This easy Salisbury Steak Recipe is ready in just 30 minutes! It has juicy and tender beef patties smothered in the most delicious homemade mushroom gravy. It’s so incredible over Creamy Mashed Potatoes that even picky eaters will approve of this one-pan dish.
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What is Salisbury Steak?
Salisbury steak originated in the United States and is a popular dish made with seasoned ground beef patties smothered in gravy with mushrooms (often accompanied by caramelized onions). It got its name from an American physician, Dr. J. H. Salisbury. He encouraged a meat-centered diet and so this dish was named in his honor.
We love ground beef recipes like our popular Meatloaf or this easy Stovetop Beef Chili. If you have some ground beef and don’t know what to do with it, this Salisbury Steak is a must-try, because homemade Salisbury Steak is perfect for busy weeknights. It comes together quickly, it’s inexpensive, uses pantry staples, and is flavor-packed!
How to Make Salisbury Steak
- Beef Patties: In a large bowl, combine beef patty ingredients and then shape into 4 oval or round patties flattening the center for even thickness. Saute in a skillet until golden brown on both sides, remove from the skillet and set aside. (NOTE: You will want to use lean beef, and 90% works best.)
- Mushrooms: Sauté ½ the onion in the same skillet just until tender, then stir in garlic and butter. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until browned, mixing frequently. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Gravy: In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients for the gravy and add to the skillet with the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until gravy thickens. Return the patties to the pan, cover with mushroom gravy, and cook just until patties are heated through.
Tips for the Best Salisbury Steak
This easy Salisbury Steak recipe is simple to make and a family favorite, so here are some tips to ensure you have the juiciest patties and savory gravy.
- Avoid Overmixing – Work the beef just until its well combined. Too much mixing can make the patties tough.
- Form Equal-sized Patties – keep them an even thickness for even cooking
- Create a Rich Gravy – make the sauce in the same skillet to utilize the tasty pan drippings from cooking the patties
- Searing the Patties – Allow the skillet to get hot before placing the patties inside to give them a great sear and seal in the juices.
Can I Substitute Ground Beef?
Salisbury Steak is classically made with ground beef, but this recipe is versatile. You can substitute ground meats that you have on hand. Try ground turkey for a Turkey Salisbury Steak or even a combination of meats such as ground beef and ground chicken.
What to Serve with Salisbury Steak
Though you can serve the beef patties in gravy over steamy rice or even egg noodles, the most classic side dish is mashed potatoes (our Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes make dinner faster). You can add a vegetable to the side and any of these will work great:
- Green Bean Almondine
- Baked Asparagus
- Easy Roasted Vegetables
- Roasted Carrots
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Caesar Salad
- Marinated Tomatoes
Make-Ahead
This Salisbury Steak recipe is a great mid-week meal because it cooks quickly. If you make the patties ahead of time, it’s even faster to serve to a crowd. Leftovers also keep really well; just cool them to room temperature and store them.
- Prep the Patties Ahead: You can form the patties and store them covered in the refrigerator up to a day ahead.
- Refrigerate Leftovers: Once cooled, store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: Transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag, remove excess air, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and then transfer to an oven-safe pan or dish, cover with foil, and bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 20-30 minutes (depending on thickness) or until heated through.
With this traditional Salisbury Steak recipe, you are in for a treat. If you have picky eaters who don’t like mushrooms, just serve their patties without them. To the children, it’s like enjoying a juicy hamburger in gravy, and they love it!
Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
For the Salisbury Steak:
- 1 lb ground beef, 90% lean
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 ½ tsp milk, (whole milk or any kind)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, to sautee
For the Mushroom Gravy:
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 oz brown mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth, + 1/2 cup water
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp ketchup
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the beef patties (except the oil). Mix until well incorporated and shape into 4 oval or round patties flattening the center for even thickness throughout.
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a non-stick pan, once hot, add patties to the skillet and cook until patties are golden brown on both sides and fully cooked. Remove the patties from the skillet and cover to keep warm.
- Sauté ½ onion (you can also slice onion into thin slices, whatever your personal preference is) in the same skillet. Once the onion starts to become tender, add the garlic and butter and mix.
- Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned, mixing frequently. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- In a bowl, whisk together all of the remaining gravy ingredients: 2 Tbsp flour, 1 1/2 cups broth, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp dijon, 2 tsp ketchup, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Pour into the mushrooms and cook until the gravy thickens.
- Add the patties back to the pan and completely cover with the gravy and mushrooms and cook just until patties are heated through.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Easy Dinner Recipes
Once you try this Salisbury Steak recipe, try these other quick and easy dinner recipes your family will enjoy any night of the week.
- Beef and Broccoli
- Philly Cheesesteak
- Baked Salmon
- Monterey Chicken
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Baked Chicken Fajita
- Lemon Garlic Chicken and Mushrooms
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
My family of 5 loved this! I doubled the meat recipe (only used 1/2 an onion) and had about 12 patties total. I’m glad I chopped the onions very fine, cause I don’t like crunching into them. The prep time did take me much longer than suggested, but it turned out fantastic! The gravy was delish on potatoes!
