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!
I struggle with grating the onion. Too much crying and it takes too long. Is there a simpler way?
Just throw your onion in a food processor and whir until wet.
If you just mince the onion and sauté for just a couple minutes, it’s excellent-sans grating.
You can just skip the onions in the steaks and put all of the onion, diced, directly into the gravy.
I always grate my veg in the food processor – so quick and easy
If you have a food chopper or processor you could chunk up the onion and put it in that to mince it.
I absolutely love this recipe. The grated onion mixed with the breadcrumbs is genius. I do this when I make meatloaf now as well!!
I am sure I slightly tweak your amounts now that I have made this a handful of times, but this is an amazing basic recipe for Salisbury steak and my go-to whenever I make it. I serve with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli or peas. So Good!!!
Thank you for the inspiration.
Wow just amazing. Followed the recipe but doubled it to feed us for two days and it melted in my mouth. I did cook the meat a tad longer to almost done. I was nervous it would not be cooked all the way
Once again AMAZING…. also Once again thanks to the community park homeless guy caretaker….. he is right these are the BEST…. I think of his inspiration to you each n every time I cook this meal. Thanks for sharing the recipe …. about 8 yrs ago…. it was the first recipe and first time I followed your site …. and I’ve been inspired ever since…. would love an update on Mr… INSPIRATION… how is he? Does he realise he has followers… people who are interested and care…
Really nice and very tasty! My only remark would be to brown patties really well before adding them to gravy, as my husband said that they needed just a bit more cooking.
We’re having these for dinner per your recipe. I can tell from it that they will be delicious! I love the idea of the grated onion and just shared that with my hubby. Something neither of us have thought of. Fantastic tip!! I most loved your story about the origins of your recipe. So sweet. I hope by now that gentleman has housing. You are a good human being to take the hot meals. No one really knows how they struggle unless you’ve done some type of service work. Your work is hot, delicious food. May God bless you, Nagi!
My father in law lovvvveeeddd this recipe… I just used extra Worcestershire sauce because I just love the taste of it – but this recipe was amazing
Are there suggested ways to freeze this part way through? I wondered if I can make the patties and freeze them raw, them later cook them after thawing fully?
Came out well except I forgot to add the onion and bread crums to my patty mixture! I wish it would of instructed to at the end of step #2.
OMG! Sooo Good!! Sadly my husband didn’t have any as he left the room and my son helped himself to 4 steaks and all the mushrooms!! It was so good that I am going to use this as the basis of an empanada filling, cooking the ground beef as crumbles rather than steaks, adding it to the mushroom gravy as well as cubed potatoes peas and carrots! Can’t wait! Thank you Nagi
I have always ate Salisbury steak tv dinners and one day about two weeks ago I looked up this recipe and made it. I have doubled the recipe and have made it twice since.
I too am lazy and make package brown mushroom and/or onion gravy and I add in a bit of catsup and some Dijon mustard.
I will never eat Salisbury steak a
In a frozen dinner again when this is so much better and not that hard.
I like this more than meatloaf baked hamburgers or regular hamburgers though I will still eat the others.
I just had to say this is a wonderful and easy recipe. And thank you for posting it.
Of course! Grate the onion, then mix with the panko! Looks like a great start for a curry base. If you allowed space here for attachments, wouuld everyone send doggy pictures?
Flavor is great! Patties are way too soft, needs more binding ingredients. A crunch element would be nice.
Can the patties be put in oven to bake?
Fantastic! I used spicy jalapeno ketchup and some fresh rosemary . I didn’t have any panko so I crushed up some Italian croutons and let them soak up the grated onion.. it was perfect . Everybody loved it
This is a great recipe and I appreciate it. I found that the mustard and ketchup was overpowering for me so I used much less in my meat and no mustard in my gravy. I also added green pepper to the onion garlic mushroom mix for the gravy and let the patties simmer longer in the gravy. It’s in our regular rotation now!
I made this for a family dinner last night. I doubled the recipe. It was so juicy & moist. I served it with mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach, salad, & homemade bread. Everyone had second servings!
Im trying the salsbury steak recipe for dinner tonight! Will let you know how I do 😂
Second time I’ve made this. Made a few recipies from your site. None of them have sucked!!
We liked this old school recipe as a comfort dinner on a cold night. Not sure I’d make a single change, except maybe to go less heavy on the salt. The onion panade is a great idea – I’m stealing that for my meatballs 😉