This salad is about as good as it gets! A spicy steak salad with roasted potatoes and a chermoula dressing - it really has everything you could want. It is possibly the best salad I have ever made, with a dressing you will want to put on everything, so you are in for a treat!
This steak salad is not only filling and protein packed, but it is bursting with flavour. Vibrant and colourful, it's easy to adapt with all your favourite salad ingredients and it's great to serving up at a dinner party as it's easy but looks impressive. This is a salad for people that think that salads are boring!
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Why you will love it
- Protein packed and filling
- Impressive enough to serve to guests
- Easy to adapt
- A delicious way to eat steak
- A salad to convince salad haters
Ingredients needed
- Steak - The star of the salad, and what makes it protein packed. You can use any steak that you like, depending on your budget. However, the better quality the better it will taste. We use a lean flank steak, as it cooks quicker. If you want something a little more special, then rib eye works well.
- Potatoes - Crispy roasted potatoes help to make this salad more filling. We used charlotte potatoes, however you could use any very small/baby potato.
- Chermoula dressing - If you haven't heard of this before, you are in for a treat. It is North African citrusy dressing that is made with oil, balsamic, fresh herbs, lemon, chilli, cumin and paprika. It is a taste sensation!
- Romaine lettuce - This is the base of the salad and we used romaine as it is nice and crunchy. However, you can use your favourite salad greens. Give this salad an iron boot by using a base of spinach and kale mixed with another lettuce. Rocket (arugula) adds a nice peppery flavour.
- Cucumber - This adds some extra crunch. We just used a standard English cucumber.
- Tomato - Not only do these add a pop of colour, but they add a burst of flavour with the juices. We used cherry tomatoes, but you could chop up any tomatoes.
- Spring onion (scallions) - This adds a nice crunch to the salad. You could swap it for diced shallots if you prefer.
- Cheese - We used a creamy goats cheese that was crumbled on top. This pairs beautifully with the chermoula dressing and balances of the chilli.
- Chilli - A sprinkle of red chilli slices add a real kick of spice. If this isn't your thing, then you can either leave them out or take the seeds out of the chilli to make them less spicy.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Add the potatoes to a bowl and drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 7 for 35 minutes. 10 minutes before the potatoes are cooked, pour the balsamic vinegar over the potatoes, stir and put back in the oven for the reminding 10 minutes.
Two: Make the dressing by mixing together the olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, coriander, parsley, garlic, red chilli flakes, paprika, cumin and salt and pepper.
Three: Add a little oil to a pan, season the steak and then cook on 2 minutes each side for medium. Set aside and cut in to strips.
Four: In a large dish, add the lettuce, cucumber and tomato, cooked potatoes and sliced steak.
Five: Drizzle the chermoula on top and then crumble over goats cheese.
Six: To finish, sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese, red chillies and spring onion.
Health benefits of beef
When it comes to beef, we are all about the thin lean cuts. They are super quick to cook (just 2 minutes each side if you like your steaks medium like us), and they provide a lean source of protein and iron, along with eight essential vitamins and minerals. Now that's what we call a superfood. Who doesn’t want all of that in a tasty salad?!
Another bonus of this salad, is that red meat is naturally rich in protein and low in sodium, this contributes towards good health and wellbeing.
Thin cuts of beef are no more than 5mm thick and because they are so quick and easy to cook, they are good to use in things like sandwiches, wraps and pasta dishes for a super quick and lean meal.
Eating 70g of cooked red meat five times a week is great as part of a healthy balanced diet. To keep your portion sizes in check, a typical 70g portion of cooked meat is roughly the amount that would fit into the palm of an adult hand.
What is chermoula?
We are really in to Northern African dishes at the moment, which is why we are smothering chermoula on everything. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a spicy and citrusy green dressing that is used a lot in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cooking.
It is made with a base of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and them mixed with lemon juice, soy sauce, fresh herbs and garlic and then some chilli, cumin and paprika for a burst of flavour.
It’s traditionally used to flavour fish and seafood, but it’s often used on meat and vegetables too and we think it is the perfect sauce for a nice lean beef steak.
What to serve it with
This salad really does have it all in one bowl, and it is filling as it is. However, if you are serving it up to guests and you want to bulk it out with some side dishes, then we have some delicious suggestions for you:
- Air Fryer Carrots
- Cucumber Salad
- Baked Tortilla Chips
- Sweetcorn Salsa
- No Mayo Coleslaw
- Spanish Olives
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli
- Easy Homemade Flatbreads
- Grilled Corn with Herb Butter
Extra tips
- You can use any steak you like for this salad, however the better quality, the better it will taste.
- Make sure that you season the steak, as it really will make a difference to the finished flavour.
- Add some extra creaminess to this salad by adding some chunks of avocado on top.
- You can swap the goats cheese for a blue cheese for a different flavour, but the same creaminess.
