Simple Salisbury Steak
on Jan 30, 2023, Updated Aug 29, 2024
Salisbury Steak is a perfect weeknight recipe to serve the family. Plate up with mashed potatoes or tasty veggies for the best comfort food!
I’ve always loved this recipe for Simple Salisbury Steak. We’ve made this dish for dinner time-and-time again and loved it every time! Follow along with us to make this solid, standby dinner dish.
Why You’ll Love This Salisbury Steak
- This is a classic comfort food.
- This is a quick and easy meal without a lot of prep work.
- It is simple to modify to meet your picky eaters tastes.
- We love that this recipe is fairly inexpensive to make.
- It’s a reader favorite. Since posted on my blog in 2015, it has been shared over 1.5 million times. The user ratings are REAL and not inflated. Be sure to look at the comments below and you will see additional helpful tips and suggestions.
Easy and delicious ground beef recipes are a must-have in your kitchen’s cookbook! Ground beef almost always seems to be marked-down or on sale at the local grocery and it can serve as the base to a number of delicious recipes. From soups to stews to a classic cheeseburger, there’s always a use for this versatile food! One of the tastiest and easiest recipes you can make with your meat is some Easy Salisbury Steak.
Our Salisbury Steak recipe blows the frozen and TV dinner varieties out of the water! They can’t compare to this easy stovetop version that needs only a little extra time. It’s also the perfect dinner dish for all the picky eaters in your family- we keep things simple but leave plenty of room to add in whatever you’d like! The gravy is easy to make too, using some convenient brown gravy packets. With all this in mind, you’ll love this recipe for Homemade Salisbury Steak!
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Delicious Side Dishes to pair with our Recipe
- With all this gravy, we have to recommend pairing our Simple Salisbury Steak with The Best Mashed Potatoes. These rich, creamy potatoes are perfect for pairing with a delicious, meaty main course like our steaks. Super easy to make too!
- If you’re looking for some tasty, vibrant greens to plate with this dish, try some Garlic Green Beans. This buttery, savory side pairs well with darn-near anything- our Salisbury steaks included! One of our favorite veggie sides right now.
- Need something a little sweeter? Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots are what you need! This easy, 3-ingredient recipe cooks up quickly on the stovetop and is oh-so delicious. Perfect for holiday or anyday dinner!
Salisbury Steak Ingredients
We tried to keep our recipe simple for all the picky eaters you might be cooking for. There’s plenty of substitutes and modifications you can make that we’ll list here as well! We liked the way The Pioneer Woman kept a similar recipe simple, so we took some inspiration from her.
For our ground beef patties, you’ll need…
- Ground Beef – We prefer a lean ground beef for this recipe. It’ll help your patties hold together much better! If you have any dietary concerns, mixing or substituting the beef with ground turkey is fine.
- Bread Crumbs – We usually use breadcrumbs but we’ve seen all sorts of substitutes here! Experiment with rice, stovetop stuffing mix, crackers, or even oats.
- Ketchup
- Mustard – Dijon mustard is an interesting substitute to try here.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Garlic Powder & Onion Powder
- Salt and Pepper
Our gravy, meanwhile, is going to use…
- Brown Gravy Mix Packets – Alternatively, you could make this recipe with our Easy Brown Gravy!
- Ketchup
- Worcestershire
How to Make Salisbury Steak
We love this Easy Salisbury Steak recipe because it’s so easy to prep and make! To make some for yourself, here’s all you need to do:
- We’ll start this recipe off my mixing up our meat and forming our patties from the mixture.
- Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until browned on both sides.
- Whisk together gravy ingredients until mixed.
- Pour gravy into skillet over patties and cook until thickened.
We’ve also made a video for this recipe, which we’ve pasted just below! Check it out!
Variations for this Salisbury Steak Recipe
- You can top your steaks with all sorts of veggies. Caramelize some onions with your patties or saute some mushrooms to go with them! Some of our crew loves mushroom gravy.
