This juicy Salisbury Steak is easy to make from scratch in just one pot and serve with thick and flavorful mushroom gravy. This simple dinner idea is easy to make for the family and serve with mashed potatoes and buttermilk biscuits.
Be sure to try my Cube Steak and Gravy next!
Salisbury Steak
Nothing beats a classic (budget friendly) comfort food quite like Salisbury Steak made from scratch. This is something I love to make during the week because I always have the ingredients for it. And if you don’t have mushrooms, (or have some picky eaters), they can be left out!
I’ve spent the last year making some really delicious gravy recipes as well as hamburger steak, cube steak, baked meatballs, and meatloaf. This recipe is basically a combination of all of those things, and has been long overdue here at The Cozy Cook!
Difference Between Salisbury Steak and Hamburger Steak
- Hamburger Steak is made with simple ingredients that resemble how you would make a hamburger. (My recipe includes a simple chef-inspired secret that will WOW you.)
- Salisbury Steak often includes an egg that’s used as a binder, along with breadcrumbs, milk, and other ingredients. Basically an individually-sized meatloaf.
👉 This Salisbury Steak recipe is basically a combination of my recipes for Baked Meatballs, Cracker Barrel Meatloaf, and Hamburger Steak , Brown Gravy, and Mushroom Gravy all rolled into one.
Why is it Called Salisbury Steak
Salisbury Steak was invented by James H. Salisbury in 1888. According to Wikipedia, he was a physician during the American Civil War who “believed the troops could be controlled with a diet of coffee and lean chopped beefsteak.”
He believed that people were meant to mostly eat meat and limit vegetables and starchy foods. Thus, he invented the original version of this recipe and believed that it could be eaten three times a day. 😬
Panade = The KEY to Juicy & Flavorful Meat
- A panade is a mixture of starch and liquid that is combined to form a paste. It’s mixed in with meat for meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers to preserve the tender texture of the meat.
- When meat cooks, the proteins expand and contract and in doing so, moisture escapes. The starch in the panade turns to a gel when cooked and lubricates the fibers in the meat as it cooks.
How to Keep Salisbury Steak From Falling Apart
- To help the Salisbury steak together, you can refrigerate them for 15 minutes after you’ve formed them.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Optional: Sauté onions/garlic and let cool. This gives them a more subtle flavor/texture in the Salisbury Steak which is ideal, especially for picky eaters.
Make the panade: Combine egg, milk, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and salt/pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and cooled onions/garlic. Stir to combine, it will form a paste.
Gently combine the panade with the meat until just combined. Don’t overmix or the meat will become tough.
Form into patties and sear 2 at a time in olive oil over medium-high heat, 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. The middle will still be uncooked.
Make the Gravy: Saute onions for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add gravy ingredients except for the cornstarch/cold water.
Bring the gravy to a boil. Combine 3 TBS cornstarch + ¼ cup COLD water. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture until desired level of thickness is obtained. Whisk continuously as you add it, you may not need to add it all. Decrease heat to medium.
Add the steaks back and cover. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Spoon with mushroom gravy and serve with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles. They’re done when the internal temperature is 160°
Thickening the Gravy
- To thicken the gravy with a roux (butter + flour), instead of a slurry, (cornstarch + water), melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the pan after you soften the onions/mushrooms.
- Whisk in 2 Tablespoons of flour. Continue whisking for 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Slowly add the beef broth, whisking continuously as you do so.
- Add the seasonings, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add the Steaks back to the pan. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Pro Tips
- Set out all ingredients before you start, it really helps the recipe move along quickly and easily.
- Use a spatula large enough to hold entire meat patty so that it’s fully supported when being handled.
- Sear 2 patties at a time so that you can easily flip them in the pan.
- Onions and/or Mushrooms can be eliminated from the gravy if preferred.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 71!
Make-Ahead Method
- The patties can be mixed/molded and refrigerated overnight before cooking. (I like to wrap mine in saran wrap!)
- You can also freeze the molded patties for up to 3 months. Wrap them in saran wrap and store them in a freezer bag or airtight container. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight prior to cooking.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Salisbury Steak
Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Noodles, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Corn Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Buttermilk Biscuits, and more!
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Salisbury Steak
Ingredients
Salisbury Steak
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, separated
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg, whisked
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs, can sub Panko
- 1 lb. ground beef, 80% lean
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup cold water + 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- PRO TIP: To help the Salisbury steak together, refrigerate them for 15 minutes after you've formed them.
Form Steaks
- Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. This is optional but it makes them more subtle in texture and flavor which is ideal in Salisbury steak, especially for picky eaters.
