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Home Collections Meatballs

Salisbury steak meatballs with mushroom gravy

By:Nagi
Published:5 Jan '23Updated:7 Jan '23
108 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

The meatball version of Salisbury steak! Tender, savoury meatballs made with ground beef (mince) flavoured with garlic, Worcestershire, ketchup, mustard and bouillon cubes (better than salt!) served in a mushroom gravy. Ridiculously delicious!

Close up of Salisbury steak meatballs

Salisbury steak meatballs

There’s a good number of meatball recipes on this website. Sixteen, to be exact. So to say that these Salisbury steak meatballs have shot straight into the top 3 is a big call – but I’m standing by it!

Think – savoury seasoned juicy tender beef meatballs smothered in a wickedly tasty mushroom gravy. It’s got even more flavour than ordinary Salisbury steaks even though we use the same ingredients. Why? Because there’s so much more surface area on 22 meatballs vs 5 large Salisbury steaks. More surface area = more browning = more flavour on the meat itself plus more flavour in the gravy which is made in the same pan after searing the meatballs.

Salisbury steak meatballs served over mashed potato
Salisbury steak meatballs served over creamy mash with rocket salad on the side (I skipped the parmesan because I was out).

Sautéed mushrooms for Salisbury steak meatballs
Seared Salisbury steak meatballs

Ingredients in Salisbury steak meatballs

Here’s what you need. Note: I’ve broken it up into groups so there are repeat ingredients, so it looks like more than you actually need!

For the meatballs

Ingredients in Salisbury steak meatballs
  • Beef mince (ground beef) – Lean is fine here, though I generally just go standard beef because fat = flavour!

    Alternatives: Chicken, pork, turkey or lamb should all work equally well here.

  • Panko breadcrumbs – Adds bulk and absorbs moisture so the mixture isn’t too wet to form meatballs.

  • Onion – A key flavour base in most of my savoury dishes! My secret for extra tasty, extra soft meatballs is to grate the onion over the breadcrumbs so it soaks up the juices. It softens the panko which makes the meatballs juicier and more tender. Plus, if you use diced onion you’d need to cook it separately beforehand. When it’s grated, there’s no need!

    Panko breadcrumbs are easy to find these days in the Asian and breadcrumb aisle of grocery stores. Ordinary breadcrumbs (smaller and finer, like sand) can also be used but the meatballs will not be quite as tender.

  • Worcestershire sauce – The sauce auto-correct has to fix for me, every single time! 😂 For savoury flavour.

  • Beef bouillon cubes or powder – Better than salt! Use powder or crumble a cube. (Tip for Aussies – Oxo brand crumbles easily, other brands are a bit hard).

  • Ketchup – Adds a touch of sweetness as well as flavour.

  • Dijon mustard – For flavour. Substitute with any other plain smooth mustard, though not hot English (too spicy!) or wholegrain.

  • Egg – Holds the meatballs together.


For the sautéed garlic mushrooms

Ingredients in Salisbury steak meatballs
  • Olive oil AND butter – Oil for browning the meatballs, then butter for flavour when sautéing the mushrooms. We can’t use butter to brown the meatballs as it will burn.

  • Mushrooms – Just ordinary white mushrooms. If yours are very big – or you’re using big mushrooms like portobello or BBQ/flat mushrooms – just cut the slices into smaller pieces.

  • Garlic – For flavour. Hard to find a mushroom recipe on my website without garlic in it!


For the gravy

This recipe uses a simple, lump-free technique for making gravy where we make a slurry by mixing the flour with a little water. Then just pour that into the beef stock and watch as the gravy magically thickens!

Ingredients in Salisbury steak meatballs
  • Beef stock gives the gravy the lovely deep brown colour. My recipes are written for low-sodium beef stock and homemade beef stock. So if you have full-salt beef stock, just reduce the salt then add it at the end only if required.

  • Flour – To thicken the gravy.

  • Dijon mustard – Used to add flavour to the gravy. As above with the meatball mixture, substitute with any other smooth mustard (avoid hot English mustard!).


How to make Salisbury steak meatballs

In summary:

  1. Mix salisbury meatball ingredients then roll balls.

  2. Sear meatballs, remove, sauté mushrooms, then add gravy ingredients.

  3. Return meatballs into the gravy then finish cooking by simmering in the gravy so they absorb the tasty gravy flavour, and the meatball juices add flavour into the gravy. Win, win!

