Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Salisbury Steak is pure, nostalgic comfort food that takes me right back to Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s table. It’s tender, juicy beef patties swimming in a rich mushroom gravy that’ll have everyone asking for seconds. It’s ready in just 30 minutes using one skillet, so cleanup is a breeze!

Love More Dinner Ideas? Try My Ground Beef Enchiladas or this Loaded Fiesta Potato Bowls next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The panko breadcrumbs keep the patties incredibly tender, and cooking everything in one skillet means you’re building layers of flavor while keeping dishes to a minimum. The mushroom gravy is so rich and savory, you’ll want to pour it over everything on your plate. Plus, at 30 minutes from start to finish, it’s faster than ordering takeout!

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Ingredient List

For the Steaks (serves 4)

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (for frying)

For the Gravy

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 6 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
• Salt and black pepper to taste

For Serving

• Mashed potatoes
• Roasted broccoli or vegetables of choice

Why These Ingredients Work

Can we just talk about panko for a hot second? Because this discovery literally changed everything for me. I made Salisbury steak with regular Italian breadcrumbs for probably a decade, wondering why mine always came out dense and kind of rubbery. My mom’s were always light and tender and mine were like beef hockey pucks. One night—this was maybe three years ago—I’m making dinner and realize I have zero breadcrumbs. Completely out. All I’ve got is this bag of panko my friend Ashley left after we tried making some Pinterest disaster.

I figured whatever, how different could it be? OH MY GOD. Total game changer. The patties came out so much lighter and juicier. Called my mom the next day all proud of myself and she goes “oh honey, I switched to panko like five years ago, didn’t I tell you?” No Mom, you definitely did not tell me. Would’ve saved me years of mediocre Salisbury steak but okay.

That ketchup and mustard combo sounds absolutely bonkers if you’ve never made this before. I actually left it out the first time because I thought someone made a typo. Who puts ketchup in meat? Turns out everyone who wants their Salisbury steak to not taste like cardboard. It gives this subtle sweet-tangy background that you can’t quite identify but makes everything taste way better.

The cremini mushrooms are like flavor sponges—they soak up all the good stuff from the pan and get unbelievably delicious. I’ve used regular button mushrooms when Target only had those, and they’re fine, but cremini just taste better. Sometimes I splurge on baby bellas if they’re on sale. And that Worcestershire sauce? Non-negotiable. That’s what makes it taste like restaurant food instead of just ground beef with brown stuff on it.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large nonstick skillet (12-inch works perfectly)
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Meat thermometer (optional but helpful)
• Spatula or turner
• Measuring cups and spoons

How To Make Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Step 1: Mix and Shape the Patties

Dump your beef, panko, egg, ketchup, mustard, oregano, and salt in a big bowl. Here’s where people screw up constantly—they treat the meat like Play-Doh and really work it around. Don’t do that! I made this mistake for years because my mom would knead meatloaf forever and I thought that’s what you did with ground meat. Wrong.

Grandma finally pulled me aside one Sunday and was like “child, you’re murdering that meat.” She showed me to just mix until you don’t see raw egg anymore, then stop immediately. The mixture should still look kind of rough and shaggy, not smooth. Overworked meat makes tough dense patties and nobody wants that.

Split it into 4 pieces—I just eyeball it but my friend Sarah weighs hers on a kitchen scale because she’s extra like that. Shape each piece into an oval about ¾-inch thick. Should look like little footballs basically.

Now the weird part—push your thumb right into the center of each patty to make a divot. I know it looks dumb but trust me. First time I skipped this step because I thought it was pointless, and my patties puffed up into these bizarre dome shapes. Looked like little meat mountains on the plate. The indent keeps them flat while they cook.

Step 2: Brown the Patties

Get your skillet hot with the olive oil. When the oil starts shimmering—kind of looks like it’s moving—that’s when it’s ready. Add your patties carefully. I dropped one from like a foot up once and hot oil splattered everywhere, including on my arm. Learn from my stupidity.

Now comes the hardest part of this entire recipe—leaving them the hell alone. I used to hover over the stove constantly poking and flipping things because I was paranoid about burning stuff. My husband finally banned me from the kitchen once because I was driving him nuts. But you genuinely need to let them sit undisturbed for 3 full minutes to develop that brown crust.

That crust isn’t just for looks—it’s where all the flavor lives, and it helps hold everything together later when they’re simmering in gravy. Flip them after 3 minutes, let the other side go for 3 minutes, then move them to a plate. They’ll look totally done but they’re not cooked through yet. That happens later, so don’t panic and cut into one to check. Just trust the process.

Step 3: Create the Gravy Base

This part makes me feel like a real chef even though it’s stupidly easy. Look at your pan—see all those brown crusty bits stuck to the bottom? That’s fond and it’s basically pure concentrated flavor. If you wash that off I will personally come to your house and be very disappointed in you.

Turn the heat down to medium and toss in your butter. While it’s melting, grab your whisk because things are about to get real. The second that butter’s liquid, dump in the flour and start whisking like you’re being timed. And I mean FAST and HARD.