- Whisk together the egg, milk, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and stir to form a paste. Stir in the cooked onions/garlic. This is called a panade, it makes the Salisbury steak juicy and flavorful.
- Add the ground beef and panade to a large bowl. Use your hands to mix until just combined, don’t overmix or the meat will become tough.
- Form into 4 oval steaks.
Brown Steaks in Skillet
- Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown 2 steaks at a time on each side for 1 minute, remove and set aside. Middle will be uncooked.
Prepare Gravy
- Heat 1 TBS olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions for about 5 minutes. Add 1 TBS of butter along with the mushrooms and cook until golden, about 5 more minutes.
- Add the beef broth, beef bouillon, 1 tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Bring the gravy to a boil. Combine 3 TBS cornstarch + ¼ cup COLD water. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture until desired level of thickness is obtained. Whisk continuously as you add it, you may not need to add it all. Decrease heat to medium.
Finish the Meal
- Add the Salisbury Steak back to the pot. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, it’s done when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Serve with mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Set out all ingredients before you start, it really helps the recipe move along quickly and easily.
- Use a spatula large enough to hold entire meat patty so that it’s fully supported when being handled.
- Sear 2 patties at a time so that you can easily flip them in the pan.
- Onions and/or Mushrooms can be eliminated from the gravy if preferred.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 71!
To thicken the gravy with a roux (butter + flour), instead of a slurry, (cornstarch + water):
- Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the pan after you soften the onions/mushrooms.
- Whisk in 2 Tablespoons of flour. Continue whisking for 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Slowly add the beef broth, whisking continuously as you do so.
- Add the seasonings, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add the Steaks back to the pan. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
10/10
Thanks so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed this one!❤️
Hey, this is a great Salisbury steak recipe! Very full of flavor. Just made it for my family for a little different Easter dinner, and they all loved it. I am so impressed with how much flavor the meat and the gravy has. I’m happy to have enough left for a leftover lunch. We will definitely be making this again and keeping this recipe to use whenever we have Salisbury steak again.
I’m so happy everyone enjoyed this for their Easter dinner!😃 My husband loves this one, his favorite part his heating up leftovers for lunch. It really is amazing how much flavor there is in such a budget friendly recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Hey Stephanie – I really love this site! And you make the recipes so simple!
I’m definitely going to try this. I loved your spaghetti recipe. I’m recently divorced, and my wife did all the cooking!
You have saved my life!! LOL
Keep posting awesome recipes!! I love your videos too!
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying the site Tony! I love being able to make peoples lives easier and I appreciate the comments!😃
Made this tonight for dinner. Side of cauliflower rice and veggies. So savory. Made just like you listed. Easy for the picky 9 year old grandson to take mushrooms out. My husband loves mushrooms so took his🤣
I love all the recipes you have shared. I call you my little chef. I am making your lasagna soup tomorrow. Thanks a bunch chef🥰
I’m SO happy that you enjoyed it Dawn, you are truly the best!!! Can’t wait for you to make the soup next!!! 🙂
Made this tonight for my 5 year old and 1 year old. To say delicious is putting it lightly. I don’t think I’ve ever made Salisbury steak the right way until this recipe. So flavorful and tender. Followed the recipe exactly as is. The gravy is so so good. We demolished it! Adding it into my new recipe rotation! Yum!
I’m so happy to hear this Amanda! I love the flavor in this one, plus its so easy and budget friendly! Thanks so much for the great review!😃
Made this last Sunday. It was to die for!!! A friend near Peterborough, Ontario looked through your site, at my advice, and bought all the ingredients for Salisbury Steak. He’s anxious to try it. I will be making this again!!
Judy
Hi Judy! I am SO happy to hear that, and thank you for sharing my site with your friend and taking the time to leave this review. I really appreciate it! Take Care. ❤️ Stephanie 🙂
It has all the right ingredients so I decided to give it a go – and I love it. The steak came out so soft mmmm yummy. I used forest mushrooms as I love foraging. It will definitely be part of my cookbook 😋
I’m so happy to hear that Agata! So cool you foraged your own mushrooms!!! Thanks so much for the review!😍
First time I made this , and I am passing it on to friends. Delicious. I am passing this recipe on to friends
Great to hear Beverley!😃 Thanks so much for the review and passing this on to your friends!
Love this recipe. It is delicious. I make a dish similar to this, but I use Campbells Golden Mushroom Soup. I like all of your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Ethel, I’m so happy to hear you’re liking the recipes!😀
This is so good! I’ve actually been serving this in smaller portions for lunch for both my boys. They’ve had it twice this week and love it! It’s definitely a good cross between hamburger steak and meatloaf. Thanks for the recipe.