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Black and Blue Steak Salad

This Steak Salad recipe is a hearty, fully loaded salad that’s simply irresistible. The succulent steak boasts complex savory, tangy, sweet and spicy notes from an easy balsamic marinade that infuses the steak with tons of flavor. The buttery tender steak is complimented by smokey grilled sweet corn, crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, sweet strawberries, creamy avocados, and crunchy homemade croutons drizzled with tantalizing blue cheese dressing. You will want to do douse the dressing on EVERYTHING. You can dress this steak salad up or down with your favorite ingredients and prep everything ahead of time so all you have to do is grill your steak and eat!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 56 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients

Steak

Salad

  • 1 large head romaine lettuce chopped
  • 2 ears corn on the cob
  • half English cucumber halved and sliced
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 avocado chopped or sliced
  • 1/4 red onion thinly sliced

Blue Cheese Ranch

  • 1/2 cup real mayonnaise I use low-fat
  • 1/2 cup sour cream may sub Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup Blue cheese crumbles more or less to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 TBS EACH freshy chopped parsley and chives OR 2 tsp EACH dried
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp EACH salt, pepper
  • 1/4 cup milk more or less as needed

Easy Croutons

  • 1/2 loaf French bread, cubed preferably day old
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried basil, dried parsley, garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp EACH dried thyme, dried oregano salt, pepper

Instructions

  • STEAK. Click on “marinated flank steak” in the ingredients. You can use the “jump to recipe" button at the top of the page to go directly to the recipe. Marinate steak according to recipe directions. Grill steak after the salad is assembled and you are ready to serve; best served slightly warm.
  • DRESSING. Add the Blue Cheese Dressing ingredients to jar or bowl and whisk to combine. Add additional milk as needed. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Best if chilled at least one hour. Dressing can be made up to one week in advance.
  • CROUTONS: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray or use a nonstick mat. Add cubed bread to the baking sheet and drizzled with olive oil then sprinkle with spices; toss until evenly coated. Spread bread into an even layer and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until golden.
  • CORN: Grilling the corn is optional but adds a delicious smokiness. You may also cut the corn straight off of the cob and use raw in the salad.
  • Lightly brush each ear of corn with olive oil, and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Grease and heat grill to high heat. Once hot, add corn and close the lid. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, rotating the corn until all of the sides are lightly charred, about 10-12 minutes, closing the lid in between rotations. Set the corn aside and allow to cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels off of the cob.
  • ASSEMBLE: Add chopped lettuce to a large salad bowl followed by all remaining salad ingredients except croutons. Season with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Top with sliced or chopped steak. You can either drizzle with dressing and toss OR drizzle dressing over individual plates. Garnish individual servings with croutons. Serve immediately.

Notes

HOW TO STORE AND SERVE 

This steak salad recipe can be served with hot or cold steak, but I prefer steak hot off of the grill.  Here are three ways to serve this salad:
  • If not expecting leftovers:  add all of the salad ingredients to a large salad bowl.  You can toss everything together with the dressing or serve it on the side and let everyone dress their own salads.
  • If expecting leftovers: steak salad is best served fresh because once all of the veggies are combined, the juicy tomatoes, strawberries etc. begin making the salad wilt. If you expect leftovers, it is ideal to keep the ingredients separate; otherwise you can toss all of the salad ingredients together in a large salad bowl except avocados and croutons. Serve avocados, croutons and dressing on the side.  This will prevent the salad from getting as soggy when storing.
  • Salad Bar.  If you have picky eaters or want a fun entertaining idea, then consider a salad bar where everyone can pile on as much or as little of their favorite toppings.  This also works the best for storing leftovers.  Everyone is a winner with a steak salad bar!

salad tips and tricks

  • Shortcuts.  You can use store bought blue cheese dressing and croutons. I LOVE Lite House Chunky Blue cheese. You can also purchase store-bought croutons. Go flavorful like Italian herb.
  • Use day old French bread. 1-2 day old bread is easier to slice without it caving in on itself.  Fresh bread will also work; it just isn’t as sturdy.
  • Customize ingredients.  The steak salad ingredients and measurements are simply suggestions.  You can use add/swap any ingredients for your favorite veggies and fruits.   
  • Different dressing.  You can also use a different dressing if blue cheese isn't your thing.  I've included several dressing options in the post. 
  • Customize dressing.  Add more or less blue cheese depending on how strong your cheese is and personal preference.  You can also customize the seasonings and consistency. 
  • Don't skip fruit.  The strawberries balance the tangy dressing and steak so I don’t promote omitting the fruit altogether but you can swap the strawberries for dried cranberries, dried cherries, pineapple, peaches, clementine oranges or mangos. 
  • Chill dressing.  I suggest making the dressing at the same time as the marinade.  If you're short on time, stick the dressing in the freezer for 30 minutes or so.  
  • Salt to taste.  If the steak salad feels like it’s missing something, it is probably salt and pepper. Every part of your salad should be seasoned with freshly cracked salt and pepper to enhance the flavor – just like the restaurants.
  • Prep ahead:  You can marinate your steak, make your dressing, make the croutons and chop all your veggies ahead of time and store in air-tight containers so all that’s left is to do is assemble and EAT! Detailed prep ahead instructions in post.
  • Multi-task. If you don’t prep ahead, it’s easy to chop all of the ingredients while your steak is coming to room temperature before grilling. 
  • Don’t dress salad.  Wait to drizzle the dressing on the steak salad until you’re ready to serve.   Don’t dress the entire salad unless you don’t expect leftovers because dressed salad will become soggy.
  • Hold avocados.  If you’re anticipating leftovers, you may want to omit the avocados from the salad and use them as a topping so they don’t brown upon storage. 

HOW TO MEAL PREP 

The key to meal prepping steak salad is layering the salad ingredients in a specific order so the ingredients don’t become soggy.  Layer the ingredients in the desired number of containers in the following order:
  • 1) steak, 2) corn, 3) tomatoes, 4) strawberries, 5) all other veggies 6) lettuce
  • Divide croutons into separate airtight containers or plastic bags.
  • Keep avocados whole and slice/chop just before serving
  • Divide dressing into smaller airtight containers or plastic bags.v