lightly seasoned them with salt and pepper, add a little water to thin them out. About a tablespoon will do.
This simple vinaigrette is one I often make. While I’ve provided the exact quantities you need for this steak salad recipe, it’s easy to scale up to 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 it your own!
swapping ingredients like nobody’s business. This is great news if you’re rummaging through your fridge trying to throw a 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.
Best Steak Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
The Steak
- 10 ounce grilling steak (boneless prime rib)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
The Salad
- 4 ounces arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
- ½ English cucumber (diced)
- ½ avocado (sliced)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onions
- ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)
The Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- ½ tablespoon grainy mustard
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Take the steak out of the fridge and season both sides evenly with the salt and pepper.10 ounce grilling steak, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the avocado oil over both sides of the steak. When the pan starts to smoke, add the steak and cook it undisturbed for 2 minutes. Flip the steak over and let it cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest while you prepare the salad.2 teaspoons 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.½ tablespoon grainy mustard, ½ tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, A pinch of salt and pepper, ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Add the arugula, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, red onion, and if using, the blue cheese to a salad bowl.4 ounces arugula, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, ½ English cucumber, ½ avocado, ¼ cup thinly sliced red onions, ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
- Pour the dressing over top and toss to coat.
- Thinly slice the steak across the grain.
- Add the dressed salad to a serving platter and place the sliced steak on top. Alternatively, divide the salad between two plates with ½ of the steak over each.
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Equipment Used
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
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For more inspiration, check out all of my salad recipes!
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!
OK. I had a sirloin tip steak that I made last night with caramelized onions (heavenly). I did cook on my stovetop and boy did it create smoke! I used my instant read thermometer and it took a bit on each side to get to the 135 degree mark. It set off all of my smoke alarms and it took hours to clear the smoke from my house – with an air purifier! Is this something that just happens? I looked up this recipe because I wanted to use the leftover steak and onions in a salad for our leftover dinner tonight. I don’t have an outdoor grill. So is setting off smoke alarms just part of the deal? I thought I was doing something wrong – even though the steak was delicious!
I set the smoke alarms off every time I cook steak indoors – I’ve just accepted it as part of the deal. If it’s not too cold outside I’ll open up the doors, which clear the air much faster than my air purifiers can.
Thanks for that explanation. I just hadn’t read to expect that to happen anywhere! (I had a clue when you said the pan would start to smoke but I read this the night AFTER making it.) Or I thought I was burning it…I live in Philadelphia so it was a bit cold (we opened the windows and doors anyway). I just hadn’t cooked many steaks (I have done pot roasts, etc.). I frequent a dairy/farm store in the suburbs (they have their own dairy (hubby does dairy) AND angus beef). The sirloin tip steak was surprisingly good especially for the $5.99/lb price tag (I think. It was very reasonable).
I can’t believe a “leftover” salad could be so beautiful or delicious! I had a leftover romaine heart, spring mix (about 2 1/2 – 3 cups), leftover raw mushrooms (from homemade GF sourdough crust pizzas, some leftover basmati rice, leftover steak from the previous night, leftover caramelized balsamic onions and made this recipe’s dressing using a little less oil, dijon mustard, balsamic and a garlic mustard I had from a local farm. (My avocadoes were still green!) I will definitely be making the salad dressing in the future! It is genius that you can get a salad dressing this creamy without any thickeners or dairy!
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. 🙂
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?
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?
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. 🙂
Try rubbing a few drops of olive oil on the cut surface before wrapping – helps keep it from oxidizing.
That’s a great tip!
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!
That’s so awesome to hear!!
One of the best salads I’ve ever had! Super simple also quick to prep and put together, very filling while also still being quite delicious!
Awesome! So happy you like the recipe!
Thank you so much! It really is my favorite dinner salad!
It’s really delicious!!
Thank you! It’s so seriously delicious. And don’t you just love it when you have all the ingredients on hand. So perfect!