This amazing Grilled Flank Steak Salad Recipe has garlic-rubbed flank steak over grilled romaine, bright tomatoes with basil yogurt dressing. You can grill the steak ahead to save time and then just grill the romaine when ready!
This is such a hearty, healthy, fresh, and vibrant Flank Steak Salad Recipe! It has tender strips of garlic-rubbed grilled flank steak over grilled romaine, bright tomatoes, and fresh cool basil yogurt dressing. Now, if you’ve never had grilled romaine, oh man are you in for a treat! It gets this slightly charred, slightly nutty, deep new amazing flavor that is nothing like the boring lettuce you know. It’s for this reason, you really only need a few ingredients to add and it’s just perfect.
This is a great recipe to add to your weekly meal plan for leftover Throwback Thursdays!
More Flank Steak Dinner Ideas
If you buy an even bigger flank steak than you need, you can get another dinner out of it. I highly recommend a quick Stroganoff! Just slice the flank steak thin and set aside. Saute some sliced mushrooms in a large pan/skillet with finely diced onion and garlic. Whisk in broth and sour cream, and then add the flank steak slices in just to warm them up. Serve with noodles or rice or quinoa. Click here to get 30 More Leftover Protein Dinner Ideas.
Here are some other tasty ideas for any leftover flank steaks:
- Make Tacos! Stuff into a soft corn tortilla with Zippy Pineapple Salsa with Avocado and Red Peppers
- Make this Mediterranean Flank Steak with Cauliflower Rice
- Serve with Super Cheesy Cauliflower Rice or Mushroom Quinoa Risotto or Creamy Parmesan Polenta
Quick note! This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them. This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :). But, I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used.
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
- Flank Steak – Most flank steaks are sold in the 2-3 pound range. Just see above for ideas on how to you any leftovers! You can substitute other beef cuts, such as skirt steak, strip steak or even filet. You could also make this recipe with chicken breast or shrimp!
- Garlic Cloves – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic. The great thing in this recipe is that you just need to peel it. The food processor does the rest. But you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it! You can also substitute in dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This is to go into the marinade. If you don’t have olive oil, you can substitute avocado oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil.
- Worcestershire Sauce – This brings depth and unami to the marinade. If you don’t have it, you can substitute in Soy sauce, but then cut back on the salt by ½ teaspoon.
- Salt – You can use any course salt, kosher salt, opr table salt.
- Black Pepper – I think fresh ground black pepper is best, but you can use pre-ground black pepper.
- Creamy Basil Chive Dressing – See my easy recipe for Creamy Basil Chive Dressing Recipe link. Of course, you can substitute with any of your favorite salad dressings.
- Romaine Lettuce – Romaine lettuce is great because you can slice it in half and it holds up wonderfully on the grill. You can substitute escarole or endive. Green leaf lettuce is a bit more delicate, but can still work for a quick grill.
- Grape or Cherry Tomatoes – Any tomatoes will work in this salad, as they will all give that fresh bright burst of sweetness.
Simple Equipment for this Recipe
For this recipe, you will need access to a grill. Ideally, this would be a an outdoor grill, either gas or charcoal. However, you can also use a stovetop grill. If you don’t have a grill available, you can sear the romaine and the steak in a large skillet. You will want to finish the steak in the oven 350 F degrees for 15-20 min.
And mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.
For the Basil Yogurt dressing, a blender or mini food processor is perfect for the job.
Prep-Ahead Steps for this Flank Steak Salad
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are the steps you prepare in the day(s) in advance. (See the recipe below for more details)
For this recipe, you can make my Creamy Basil Chive Yogurt Dressing up to 5 days in advance. The recipe is not in this post, so be sure to click the recipe link for that one. All ingredients go into the blender and it takes only minutes!
You can also make the marinade and marinate the flank steak 2 days in advance.
COOK & ASSEMBLE YOUR STEAK SALAD RECIPE
Preheat your grill on high. The flank steak will grill for about 5-7 minutes per side. Five minutes will give you a beautiful medium rare. Seven minutes will be more medium well. Both will still be lovely and tender.