1. Salisbury meatball mixture

How to make Salisbury steak meatballs
  1. Grate onion over panko breadcrumbs – My secret trick for extra soft, extra tasty meatballs! (Dubious? Read the glowing reviews in Italian Meatballs!). Put the panko breadcrumbs in the bowl first then grate the onion using a box grater straight onto it. The juices will soak into the breadcrumbs, which makes the meatballs softer. Plus, because the onion is grated rather than chopped, there’s no need to sauté the onion separate!

  2. Meatball mixture – Add all remaining meatball ingredients.

  3. Mix with your hands. Nothing beats using your hands. Get right in there to mix it up well!

  4. Ready to roll – At first, the beef mince will be kind of crumbly and you’ll have streaks of the mustard etc throughout. But keep mixing with your hands – it only takes around a minute – until all the ingredients are mixed through it and it becomes sticky, almost like dough.

Now, it’s pretty well known throughout my team that I don’t have the patience for meatball rolling. Love eating ’em, but hate rolling ’em. So here’s the fastest way I’ve figured out (so far) for how to roll reasonably evenly sized meat balls.

How to make Salisbury steak meatballs
  1. Scoop up the mixture (tightly packed) using an ice cream scoop with a lever, then dollop the lumps on a tray or board. Continue until all the mixture is used.

  2. Roll balls – Once you have the right number of meat mounds and they are (roughly) the same size, roll them into balls. Roll fairly firmly so the balls will not fall apart when you are cooking them.

  3. Sear meatballs, just until nicely browned on the outside. They can (should!) still be raw inside. We will finish cooking them in the gravy (maximum flavour, ultra tender balls!).

  4. Remove the meatballs on a plate and set aside while we make the mushroom gravy in the same skillet.

How to make the mushroom gravy

And here’s how we make the mushroom gravy.

How to make Salisbury steak meatballs
  1. Sauté mushrooms in the butter until softened. Add the garlic towards the end else it will burn before the mushrooms are ready.

  2. Add beef stock into the mushrooms.

  3. Gravy thickener (slurry) – In a small bowl, mix the flour with 2 tablespoons of water, the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon Mustard until it’s lump free (this is a slurry).

  4. Add slurry into gravy – Then pour the slurry straight into the beef stock, stir it in (it will go cloudy). In the next steps as the liquid simmers, the gravy will magically thicken as the liquid heats up (photos below)!

ℹ️ This method of using a slurry is a handy way to make lump-free gravy. The usual method would call for adding flour into the cooked mushrooms, then adding the stock and stirring to dissolve the flour in. For this recipe, the gravy was a bit lumpy because of the volume of mushrooms we’re using. And it was difficult to remove the lumps, even using a whisk. So I chose to use this slurry method instead.

This slurry method is actually a variation of a classic French cooking technique to thicken sauces, soups and stews called beurre manié. I use it in traditional French dishes such as Coq au Vin and Beef Bourguignon.

How to make Salisbury steak meatballs
  1. Return meatballs into the gravy then leave to simmer for 5 minutes until the gravy thickens.

  2. Serve! Serve Salisbury steak meatballs and mushroom gravy over mashed potato (or low-carb cauliflower mash), pasta or rice!

Freshly made Salisbury steak meatballs

Proof of tender, juicy insides:

Cut open Salisbury steak meatballs to show how tender it is inside

Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the fridge. Actually, like with stews, the flavour of the gravy improves with time. It also freezes perfectly, fully cooked, which is handy to know.

And lastly, in case you’re worried you won’t be able to sleep tonight until you know, the other 2 meatball recipes (currently) in my top 3 are:

  • Italian Meatballs – this will never budge from the #1 spot); and

  • Swedish Meatballs, Vietnamese Bun Cha meatballs, Baked pork meatballs and Moroccan meatballs (equal 3rd place). Don’t make me choose!

– Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Salisbury steak meatballs served over mashed potato

Salisbury steak meatballs with mushroom gravy

Author: Nagi
Mains
American, Western
4.94 from 43 votes
Servings4 – 5 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. The meatball version of Salisbury steak! Be prepared to marvel at how incredibly juicy and tender these meatballs are. And that mushroom gravy – wow!

