Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy is a comfort food favourite that’s easy to make. Juicy seasoned beef patties made with ground beef (mince) smothered in an outrageously delicious mushroom gravy, this Salisbury Steak recipe has been tried and loved by readers from all over the world. And now it’s your turn to experience it!
And next time – try Salisbury Steak Meatballs!
Salisbury steak
There’s a man who lives in his car at our local dog park. He’s a valuable member of our community – he knows all the locals, looks after the park like it’s his own backyard, has gun-barrel views over Sydney’s beautiful Pittwater waterways and he tells the worst jokes. 😂
Anyway, the story of this Salisbury Steak recipe is that I regularly take hot meals down to him, sometimes even fancy-sounding things like duck confit. As we approached Christmas one year, I asked him what, of all the meals I took to him that year, his favourite meals were.
And he said “Oh, those burgers with the mushroom gravy were spectacular!” So I made them again for him, then I published the recipe on my site the next day. 🙂
This was back in 2015, and that’s how this Salisbury Steak recipe came to be on my website!
How to make Salisbury Steak
Salisbury steak involves making seasoned beef patties using mince / ground beef, then making a mushroom gravy. In my recipe, there’s just two little things I do differently to the usual Salisbury Steak recipe that I think makes them even tastier:
Grate onion and soak the breadcrumbs in the juices – guaranteed to make the steaks softer and tastier, a tried, proven and much loved method that I use for my classic Italian Meatballs (plenty of reviews substantiating this!). Plus it’s much more efficient than cooking chopped onions (raw onion bits in steak is not nice), and you avoid the risk of the steaks falling apart if the onions aren’t chopped finely enough ; and
Sear beef patties briefly then finishing cooking IN the gravy: I like to sear them in a stinking hot skillet to brown the steaks so they are still raw on the inside, then finish cooking them in the gravy so the juices that seep while they are cooking flavours the gravy. Never waste free flavour! That’s my motto! Plus, the gravy infuses moisture in to the steaks. Double bonus!
What is the difference between a Salisbury Steak and Hamburger patties?
Great Hamburger patties are made with nothing more than good quality ground beef, salt and pepper. Whereas the ingredients in Salisbury Steak patties are more like meatballs – including breadcrumbs, onion and flavourings such as Worcestershire sauce.
Salisbury Steak is pretty much me on a plate. Wholesome, homely, down to earth good food that’s economical, packs a flavour punch but is not fiddly or time consuming to make. Hope you love it as much as I do! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Sometimes it helps to have a visual – so watch me make this Salisbury Steak!
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Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
Salisbury Steak
- 1/2 onion (white, brown or yellow)
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (or 1/3 cup ordinary breadcrumbs)
- 1 lb/500g ground beef (mince)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tsp dijon mustard OR 2 tsp dry mustard powder
Gravy
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 onion , finely chopped
- 5 oz/150g mushrooms , sliced
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp flour (all purpose / plain)
- 2 cups beef broth / stock , low sodium
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Salisbury Steaks
- Onion grating – Place breadcrumbs in a bowl. Use a box grater and grate the onion over the breadcrumbs. Mix with fingers, leave to soak for a few minutes.
- Mix – Add remaining Salisbury Steak ingredients into the large bowl. Use your hands to mix until just combined. Mix well for a couple of minutes until the mixture becomes a bit "pasty" which will ensure your patties hold together well.
- Form patties – Divide into 5 and pat very firmly into oval patties around 3/4" / 1 2/3 cm thick.
Cooking and Gravy
- Brown patties – Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the steaks and cook the first side for 1 minute or until browned, then gently flip and brown the other side (they will still be raw inside). Remove onto plate.
- Cook aromatics – If skillet is looking dry, add a touch more oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook for 2 minute until onions are a bit translucent.
- Cook mushrooms – Add the mushrooms into the skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until golden.
- Make gravy roux – Turn heat down to medium. Add butter. Once melted, add flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Gravy – Gradually add in beef broth, stirring as you go. Once mostly lump free, whisk in remaining Gravy ingredients.
- Finish cooking steaks – Add steaks along with the juices on the plate. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes, or until gravy is thickened, stirring occasionally around the steaks. If the gravy thickens too quickly, add more water.
- Season gravy – Remove steaks onto a plate. Taste gravy and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve salisbury steaks topped with the mushroom gravy – over mashed potato is ideal! Sprinkle with a bit of parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Every morning over the summer break. PS He’s leaping to catch sand. No interest in the usual toys!
For some reason after almost 10 minutes. The gravy still isn’t thickening. Is there anything I can do?
You can add a bit of cornflour mixed with cold water or about 2 tsp plain flour mashed with 2 tsp butter and stir that through to thicken it a bit! N x
Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe! I’ve made similar in the past but never like this. Very delicious recipe. Boyfriend loved it. Thank you.