The romaine takes only 1-2 minutes per side, so I put them off at the end of the cooking. Make sure to put them on the lower heat section of the grill and watch them closely. Some char is great flavor! Too much char will taste burnt and ashy, but you can simply cut off any part that burns too much.
Slicing the Flank Steak
Let the flank steak rest for at least 5 minutes so that the juices redistribute into the meat and don’t come running out when you slice it.
To slice it, you will slice thin and on an angle going against the grain (the lines) on the steak.
When you are ready to serve, slice the grape tomatoes in half. You can either serve the romaine lettuce whole or slice it up.
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
Grilled Flank Steak Salad FAQs
Flank steak really is the best for this recipe since it’s so easy to cook and always comes out perfectly tender for me. However, if you cannot get flank steak, you will want to use another steak that is tender enough to grill, such as skirt steak, strip steak or even filet. You could also make this recipe with chicken breast or shrimp!
You do not need to grill the lettuce, you could certainly slice it raw. I just absolutely love the flavor that the grill imparts for this recipe. You could also use escarole or green leaf lettuce. The idea is to get a leafy head of lettuce that can be sliced in half with all of the leaves staying attached. This way the entire half can grill up nicely.
Grilled Flank Steak Salad Recipe with Creamy Basil Dressing
Ingredients
Flank Steak
- 2-2.5 lb Flank Steak
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Water
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
Salad
- 1 cup Creamy Basil Chive Dressing See Recipe Link Creamy Basil Chive Dressing Recipe link
- 2 heads Romaine Lettuce
- 12 oz Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- For this recipe, you can make my Creamy Basil Chive Yogurt Dressing up to 5 days in advance. All ingredients go into the blender and it takes only minutes!
- Make the marinade by mincing the garlic and adding it to a large storage bag or glass container. Then add the olive oil, Worcestershire Sauce, water, salt, and black pepper. Last, add the flank steak and rub it around in the marinade until completely coated. Once coated, you can immediately grill or let sit sealed in the fridge for up to 2 days in advance.
Grill and Assemble
- Preheat your grill on high. The flank steak will grill for about 5-7 minutes per side. Five minutes will give you a beautiful medium rare. Seven minutes will be more medium well.
- For the Romaine lettuce, rinse it to remove any dirt and then completely dry it. Cut in half starting at the stem. Then brush or spray with olive oil. Place on the lower heat section of the grill and watch them closely to ensure they don't burn. They only need 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove the flank steak from the grill and let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes so that the juices redistribute into the meat and don’t come running out when you slice it. To slice it, you will slice thin and on an angle going against the grain (the lines) on the steak.
- When you are ready to serve, slice the grape tomatoes in half. You can either serve the romaine lettuce whole or slice it up.
Notes
- Creamy Basil Chive Dressing Recipe link
-
Can I use any other cut of beef or protein?
Flank steak really is the best for this recipe since it’s so easy to cook and always comes out perfectly tender for me. However, if you cannot get flank steak, you will want to use another steak that is tender enough to grill, such as skirt steak, strip steak or even filet. You could also make this recipe with chicken breast or shrimp! -
Do I have to grill the lettuce? Can I use another lettuce?
You do not need to grill the lettuce, you could certainly slice it raw. I just absolutely love the flavor that the grill imparts for this recipe. You could also use escarole or green leaf lettuce. The idea is to get a leafy head of lettuce that can be sliced in half with all of the leaves staying attached. This way the entire half can grill up nicely.
Kristy Murray. Linger A Little says
Who would have ever believed that you could throw Romaine lettuce on the grill and it results in a wonderful smoky salad? What a brilliant idea. This entire dish looks so delicious to me which I’m sure I will be making in the near future. I’m so thankful for grilling season. Medium rare is this perfect steak, in my opinion. I absolutely love your creamy basil chive yogurt dressing. It is the ideal complement to this salad. Thanks for sharing.