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

  • 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
  • 1/2 onion , peeled (brown/yellow)
  • 500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef)
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
  • 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (Note 2)
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tsp dijon mustard OR 2 tsp dry mustard powder

Cooking meatballs:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Sautéed mushrooms:

  • 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter
  • 250 g / 8 oz mushrooms , sliced
  • 1/4 tsp each cooking/kosher salt & pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced

Gravy:

  • 2 cups beef stock , low sodium
  • 1/4 tsp each cooking/kosher salt & pepper

Gravy thickener (slurry):

  • 3 tbsp flour (all purpose / plain)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Serving:

  • Mashed potato (or rice or pasta)
  • Parsley , finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

Meatballs:

  • Grated onion – Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Using a standard box grater, grate the onion over the panko so it soaks in. Mix through.
  • Meatball mixture – Add remaining Meatball ingredients and mix well with your hands until thoroughly combined.
  • Roll balls – Roll 20 to 22 balls (1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture). I use an ice cream scoop with lever, handy!

Cooking:

  • Slurry – Mix ingredients in a bowl until smooth. We will use this to thicken the gravy (no lumpy gravy, yay!)
  • Brown meatballs – Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Cook meatballs, using tablespoons to roll (to minimise deforming) until browned on the outside but still raw inside. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
  • Sauté mushrooms – Melt butter in the same skillet still on high. Cook mushrooms until they start to soften (~ 2 minutes). Add salt, pepper and the garlic, then cook for a further 2 minutes until the garlic is golden and mushrooms are soft.
  • Make gravy – Add beef stock, salt, pepper and slurry, then stir to combine.
  • Simmer meatballs – Once the liquid starts to simmer, add meatballs and any juices pooled on the plate. Adjust heat to medium so it's simmering gently and cook for 5 minutes until gravy is thickened and meatballs are cooked through.
  • Serve over mash sprinkled with parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. Panko breadcrumbs – larger pieces than normal breadcrumbs which makes meatballs more tender inside. Pretty common nowadays, found in the Asian section of supermarkets here in Australia. Can sub with 1/2 cup normal breadcrumbs.
2. Bouillon cubes adds so much better flavour compared to just plain salt! Best subs: chicken or veg bouillon or stock powder. Salt sub: 1.5 tsp salt.
LEFTOVERS can be stored for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or frozen.
Nutrition assumes 5 servings, excludes mashed potato.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 381cal (19%)Carbohydrates: 15g (5%)Protein: 25g (50%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 114mg (38%)Sodium: 870mg (38%)Potassium: 749mg (21%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 219IU (4%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 53mg (5%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Keywords: beef mince recipe, Ground beef recipe, meatballs, Salisbury Steak
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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108 Comments

  1. Anna Marie Mangili says

    January 20, 2023 at 4:19 am

    5 stars
    I am chef/owner of a catering company in Portland, OR. A recipe like this is a reminder that old-school comfort food is always a hit. I scaled up for 80 people. Easy to do most of the prep the day before. They all loved it! It sparked a conversation about TV dinners of their youth. Leftovers if any re-heat/freeze well. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Jeremy says

    January 17, 2023 at 4:50 pm

    5 stars
    So yum and so easy! We wanted to up the veg count so served on steamed carrots and beans and mashed potato – delicious!

    Reply
  3. shirin says

    January 16, 2023 at 7:13 am

    hi!
    can i use minced lamb in place of beef . thanks !

    Reply
  4. Regina says

    January 15, 2023 at 4:42 pm

    5 stars
    I have never cared for Salisbury Steak and I am not a fan of mushrooms.
    Wanted to try this and I must say: OMG! That was the best meatballs I have ever had. I ate everyone of my mushrooms, wow!
    No squeaky mushrooms or weird taste, just delightful wonderful taste bud experience. I can’t say enough good about this.
    Thank you Nagi for taking the time to test and edit and post this recipe.
    Will definitely make this again.
    The only thing I forgot to do was to put the egg in the meatball mixture (but they still held together), otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

    Reply
  5. Sarah says

    January 15, 2023 at 8:06 am

    5 stars
    These were fantastic and quick and easy to make. I’m not a fan of mushrooms but really enjoyed this meal. My partner had about 3 serves just to himself 😆

    Reply
  6. Dean says

    January 15, 2023 at 4:58 am

    5 stars
    I made this for my wife and me and it was absolutely delicious! Definitely one to add to my favourite recipes!

