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!
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.
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
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
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!
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:
Mix salisbury meatball ingredients then roll balls.
Sear meatballs, remove, sauté mushrooms, then add gravy ingredients.
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
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!
Meatball mixture – Add all remaining meatball ingredients.
Mix with your hands. Nothing beats using your hands. Get right in there to mix it up well!
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.
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.
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.
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!).
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.
Sauté mushrooms in the butter until softened. Add the garlic towards the end else it will burn before the mushrooms are ready.
Add beef stock into the mushrooms.
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).
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.
Return meatballs into the gravy then leave to simmer for 5 minutes until the gravy thickens.
Serve! Serve Salisbury steak meatballs and mushroom gravy over mashed potato (or low-carb cauliflower mash), pasta or rice!
Proof of tender, juicy insides:
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 with mushroom gravy
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:
Nutrition Information:
Ball shaped food is delicious…
…and meatballs are the king of them all! Here’s my “top 3”:
Life of Dozer
When Dozer spies leftovers on a random cafe table, I stand no chance of holding him back. #Scavenger
Pam says
I made your Salisbury steak meatballs for dinner tonight. They were just delicious! I used gravox instead of flour in the gravy (same amount) and it worked a treat. It will be on high rotation in my house, an absolute winner. Actually, all your recipes are fantastic, l have made many of them from all sections of your website. So glad l found out about you. Love to Dozer! 🐾
Nagi says
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it Pam! N x
Nick S. says
Salisbury steak is one of my guilty pleasures (along with ABBA, Dua Lipa, and other things I am not prepared to admit out loud) but I NEVER thought of turning that into meatballs. Holy expletives! I’m putting this on next week’s menu. Oh, and (WOOT!) your cookbook I preordered in October is finally shipping here to North Dakota next month 🙂
Nagi says
February cannot come fast enough!!! 🙂 N x
Dawn says
Apologies for being awkward, but is there anything you can suggest in place of the ketchup/tomato sauce? It’s not something we ever eat in this household, so the rest of the bottle would be wasted. We do normally have tomato puree and a selection of sugars and vinegars to hand.
Nagi says
That’s not awkward Dawn! Try using 1 tbsp tomato puree (not tomato paste, too strong) with 1/2 tsp white sugar, 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1/8 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder and salt + pinch of black pepper. That should do it! N x
Dawn says
Lovely stuff, thank you!
Melanie Savage says
The only problem with this recipie is the amount of mustard. It OVERWHELMS the gravy (ok in the meat mix). It’s just too strong. Recommend cutting back by half at least or eliminating entirely in the gravy.
Nagi says
Hi Melanie – there’s only 2 teaspoons of mustard in the gravy 🙂 That’s not very much!! N x
Jeanne says
Happy New Year Nagi and Dozer,
I would love quick, appealing, and nutritious recipes for two. Thank you.
Zita says
This look absolutely fabulous! Dinner for tomorrow sorted! 🙂 I learnt a little trick recently – if you toast the flour in a pan before use (dry roux) – the extra flavor is amazing. Thank you for this recipe.
Cindy says
Looks wonderful, but not really a fan of mushrooms, would rather substitute with onions. Do you have an onion gravy that can be substituted?
Sabrina Miller says
Oh my word this look’s and sounds delicious!! Growing up my Dad would make Salisbury steak and I loved it soo much. Sadly he passed away from cancer but I can’t wait to make this for my family and think of him while doing so.
Joseph says
the BunCha is my number one love them poached in water in which I poached Chinese sausage really hard to beat that , however I will make this recipe on the weekend and post a review . tks Joseph
Kathy says
Hi Nagi! This sounds wonderful. 2 questions – one, how would I convert this to an Instant Pot recipe? Also, could it be doubled in the Instant Pot? Second question, what size scoop are you using here? Thanks!
Mark says
Try the #40
Ellen Coburn says
I need to cook low potassium meals without salt. Will try this recipe with unsalted beef bouillon, low salt Worcestershire sauce, and shitake mushrooms. Wish me luck!
Judy says
Hmmmm I’d like to turn this into a meatloaf.
Cyndy says
I haven’t made the meatballs yet, but they look luscious.
My comment is about Dozer in the picture of you trying to stir the sauce: O. M. G!!! Our first golden would come up from behind and do that exact thing! Our second golden chose a frontal attack. Either way, it was hard to stir the pot!
Lee says
Our golden springer mix does the same thing when my husband is standing talking to someone. Never met a golden who didn’t want to be in the middle of whatever his people are up to.
Ellen Parker says
Hello Nagi,
This looks delicious! Can I sib out the bouillon powder with America’s “better than bouillon” beef stock? If so, would 1 tsp suffice?
Judy says
I use the better than bouillon paste in my soups too!
Berrice Eastman says
Hi Nagi, well I haven’t made these meatballs yet, but the salibury steak is absolutely delicious, fantastic, scrumptious, and just perfect for our dinner table. I usually up the onion, garlic and Worcestershire, but that’s just because we like more of those flavours. It’s an incredible recipe for using mince and mushrooms. Thankyou, and happy new year to you and dozer.
Michael says
Oh Nagi now your talking. Can’t wait to do this recipe. I’m drooling 🤪 just thinking about it and to see it in the photo 🤪 yum. Thank you. Brilliant Nagi and Dozer.
Grace says
I love your recipes, I am in my late 70’s & not a big eater have you any suggestions for small meals. I have a small freezer so not a lot of room. Have even tried cutting your recipes in half but they don’t taste the same. Thanks
tan says
Oh Nagi- my mouth is watering…my son regularly requests your Salisbury steak recipe- one of the first recipes of yours I made. I’m usually too lazy to make mashed potato but that spoonful of deliciousness in the last frame of the video looks amazing.
Zee Gimon says
I love that you mention garlic twice in the description of the seasonings (first paragraph.) That’s the kind of relationship with garlic that I love in my kitchen 😀
I looked at the recipe for the steak just yesterday and thought “Mmmm, this would be good to make!” and today you come up with something even better.
Thank you for being the savoury partner in our home!
Zee Gimon says
Whoops, turned out my first comment DID get posted… sorry 🙂 Just was eager to comment on this recipe.
Sandra says
I love this recipe. It was delicious.