Hi!! For the gravy, I do not have Dijon mustard. What can I use instead and what measurement. Thanks so much. Planning to make for dinner tonight
You probably could use the same amount of any mustard you have or leave it out entirley. I forgot to put the mustard in my gravy and it was delicious regardless. My husband suggested i leave it out on purpose from now on. He wasn’t willing to risk it tasting different! ha ha.
I have never responded via internet before this. I am going to make this for my 13 and 12 year old daughters tomorrow, with there help! Also have never considered a “go fund me” for anyone. I am a dog lover and consider anyone that is willing to any kind of work in this blessed country a valuable asset. I appreciated your contribution to humanity. God bless you and I love your recipes and will continue to follow.
I want to cry this was SO GOOD. I have never made this before and haven’t had it since my father made it when I was a kid. My mind was blown at home perfect everything tasted. Wonderful recipe thank you so much.
I had to use Italian bread crumbs and chicken bouillon cubes because that’s all I couldn’t even tell when it all came together.
I would really like to try this, but my family doesn’t like mushrooms. Is there anything else I can do to make this?
Great recipe, thanks Nagi!
made this yesterday. absolutely delicious and was so easy as well. followed everything to a letter except used all beef broth as i had bought a 4 cup box of it. i might try panko breadcrumbs instead of the regular as i always find regular breadcrumbs contribute a certain taste to anything i add them to. loved, loved, loved this recipe.
Hi Nagi,
What brand beef bouillon cubes do you use? I’ve had 2 different brands. Both are way lighter in color and don’t break up like that. Makes a big difference in the color of gravy.
I generally use Oxo James. The cubes are quite large. If the gravy needs to be a bit darker you can always add 1/4 or 1/2 tsp soy, just be careful that it doesn’t get too salty! N x
Nagi, I was wondering what percentage of fat in the beef you suggest? I used 20% and it fell apart. The flavor was amazing.
BTW- Everything I have made from you has been a hit and a lot has been added to my favorite/no-fail recipe folder. Thank you!
Did you work the meat a bit until it was pasty? That is key for getting the steaks to stay intact. You also need to turn them very carefully. N x
I had everything except ketchup to make my Salisbury steaks … I used barbecue sauce. They turn out delicious!!!
Oh and I forgot to mention that as I didn’t have bouillon cubes I just used a tspn of better than bouillon for the patties and they turned out great!
I think maybe part of the confusion about the patties come from the mixing instructions:
“Use your hands to mix until *just combined.*” vs the very next line saying “Mix well for a couple of minutes”
I would remove the first sentence myself since they seem to be saying opposite things. 🙂
Thank you for the Better then Bullion post. That’s all I have and was wondering how much to use. Looks so yummy going to make it as soon as this episode of Bridgerton is over.
Thanks Kayla – I will fix that! N x
So yummy! And easy to make. I did find that the sauce didn’t thicken for me even with the flour roux. I ended up having to add two tbsp of cornstarch but still very yummy! For what it’s worth my patties had no problems staying together 🙂
Oh and I forgot to mention that as I didn’t have bouillon cubes I just used a tspn of better than bouillon for the patties and they turned out great!
I notice this recipe and your meatloaf recipe use crumbled bouillon cubes. I can’t get mine to crumble. Do you have a tip for getting them to crumble or is there a brand you recommend? I need a brand I can find in the U.S. I love your recipes.
I used Better Than Bouillon (the paste). It worked great! It does add a little more moisture, but too bad.
Absolutely Delish! I consider myself a pretty good home cook. However, never made Salisbury Steak. Wasn’t something my mom made growing up. This recipe is Spot On! My Steaks did not fall apart at all. I did mix until very “pasty.” Sk glad I made this and will again. 🍽
Great recipe! Came out perfectly. I substituted the beef stock for veggie stock and it came out just as good. Thanks!
I am fairly new to your site, but I can’t wait to try ALL your recipes!
I made this exactly as you wrote it. It was amazing! The flavours were right on point. Way better than any other and easy to make. Thank you ❤️
Welcome Kay! Happy cooking! N x
Followed recipe and my husband loved it!! So did I
SOOOO DELICIOUS!! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly! Served on a cloud of fluffy homemade mashed potatoes and Mm Mmm Mmmmm!!!!! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing Nagi! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! <3
I’m not a fan of salisbury steaks per say but my husband is. This was the first time I have ever cooked this dish in my life and honestly it was so good. It is definitely a keeper and we are adding it to the family dinner menu more often. I did however add one small part to the gravy. I added 1-2 dashes of red wine vinegar to enhance the flavour and it really brings it all together well. Absolutely delicious!!!