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Got leftover steak? Make steak salad! That’s my motto, at least 😉. This steak salad recipe is truly restaurant-worthy — it’s made with perfectly grilled New York strip steak, tons of veggies, avocado, goat cheese, and a yummy herby vinaigrette dressing!

I’m a huge salad fan, especially when it’s jam-packed with toppings like veggies, cheese, and a homemade dressing. My grilled chicken salad, for example, is a reader favorite!

This steak salad recipe is something I throw on the menu whenever I’m searching for leftover steak recipes. When in doubt, I always grill too much steak and end up with leftovers to eat for a couple of days after!

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Steak Salad

• Restaurant-quality, weeknight-easy: grilled steak plus a quick food-processor dressing come together in under an hour, but it eats like something you’d order out.
• Great way to use up leftover steak: this is genuinely one of my favorite leftover steak recipes — if you grilled extra steak last night (or have takeout steak in the fridge), this salad is exactly what to do with it.
• High-protein and macro-friendly: one serving packs 41 grams of protein, so this is a salad that actually keeps you full — not just a side dish. It’s one of my go-to high-protein, macro-friendly dinners.
• Fully customizable: swap the steak cut (flank, skirt, ribeye, or leftover steak all work), swap the goat cheese for feta or blue cheese, or swap in your favorite salad greens.

Ingredients for This Steak Salad Recipe

• Grilled Steak: you already know the star of this steak salad is grilled steak. If you have leftover steak from a restaurant or from any other cook method (such as my cast iron steak or air fryer steak), feel free to use that too.
• Steak Salad Dressing: the herby dressing on this salad is super delicious and made with lemon, garlic, and tons of fresh herbs.
• Romaine Lettuce: the base of this salad is romaine lettuce. It’s crunchy and fresh. Feel free to use any other salad green you like.
• Veggies: I’ve mentioned a few times that this steak salad recipe is packed with veggies. Here’s what you need: corn, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, and avocado.
• Seeds: sunflower seeds add a nice crunch. You can also use pumpkin seeds or any slivered nut such as almonds.
• Goat Cheese: every salad deserves some cheese! I used goat cheese because it’s light, creamy, and so yummy. Try this salad with feta cheese instead.

Best Steak for Salad

I’ve been swooning over my Grilled New York Strip Steak, and that’s what I used in this steak salad. It has the perfect amount of lean meat and fat and cooks so beautifully on the grill.

My grilled steak method is a simple 3-step process:

1. Marinate: marinate your New York strip steak in the most delicious steak marinade for 30 minutes.
2. Grill: sear your steak on high heat for a couple of minutes on each side to get good grill marks, then lower the heat and continue grilling until it reaches your desired internal temperature (a good instant-read thermometer is the easiest way to nail this — see the recipe card below for exact temps and timing).
3. Rest: let your steak rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Resting gives the juices time to redistribute through the meat, so you don’t lose them all onto the cutting board the second you slice in.

When you’re ready to slice, always cut against the grain — this means slicing perpendicular to the direction of the muscle fibers. Doing this shortens those fibers instead of leaving them long and stringy, which is what makes every bite so much more tender.

Other Steak Options

When it comes to steak temperature, it’s all preference. If you’re using steak hot off the grill, I suggest serving it warm. If you’re using leftover steak, cold steak is also delicious.

My personal preference for salad with steak? HOT!

Easy Steak Salad Dressing

This steak salad dressing is a herby vinaigrette similar to a chimichurri sauce, just simplified and with more oil. It’s made in the food processor and pairs so nicely with the steak. Here’s what you need:

• fresh parsley
• fresh cilantro
• green onions
• lemon juice
• minced garlic
• lemon zest
• apple cider vinegar
• olive oil
• salt

I’ve made this dressing with and without a food processor. The food processor does a nice job of really blending it all together, but it isn’t 100% necessary.

Instead, you can make sure to finely dice everything. You’ll end up with a much chunkier dressing, but it’s still delicious.

I recommend holding off on dressing your salad and storing everything separately until you’re ready to serve — this keeps the greens from getting soggy and the steak from drying out. All ingredients will last up to 3 days in the fridge.

