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!
Made this again for the third time. Love this recipe for feeding my lucky people at work. I did finish with a drizzle of Alberta rum.and fresh parsley. You are my go to girl for recipes.
I’m allergic to onions….have any ideas on a substitute?
I always use capsicum as replacement for onions as it adds a similar sweetness. If you can have green onions, use a mix of capsicum and green onions and it should be a great substitute.
Asafoetida is a good onion substitute (Indian grocers carry it, some practitioners of Hinduism don’t use onion or garlic and use this as a substitute for the flavour I believe). Smells a bit funny but it gives a similar onion/garlic flavour. I’d imagine for this recipe you might need to soak the crumbs with something though as asafoetida is a dry spice.
Just made it tonight again. One of my favorite recipes on rotation. Delicious!!!!
Thanks for the feedback Francesca!
I forgot rating. Thanks Nagi and Dozer.
Thanks!
The devine recepie. My husband and I had it for dinner.
It is going to be on my list. Love Nagi and Dozer.
Wahoo! That’s great Ana!
I just finished eating this for dinner and I can’t wait to have the leftover for lunch tomorrow! This was delish!!
I added Worcestershire sauce to my mushrooms and canned chicken breast after the rice was done. Also I used minute rice because I am always in a rush. It was amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Christy!
I just made these and they are so delicious. My skillet looked exactly like yours when I got done. I will be using this recipe for years I’m sure. I wish I would have taken a photo.
Perfect Glenna!!
Pretty simple to make but great flavor and texture. Like I spent hours! Hahahaha Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Jamie!
These are soooo good. Finally I found a cook that understands that Ketchup is an ingredient. Love your site.
I’ so glad you loved them Chris!
Can they be made ahead of time?
Hi Bill, yes you can make the patties ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to cook – N x
Just made this tonight and it was fabulous. The meat and mushroom sauce were to die for. The aromas are still in the house. Nagi, your recipes are always spot on. Thank you.
You’re so welcome Joe!
hi Nagi,
i would love to try out this recipe soon.. but i would like to know if it is possible to freeze it for later use for the patties & mushroom sauce. if, possible, how do i froze it and last for how long to stay fresh. thank you very much 🙂
Made this tonight, it was sooo good! Used ground turkey instead of beef, and green peas and mashed potatoes as sides.
Sounds great April!
Tried this for dinner last night. My patties definitely should have had more binder. They tended to crumble around the edges and didn’t hold their shape. Flavor was excellent, especially the gravy. Based on the other reviews, I added one more tablespoon of flour and that seemed to produce the perfect consistency. I used the full amount of mustard and did not notice any heavy mustard taste. Overall, I thought it was excellent.
Hi Brian, I’m so glad you managed to get them to stick & enjoyed them!
3 words: “Yes, yes, YES!”
Wahoo!!!
So I’ve been doing this recipe for a while maybe even 2 years. My 16+ Australian terrier Snorky loved it. He passed away in May. The leftovers I used to give him 4-6 left overs in feeds. Alas it’s me and the Man now and I was wondering what to do with leftovers. Handsome piped up and said “This would be good in a pie” I’ve never made meat pies. But I knew you had meat pie instructions. Guess what – this turned out to be a great pie filling. Last night I put the whole lot in the fridge. Before work I put sauce back on stove for an hour or so. I know you said that reducing a sauce from store bought stock would be too salty. So just before I shut it off I did 1/2 tablespoon of flour and made a paste with water. As sauce was bubbling I whisked it in. It took the salty away but flavour was still there. I had 3 patties left which i chopped up and threw in. Also had left over mash. from night before.When I got home I followed your pie assembly from the meat pie post. I put a thin layer of mash on top of filling and than the puff lid. Seriously yum. Very gourmet pie for an Aussie. Man was happy. Salisbury steak recipe- the gift that keeps on giving
I’m so sorry to hear about Snorky, sounds like he ate like a king ❤️ What a great idea regarding the left overs – now that’s something I need to try!!! – N x
OMG- this is delicious- thanks so much!
You’re so welcome Kim!
This was delicious and my family loved it. I loved how it came together easily despite having a relatively complex flavor profile – I’ve found Salisbury steak recipes are often either too simple or overly arduous to put together, and this one was a nice mix of complexity of flavor and simplicity of preparation.
I added about 3 ounces of minced mushrooms to the patties because we like it mushroomy through and through. Plus, mushrooms come in packs of 8 ounces so it’s an easy addition, since 5 ounces are already designated for the gravy. Maybe we did 2 ounces minced + 6 ounces for the gravy but you get the idea!
I minced the mushrooms in my food processor so I took advantage of the machine being already in use, and decided to next mince the onion for the patties in the food processor too instead of grate it – it still produces lots of juice because of the intensity of the blade and made it that much easier to put the recipe together. I generally don’t chop onion in my food processor for that reason (it gets too juicy) but this was the perfect solution.
The mustard was a surprise though – I’ve never seen that in a Salisbury steak recipe before. Maybe I’m just used to the American version? I will decrease (or eliminate) the amount of mustard next time, or perhaps try the mustard powder option instead. It dominated a bit too much for my taste.
It was still delicious though and I do like the breadcrumb technique!
Hi Wendy, sorry the mustard was too overpowering for you – just leave it out next time. Thanks so much for the feedback ❤️
I keep coming back to your recipe! Absolutely quick and delicious. Thank you.
Wahoo, that’s great Cynthia!!
I have tried many of your recipes. They are great, easy to follow and cheap to make. Thanks
That’s so great to hear Charles, thanks so much!