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!
Yummm, these were delicious, I added some sriracha hot chilli sauce and it was yum!
Never heard of anyone doing that Georgia – but why not?! N x
Sooo delicious! G.j followed recipe exactly as and came out perfect!
WOW SO GOOD! the meat was so soft! the patties wanted to fall apart but I was very delicate with them. I will definitely be making this again with more mushrooms!
Wow!! This is one of the best dinners I have cooked in a while! So yummy! Thanks you so much for this recipe!
I’m so happy you loved it Cindy!! N x
The flavor was delicious but my patties would not hold together. We ate it over rice and enjoyed it.
Hi Paula, sorry you had issues here, a little more breadcrumbs would help them hold together. Sometimes I find mince can be a little watery unfortunately. N x
Thanks Nagi and Dozer,
Im so very pleased I saw this recipe and the homeless man story 😀.
I’ve cooked it on so many occasions, including “bring a dish” in our neighbourhood street gatherings. NOT once have a negative comment… infact I’ve been asked ” can you share the recipe please” … soooo THANKS once again for sharing your recipes and talents, not to mention DOZER and his taste (scoff) buds.
I love, love, LOVE cooking Salisbury Steak 🥰😍
These are SO good!! Sometimes I make them with ground chicken and chicken broth and they are equally as tasty. One note for anyone who has to make this gluten free: I’ve found gluten free bread crumbs, at least the two kinds I’ve used, can NOT be mixed with the onions ahead of time. The turn into a solid lump that is almost impossible to break up. It’s best to mix your ingredients with the meat and then mix in the crumbs last.
I just got done making it and I agree w the majority .. Very Very Tasty .. Thank you , great recipe .
I would have given it 5 stars, but the dejon mustard (cheap brand?) I used made it taste sour. Next time I will try making the gravy without the dejon. I loved the patties, however. The innovation of the patties with the grated onions made them melt in my mouth. Otherwise, delicious!
It definitely shouldn’t be sour Derek – could have been the brand you used! N x
Steaks were really tasty and the gravy was the finishing touch. Will be making again
This was absolutely delicious. The sauce was just perfect and the patties were so juicy. Will definitely make this one again!
I made this tonight and it was so good. This is definitely a keeper.
I love your methods of cooking. Straight to the point and easy to follow. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re so welcome Sookie – thanks so much for the great feedback! N x
This is the best Salisbury Steak recipe I have ever tried. It is delicious!
Made this with out bread crumbs and it was very good
This was delicious! We had it for dinner tonight and was so tasty and comforting. Served with roasted fingerling potatoes with a little minced parsley on top. This will definitely be in the rotation and is just the right thing for company. I must add, though, just over an hour from start to serving, so I would count on spending quite a bit more than 15 minutes on prep and then again on cooking. But, that aside, I would encourage everyone to try this … you will not be disappointed!
These were really good. I like the shaved onion/panko combination. They didn’t dry out. Also I finished it, covered, in the oven. Definitely a keeper
This was a great recipe and My hubby loved it.
I will definitely be making it again.
Thank you!
We loved this Salisbury Steak!!!
Perfect consistency – flavor –
You are the best!!!!!
Hi Nagi, I am trying to modify this recipe for my use because at the moment I can’t use allium vegetables (all onions and garlic). I think I can work around the onion and garlic in the patties by trying carrot, celery, and anchovy. But almost all bouillon cubes contain alliums and besides I’d rather not use something with MSG in my house because of issues. What would you suggest in its place? I’d try with mostly miso with a bit of anchovy paste and a smidge of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
What do you think?
Hi Didina, sorry the beef stock powder is what makes up this gravy, it sounds like you need a completely different recipe unfortunately! N x
Yeah, this recipe is just not a good fit unfortunately…
I’ll go hunt some more.
I’ve had great success lately with your Mexican-ish recipes even without onion or garlic.
My next feat would be making good meatballs with tomato sauce. I used to use some sausages or mortadella together with the meat, but unfortunately now I have to be careful about even small quantities of allium so…I don’t think I can eat any kind of sausage/mortadella/etc
It’s a bummer! But this diet is teaching me a lot in the kitchen
Thanks anyway Nagi
Didina
Try the 7 brand of stock cubes in Australia. They are fodmap friendly and do not contain onion.
I made it without the bouillon cube and it was just fine.
My Mother can’t eat onion or garlic either. She is on the FODMAP diet. My sister researched and found that Massel brand (hope I got the spelling right) is clear of onion and garlic – at least the chicken ones are recommended. They are also a good quality stockcube. Good luck
How about making your own beef stock? Also I’ve been seeing a lot of beef broth/ bone broth organic lately- maybe you can find one that doesn’t have the additives you can’t have?