You’re making a roux, which is just fancy French for “butter and flour mixed together.” First time I made this I had no idea what I was doing and the mixture looked so weird and paste-y that I thought I’d completely ruined it. Texted my friend who went to culinary school in a panic and she was like “that’s literally what it’s supposed to look like, calm down.”

It’ll look thick and kind of like wet sand. That’s perfect. Keep whisking for about a minute to cook out that raw flour taste.

Step 4: Build the Gravy

Pour in your beef stock gradually while whisking continuously. I always do this over the sink because I’m a messy cook and it splashes. The mixture’s gonna do this weird thing where it goes thick, then thin, then thick again, and you’ll be convinced you broke something. You didn’t. That’s just physics or chemistry or whatever.

Once all the stock’s incorporated, stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire, and onion powder. Throw in those mushrooms. Let this whole beautiful mess simmer for about 5 minutes. You’ll watch the gravy thicken up and the mushrooms soften and get all flavorful.

Taste it now—seriously, grab a spoon—but blow on it first because I have burned my tongue doing this approximately eight million times and I never learn. Add salt and pepper until it tastes right. Steve likes a ton of black pepper so I usually go way over what the recipe says. Make it how you like it.

Step 5: Finish Cooking in the Gravy

Put those browned patties back in the skillet, nestling them down into all that gorgeous gravy. Spoon more gravy over the tops so they’re basically swimming. Lid on, and let everything simmer together for 10 minutes.

This is when actual magic happens. The patties finish cooking, they absorb gravy flavor, and your whole house smells so incredible that people start materializing in the kitchen asking when dinner’s ready. My son will literally come upstairs from his room, which he never does unless food’s involved.

Set a timer because I will guarantee you’ll get distracted and forget about them otherwise. Ask me how I know. You want the internal temp to hit 160°F if you’re using a thermometer. No thermometer? Cut into the thickest patty and make sure there’s no pink.

Step 6: Serve and Enjoy

I pile mashed potatoes on each plate first—like a big mountain of them—then put the steak on top, then absolutely drown everything in gravy. Don’t be shy with that gravy. If there’s any left in the pan, pour it into a little bowl so people can add more because they will want more.

You Must Know

You cannot—and I mean CANNOT—skip browning those patties first. I know when you’re exhausted and starving you just want to throw everything in and be done. I get it. But I tried taking this shortcut exactly once when I was feeling lazy, and the patties completely fell apart in the gravy. Ended up with ground beef soup with oval-shaped lumps. It was sad and nobody wanted to eat it and we ordered pizza.

The other critical thing is that flour whisking situation. You have to go fast and aggressive right from the start. Hesitate even a little and you’ll get lumps. Lumpy gravy is technically fixable if you whisk hard enough, but it’s super annoying and you’ll be standing there for an extra five minutes trying to smooth them out. Just save yourself the trouble and whisk like you mean it from the beginning.

Personal Secret: I let my ground beef sit out on the counter for like 15-20 minutes before I start cooking. She came over once while I was doing this and literally gasped like I was committing a crime.

But here’s the thing—meat straight from the fridge is too cold and cooks unevenly. Makes tougher patties. Room temperature meat cooks way better and stays more tender. Been doing this for years and nobody’s gotten food poisoning yet. Make your own decisions about it, I’m just telling you what works for me.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Be gentle with that meat when you’re mixing it. Every time you squish and squeeze it, you’re making it tougher. I watched my dad make meatballs when I was little and he’d barely touch the mixture—just kind of folded it together—and they were always perfect. Same principle applies here.

Gravy too thick? Add more beef stock, a little splash at a time. Too thin? Take the lid off and let it simmer longer to reduce. The mushrooms release moisture as they cook so the consistency changes throughout—that’s totally normal and not something to stress about.

Your pan has to be legitimately hot before you add those patties. I used to be impatient and throw them in too early, then they’d stick like crazy and look pale and gross. Now I wait for that oil shimmer and it’s perfect every time.

Making a double batch? Brown the patties in two separate rounds. If you crowd the pan they’ll steam instead of brown, and steamed Salisbury steak is just depressing. Nobody wants that.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Ground turkey works if you’re trying to be healthy, but real talk—it’s not the same experience. Turkey’s so lean that the patties dry out really fast and can get kind of sad. If you go the turkey route, add an extra tablespoon of ketchup to the mix and be super careful when flipping because they’re way more fragile. My sister does half beef half turkey which is actually a decent compromise.

I’ve mixed finely diced onions right into the meat mixture before and it was really good. Sometimes if I’ve got fresh thyme hanging around I’ll throw some in the gravy. Or parsley if I want it to look fancy for guests even though the parsley doesn’t do anything flavor-wise, it’s purely cosmetic.

My neighbor Carol came over once and showed me how she adds caramelized onions to the gravy along with the mushrooms. Takes longer obviously, but holy crap it’s incredible. Like French onion soup vibes.

Mushroom hater? My teenager absolutely refuses to eat them—she says the texture is “slimy” and “wrong”—so I make it without them sometimes. Gravy’s still amazing. Maybe add extra Worcestershire to make up for that umami the mushrooms usually provide.

