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!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it but what is a good substitute for the beef boullion cube in this recipe?
This is my go to site for recipes. The Salisbury steak recipe is an absolute keeper. I use this recipe for our hamburger patties for the bbq as well. Thanks for all your work Nagi. You make us all look good in the kitchen.
I’m so glad you love it Good – that’s so good to hear!!! N x
Thank you i have tried some of your recipes for a while now and each time they have been great, your instructions are aimed for want to be cooks like my self. This one was good and followed the recipe and my meat didn’t break up.
Thank you i have tried some of your recipes for a while now and each time they have been great, your instructions are aimed for want to be cooks like my self. This one was good and followed the recipe and my meat didn’t break up. Also being Aussie too i can find the ingredients you select in my local stores. Thanks
My mouth is watering! I love that you say to grate the onion and let it sit with rhe bread crumbs, great idea. I will be making this soon.
So yummy! I used ground sirloin and did mix it for at least minutes. My patties held together well. We loved the consistency of gravy. The flavor of this is now a new favorite. Thank you for this great recioe!
This recipe is a keeper! So delicious fast and easy. The ingredients are very well balanced, a great way to use a pound of hamburger!
Made this for the second time for my vegetarian aunts using beyond beef. Turned out amazing, thanks!
That’s so grea to know Andrew!! N x
Delicious! I’ve made this twice, perfect comfort food with mashed potatoes, steamed beans and a hunk of roast pumpkin. Had the leftovers for breakfast.
Very good. We prefer the patties to be more like a hamburger texture instead of a meatball texture like they turned out. Also gravy did not thicken as much as we would have liked. Will make again and make a few adjustments. Overall a good recipe that had great flavor.
I have made this recipe 5 times in the past few months and every single time I double the recipe (even when I’m just cooking for two people) we eat almost all of the Salisbury steaks in one sitting because they’re so delicious. Every one of Nagi’s recipes that I have tried are AMAZING and receive infinite compliments on my meals. This will for sure be a fan favorite with your friends and family!
for those of you that have issues with the patties falling apart, most likely your beef is too lean. it should be 80/20. the fat is needed to keep patties together
We loved this recipe! Even my super picky 11 year old! I didn’t read the comments and had the same patty issue. My beef was under 1lb, so I thought that was the issue.
Quick question. What kind of pan are you using?
Genius! I’m 59 and not a great cook, however, I I just made the best meal ever!
I followed the recipe and amazing- my taste buds came alive. Thank you for sharing.
First (sorry) I LOVE Naji and this website. I use to spend hours searching various sites for recipes – despite many recipes having 5 star reviews and looking good many were dismal failures. NO MORE! I only use recipetineats now and all her recipes are delicious and so easy to follow. I have made so many. This one too (Salisbury steak) was delicious – the sauce/gravy was amazing. Like another person commented my patties did fall apart though and I followed the recipe “to the letter” and measured everything carefully. I think more breadcrumbs are required (maybe 1 cup of panko rather than a half). It doesn’t matter though as I rescued the fallen apart patties and tossed them through pasta with the sauce/gravy. I made “Salisbury steak pasta”! Thank you so much Nagi – what you have done for the “on line” recipe industry (if that is the right terminology) is amazing. You should be congratulated. I just don’t know how you find the time especially with Dozer to walk and look after. I think you should go on Masterchef – I’ll mind Dozer for you if you have no one else. You would win for sure and inspire so many more people from only a website.
Hi Wendy! Thank you for your feedback on the patties, I have added an extra direction to reiterate how long the mixture should be hand mixed for to ensure the patties do not fall apart when cooking! 🙂 If you mix well for 2 minutes then the mixture becomes almost “taste like” and will definitely not fall apart. In fact, in Asian cooking, they don’t use egg for meatballs and patties – it holds together because the mince is mixed for long enough. 🙂 – N x PS Dozer sends virtually (furry!) hugs!
Hi Nagi Thanks for your quick reply. I did hand mix for quite a while but I will try again and will definitely use more breadcrumbs next time. Its a delicious recipe. Also, you have not replied re: Masterchef. You would win for sure! Love and many thanks again for all you do. Wendy (in Perth)
If you like hamburger mushroom gravy, this ones for you. I’ve made this twice & there is no cohesion to the patties. They just fall apart. Tastes OK but not Salisbury steak
Hi Graham, sorry you had issues here, sounds like your mince is extra wet. To combat this and ensure your patties stay together, add 1/4 cup more breadcrumbs & mix well for at least 2 minutes so the mixture becomes almost paste like 🙂 N x
Very good thank you for the recipe. Used ground bison and dusted with flour before frying. I also had to add more flour to thinken
Looks goid
Hi, i really love this , and madde it twice now! But my gravy never thickens (even after 15 min with mid high heat) do u know what I’m doing wrong?
Hi Linda, and you’re definitely adding flour as well to it? N x
Yeah i do, should i add more Maybe?
Are u sure you’re using tablespoons and not teaspoons because that should definitely thicken?
In the nutrients section, you mention that one patty has 286 kcal. Are you sure that’s correct? That means one patty has 286,000 calories. It’s not possible for a single person to consume so many calories in one sitting.
Hi Jennifer! It’s just 286 calories. There’s something wrong with the display – the “k” most definitely should not be there!!! I will get it fixed 🙂 N x