This Rocky Mountain Steak Salad Recipe with Pasta is a hearty entree dressed with a Dijon mustard balsamic vinegar sauce. A perfect beef and pasta salad to fill up those hungry Ranch Hands.
Ingredients on Hand
Isn’t it wonderful to find a recipe and realize you’ve got almost everything you need to make it on hand? I had a clam shell of an arugula and spinach mix that needed to be used, penne in the pantry and this recipe bookmarked for months, so no time better than the present to have it for dinner. All I needed was to send Hubs to the store for some sirloin steak. Bam.
What About Sirloin Steak
The sirloin steak is cut from the back of the animal. In a common U.S. butchery, the steak is cut from the rear back portion of the animal, continuing off the short loin from which T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. If you get a good quality Sirloin Steak from a reputable butcher, it’s beautiful and tender. And affordable!
About this Steak Salad Recipe
We thought this was a delicious pasta dish. A dressing mixture of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, basil and cilantro was an incredibly exciting flavor combination. The al dente pasta soaked up that bold flavor so it didn’t overwhelm the rest of the dish. The greens and grape tomatoes brought a party of color to the dish. And the steak? Well, the bites of steaks bathed in that balsamic dressing were delicious. I wouldn’t leave them out next time, as steak is always a treat, however, they seemed to be there just to round out the food groups.
Let’s take a look:
Rocky Mountain Steak Salad Recipe
I hope you give this steak salad recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite steak salad recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Steak Salad Recipes
A hearty steak and pasta salad with a dijon balsamic vinaigrette.
- 1 pound sirloin steak salt and peppered to taste
- 1 clove garlic fine minced
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces dry penne pasta
- 1/2 Cup olive oil
- 1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3/4 Cup total minced basil and cilantro
- 2 Cups total arugula and spinach leaves
- 1 - 2 Cups grape tomatoes halved
- Season beef with salt and pepper and garlic. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add beef and cook 7 minutes per side, Remove from heat and let rest. Cut beef into slices and set aside.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 C. pasta water.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 C. olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add herbs.
- In a large bowl toss the pasta with half of the dressing and 1/4 C. pasta water. Add arugula, tomatoes, beef and toss. Add more dressing to taste. Toss and serve.
Rocky Mountain Steak Salad Recipe …It’s What’s for Dinner.
Vickie says
February 13, 2012 at 4:13 pmThat dressing sounds pretty zippy and the dish looks delicious. I’ve been craving red meat all day – and then you post this yummy recipe. It has to be Kismet, right? That’s the story I’m going with, anyway. 😉
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:40 pmThat dressing is very “zippy”. Good description. I’ve been craving red meat for two weeks, not sure what’s going on. I usually stick to chicken and fish. You may want to wait for the hamburger recipe I’m getting ready to post. omg
Larry says
February 13, 2012 at 6:01 pmBev and I both think this is awesome and if you had invented it, I would have sent you your official chefn license.
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:41 pmI’m like you, so many times I say “why didn’t I think of that”. Guess that’s why we’re both not famous chefn’s 🙂
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
February 14, 2012 at 5:19 amBites of steak in a salad are always welcome in my book. Happy Valentine’s day.
Sam
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:42 pmI hear ya!
Jenn's Food Journey says
February 14, 2012 at 5:33 amThat looks amazing! I love the flavor of balsamic and dijon together! Will definitely be trying this soon!
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:42 pmI agree, I loved the balsamic and Dijon. Not sure I’ve combined the two before.
Joanne says
February 14, 2012 at 6:21 amPerfect way to use up those extra greens! It sounds like SUCH a tasty salad!
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:42 pmIt was tasty Joanne. Like I said, you can make it without the steak for a vegetarian meal.
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
February 14, 2012 at 11:33 amOf course I have this book and equally of course is that I’ve never seen this recipe. I seem to find a couple of favorites in a cookbook and then stop there; that’s obviously a big mistake. Though I see how the pasta salad alone would be fabulous…enough so I’m making the dressing in minutes. Very thankful I have cilantro on hand. Very nice!
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:45 pmIsn’t it crazy when things like that happen. I see posts from cookbooks that look and sound delicious and think the same thing .. how did I miss that one????
mick says
February 14, 2012 at 2:42 pmLooks dee-lish! OK, that’s it – I have to stop and eat RIGHT NOW!
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:46 pmThanks Mick. I used one of your sirloin cuts, which worked fine. I’d be inclined to spend more money next time for some melt in your mouth steak.
Rhonda says
February 14, 2012 at 3:15 pmOh yeah, this is my kind of salad. I happen to have arugula, spinach, pasta, grape tomatoes, basil and cilantro and steak just waiting to be transformed! No really, I do have all of it just sitting in my fridge leftover from other recipes! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:46 pmEnjoy!
Karen ( Back Road Journal) says
February 18, 2012 at 8:54 amThis looks so delicious, Lea Ann. I’m just catching up while traveling and can’t believe the snow you have had. We are heading back north now but I don’t think we have snow on the ground at home. It has been a mild winter for us for a change.
Lea Ann says
February 18, 2012 at 4:50 pmMy back yard still looks like the Arctic Circle… I’ve been enjoying reading about your warm weather trip … believe me.
Mary at Deep South Dish says
February 18, 2012 at 6:43 pmLooks wonderful!
Lea Ann says
February 19, 2012 at 7:40 amThanks Mary, always nice for you to stop by and leave a comment.
Chris says
February 19, 2012 at 2:08 pmOh my, Lea Ann, that is my kind of salad! I love this bowl, just fantastic. My problem with steak salads in most cases is the texture of the steak vs everything else in the salad, so I use real thinly sliced flank steak.
Karen says
February 28, 2012 at 5:34 pmI’m so behind on my blog reading! This looks just like a perfect meal to me!
Lea Ann says
March 1, 2012 at 9:17 amThanks Karen.