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!
Thank you for another outstanding recipe. I usually make this using ‘cube steak’, but was looking for a recipe based upon beef mince. This was perfect. I will try it with cube steak next time.
Hi Nagi! I have used this recipe many many times over the years and its always a winner! Comfort food at its best. The only difference I make is adding a bit of red wine to the gravy, it adds that extra something to the whole dish.
I was thinking about making meatballs rather than patties, do you think I will have to adjust anything? Breadcrumbs/beef ratio? Or cooking time?
Hi Kasia, you could definitely make them into meatballs, they may require a little more breadcrumbs to ensure they hold together. N x
These were very tasty. Didn’t put water in as my fry pan would’ve been overflowing and it didn’t need it as it thickened with just stock and kept it’s flavor.
I added the water and it took much longer than 7 minutes for the sauce to thicken soni think I would omit it next time too
This recipe was amazing!! I made a homemade Worcestershire sauce and I think that increased the flavors. I also mixed ground turkey and ground beef together and used dry mustard and Dijon mustard. My husband and I loved it! Really great job.
Sounds fab Mo! N x
This was great cut the garlic in half. Only 1 person like mushrooms cooked mushrooms in separate pan put in bowl on the side with gravy worked out perfectly
My first recipe from your site and this turned out nicely. I used 90/10 beef so I also used 3/4 cup panko. I used ground mustard and next time I will use dijon mustard and cracked black pepper in the meat and gravy. The meat was yummily tender and it was gobbled up. Yum.
You got some great recipes thanks for sharing! Lov Dozer
Recipe is perfect. I doubled it and froze leftovers. Had the frozen leftovers today. Tasted just as well as when first made. All it required was a 1/4 cup beef broth to get the gravy back to its original consistency. This will definitely stay on the list of meals to double going forward. Teenage son loves it even after seeing the mushrooms I tried to sneak off of his plate.
So your community takes food to a homeless man in the park who keeps other homeless people out of your park. And that is more Christian than housing him?
Hi David, not sure where you got that info from, he doesn’t keep any homeless people out – and he has housing, he lives in his van and absolutely loves it!
I made this for dinner tonight and thought it was very good. I’d suggest 1/4 cup of flour in the gravy, rather than 3 Tbs. And the patty thickness is key – aim for 3/4″ – 1″ thick for best results.
Made it and Love It!
Wow! Great savory flavor, perfect over mash potatoes, yum, yum, yum!
The most delicious Salisbury steak ever. I didn’t do mushrooms because my family doesn’t like them. It was so soft and tender. So good. Didn’t miss mushrooms at all.
Another winner, Nagi. When I first spotted the recipe on your site, my Drool Factor was high. The recipe does not disappoint. Aside from my stove heat issues, which caused uneven browning, it is PERFECT! The steaks are SO tender and savory. I like that there is plenty of gravy, too. DEE-LICIOUS. Thank you.
Soaking the breadcrumbs in the onion juice is GENIUS! So obvious yet “why didn’t I think of that?!”
It’s a total game changer isn’t it Brion! N x
One of my fave dinner recipes! Reminiscent of the Hungry Man TV dinners I ate as a child, but elevated to new heights. Served with mashed potatoes or cauliflower to make use of the gravy. This recipe is a winner for my family. Thanks!
Doing this at the moment. Hubby said are we having burgers, I said no, so much more than a burger. Looks and smells so yummy.
I hope it’s a hit Grace!! N x
Wow Nagi you are a genius. Who would have thought that burgers would have been so delicious and light. Hubby and me loved it. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you xx
This one wasn’t a winner for me. Family said it was like wet burgers. First time I have failed with a Nagi recipe.
Hi Darani, sorry you didn’t enjoy it – but that is exactly what it’s supposed to be like 🙂 N x
This recipe is ridiculously good! I doubled the recipe and one night had it with mash and broccoli and one night with egg noodles (I preferred the egg noodles) and peas. I didn’t have enough onion to use in both meat and sauce so I just put it in the sauce. It was still amazing! So good…. you did it again!
This is a fabulous recipe! I have actually used just the beef patty recipe and made them in to a delicious meatloaf as well. Love the flavor from the Worcestershire and Dijon.