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This quick Chopped Chimichurri Steak Salad is a fresh, high-protein summer salad with grilled steak, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, and homemade chimichurri dressing. This easy no-lettuce salad comes together in under 30 minutes.
Chopped Chimichurri Steak Salad
This easy Chopped Chimichurri Steak Salad is my latest summer obsession. It’s everything I crave on hot nights: fresh, colorful, satisfying, and packed with bold flavors. Grilled steak is diced and tossed with baby cucumbers, sweet summer cherry tomatoes, avocado, and a bright homemade chimichurri dressing that brings everything together. What I especially love about this recipe is that it’s a no-lettuce salad, so it stays fresh and crisp for hours, making it perfect for meal prep, summer parties, or lunch the next day. You can even make it ahead and simply add the avocado just before serving.
Why You’ll Love This Chimichurri Steak Salad
Chimichurri is a bold, herbaceous sauce popular in Argentina, and other South American countries. In this chopped steak salad recipe, the chimichurri is combined with fresh lemon to make the perfect dressing for this steak salad.
- Fast: Ready in less than 30 minutes
- Healthy: High in protein and naturally gluten-free
- Refreshing: Ideal for hot summer nights
- In season: Loaded with fresh seasonal produce like tomatoes and cucumbers
- Great for meal prep: No soggy lettuce means it holds up better than most salads. Just add the avocado right before serving so it doesn’t brown.
- Delicious: The chimichurri dressing adds tons of zesty flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need steak, vegetables, and some pantry staples to make this steak and chimichurri salad. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Steak: Use flank steak, sirloin, or strip steak. Trim the fat from the meat before cooking.
- Fresh parsley leaves are the main ingredient in this chimichurri dressing.
- Garlic for its strong, fragrant flavor
- Acid: Red wine vinegar and lemon juice
- Crushed red pepper flakes for some heat
- Kosher salt and black pepper for seasoning the steak, chimichurri, and vegetables
- Olive oil balances the acidity.
- Salad Vegetables: Mini cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion
How to Make Chopped Chimichurri Steak Salad
If you’re unsure whether the steak is done, use an instant-read thermometer to check. The temperature will continue to rise by about 5 more degrees while it rests.See the recipe card at the bottom for printable instructions.
- Season the steak with salt and pepper, then let it sit at room temp for 30 minutes. It’ll cook more evenly than cold steak straight from the fridge.
- Make the chimichurri dressing in a food processor. Pulse all the ingredients except the olive oil, then turn on the processor and slowly pour in the olive oil. The finished sauce should be mostly smooth but still have some texture.
- Cook the steak on a grill or in a cast-iron skillet or grill pan on your stove over medium-high heat. For a medium-rare steak, cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side. For medium, add an extra minute or two per side.
- Cut the steak: Let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then thinly slice it against the grain or cut it into cubes. To cut against the grain, slice the steak in half, then rotate and cut into thin strips. You’ll see parallel muscle fibers, and you want to cut perpendicular to them for the most tender bites of steak.
- Assemble the chopped salad: Season the vegetables with salt and toss them with half of the chimichurri. Then, add the steak and the remaining chimichurri.
Variations
- Protein options: Swap the steak for grilled chicken or shrimp.
- Vegetables: Substitute shallot with red onion. If you don’t have mini cucumbers, use an English cucumber. If using a regular cucumber, peel it and scoop out the seeds before dicing.
- Herbs: Use half parsley and half cilantro.
- Cheese: Add crumbled feta or cotija cheese.
- Fiber boost: Toss in chickpeas or white beans for extra fiber.
- Greens: Add arugula or romaine if you prefer a salad with lettuce.
Meal Prep and Storage Tips
- Meal prep: If you’re making the salad ahead, follow the instructions but omit the avocado. Wait to slice it until right before eating. Another way to make it last longer is to add the chimichurri just before serving.
- Storage: This steak chimichurri salad will stay good in the refrigerator for 2 days. You can eat it straight out of the fridge or let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to take the chill off. The vegetables will release some liquid as they sit, but they’re still good to eat.
More Summer Salad Recipes to Try
Check out my Salad Recipes collection or one of these high-protein summer salads for more healthy dinner ideas.
More Steak Salad Recipes You Will Love
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 2 cups
For the Chimichurri Dressing
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Season both sides of the steak with salt and black pepper and let it rest room temperature 30 minutes, while you prepare the rest.
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Make the Chimichurri Dressing: In a food processor, combine the parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the sauce is smooth but still slightly chunky.
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Preheat a grill, grill pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, spray with oil and grill the steaks about 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare or until your desired doneness is reached (internal temp of 125F-130F). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain or cutting into cubes.
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While it rests, in a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion and salt. Add half of the chimuchurri and toss.
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Toss the steak with the salad, adding the remaining chimmichurri.
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Divide the steak and salad among four plates and serve.
Last Step:
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Serving: 2 cups, Calories: 395 kcal, Carbohydrates: 10.5 g, Protein: 35 g, Fat: 25 g, Saturated Fat: 4.5 g, Cholesterol: 98 mg, Sodium: 589.5 mg, Fiber: 4.5 g, Sugar: 3 g