    Reply
  7. Fay Bramley says

    January 14, 2023 at 2:54 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing flavour, made this as meal prep for lunches next week and looking forward to eat them in the office. I added a teaspoon of sugar at the end as I felt it was needed to balance the deep savoury flavour of the mushroom and beef gravy. First time doing the slurry method and it worked perfectly.

    Reply
  8. Debbie says

    January 13, 2023 at 5:10 am

    4 stars
    I just made this and the flavors are delicious. The slurry was not liquid enough, so it was just lumps in my gravy. I suggest adding some hot broth to the slurry just before incorporating it into the gravy to make sure everything creams together nicely. I will make this again.

    Reply
    • Debbie Schelfhout says

      January 16, 2023 at 5:51 pm

      Same as me so I just added a little bit more water until the consistensy shown on the video

      Reply
  9. Sheila Morris says

    January 12, 2023 at 5:22 pm

    5 stars
    So tasty and easy to make. A really comforting and delicious dinner.

    Reply
  10. Shannon says

    January 12, 2023 at 5:11 am

    5 stars
    This was deeeeelicous!

    I added a little half-and-half to make it more creamy and used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic cloves since I forgot to dice extra in advance. The flavour was still excellent despite the change.

    I did need to cook the meatballs for more than 5 minutes for them to fully cook through (160°+ internal temperature after closer to ten minutes).

    Definitely making this one again. Yum!

    Reply
  11. tan says

    January 11, 2023 at 8:46 pm

    My slurry is so thick…
    Hope it works out…

    Reply
    • Debbie says

      January 13, 2023 at 5:12 am

      Mine, too. I think I will also make it near the end and not let it sit. And also add some hot broth before adding it into the gravy.

      Reply
      • tan says

        January 13, 2023 at 7:33 am

        5 stars
        That’s what I did in the end to thin it out before I added to the dish. Worked out fine. Yum- served with Nagi mashed potato recipe and rocket salad.

        Reply
  12. Anne P says

    January 11, 2023 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    OMG! So good! And the meatballs were so tender! I didn’t have the Dijon mustard on hand so I used instead mild German Stone mustard. The mustard just adds that little bit deliciousness to the meatballs and gravy. Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  13. Ruby Zapata says

    January 11, 2023 at 10:14 am

    This is sooooo good! I made it following the recipe exactly, except that I flattened the mini meatballs (I got 42). It makes for much easier shaping and browning–a trick my mother-in-law taught me. This goes into my go-to recipes for when i want real deliciousness!

    Reply
    • Ruby Zapata says

      January 11, 2023 at 10:16 am

      5 stars
      Oops! i forgot to rate! 5 stars all the way!

      Reply
  14. Noella says

    January 11, 2023 at 12:14 am

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness! Another 5 star meal. The meatballs are so tasty and soft. Thank you again Nagi!

    Reply
  15. Richard Hawkins says

    January 10, 2023 at 11:16 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe. I made a double batch tonight. Great flavors.

    Reply
  16. Alina says

    January 10, 2023 at 10:18 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! Added a splash of heavy cream to the sauce at the end 🙂

    Reply
  17. Donna says

    January 10, 2023 at 1:42 am

    Thank you for your recipes! I love them and use them regularly. I get so confused on which brand to use with bullion cubes?

    Reply
    • Noella says

      January 11, 2023 at 12:12 am

      I’m in Australia and I use OXO brand in Nagi’s recipes.

      Reply
  18. Peter Shimman says

    January 9, 2023 at 7:46 pm

    Your Salisbury Steaks recipe has long been one of our favourites – especially for my son, who asks me to make it regularly. So tasty and wholesome – real comfort food.
    So, to ring the changes a little, I tried this meatball version. Just as filling and delicious but just a bit easier to portion out the meatballs than a whole burger at a time. Also, with three of us in the family, I make six burgers (two each) and sometimes it’s a bit of a squeeze fitting all six back in the frying pan once the mushroom sauce is made. I find popping the meatballs in a bit easier.

    Reply
  19. Rehoboth says

    January 9, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent post

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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