A crisp, cool, and delicious answer to “what’s for dinner” is a steak salad with blue cheese. Perfectly grilled steak, balsamic roasted red onions, and crumbled blue cheese top crunchy greens for a meal that packs a flavor punch.
Dinner time can be hectic. I am a huge fan of make ahead recipes that don't taste like make ahead recipes because we all know sometimes they can be subpar.
This steak salad recipe with blue cheese and a balsamic dressing is an ideal make-ahead meal. Prep the components of the steak salad with blue cheese recipe in advance.
To help your family serve themselves when dinner time rolls around, leave a note of how to compose the salad. I have left a note and even a diagram of how to assemble the salad.
the ingredients for the steak salad recipe
- Red onions
- Balsamic vinegar
- Garlic cloves
- Brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce
- Dried oregano, thyme and basil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
- Skirt steak
- Blue cheese
- Romaine lettuce
chef cooking tips to prep steak salad with blue cheese in advance
In essence, prep and/or cook and cool the components of the salad and store them in the refrigerator.
This delicious entrée steak salad will be ready and waiting for you when hunger strikes. And the ingredients will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Shake up a batch of balsamic vinaigrette. A mason jar is perfect for mixing up the sweet and tangy vinaigrette.
- Roast the balsamic drizzled red onions.
- Marinate and grill the skirt steak.
- Chop the lettuce and store it rolled in a paper towel in a large resealable bag.
- Crumble the blue cheese. Buy a good wedge of the the sharp, earthy, bold and tangy cheese and crumble it yourself. It will be much more flavorful than the precrumbled blue cheese.
- When it is dinnertime, slice the skirt steak and place it on top of the romaine lettuce along with the red onions, a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese and a drizzle of the balsamic herb vinaigrette.
why this steak salad recipe is a winner
A couple parts of this recipe make it standout as a winner.
- A triple duty homemade homemade balsamic herb vinaigrette. It's a robust sauce to roast along with the red onions, a hearty marinade for the skirt steak, and a slightly sweet and tangy dressing for the salad. Shake up the vinaigrette in a mason jar. Store any leftovers in the sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Skirt steak adds rich and intense flavor to the salad when it is grilled over a hot fire. When grilling the steak, sear it over a high heat to ensure that an amazing crust (the flavor-packed charred and blackened bits on the steak) forms. A grill pan is also a handy way to grill the steak . Skirt steak is thin so grill it to medium rare or medium for 3 to 4 minutes per side to guarantee a tender steak. The steak should rest for about 5 minutes tented loosely under foil. To slice, cut the steak in 4 inch sections with the grain of the meat. Then slice each piece against the grain into one-quarter inch strips for tender and juicy steak.
more make ahead recipe ideas
just one more thing
If you make this delicious steak salad recipe, I’d love hearing from you all.
Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Balsamic Herb Steak Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This steak salad with roasted red onions and blue cheese is a delicious entree salad.A homemade balsamic vinaigrette does triple duty as it roasts along with the red onions, marinades the steak and is a vinaigrette for the salad.
Ingredients
- 2 large red onions cut in 1/4 inch slices, about 4 cups
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 skirt steak (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- about 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 8 cups of chopped romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Place onions in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a mason jar, combine balsamic vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, oregano, thyme, basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Screw on a tight fitting lid and give the marinade/vinaigrette a good shake. Pour about 1/3 cup of the mixture over the onions and toss to coat.
- Spread onions on the preheated baking sheet. Roast onions in oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until the onions are soft and slightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While the onions are roasting, place the steak in a resealable bag and add 1/2 cup of the marinade/vinaigrette. Seal bag and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat a grill or grille pan to high heat.
- Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade. Place on the hot grill and cook without moving for 3 minutes for medium rare and 4 minutes for medium. Flip the steak over and grill for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. The internal temperature of the steak should be about 120 to 125 degrees.
- Remove steak from grill and cover with loosely foil for 5 minutes.
- After the steak rests, slice it into 4 inch sections with the grain of the meat. Slice each section against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. This insures that the meat will be tender.
- To assemble the salads, place about 2 cups of the romaine on each of 4 large plates. Top with the sliced steak, roasted red onions, blue cheese and a drizzle of remaining balsamic herb vinaigrette.
Notes
- Shake up a batch of balsamic vinaigrette. A mason jar is perfect for mixing up the sweet and tangy vinaigrette.
- Roast the balsamic drizzled red onions.
- Marinate and grill the skirt steak.
- Chop the lettuce and store it rolled in a paper towel in a large resealable bag.
- Crumble the blue cheese. Buy a good wedge of the the sharp, earthy, bold and tangy cheese and crumble it yourself. It will be much more flavorful than the precrumbled blue cheese.
- When it is dinnertime, slice the skirt steak and place it on top of the romaine lettuce along with the red onions, a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese and a drizzle of the balsamic herb vinaigrette.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: entree
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 632
- Sugar: 9.1 g
- Sodium: 1303 mg
- Fat: 39.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: ~
- Trans Fat: ~
- Carbohydrates: 17.2 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 51.1 g
- Cholesterol: 113 mg
This recipe was originally posted in May 2014. The updates include new photos, shopping links and nutritional information.
Margaret MacKenzie
This salad recipe is truly trans-seasonal. Perfect for balmy summer patio dining with the steak hot off the grill, or as a pleasant reminder of warmer temps on a rainy winter eve. Steak and blue cheese are a natural pairing, and Amy’s marinade adds a new dimension to that classic combo. Roasted petite potatoes, toasted walnuts and/or garlic croutons are tasty add-ons.
Amy Casey
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed my recipe Margaret. Steak and blue cheese are a winning combination.