Steak Salad makes a quick and easy midweek meal. Made with thin slices of pan-seared steak served over arugula and lettuce greens toss with a lemon vinaigrette. Round it out with goat cheese, scallions, avocado, and bell pepper.
Steak salad is such a great way to enjoy steak! You can even easily put it together with steak leftovers. At a minimum it is simply thin slices of steak over salad greens with your preferred salad dressing.
Best Add-Ins for Steak Salad
I tend to spiff mine up a bit with whatever we might have on hand— avocados, goat cheese, red bell peppers, tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, depending on what’s in season.
Best Greens for Steak Salad
Arugula is a particularly good complement to steak, though the pepperiness of the arugula can at times be a little too much if not mixed in with some other salad greens.
You can also use, or mix in, chopped fresh romaine lettuce, baby spinach, baby gem, or iceberg lettuce. For an alternative to arugula you can use any of the chicories—frisée, endive, or radicchio.
More Fresh & Easy Ways to Enjoy Steak
- Steak Salad with Miso Vinaigrette
- Steak Salad with Arugula and Parmesan Cheese
- Grilled Chili Lime Flank Steak
- Flank Steak with Orange and Avocado Salsa
- Skirt Steak with Avocado Chimichurri
SAVE ITPRINT
Easy Steak Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
PREP TIME10 minsCOOK TIME10 minsTOTAL TIME20 minsSERVINGS4 servings
No need to bring the steak to room temp before cooking. You sear on such high heat, and the steaks are so thin, it’s actually better to cook the steak while it is still relatively chilled, if you want the centers to be rare.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound flank steak or skirt steak
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 head lettuce greens
- 1 bunch arugula (young leaves), tough stems removed
- 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise and cut into 1-inch long pieces
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- Pomegranate seeds or thinly sliced kumquats (optional)
- For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (smooth), or 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Cook the steak:Heat a couple teaspoons of oil in a cast iron pan on high heat. Pat the steaks dry. Sprinkle the steaks on both sides with a little salt.Sear the steaks in the pan on both sides, just until nicely browned. Remove pan from heat and cover. Let cook for a few minutes more, until the steak is done to your liking.You can test with a meat thermometer. Remove steak from pan at 125°F to 130°F for rare, 140°F for medium rare, 150° for medium. Or use your fingers to test the meat for doneness (see The Finger Test to Check the Doneness of Meat)
- Let the steak rest before cutting, then cut thin slices:Remove from pan to a cutting board. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting. Cut thin slices, on a diagonal so you slice wide pieces, across the grain of the meat.
- Make the salads:Toss together the lettuce greens, arugula, bell pepper, goat cheese, and scallions. Arrange on individual plates. Sprinkle with avocado. Lay on top several slices of chilled sliced steak. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds or sliced kumquats if using.
- Make dressing:Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle on salad.