Hello Ruth, thanks for your excellent feedback. I’m glad that your whole family enjoyed this recipe. I hope your family will love every recipe that you try!
It was delicious. I doubled the recipe. Although my daughter made a mistake of adding water to the beef mixture… just fixing it by adding more breadcrumbs. Thank u
You’re welcome. It’s a good thing that adding breadcrumbs made it great again. Thanks for your great feedback!
Such a classic dinner recipe! I am loving that mushroom gravy.
The flavor is amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Carrie!
Yummy! This salisbury steak recipe looks so good and easy to make!
So so good! I hope you try this recipe soon Matt.
Everyone at my house loved it! It was so comforting!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it, Toni! Thank you for the wonderful review!
when I make this, I “velvet” the beef like the Asians do by putting 2 tsp or baking soda in one cup of water and marinating the meat in it for an hour or so. Rinse, dry, then fry.
Great idea! Thank you for sharing that Jeff!
Jeff,
I am familiar with velveting, but how can yuou velvet ground beef???
Dinner was amazing! Thanks so much for this wonderful Salisbury steak recipe! Perfect comfort food.
Thanks for the great review, Marianne. I am glad to know that you had a wonderful dinner!
Take this to a higher level. When you put the patties back in the pan add a slice of swiss cheese to the top and cover with gravy let cheese start to soften and serve
Thank you for sharing that wonderful tip with us!
Super yummy! I paired it with your “Marinated Vegetable Salad” and everyone in the family loved it, hubby even went for seconds! Thanks for another great recipe!
That sounds like the perfect combination! Thank you for that wonderful review Julia!
you’re really amazing, i enjoy all your recipes.. thanks for do this amazing job.
You’re so nice! Thank you Adriana!
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your recipes. I watch you on Facebook. I am making your Chicken Marsala this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
You’re so nice! Thank you Susan! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our blog and recipes!
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your recipes. I watch you on Facebook. I am making your Chicken Marsala this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Aww that’s the best! Thank you for that wonderful feedback, Susan!
Made this today and my whole family loved it and asked for seconds. Let’s just say for a 5 and 7 year old that’s pretty rare 😁 It was so flavorful and my husband said it was the perfect amount of salt! I loved that gravy didn’t have dairy so it was easier on the tummies. Thanks Natasha for another great recipe!
What an awesome review! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for giving feedback. So happy to hear that your family loved it!
Can you use store bought burger patties for this recipe?
Hi Elena, I haven’t tested that for tenderness and quality to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that recipe.
I am not sure what happened but my patties were too loose as well. My hamburger meat was frozen so I soaked it in cold water. Would this cause it? So I added another 1/3 cup of panko which helped. Everything seemed to take longer then suggested (prep and cooking time). I had to add some cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Now to the positive…. I was told the patties were moist and not hard like most places, so is the patties suppose to be somewhat loose to begin with? The flavors were right on. My father-in-law said it reminded him of his favorite place in Hawaii, a huge compliment!!! The dish was easy enough to prepare and cook and the taste is outstanding!!! Thank you! This is my second time using your recipes. So far both dishes have been delicious!!! Can’t wait to make your apple pie.
Hi Holly, when you thawed, did you keep it fully covered so it didn’t absorb the water? The could be the culprit if the water gets in. I’m so glad you loved the flavors and thank you for sharing your feedback.
Yes it was completely sealed. I will try this again of course but this time allow the meat to thaw naturally. Thank you!
I really loved this. For some reason my patties didn’t stay together, I think its because I had forced the meat to thaw and it was quite wet, but I will work on that. The flavors here were so unique and just really delicious. Thanks, this is a keeper!
That may be the culprit, Lisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I hope it works out better for you next time.
This is Very good – I’ve made it at least 4 times. But it takes WAY longer than 10 minutes to prep. There is no way you are taking all those ingredients out, measuring them, grating onions, forming patties in 10 minutes. And then add on your mashed potatoes and other veggies. Not to diminish the recipe because we all love it, but the prep time is way off.
As always, when I want something amazing I check out what Natasha has. She has amazing taste buds. And I love her recipes. This one is no exception! You cant find better in any restaurants. Its really that amazing! And the best part is I do not have to make much adjustments at all. Just my personal taste additions. Usually more garlic lol. Thank you so much for helping make my meals more amazing. And keeping me from having to go to restaurants for my favorite foods now!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
Made this recipe for the first time…it was soooo good! My husband told me not to make meatloaf anymore and to just make this recipe from now on. My two fussy boys loved it as well…which was a surprise since they dont like much. Can’t wait to try more recipes from Natasha!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Lori!
Made this delicious meal for the family at the weekend with creamy mash and various small veg as a side.
They all commented on how nice it looked and how wonderful it smelled.
I thought they would not like it but all four plates had no leftovers afterwards. Major success!
Thank you so much for the recipe, Natasha.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!