Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Steak Salad is a visual and culinary delight! This restaurant-quality salad has dried cherries, crispy shallots, candied nuts, and goat cheese.
I received an email from a reader who didn’t grill and requested for stovetop steak recipes. I did the finger interlace thing where you flip your hands and crack your knuckles, then wiggled my fingers before responding.
Yes, I have pan-seared and pan-roasted steak recipes, including my Steak Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, which is exceptional. A robust steak salad with dried cherries, crispy shallots, candied pecans, and goat cheese is restaurant-quality.
This lavish feast is plenty of taste!
Like a good Midwesterner, I love steak. Few things beat a perfectly grilled steak, but walking through three feet of snow to grill one in the unnamed season isn’t enticing. Perhaps you don’t have a grill or don’t like it.
Problem solved with my quick stovetop steak cooking method for tender, juicy beef. With delicious toppings, it makes a restaurant-worthy salad excellent for entertaining, holidays (Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day come to mind), or a memorable meal at home with friends.
Glass of red wine optional, but advised!
Steak Salad Ingredients
Quickly list the greatest steak salad ingredients so we know what to expect!
This substantial steak salad works best with strip or ribeye steaks. Details underneath.
Candied Pecans: cook in a pot for 5 minutes with a few ingredients. They give the salad a delicious sweet-salty crunch. Store-bought is fine if easier.
Crispy shallots are my secret weapon for rich salad flavor. They crisp up without breading or deep-frying, unlike onion rings. If crispy shallots aren’t your thing, use thinly sliced red onion!
Add a sweet-tart crunch to each bite of dried cherries. Cranberries dried are a good replacement.
The salad gets tangy and creamy from goat cheese (chevre). I love trying new flavors, and honey, garlic-herb, and truffle goat cheese are great in this salad. Montchevre products are fantastic and accessible at most supermarket stores. Crumbled blue or feta cheese would work instead of goat cheese.
Maple Balsamic Dressing: a few simple ingredients make the best steak salad dressing. Good enough to spoon-eat!
Lettuce: This is last because it’s just a vehicle for these great toppings. Use what you love. I prefer mixed greens, but hearty romaine, arugula, and baby spinach are fantastic too!
Which Steak to Use
Pan-roasted Filet Mignon is delicious with a knife and fork. The steak is delicious and expensive, so I serve it with mashed potatoes and a roasted vegetable to highlight it. Although pricey, skirt and flank steak brown well in a skillet on the stove.
For steak salads, I usually use strip or ribeye steaks. Both steaks cook quickly and are good overall.
Strip steaks: the tenderloin, which can be cut into filet mignon, is the smaller side of a T-bone steak. The strip steak is the longer side. The “New York Strip” is a fantastic everyday steak.
The top, front-end rib part of a cow produces ribeye steaks, one of my favorite beef cuts. Great marbling (flavor and tenderness) makes ribeyes expensive, so buy up if they’re on sale. I like to serve ribeyes simply, although they slice well and add flavor to salads.
Whether you use strip steaks or ribeyes, this salad cooks the same. These photographs show strip steaks.
- Tips for Success
Follow these methods to make excellent stovetop steak with salad every time! - Look for steaks with good marbling, or fat running through the flesh. This enhances taste and tenderizes beef. Despite a lack of marbling, slicing a steak thinly and against the grain after cooking will yield fantastic results.
- To cook a strip steak or ribeye on the stove or grill, I recommend a thickness of at least 1″, preferably 1-1/2″.
- Skillet-seared steak tastes best in a hot skillet, and cast iron is my favorite for a golden brown crust. This enameled cast-iron skillet is affordable.
- Resting steaks is the most crucial step after cooking. If you slice them too soon, the liquids will run out, leaving dry, chewy beef. Dislike! Once cooked to your liking, place the steaks on a cutting board and let them rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.
Okay, let’s get you this huge steak salad!
Try This Hearty Salad Make this steak salad recipe
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Step 1: Make Maple Balsamic Dressing
This dressing is liquid gold. SO GOOD! Add these ingredients to a tight-fitting jar or small bowl and shake or whisk to combine:
- Olive oil extra virgin
- Balsamic vinegar
- Pure maple syrup
- Minced shallots
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh garlic
- Salt and pepper
An immersion blender can be used to make the dressing very smooth, but otherwise it’s OK.
Dressing can be made 5 days ahead. Over time, it improves in the fridge.
a maple balsamic vinaigrette bowl
Step 2: Candify Pecans
Candied pecans are delicious and easy to create. Heat butter, brown sugar, and pure maple syrup in a skillet over medium heat.
Once the mixture starts bubbling, add pecan halves and stir for 2-3 minutes until the sugar mixture sticks to them. Beware of burning nuts.
Scatter candied pecans on parchment paper or a silpat, salt them, and let them cool. Making candied pecans is simple, right?
Candied pecans can be made 3 days ahead. Cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container on the counter.
candied pecans cool
Step 3: Crisp Shallots
Crispy shallots are like little onion rings but without the batter or deep fat frying.
Slice two large onions thinly and cut into rings.
Next, heat extra virgin olive oil in a big cast iron pan on medium-high. Stir fairly constantly with tongs to fry half the shallots until golden brown, not dark brown, in heated oil. Dark brown shallots taste scorched.
Use a shallot ring to test the oil temperature—if it sizzles, it’s ready. Continue preheating the oil if not.
pan-fried shallots
Sprinkle salt on shallots after draining on a paper towel-lined dish. After pan-frying the second batch of shallots, drain, salt, and set aside.
Shallots done!
Step 4: Trim, Season, and Cook the Steak Now for the main event!
The 10oz strip steaks (New York Strip Steak) are ~1-1/4″ thick. I let them sit on the counter for 20 minutes to remove the fridge chill.
I cut excess fat while pan-searing steak but leave it on when grilling. It spits and makes a mess when cooking otherwise.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the trimmed steaks and season with salt and black pepper. Add more salt than necessary. Trust me!
Drain the shallots’ oil and lower the skillet’s heat. Place seasoned steaks in a very hot pan and sear for 3 minutes. No touching!
Flip the steaks, lower the heat, and cook for 2 minutes for rare, 3 for medium-rare, or 4 for medium doneness. Internal steak temperatures for doneness using an instant-read digital thermometer:
Rare: 125 deg.
Medium-rare: 135c
Medium: 145F
Medium-well: 150 degrees
Good job: 160 degrees
For steaks thicker than 1-1/2″ and medium-well to well-done, finish cooking in a 400°F oven for 4-8 minutes after flipping. Sear for 3 minutes, flip, and bake the pan for 4-8 minutes.
Step 5: Rest steaks
Let the steaks rest on a chopping board for 10 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain or cutting into bite-sized pieces. Slide the steak over two lettuce beds and top with sweet, savory, creamy, and crunchy toppings.
Translation: dried cherries or cranberries, candied pecans, goat cheese, and crispy shallots. Put on the homemade dressing and eat!
Enjoy every taste of this exquisite Steak Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing, perfect for entertaining!
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