Grilled Chili-Lime Steak Salad
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A super-zesty grilled skirt steak salad recipe brimming with spice and tangy lime flavor! Layer crunchy veggies, fresh green herbs, and broccoli with thinly sliced steak and rice noodles for an easy dinner to serve warm or at room temperature.
This steak salad recipe is one of my favorite dinner salad ideas. I love the balance of abundant greens and crunchy vegetables combined with protein — in this case, a perfectly cooked steak.
The abundance of herbs in the salad is hard not to love, a trio of fresh mint, basil and cilantro, along with the refreshing slices of cucumber and crunch of roasted peanuts.
Because I’m vegetable-forward cook and eater by nature, I tend to make produce the star of the show when I create recipes. But every once in a while, there’s nothing like a steak salad to satisfy cravings for fresh green vegetables, silky rice noodles and tender, juicy slivers of beef.
There’s super-tasty steak (I use skirt steak) broccoli and loads of fresh herbs and greens, all mixed with a zippy, honey-kissed chili-lime dressing. Each bite delivers crisp crunch, savory juicy beef and a sour-sweet-salty kick. I’m telling you, it’s hard not to devour it!
Serve this pretty salad as a casual dinner in the backyard, or as make-ahead meal that’s ready whenever you are. The tossed salad can sit for an hour or two and will still taste great.
Best steaks for salad
The best steak cuts for tasty steak salads are tender, juicy and cook quickly. These steaks are perfect for making this salad
- Top loin (aka New York, Strip, Delmonico, Sirloin Strip)
- Top Blade (aka Flatiron)
- Rib Eye (Bone-in or boneless)
- Skirt (aka Fajita or Bavette)
I’ve recently become smitten with skirt steak, which is a cut from the beef plate (or rib cage). For the money, skirt steak is the tastiest cut of beef you can buy. It has a supremely beefy, savory taste that I can only describe as mouth-watering.
Cooking with grass-fed beef
Because it’s not something we eat every single day, I buy pastured or grass-fed beef that’s been raised and processed humanely.
Grass-fed meat is more expensive, but I figure the extra cost is offset by indulging less frequently and choosing the best quality food we can afford.
When served as a main dish, this salad is good to serve four or more people with one pound of beef. That relatively small amount of meat goes a long way!
It instantly reminded me of the Asian flavors of a Thai or Vietnamese-style rice noodle salad, which I could hands down eat every day, like my Fresh Summer Roll Noodle Bowl and Sweet and Spicy Banh Mi Bowl.
Grilled Chili-Lime Steak Salad
Ingredients
Chili Lime Dressing
- ¼ cup (78 ml) fresh lime juice, from about 4 juicy limes
- 1 jalapeño chili pepper, or 2 serranos, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
Noodle Salad
- 1 pound (450 g) skirt steak
- 1 pound (450 g) broccoli, cut into florets
- 8 ounces (225 g) pad thai rice noodles
- 4 Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin circles
- 3 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 2 cups (80 g) baby salad greens
- Fresh mint, basil and/or cilantro leaves, 1 cup total
- ⅓ cup (45 g) roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
Mix the dressing
- In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, jalapeño, garlic, honey, fish sauce and soy sauce. Whisk in the oil until blended.
Make the salad
- Put the steak on a rimmed baking sheet or plate. Pour 3 tablespoons of the dressing over the steak, turning to coat. Let the steak marinate 10-20 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook 3 minutes. Scoop out the broccoli with a slotted spoon and place in a large serving bowl.
- Cook the rice noodles in the boiling water according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Add the noodles, cucumbers, green onions, salad greens and herbs to the serving bowl with the broccoli, tossing gently with tongs to mix it together.
- Sprinkle the steak lightly with salt. Grill the steak over medium-hot grill over direct heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare or until cooked to your taste. (Alternatively, cook the steak on a hot skillet or grill pan over high heat – turn on the exhaust fan). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest 10 minutes.
- Slice the steak across the grain into ¼-inch slices and add to the serving bowl. Pour the remaining dressing over the salad and toss well. Sprinkle with the peanuts and serve.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Grill the steak on a grill, or on the stovetop in a very hot pan (like cast iron).
- Marinate the steak up to 6 hours ahead.
- Keep the dressing refrigerated up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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This is one of our favorites!
Is the dressing also the marinade for the steak? Thanks!
Yes, it is!