- There are plenty of other additives you can add to the gravy as well! Try substituting one of your gravy packets out for your favorite soup mixes- maybe use our Copycat Lipton Onion Soup Mix Recipe?
FAQs about Salisbury Steaks
There are many different reasons for steak patties not holding together or staying shaped perfectly. One reason would be the fat content of the ground beef used in the recipe. If you’re remaking this recipe and have noticed your patties tend to fall apart fairly easy, you might want to crack an egg into your meat mixture.
Note that one pound of ground beef will make about 4 hamburger patties.
Hamburger steak usually only contains salt and pepper, whereas Salisbury steak adds fillers.
The main difference is in the way it is shaped and cooked. Salisbury steak is formed into patties and cooked in a skillet. Meatloaf is formed into a loaf in a loaf pan and baked.
Tips for Making the Salisbury Steak
- Use your hands – This is as easy as dropping all of our patty ingredients into a mixing bowl and mixing it all together with our hands. Don’t even try to stir with a spoon!
- Don’t worry about the shape – If they are oval patties or round, they taste the same.
- You can make the patties ahead – Form patties and place in an airtight container and place in freezer.
- Cook on both sides until all the pink is gone – if you want to be extra safe, probe your patties with a food thermometer to check for doneness at around 160 degrees.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley for a finished look.
Other Delicious Ground Beef Recipes
- For another tasty ground beef recipe, try our Classic Meatloaf. Meatloaf is a timeless and juicy dish packed with flavor! This recipe with a tangy ketchup glaze makes an easy and simple dinner.
- Homemade Hamburger Helper Beef Noodle is so much better than store-bought. This ground beef recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients and a few minutes time.
- Hamburger Soup is another great comfort food. It’s hearty with vegetables, potato, and ground beef. A perfect weeknight meal. Make this delicious beef dish tonight!
Did you make this recipe? If so, be sure to rate with a star rating and drop a comment below.
Simple Salisbury Steak
Ingredients
Patties
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- 1/3 cup Bread Crumbs
- 2 tsp Ketchup
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Gravy
- 2 packets Brown Gravy Mix
- 2 cup hot Water
- 1 tsp Ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire
Instructions
- Combine all pattie ingredients in a large bowl and massage with your hands until ingredients are incorporated.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook patties on both sides until no longer pink.
- Lower temperature to low.
- Whisk together gravy mix and water until well blended.
- Whisk in ketchup and Worcestershire and pour over patties in skillet.
- Allow to simmer until gravy warms and thickens.
Comfort food at its best! I made this for Sunday family dinner and it was a hit! It is going to be my new go-to impressor. Thanks.
Can I use crushed Pork Rinds instead of bread crumbs?
Yes you can. I make meatloaf all the time and it’s excellent. Only problem is it’s salty. Limit salt you add!!
Can I use premade hamburger patties?? I’m trying to use what I have in my house instead of going to the store.
If I were you I would thaw out the pre-made patties so that you can at least add in the breadcrums because I feel that they made a big difference.
I am super lazy when I make Salisbury steak, and have skipped the breadcrumbs altogether sometimes when using premade frozen Patties.. it’s more like hamburger steak but yes, use premade frozen Patties if that’s all you have 😁
OMG! This was the easiest Salisbury steak I have ever made. Will make again.
Add egg to this recipe as meat will fall apart. Other than that huge hit… muy delicioso
Cut the recipe in half for two people. Have made three times. It is absolutely delicious! The additional ingredients for the sauce makes for an amazing and very tasty gravy for mashed potatoes, too!
Can you make this in the crockpot?
This was so easy to make! The family loved it!
could i maybe put lipton pnion soup mic into the patties?
I used Lipton onion soup mix and a beef gravy packet it was amazing! I also diced up a sweet onion and cooked it along side the Pattie’s.