• To reheat: warm the steak gently in a skillet over low heat or in the microwave in short bursts. I don’t recommend reheating the assembled salad — just reheat the steak and add it to cold, crisp greens.
• To freeze: only the cooked steak freezes well, for up to 3 months. The produce (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado) does not freeze well, so plan to chop those fresh.
• To make ahead: grill the steak, make the dressing, and chop the veggies (except avocado) up to a day ahead and store separately. Assemble just before serving so everything stays fresh and crisp.

How to Serve Steak Salad

Steak salad not enough on its own? Here are some other delicious sides to go with your salad.

• Baked Potato in Foil: one of my favorite dinner sides is a baked potato in foil. Whether you’re hoping to make a grilled baked potato in foil or oven-baked potatoes in foil, I’ll teach you how to make a perfect baked potato every time!
• Grilled Potatoes in Foil: since I’m already firing up the grill for the steak, these grilled potatoes in foil are an easy grill-forward side to cook right alongside it.
• Oven Roasted Asparagus: oven roasted asparagus is the best way to eat asparagus! It’s a healthy side dish recipe that’s cooked to perfection.
• Grilled Corn in Foil: grilled corn on the cob is a summer staple! Get perfectly cooked corn every time with this easy Grilled Corn in Foil recipe. Enjoy!
• Smashed Red Potatoes: need a delicious side for dinner tonight? These smashed red potatoes are flavorful, crispy, and perfect for every potato lover!

Frequently Asked Questions

New York strip is my go-to because it has a great balance of lean meat and marbled fat that stays juicy on the grill. Flank steak, skirt steak, ribeye, sirloin, or leftover steak from any cooking method all work well too — just slice thinly against the grain.

Yes! A serving of this steak salad delivers 41 grams of protein along with fiber-rich veggies, healthy fats from avocado and olive oil, and just 42 grams of carbs — it’s a well-rounded, macro-friendly meal, not just a side salad.

It’s totally a matter of preference. I love serving the steak warm right off the grill against the cool, crisp greens for a nice contrast in temperature, but if you’re using leftover steak, cold works great too.

My herby lemon-garlic vinaigrette (similar to a simplified chimichurri) is my favorite because its acidity cuts through the richness of the steak and goat cheese. A balsamic vinaigrette or avocado-cilantro dressing would also work beautifully.

Keep the components separate — steak, salad, and dressing each in their own airtight container — for up to 3 days in the fridge. This keeps the greens from getting soggy and the steak from drying out. Only the cooked steak freezes well, for up to 3 months.

Yes. Grill the steak, make the dressing, and chop the veggies (except avocado) up to a day ahead and store separately. Assemble just before serving so the greens stay crisp and the avocado stays fresh.

The second corn and tomatoes hit peak season, this corn tomato salad is the first thing I make. It’s a mash-up I didn’t plan on loving as much as I do — part caprese salad (corn, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil), part punchy Asian-inspired situation (chili crunch, sesame oil, ginger, lime). It sounds like it shouldn’t work, and then you taste it and it just does. It’s ready in under 30 minutes with zero fuss, and because I add pearl couscous and roasted peanuts, it’s substantial enough to eat as a full lunch, not just a scoop on the side of something else. I’ve tested this one more times than I’ll admit, tweaking the dressing ratio until it was exactly right — so this is the summer salad recipe I make on repeat all season long.

Why You’ll Love This Corn Tomato Salad

• It’s a flavor mash-up you didn’t know you needed: Mozzarella and basil play against chili crunch, sesame oil, ginger, and lime, and somehow it all makes sense on the fork. Most corn-tomato salads pick one lane — a classic vinaigrette or a straight-up Mexican street corn flavor profile — and stay there. This one doesn’t.
• It’s a full meal, not just a side: Pearl couscous and roasted peanuts add carbs and crunchy protein, so this works as a main-dish lunch salad. Most corn tomato salads are strictly side-dish material; this one can carry the whole plate.
• It’s ready in under 30 minutes: Twenty-five minutes of prep, ten minutes of cook time, and no oven required. It’s the kind of recipe I reach for on a hot day when turning on the stove for longer than that feels like a lot to ask.
• It’s endlessly adaptable: I’ve tested this with halloumi in place of mozzarella for a firmer, grillable swap, and it holds up beautifully for make-ahead lunches all week.

