If you’re looking for a show stopping main dish for your Fourth of July celebrations, I’ve got you covered with my Grilled Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing! This main dish salad features grilled Romaine lettuce and marinated steak topped with blue cheese dressing. All of your guests will ask for the recipe!
Independence Day – the celebration of the founding of our nation – is just around the corner. And that means it’s time to start planning the menu for your party. Why not make the centerpiece of your July 4th gathering this mouth-watering Grilled Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing!
After all, what’s more American than a steak on the grill, and what pairs with beef better than blue cheese?
This gorgeous main dish salad features a colossal head of fresh, bright green, lightly grilled Romaine lettuce, juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers and celery, a bit of piquant red onion, and sliced grilled sirloin steak.
All that goodness is then topped with luscious blue cheese dressing. It’ll definitely be the hit of the party.
What You’ll Like About This Recipe
- It features the classic flavor combination of beef and blue cheese.
- Prep time is minimal.
- It’s a one-dish meal – protein and vegetables all in one delicious salad!
Ingredient Notes
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- Steak (I like a top sirloin for this recipe, but it works very well with other cuts such as ribeye, skirt steak, and New York strips)
- Romaine lettuce (Romaine is a hearty, substantial lettuce that will stand up to grilling)
- Cherry Tomatoes, Celery, Cucumber, and Red Onion
- Blue Cheese Dressing (feel free to use your own homemade blue cheese dressing or purchase a good quality refrigerated brand)
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Grilled Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Marinate the Steak
👉 PRO TIP: I chose a top sirloin steak for this recipe. You could also use a nice ribeye, a skirt steak, or perhaps two New York strip steaks. Just make sure you have about 24 ounces of beef. Gently blot the steak dry with a paper towel.
- To make the marinade, combine 1/2 cup of your favorite blue cheese dressing, 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a shallow dish. Use a fork or whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
- Add the steak to the marinade, turning it over to make sure that all sides are well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before cooking so that it can come close to room temperature.
Grill the Steak
- Heat an outdoor gas grill to medium heat (about 325 degrees) or prepare a charcoal grill. Remove the steak from the marinade allowing any excess to drip back into the dish. Discard the marinade.
- Grill the steak until it reaches the temperature you prefer. For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be 135, for medium, 145, and 155 for medium-well.
Prepare the Salad
- While the steak is cooking, prepare the Romaine by splitting it lengthwise into halves leaving the root end intact. Place the halves on a baking sheet and drizzle the cut sides with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the celery (I always include a little of the celery leaves. They have such a nice flavor!), peel and slice the cucumber, and slice the red onion very thinly.
👉 PRO TIP: This onion was so large that I chose to use only about 1/4 of it. Use whatever amount you think is good for your salad, but remember that it can be a very strong taste and can overwhelm the entire salad if you overdo it.
To mellow the taste of sliced red onions, rinse them briefly under cold water and drain them on a paper towel.
- Place the prepared veggies in a bowl, toss them, and set them aside until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
- When the steaks have reached the desired temperature, remove them from the grill to a plate and cover with foil. Set aside for now.
Grill the Romaine Lettuce
- Reduce the grill temperature to low and place the Romaine with the cut sides down on indirect heat (a portion of the grill that is not directly over a flame). Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the lettuce is slightly wilted and charred.
Assemble the Salad
- Assemble the salad on a large platter. Place the grilled Romaine halves, charred sides up on the platter. Top with the cherry tomatoes, sliced celery, cucumber, and red onion.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the steak across the grain. Place the sliced steak on top of the lettuce and vegetables. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and top with additional crumbled blue cheese.
Serving Suggestions
This salad is a meal in itself so you don’t really need much along with it. I’d suggest my Cheesy Onion and Herb Bread, maybe a few Deviled Eggs, and Southern Sweet Tea alongside.
Substitutions and Variations
Use your imagination to vary this simple recipe to suit your family’s tastes.
- Substitute Ranch dressing and Cheddar cheese for the blue cheese.
- Use a vinaigrette dressing with feta for a Greek spin on the recipe.
- Add Thousand Island dressing, Cheddar, and crumbled bacon for an entirely middle American flavor profile.
- Make the salad into a handheld treat by wrapping a portion in a warm tortilla.
- Change out the veggies. Other options that are delicious include broccoli, green beans, snow peas, bell pepper strips, and carrots.
Storage Information
This salad is best eaten within a few hours of preparation. Although Romaine lettuce will hold up longer than many other varieties, it has its limits. Leftovers may keep for a few extra hours in the refrigerator. Lettuce cannot be frozen.
Questions about Grilled Steak Salad
This recipe uses blue cheese dressing (my favorite!), but many other types are great, too! Buttermilk Ranch, Thousand Island, and Balsamic Vinaigrette are all great choices.
This recipe is best made and enjoyed within about 30 minutes. But, if you really need to, you could grill the steak and lettuce separately and hold them at room temperature for a little longer, maybe up to an hour, before combining them for the salad. Remember that the lettuce will continue to wilt from the heat of grilling.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Recipe
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Grilled Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
Steak:
- 1 ½ pounds top sirloin steak
For the Marinade:
- 12 ounces purchased blue cheese dressing, divided use (recommend: Naturally Fresh brand)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
For the Salad:
- 1 large head Romaine lettuce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 ribs celery washed and trimmed, sliced crosswise
- ½ English cucumber peeled and sliced
- ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese optional
Instructions
- Combine 1/2 cup of dressing, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a shallow dish. Use a fork or whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.1 teaspoon minced garlic, juice of 1/2 lemon, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ⅓ cup olive oil
- Add the steak, turning to make sure that all sides are well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes in advance of cooking so that it can come close to room temperature.1 ½ pounds top sirloin steak
- Heat a gas grill to medium heat (about 325 degrees) or prepare a charcoal grill. Remove the steak from the marinade allowing any excess to drip back into the dish. Discard the marinade.
- Grill steak until it reaches the level of doneness you prefer. For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be 140; for medium, 155.
- While the steak cooks, prepare the Romaine by splitting it lengthwise into halves leaving the root end intact. Place the halves on a baking sheet and drizzle the cut sides with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.1 large head Romaine lettuce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, black pepper
- Prepare the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the celery crosswise, peel and slice the cucumber, and thinly slice the onion.1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, 2 ribs celery, ½ English cucumber, ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- Add the prepared vegetable to a bowl and set aside.
- When the steaks have reached the desired temperature, remove from the grill to a plate and cover with foil.
- Reduce the grill temperature to low and place the Romaine cut sides down on indirect heat (a portion of the grill that is not directly over a flame). Cook for 4-5 minutes or until lettuce is slightly wilted and charred.
- Assemble the salad on a large platter. Place the grilled Romaine halves, grilled sides up on the platter. Top with the cherry tomatoes, sliced celery, cucumber, and red onion.
- Slice the steak against the grain (crosswise) into thin slices. Place on top of the lettuce and vegetables. Drizzle with remaining bleu cheese dressing and additional crumbled blue cheese (if desired).¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
Notes
- This recipe works with almost any steak – top sirloin, ribeye, skirt steak, and New York strips all work.
- Romaine is hearty and will stand up to grilling. To substitute other lettuces, you’d use them raw without grilling.
- To mellow the taste of sliced red onions, rinse them briefly under cold water and drain on a paper towel.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally sponsored by Naturally Fresh and published on June 28, 2016. It has been updated with additional information.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
Oh …. my …. word.
The ultimate indulgence, wrapped up in a salad. The Naturally Fresh dressing is the BOMB!
Miss P