Made last night and it was a hit! Easy and made without changing anything.
I have made this recipe about 5 times now. I like the fact that the ingredients needed I actually have in the house and I don’t have to waste time going to the grocery store. I look for easy recipes and this is easy and very delicious. I’m not much of a meat eater but I am hooked on this one. Thanks for a great recipe.
DELICIOUS and easy recipe! I’ll definitely be adding this to my weeknight dinners!
No salt or pepper???
Doesn’t need salt. Salty already.
I have made this many times, but I substitute stove top stuffing mix for the breadcrumbs. It’s delicious!
My whole family loves this recipe and I love that it’s so easy! I have had it Pinned for a while and it is the Salisbury steak recipe I always go back to. I usually pair it with mashed potatoes and peas for an easy, comforting meal. I always double it for our family of 5 with leftovers for my husband’s lunch (and enough for mine too if I get lucky!) Making a huge batch this time and trying it out as a freezer meal for after our new baby arrives!
My history with salisbury steak is in a frozen dinner :) Yep, I liked it back then. I can’t say I’ve had it since then but I certainly remember it. For some reason it came to mind as I was preparing to make a meal for the world’s pickiest, simplistic, non-adventurous eaters. Instead of trying to do something unique like I often do, I thought of this as a way to appease them and keep me from being irritated as they pick at my food, make weird faces or whatever. BUT….. I also made it because I knew I’d like it, too. Comfort food that can appeal to both ends of the spectrum of eaters.
Such a simple recipe, and really, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through comments demonizing store-bought gray mix. Sure, I could make a healthier homemade gravy, but at this point, I am quite confident I’ll die from something else before I die from the preservatives, etc.. in store bought gravy mix. Humane beef was an interesting topic as well, but I don’t have much to say on that. I just buy some really good hamburger from our local meat shop and call it good.
I used pulverized oatmeal instead of bread crumbs, and pre-made the patties the morning of, and stored them in the frig until about 30 minutes before cooking them. I had no issues with forming or keeping the patties together. They cooked easily, I added my gravy using the mix and everyone was just going on about the delicious meal. I served it with mashed potatoes and peas/mixed veggies. Such a throwback and/or college cafeteria meal, but as I was told by one of the aforementioned picky eaters who is a college student (and who told me several times this is a staple offering at his college cafeteria, thank you very much), that mine tasted homemade, fresher and very good. The other picky eater – my mother-in-law (sigh) – felt the need to apologize for “wolfing” down her food. Something she basically never does because of her food aversions. She followed with a compliment on the great meal. Husband loved it, and gave me an extra hug for orchestrating such a successful meal. So, I’m satisfied.
I will make this again and I will use the gravy mix because I am quite confident in my food knowledge and choices :)
Thanks for the family harmony making recipe!
FYI, making mashed potatoes in the ninja foodi/instapot pressure cooker is the way to go! I’ll never go back to the old way :)
Jen, all your recipes are excellent. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe tasted really good! It was my first time making Salisbury Steak and the recipe was easy to follow. The only question I really have is how long exactly to cook the patties before adding the gravy. I know the recipe says until no longer pink… but does that mean just the outside is not longer pink and the inside still has pink? Or the entire patty fully cooked with no pink and then add gravy? I ended up cooking it medium and then adding gravy. It seemed a bit dry that way in my opinion, so I think I won’t cook the patties as long next time. Next time I make it I think I will use an onion gravy instead of brown gravy and see how it turns out! Thank you for your recipe!
First time making Salisbury Steak and this was a really good recipe! I added a little garlic salt to the meat just as a preference and added a chopped onion to the pan before adding the brown gravy. Delicious!
Made this was the easy Salisbury steak recipe I’m looking for! Only exceptions was I prefer home made gravy. I plated the dinner just like your picture! Yum..ty
It was delicious, I put mushrooms in my recipe mmmmmm.
We loved it! It has a lot of flavor!