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Simple Tasty Recipes

Steak Salad

Updated Published Sep 22, 2019 By 4 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
Steak Salad is a fancy meal that can be enjoyed as a healthy lunch or dinner. Perfect medium-rare steak, crispy bacon, avocado, and fresh tomatoes are served over a bed of vinaigrette-tossed lettuce.
steak salad with tomatoes and avocado over lettuce

Steak Salad

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Rest: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 boneless strip steak (Note 1)
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or quartered (Note 2)
  • 2 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped (Note 3)
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Red Wine Vinaigrette (Note 4):

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Fry Bacon: Cook bacon on pan (Note 5) over medium heat until crispy, flipping occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and transfer bacon to paper towel lined plate to drain.
  • Prep Steak: Pat steak dry with paper towels, and trim off fat. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Spooning 2 teaspoons of bacon grease from pan, drizzle over both sides of steak, brushing all over meat to slather it in bacon grease. Pour out remaining grease in pan, and wipe pan dry with paper towel.
  • Cook Steak: Heat now-dry pan over medium-high heat until very hot, then add greased steak. Cook for 2 minutes, flip to other side, cook for another 2 minutes, and flip again. Then flip every minute until medium-rare in thickest part (120 to 125 F), 3 to 5 minutes longer depending on size of steak. Transfer to cutting board, and let rest for 10 minutes while you work on next step.
  • Assemble Salad (Note 6): Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients in bowl until emulsified. Toss vinaigrette with chopped romaine lettuce until nicely moistened. Arrange lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado on 4 large plates or bowls. Crumble bacon on top.
  • Serve: Cut steak into 1/4-inch slices (Note 7), and lay on top of salads. Serve while fresh (Note 8).

NUTRITION

Makes 4 Servings
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 360  
Total Fat 27g 41%
   Saturated Fat 5g 24%
Cholesterol 44mg 15%
Sodium 370mg 15%
Net Carb 4g  
Total Carb 9g 3%
   Dietary Fiber 5g 19%
   Sugars 3g  
Protein 20g  
Vitamin A 134% · Vitamin C 41% · Calcium 4% · Iron 14%

PHOTOS

steak salad with tomatoes and avocado over lettuce
pouring vinaigrette dressing over romaine lettuce
tossing romaine lettuce with red wine vinaigrette
steak salad served on white plate

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Steak. I use one boneless strip steak, which weighs 3/4 to 1 pound and is 1.5 inches thick. Avoid thicker steaks because they’re harder to cook evenly, resulting in tougher steak. If you don’t like strip steak, use your favorite cut and either pan-sear or grill it.
(2) Grape Tomatoes. One pint is the same as 2 cups, which corresponds to 10 ounces weight. You can also use cherry tomatoes. I like using multi-color varieties, and I typically cut each tomato in half and the larger ones in quarters.
(3) Romaine Lettuce. Each heart weighs about 5 ounces. A salad spinner is recommended for removing excess moisture from the lettuce. You can substitute with your favorite leafy greens, or use a mix of shredded cabbage and carrots.
(4) Red Wine Vinaigrette. You can replace this with your favorite dressing, or do a simpler substitution by replacing red wine vinegar with balsamic or sherry.
(5) Pan. I use an 11-inch nonstick pan.
(6) Assembling Salad. You can customize the salad to your preferences by adding extra veggies like sliced onions, bell peppers, corn, or cucumbers. For extra protein, you can toss in hard-boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, or cheese.
(7) Slicing Steak. Thinner slices will taste more tender, so take the extra time to make very thin cuts.
(8) Serving. This salad tastes best when enjoyed right away. If that’s not possible, store the salad tightly covered in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend making this more than a half-day in advance because the bacon loses its crispness, the lettuce starts to wilt, and the avocado turns brown.

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About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2015, she has been sharing simple recipes for tasty dishes in a user-friendly format. She typically prefers savory foods over sweet, hence the name of the site. Contact her at julia@savorytooth.null.com.

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Jaime

This looks fabulous – though I’d have to omit the Avocado (darned things taste like dish soap to me)… and definitely add the onion. It’s good to see you use the bacon drippings to cook the steak. Bacon really does make everything better.

Just one note – I’ll definitely be using a cast iron skillet to cook the bacon and sear the steak – Heating any sort of non-stick cookware to a high temperature can significantly increase the probability that potentially toxic elements of the non-stick coating will leach into the food. Not that I have anything against non-stick – my favorite cookware is a non-stick set made by Ausker… but nothing beats cast iron for searing.

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
John Mangini

So, what do you do with the cooked bacon? I just added it crumbled up to the salad.

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2 years ago
Julia

That’s correct. See Step 4, last sentence: “Crumble bacon on top.”

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2 years ago
Elizabeth

Sounds yummy but I wouldn’t use Strip Steak. Way too lean. I’d go for ribeye or porterhouse or t-bone, whatever’s on sale.

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5 years ago
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