Best Salisbury Steak Recipe (Easy!)

This easy Salisbury Steak recipe is classic comfort food like your mom used to make. It’s perfectly seasoned beef patties served with a rich brown gravy.

Add some mashed potatoes and a fresh vegetable and it’s a complete comfort meal.

Salisbury Steak

This homemade salisbury steak recipe is a super easy way to make a special dinner without all the fuss (or expense). Simply make hamburger patties and shape them like steaks, then cook and serve with an amazing gravy.

This might be one of my favorite ground beef recipes because it’s easy to make and uses simple ingredients as well. I love adding just the perfect amount of Worcestershire sauce to make a rich gravy. This is an easy dinner that looks complicated.

If you love cooking up hamburger steak, be certain to check out my Hamburger Casserole recipe as well for another simple recipe to use lean ground beef.

You can never have too many comfort food classics to serve.

What is Salisbury Steak?

Salisbury steak is actually named after its inventor, American physician Dr. James Henry Salisbury. He researched how food affect the body and believed that ground up beef was healthy. The beef patties were named after him as they became popular.

You may remember Salisbury steak from the days of TV dinners. Trust me, this recipe has evolved from those days.

Here’s a little salisbury steak history.

Easy Salisbury Steak Ingredients

Salisbury Steak: Patty Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• ⅓ cup bread crumbs (may substitute with oats or you can use gluten-free bread crumbs)
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

Salisbury Steak: Gravy Ingredients

• 2 packets Gluten Free Brown Gravy Mix
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 teaspoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire

How to make Salisbury Steak

1. Add all patty ingredients to a large bowl. Use clean hands to combine. Divide the meat mixture into four balls and flatten into oval patties.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat. Place patties in hot skillet and cook the ground beef patties until beef is no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes per side.
3. Adjust temperature to low heat.
4. Pour gravy mixture, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce into hot water. Whisk to combine. Pour gravy over patties in skillet and allow it to come to a simmer. Add ¼ cup of additional water to the gravy if it becomes too thick.
5. Serve warm over mashed potatoes if desired.

Easy Salisbury Steak Recipe Tools

The only tool that you’ll need to be certain to have is a large skillet. You’ll be cooking this simple recipe over medium heat on the stove so having a large skillet or a cast-iron skillet is best.

Best Salisbury Steak Recipe Variations

• French Onion soup – There are some people out there that don’t care for the gravy so they opt to create more of a soup texture. French onion soup would be a great alternative to try.
• ground turkey – Cutting down on the fat content can be done by using turkey meat instead of ground beef.
• mushrooms – many salisbury steak recipes are served with a rich mushroom gravy. To achieve this, add mushrooms to the gravy and brown together on the stove
• onions – add sliced onions to the gravy to make an onion gravy.

Salisbury Steak Recipe Tips

This recipe is really, really simple but the biggest tip to keep in mind is that you don’t want to burn the patties! However, just in case you do have a moment where they are a bit “crispy”, rest easy knowing that this is where the gravy comes in and helps!

What to Serve with Salisbury Steak?

• mashed potatoes – this is the quintessential side dish for Salisbury Steak. The gravy is perfect with the potatoes
• green beans – this is a great vegetable to have with the steak
• egg noodles – if you don’t like mashed potatoes, another option is to serve this on egg noodles

How to store Salisbury Steak

Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator of 2-3 days.

To Freeze:

Freeze uncooked steak patties by putting them on a baking sheet with about two inches between each patty. Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in freezer for a few hours. This flash freezes the patties and they can then be put into a zip top freezer bag and placed in the freezer for up to 3 months. To use: remove bag from freezer and place in refrigerator overnight or for several hours and follow regular cooking instructions.

To freeze cooked patties, place salisbury steak patties and gravy in a freezer-safe container and place in freezer. Remove from freezer and heat in oven or on the stovetop until thawed and warm.

Salisbury Steak Recipe FAQs

Want More Dinner Recipes?