This keto but hearty steak salad recipe is a healthy and yummy family dinner. 😋 Instead of croutons, we use French Fries. Easy to make. Great for Picky Eaters. Amazing low carb, high protein lunch or dinner idea.
Hearty Steak Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- Family Pack 2-3 lbs Stew Meat
- French Fries – about 6 to 8 fries per salad. I usually do about 1 lb of fries because one kid doesn’t eat salad so she gets more fries.
- 6 oz bag of Baby Spinach
- 1/4 a bag 2-3 oz of Shredded Carrots
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes as many as you want to add per serving
- 1 lb of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Chipotle Ranch or Ranch Dressing
- Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning
Instructions
- Cook French Fries whatever method you prefer. I usually use the air fryer, but before the air fryer, I would put some vegetable oil in a skillet and deep fry.
- Cook Beef Stew Meat in a pan and generously season with some Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning. You can season how you like, but this seasoning has a delicious flavor that plays well with the rest of the dish.
- Rinse off all your veggies. I generally dump the bag of spinach into a strainer with some of the shredded carrots (enough to make it seem salad like but not too much carrots) and rinse. Then I use the container the tomatoes came in to rinse those.
- Start making salad plates (or bowls) with a bed of Spinach Carrots. Add grape tomatoes (we do about 7 per salad). Add some stew meat. Add some shredded cheddar. About 6 to 7 fries. And then top with Ranch or Chipotle Ranch.
- For the kid who doesn't want any salad, make a plate for them of stew meat and french fries and squirt some ketchup for dipping. Add a couple tomatoes because they might eat those.
Notes
Where did I get this Steak Salad Recipe?
My friend’s child is a super picky eater, as in this kid refuses to eat red sauce, certain meats, certain seasonings, etc. And she made this up based on the steak salad she loved getting from a local restaurant called The Polo Club who is known for their wings and wood burning stove. The tagline was. Wait for it. It’s the Wood that makes it Good. The owner also once had a bar called The Smokin Armadillo.
Ingredients for Hearty Steak Salad
Really, it’s a simple recipe. You can change it up. Just think what you want on your salad.
- Stew Meat / Beef Tips
- French Fries
- Baby Spinach
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Cheddar Cheese
- Ranch or Chipotle Ranch
- Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning
I usually season my beef with Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning because it’s so good. My second option is Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick.
After considering nutritional values (see below for deets), I am almost considering switching up some of these ingredients to lower fat options.
Grocery Costs
Total Grocery Spend: $17.38
If you omit the seasoning, the grocery spend is $13.20.
Check out Meal Planning for more info about my grocery lists.
Process
The first step is to Cook the French Fries.
I always forget this step. I always forget they are there. I usually remember about the time when the beef is done, and I’m about to make the salads, and then, “Oof. Forgot the fries.” So then I put the beef on warm and make the fries. The kids are sad because they have to wait. Again.
But if you can have your shit together enough to make the fries first, I highly suggest it. Or this is NOT a 30 minute or less meal.
I usually put my fries in the air fryer, which mine is also a toaster oven variety. Hit the air fry button. It sets itself to 425 degrees and 20 minutes. I then hit the play button.
I never thought I’d say that. Ever. Just put it in the oven and hit the play button.
I do keep an eye on the fries to make sure they don’t burn but usually it takes the whole 20 minutes. It depends on how many you make. I make half the bag. Us salad eaters eat about 6 fries each. But the one kid who still refuses raw spinach, she likes the fries.
The second step is to cook the Beef
For this hearty steak salad recipe to be hearty, you need the beefy steak part. (shameless keywords)
I generally use an electric skillet (I’m in love with the electric skillet).
In finally attempting to improve my stovetop steak game, I have found the best way to cook these suckers is to…
- Remove wrapping from meat. Season the side that is going face down on the skillet.
- Set heat to medium high heat, such as 300 to 350 on the electric skillet.
- Drizzle some olive oil in there if you feel like it.
- Slap the meat seasoning side down, and wait for it to somewhat sear. Should take about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Season the top.
- Once the meat can move easily without sticking, flip them around a bit.
- Let cook another couple minutes.
- Then reduce heat to Low and let them sit there while you finish up.
Now if you cover it, the meat will cook thoroughly faster, usually 10 minutes. BUT then it produces a water and the meat dries out and loses some flavor once it cools. If you choose to cover the meat, you may want to leave it uncovered for a couple minutes at the tail end until the water evaporates and the juices caramelize.
The third step is to rinse veggies & put the salad together.
This is the exciting step because dinner is almost ready, but it also is the most work step so kind of a bummer at the same time.
But first you rinse the veggies. Shake the water off pretty good so you don’t have too much liquid in your salad.
Then make the plates – assemble the steak salad….
- Make a bed of baby spinach and carrot shavings
- Add tomatoes (I do 7 per salad because Biblically, 7 is the day of Rest, so to me, it’s symbolic of nap time)
- Add meat (I usually do two spatula scoops)
- Add cheese (I overkill because we love cheese)
- Add French Fries (6 to 7 fries to act as croutons).
- Add dressing – it’s great with Chipotle Ranch as well as Classic Ranch
This is one of those dinners I prefer to watch a movie while I eat because it’s that delicious. So I make my plate, and pick a movie on Amazon Prime and sit behind my computer with head phones and watch my movie.
Keto Considerations
For the keto diet, keep in mind where the bulk of the carbs (and unhealthy carbs at that) comes from the French Fries with cheese as follow up lead.
For the most part, the cheese is probably going to run you 1 carb per 1/4 cup, but look at packaging to make sure.
The fat free cheese runs higher carbs but way lower calories and fat.
If you prefer a more Keto French Fry, this guy basically deep fries some almond flour with xantham gum and water, and they do look yummy.
Nutritional Considerations
The best this steak salad meal offers beyond low carbs is the high levels of protein. You almost satisfy your daily values with one serving of this meal for protein.
46g Protein per serving
With the ingredients on the Walmart List, you are looking at, per serving…
- 755 Calories
- 21g Saturated Fat
- 887mg Sodium
- 12.5 NET carbs that contains 2g Fiber
- 46g of Protein
- .3 mcg Vitamin D
- 293mg of Calcium
- 293 mg of Potassium
- 1mg of Iron
- 80 mcgs of Vitamin A (9%)
- 7 mg of Vitamin C (8%)
Make it Super Low Calorie and Low Fat
get it to 91 Calories, 3 g of Sat Fat
I might do a remake of this steak salad recipe some day with low calories and low sat fat in mind, but I noticed a huge difference with these adjustments…
0 Calorie 0 Carbs 0 Fat Dressing
And that will get you 90.5 calories per serving and 3.3 g of saturated fat. It may increase grocery pricing, and that amazing dressing may not be available in stores. You might want to purchase ahead of time online.
So that’s my hearty steak salad recipe that satisfies most picky eaters. The kids actually request this for dinner often. We usually end up eating this for dinner; however, it also makes a great lunch, especially to pack for work.
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This is a great way to get everyone to eat their veggies. So delicious!