Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

Salisbury steak with onion gravy is one of the best classic North American dishes out there. Follow this homemade Salisbury steak recipe with onion and mushroom gravy and the results will be nothing but beefy goodness. Get ready for hearty comfort on a plate.

If you’re anything like me, you have fond memories of Salisbury steak. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have stories of their mother serving up this classic beef recipe at one point or another.

If your mother is anything like mine, you probably had it quite often.

See, Salisbury steak is one of these classic dishes that it seems like every family has made over the years. It’s something we all immediately recognize by both name and taste. Growing up, my mom made Salisbury steak with onion and mushroom gravy all the time.

It’s nothing more than a variation on hamburger steak, which meant it was cheap to make and, if cooked right, juicy and delicious.

Salisbury steak was a staple in our home, and as I got older, it became a staple in mine. Again, it was relatively cheap to make, it was relatively easy to make, and it was tasty.

As a 20-something on my own, it was literally a recipe for greatness. I made it any time I could.

To this day, I make Salisbury steak for my family. My husband and son will eat their weight in it – so will I, actually! It’s delicious. All that tender juicy ground beef perfectly seasoned and bathed in gravy? Oh, yes. Please.

History of Salisbury Steak

The funny thing about Salisbury steak is that it’s essentially just a rebranding of hamburger steak. It’s true! Hamburger steak as we know it today was once called Hamburg steak. The dish originated in, you guessed it, Hamburg, Germany.

During the 19th century, Hamburg was a common port for transatlantic travel, and that meant many German immigrants. As they made their way to North America, they brought their recipes with them. One of those was Hamburg steak, a dish made with ground beef and gravy.

In the late 1800s, James Salisbury, a physician known for his belief that a meat-centered diet was conducive to good health developed a recipe for a ground beef patty served with gravy as an entrée. He called it Salisbury steak. It was really just Hamburg steak.

Today, Salisbury steak is one of the main types of frozen entrees found in your grocer’s freezer section and a homemade Salisbury Steak recipe like this one is a common dinner all across North America.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

This homemade Salisbury Steak recipe with onion and mushroom gravy is a feast of flavor and nostalgia. It’s loaded with delicious beef flavor and a thick brown gravy filled with mushrooms and onions to deliver a dinner that is the very definition of comfort food.

It’s rich, hearty, and so good, and everyone always loves it. What you’re going to love is how easy it is to make. It’s a from-scratch recipe, but the amount of work involved is quite minimal, meaning that you can have a delicious meal on the table in no time flat!

Ingredients

Although this homemade Salisbury Steak recipe is relatively easy to make, it does require several ingredients. However, when you look at them, you’ll see that most of them are things that you already have in your kitchen, and most of them go into making the gravy.

Broken down, the recipe ingredients are very simple. Here’s what you’ll need.

For the Steaks

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 crushed beef bouillon cube

For the Gravy

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 8-16 ounces baby bella or white mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, or 1 tablespoon minced
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• ¼ cup tomato paste, if desired, I use it sometimes in the gravy if I have some I want to use up as it adds terrific flavor and can be a nice change but is definitely NOT needed in this wonderful gravy
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• kosher salt to taste
• fresh chopped parsley for garnish

As you can see, the majority of these ingredients are pantry staples like spices and some flour. Any ingredients you have to buy are very mundane and can be easily found at your local grocery store!

Making the Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

Making this homemade Salisbury Steak recipe isn’t as difficult as you might think when you look at the ingredients list. In fact, it’s quite easy. The bulk of the work will be preparing the gravy, and even that isn’t difficult. It’s simply a matter of basic cooking skills like sautéing and blending. It’s easy peasy.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk milk and potato flakes in a large bowl. Add beef, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, and crushed beef bouillon. Knead until combined. I like to mix by hand, do not over mix. Shape into eight even portions, into flat oval shapes, and transfer to a parchment-lined plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
3. Heat an oven-safe 12-inch skillet (I like to use cast iron) with deep sides over medium heat. Melt 3 tablespoons butter and cook patties until well browned, about 2-3 minutes per side.
4. Next, place the pan into the oven for 10-15 minutes until an internal temperature reaches 165°F. Take the steaks out of the pan and place them on a plate and cover them with foil, set them aside.
5. Wipe out any excess grease from the pan. Over medium heat, add the remaining butter and let it melt. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the onions are softened. Add the garlic and stir it in until fragrant, 30 seconds.
6. Add the flour and stir it in, coating the veggies, cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the beef stock, making sure there are no lumps.
7. Add the Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, garlic and black pepper, whisk it in. Add tomato paste, if using. Taste and add additional sauce if needed. Let the gravy simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add the steaks back to the pan and cover in the sauce, let simmer for 5 more minutes or until the steaks are heated through. Garnish with optional parsley and serve.

Tips

You can skip the oven step and cook the steaks all the way on the stovetop but I find they tend to get too brown. However, if you really love that extra crispy exterior on your beef patties, feel free to opt for this method instead.

The beef bouillon cube gives an extra depth of flavor to the steaks. I place the cube in a plastic baggie then crush it with a rolling pin. This helps to dissolve it quickly and more evenly into the gravy mixture.

Serving Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

Total comfort food, I love to serve these over mashed potatoes but they are also amazing with egg noodles or rice. You need something to soak up that amazing gravy!

Another great way to serve it is with big hunks of crusty bread. Simply put a couple of steaks with onion and mushroom gravy on a plate or in a bowl and serve with a big hunk of bread to sop up all the delicious gravy. It’s absolutely delicious!

Serve up this tasty meal any time you want a hefty, hearty dinner that really sticks to your ribs. I love to make this throughout the year, but it’s especially delicious and inviting on a cool fall day or cold winter day. It fills you up and warms you up just right!

Storing Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

This delicious homemade Salisbury Steak recipe will keep well in the refrigerator for up to four days. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to a month. Simply place your steak and gravy in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or large, heavy-duty freezer bag.

To defrost, plop it out into a pot and cook on low until defrosted and heated through. That’s all you need to do!

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy is Total Comfort Food

This homemade Salisbury Steak recipe with onion and mushroom gravy is absolute comfort food, and you’re going to love it. It’s nothing but beefy goodness coated in gravy and served with your favorite base of rice or potatoes.

Very similar to our Hamburger Steaks with Onion Gravy this dish will not disappoint either and is definitely worth a look.

The next time you’re craving something beefy, give this recipe a try. I know you and your family will love it as much as I and my family do.

Remember, this is one of the most classic family recipes you’ll ever find, so it’s perfect for special weekend meals with the family. Whip up a batch of this tasty steak and gravy dish and just sit and talk while you eat and then digest so much deliciousness you won’t know what to do with it all!