Feeling fancy? Add a tiny splash of red wine when you’re building the gravy. Makes it taste really sophisticated and restaurant-quality. Steve’s always impressed when I do that even though it’s literally one extra ingredient.

Make-Ahead Options

You can totally shape the patties the night before and keep them covered in the fridge. They actually hold together better after they’ve been chilled for a while. I do this constantly when I know Wednesday’s gonna be completely insane and I won’t have energy to prep.

The whole finished dish reheats beautifully too. I’ll sometimes make double on purpose just for leftovers. Honestly tastes even better the next day after all the flavors have been hanging out together overnight. You can freeze the whole thing for up to 3 months—just make sure it’s completely cooled first or you’ll get freezer burn.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Don’t forget that thumb indent in the patties! I forgot it once and they puffed up into these weird dome-shaped things. If you’re already cooking and notice them getting puffy anyway, just press them down gently with your spatula while they’re browning.

Out of panko? Regular breadcrumbs technically work but use way less—like 3 tablespoons instead of ¼ cup—because they absorb moisture differently. Found this out the hard way when my patties came out dense as bricks and I couldn’t figure out why.

If your gravy looks greasy or separated or just weird, your heat was probably too high. Turn it down and whisk in a small pat of cold butter to bring it back together. This trick has saved me multiple times.

Serving Suggestions

Mashed potatoes are basically mandatory. That gravy needs a proper vehicle and mashed potatoes are its soulmate. I’ve also done buttered egg noodles, white rice, or even polenta when I’m feeling creative. My friend Jessica served it over biscuits once and I was skeptical but it was actually amazing.

For vegetables I’ll roast literally whatever’s in the fridge—broccoli, green beans, carrots, Brussels sprouts if I’m feeling ambitious. Or sometimes just a simple salad to cut through all that richness. Or go full retro diner style and serve it with corn and dinner rolls like Grandma used to. I always sprinkle parsley on top to make it look pretty even though it does absolutely nothing for the flavor.

How to Store Your Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Leftovers will keep for about 4 days in the fridge in whatever container you’ve got with a lid. The flavors get even better after sitting overnight—something magical happens when everything hangs out together in the fridge.

Reheat it in a skillet over medium-low with a splash of beef stock to thin out the gravy that’s gotten thick. Cover it and let it warm through for maybe 8-10 minutes. I’ve microwaved it when I’m rushing out the door, but stovetop is way better if you’ve got time.

You can freeze this for up to 3 months no problem. Let it cool completely first—like actually cool, not just lukewarm—then freeze it in whatever freezer-safe thing you want. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating, or reheat straight from frozen if you’re desperate. Just add extra liquid and keep the heat low so it doesn’t dry out.

Allergy Information

This has gluten from the breadcrumbs and flour, eggs, and dairy from the butter. For gluten-free, just swap in gluten-free panko and use gluten-free flour or cornstarch for the gravy. Made it for my friend Sarah who has celiac and she said it was perfect, couldn’t tell the difference.

Dairy-free? Use olive oil instead of butter. Works totally fine. The recipe’s naturally nut-free which is great. Just watch your Worcestershire sauce if you’re avoiding soy—some brands sneak it in there. You can use coconut aminos instead, or just do extra beef stock with a little splash of balsamic vinegar to get that tangy depth.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My gravy turned out lumpy—what did I do wrong?

You didn’t whisk fast enough when you added the flour, or you dumped all the liquid in at once instead of gradually. Next time really go at it hard with that whisk when you first mix the flour into the butter. Then add your stock slowly, not all in one go. If you still end up with lumps, just keep whisking aggressively—they usually smooth out if you’re persistent. I’ve also hit it with my immersion blender when I was desperate and that worked but it’s annoying.

Do I really need to brown the patties first?

Yes. Absolutely yes. I know it’s annoying and feels like an extra step when you’re hungry and tired, but it’s completely necessary. That brown crust helps hold everything together when the patties are simmering in liquid, and all those crusty bits stuck to the pan become the entire foundation of your sauce. Tried skipping it once because I was being lazy and the patties just disintegrated into ground beef chunks floating in gravy. We ended up ordering Chinese food and I was mad at myself for wasting ingredients.

Can I make this without mushrooms?

Totally! My daughter Emma has decided mushrooms are “disgusting” and “the worst food ever created” so I make it without them sometimes. The gravy’s still delicious, just maybe add a bit more Worcestershire or a tiny splash of soy sauce to make up for that earthy umami flavor mushrooms bring. Or just add more onion powder. Works either way.

How do I know when the patties are fully cooked?

Easiest way is using a meat thermometer—stick it in the thickest part and you want 160°F. Don’t have a thermometer? I didn’t own one for probably fifteen years. Just cut into the fattest patty and make sure it’s not pink inside and the juices run clear, not red or pink. Ground beef can make you sick if it’s undercooked so better to check and be sure.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I’d love to hear how your Salisbury Steak turned out and what you served it with!