- Give the salad a vegetable boost by roasting some vegetables at the same time as the potatoes. Bell pepper, courgette and red onions work well.
FAQs
This really is a personally preference, depending on how you like your steak cooked. However, we think medium rare is perfect for this this steak salad. You will need to cook it for 3-4 minutes on each side, until it reaches an internal temperature of 63°C/145°F. If you prefer your steak more medium to well done, then you will need to cook it for 4-5 minutes each side, until it reaches an internal temperature of 73°C/163°F.
Flavourless oils like vegetable, sunflower or groundnut work best. Then, once the steak is searing you can add butter to the pan for extra flavour.
This steak salad will store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Just make sure to only add the dressing just before serving, otherwise it will start to go soggy.
This dressing is amazing, so you will want to make extra because it goes on everything. If stored in an air tight container in the fridge, it will last for 4-5 days.
More salad recipes
If you’ve tried this steak salad recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Spicy Steak Salad with Chermoula Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 Thin cut beef steaks - about 100g/3.5oz each
- 800 g Charlotte potatoes - halved
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil - for the potatoes
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil - for the chermoula
- 0.5 tablespoon Olive oil - for the steak
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
- 1 Lemon - (juice only)
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 handful Fresh coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
- 1 handful Fresh parsley - finely chopped
- 4 Garlic clove - crushed
- 1 tablespoon Red chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 2 head Romaine lettuce - (or a mix of lettuce) chopped
- 0.5 Cucumber - quartered
- 16 Cherry tomatoes
- 60 g (2 oz) Soft goats cheese
- 4 Spring onion (Scallion) - sliced
- 1 Red chilli - sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
- Add 800 g Charlotte potatoes to a bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon Olive oil and season with Sea salt and ground black pepper. Put in the oven for 35 minutes.
- 10 minutes before the potatoes are cooked, pour 2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar over the potatoes, stir and put back in the oven for the reminding 10 minutes.
- Make the chermoula dressing by mixing together 1 tablespoon Olive oil, juice of 1 Lemon, 1 tablespoon Soy sauce, 1 handful Fresh coriander (cilantro), 1 handful Fresh parsley, 4 Garlic clove, 1 tablespoon Red chilli flakes, 1 tablespoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Cumin and salt and pepper.
- Add 0.5 tablespoon Olive oil, season 2 Thin cut beef steaks and then cook on 2 minutes each side for medium. Set aside and cut in to strips.
- In a large dish, add 2 head Romaine lettuce, 0.5 Cucumber and 16 Cherry tomatoes, cooked potatoes and sliced steak.
- Drizzle the chermoula on top and then crumble over 60 g Soft goats cheese. To finish, sprinkle with 4 Spring onion (Scallion) and 1 Red chilli.
Recipe Tips
- You can use any steak you like for this salad, however the better quality, the better it will taste.
- Make sure that you season the steak, as it really will make a difference to the finished flavour.
- Add some extra creaminess to this salad by adding some chunks of avocado on top.
- You can swap the goats cheese for a blue cheese for a different flavour, but the same creaminess.
- Give the salad a vegetable boost by roasting some vegetables at the same time as the potatoes. Bell pepper, courgette and red onions work well.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Phil says
I make this one quite regularly. I sub in frozen potato cubes and skip the cheese but the chermoula is a knockout that brings it all together. Great recipe!
Dannii Martin says
So glad you enjoy it! The chermoula is amazing isn't it.
Karen says
This is my kind of salad. It looks really filling.
Veena Azmanov says
yessss! This is the perfect recipe for me. Looks VERY tasty! I'm sure this is incredibly delicious! Great recipe. I like all the ingredients in it. thank you.
Elaine says
This salad looks amazing! I would not have thought to put this combination together. I am going to have to go out and buy some steak to make this. Yum.. Thanks for sharing..
Tanya says
That salad looks incredible, I am such a big fan of beef. It’s a gorgeous piece of meat and tastes delicious and has endless options for meals
lisa prince says
this looks so fresh and tasty i love a cheerful tasty dish especially when its something quick
Jenni says
This is so lovely and colourful. I wouldn’t have thought to put beef with salads, I always tend to stick with chicken.
Eileen says
This looks like a salad from a 5*****-restaurant. Very delicious!
Melanie williams says
This would be ideal to serve at a bbq as a side salad extra, along with some corn this would go down a right treat x
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
Oh, how yummy! I'm always looking for new ways to jazz up my salads and adding the steak is a lovely addition.
Danielle says
That dressing sounds divine. I could eat it on anything! This is a great salad! I love using beef in salads.
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
This is my kind of salad -- and the chermoula dressing is genius. I make chermoula to serve with lots of grilled meats and seafoods, but turning it into a dressing just sounds like the bomb! Mouth is watering!
Kate | The Veg Space says
Oh I'm so glad it isn't just me that likes roast potatoes in salad, my husband thinks I've lost the plot!! Chermoula fan here too - what a lovely looking salad!