What You’ll Need for This Corn Tomato Salad

Here’s what goes into this corn tomato salad, split into the salad base and the dressing:

• Pearl couscous: Cooks in about 10 minutes and gives the salad a little bite — a different base than the pasta or quinoa most competitor salads default to, and it’s what keeps this from feeling like just another side dish.
• Fresh corn: Cooked and cut off the cob. Frozen corn works in a pinch — just thaw it and pat it dry so it doesn’t water down the dressing.
• Cocktail or cherry tomatoes: Sweet, juicy, and the whole reason this salad only works in summer.
• Fresh basil, cilantro, and parsley: This herb trio is what makes the salad taste bright instead of muddy — don’t skip any of the three.
• Roasted peanuts: For crunch and a little extra protein.
• Mozzarella pearls: Or halloumi — see the Variations section below for that swap.
• Red onion: Thinly sliced for a sharp bite that balances the sweetness of the corn and tomatoes.
• Dressing: Sesame oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, chili crunch, fresh ginger, honey, and sea salt.

The Chili Crunch Dressing

This dressing is the actual star of this tomato corn salad, so it gets its own section. Sesame oil and rice vinegar bring the nutty, acidic backbone. Fresh ginger and lime add brightness. Chili crunch brings crunch, heat, and umami all at once, and a touch of honey rounds out any sharp edges so nothing tastes like it’s fighting for attention.

One small trick I always use: let the whisked dressing sit for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring it over the salad. That resting time lets the grated ginger and chili crunch mellow into the oil, so the flavor comes across rounder instead of sharp and one-note. It’s the same base I use for my go-to sesame dressing, so once you’ve got the ratios down here, you can riff on it for basically any salad in your rotation.

Tips for the Best Corn Tomato Salad

• Cook the couscous ahead and cool it fully: Warm couscous wilts the herbs and steams the mozzarella. If you’re short on time, spread it on a sheet pan so it cools faster.
• Salt the corn separately before combining: Corn straight off the cob needs its own pinch of salt so its natural sweetness doesn’t get lost once the tangy dressing hits it.
• Add herbs and dressing just before serving if making ahead: This keeps everything fresher longer — more on that in the Make-Ahead section below.
• Taste and adjust the chili crunch to your spice tolerance: Start with 1 tablespoon and add more from there. Brands vary a lot in heat level, so taste as you go.

Variations

• Dairy-free or vegan: Skip the mozzarella or halloumi and add extra peanuts or a scoop of cannellini beans for protein instead.
• No couscous: Swap in cooked quinoa or orzo. Orzo is the closest match in size and bite if you want to keep the texture similar.
• Extra veggies: Diced cucumber or shredded cabbage add even more crunch.
• Protein add-in: Grilled shrimp or chicken turns this into a full dinner. If you want something in this same flavor lane but lighter and grain-free, my chili crunch edamame cucumber salad is a great one to bookmark, too.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The couscous, corn, and dressing can all be made up to 2 days ahead and stored separately in the fridge. Combine everything with the tomatoes, mozzarella, and herbs just before serving for the best texture — this keeps the herbs vibrant and stops the tomatoes from releasing too much liquid too soon.

Once fully assembled, this salad keeps for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The tomatoes will release some liquid as it sits, so give it a quick drain or toss before serving leftovers. This one isn’t freezer-friendly — the fresh vegetables won’t hold up.

What to Serve With This Corn Tomato Salad

This salad is flexible enough to be the main event or the best thing on the table next to something grilled:

• Grilled chicken or shrimp skewers
• Grilled salmon
• A scoop-able side for a backyard BBQ spread alongside burgers or brats

If you want more corn on the table, my grilled corn in foil is an easy pairing. And if you’re in the mood for a more classic Italian-leaning tomato-and-mozzarella salad, my fresh caprese quinoa salad is a great one to have on rotation, too.

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