I seldom eat salads because I don't like vinegar or cheese. That makes this cheese-free, vinaigrette-free Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews all the more special to me. Plus, it's ready in 30 minutes.
Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews At a Glance
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 30 minutes
- 🧑🤝👩 Serves: 2
- 🍽️ Calories: 480
- 🥬 Main Ingredients: Steak, salad greens, cashews, lime juice, sesame oil, jalapeño
- 👌 Why You'll Love It: A vinegar-free, dairy-free steak salad recipe with a two-ingredient lime and sesame oil dressing - no marinating, ready in 30 minutes.
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The lime juice is zippy; the sesame oil, toasty and delicious; the cashews, crunchy and buttery. Jalapeños add a slight but not overwhelming amount of heat. And grilled steak - if you like beef, how could you not like that?
I first discovered this salad when we lived in Champaign, Illinois - this recipe is modeled off of the Seven Saints Salad from the restaurant of the same name. Since we live on the East Coast, I make it myself now, and this satisfying summertime dinner salad is worth it. All the ingredients can be found at the grocery store, and it's also a great change from Asian-style beef salads - no fish sauce - and from all those cilantro lime dressings out there.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
You'll love Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews because:
- 🥩 It takes six ingredients, all available from the grocery store.
- 🍋🟩 The dressing is two ingredients - fresh lime juice and sesame oil. No vinegar, no cilantro, no fish sauce.
- 🥬 It's a rare salad with no cheese - perfect for those picky eaters, like me.
- ⏱️ This satisfying dinner salad is ready in just 30 minutes.
Key Ingredients
Salad greens: I buy a package of spring mix at the grocery store; at my local CSA, I assemble romaine, spinach, and sometimes arugula. Use at least half lettuce - but no flavorless iceberg, which will make the salad watery. If using bitter arugula, keep it to less than a quarter of your mix.
Boneless steak: We often use sirloin steaks or strip steaks, although ranch steak or flat-iron steak is also a good choice.
Lime juice: Fresh juice provides the best flavor. If the lime is small and doesn't yield enough, you can supplement a small amount of bottled juice. If you love lime juice in salad dressing, my warm Corn and Green Bean Salad uses it the same way.
Toasted sesame oil: The other major flavor for your dressing, toasted provides the most flavor; untoasted oil is too mild. If it has been in your cabinet for a while, taste it before using; sesame oil can turn rancid over time. If you're allergic to sesame, walnut oil should work as a substitute.
Jalapeños: Add a kiss of spiciness and a vegetal crunch. If you're heat-averse, remove all the seeds and white veins inside. I don't like seeding or slicing fresh jalapeños, so I usually use crushed - I get the spicy although not the fresh crunch.
Cashews: I recommend salted roasted cashews, although I sometimes use raw ones. Don't use anything that's seasoned otherwise. You can blend extra cashews with adobo sauce to make my two-ingredient Smoky Cashew Dip.
How to Make Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews
Start by cleaning, drying, and chopping the greens. Wet greens will dilute the dressing, so dry them well. I use a salad spinner but sometimes pat them dry between layers of a clean kitchen towel. If I chop the greens too small, they sometimes weep and make the salad watery.
One: Use a wire whisk to combine lime juice, sesame oil, crushed dried jalapeño (if using), and salt. The mixture will become opaque as you whisk.
Two: Cook the steak. I often use sirloin or strip steaks, but pictured is a one-pound ranch steak, midway through cooking. We grilled it over direct high heat on a gas grill for 4 minutes per side to get it to medium-well.
Steak cooking times vary depending on the grill and the cut of beef; see the FAQ.
Three: Plate the salad greens, top with cashews and fresh diced jalapeños (if using), and drizzle with the dressing.
You can also toss the salad greens with the dressing before plating the salad.
Four: Let the steak rest a few minutes. Add sirloin or strip steaks whole, or slice them if you prefer. If using a flat-iron or ranch steak, slice thinly against the grain before topping the salad.
Serving and Storage
This steak salad is a meal unto itself as a dinner salad. I always enjoyed it with a quality slider at the restaurant; I have it with Italian Bread or grilled garlic bread at home. Serve with a beer, a Classic Margarita made with fresh lime juice if you'd like to double down on the lime, or a Bourbon Cherry Crush for a summery twist on an Old-Fashioned.
Eat the salad immediately - leftovers won't hold up since the lime juice starts to pickle the greens.
Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews FAQ
Steak cooking times depend on the steak, the grill you use, and your preferred doneness. I use an instant-read thermometer to determine steak doneness; don't leave the probe in the grill as flare-ups will ruin it.
We follow cooking times on a sheet that came with the Weber gas grill we bought 10+ years ago. I prefer medium-well steaks (a small amount of pink). For 6-ounce sirloin steaks, we grill for 5 minutes over direct high heat, flip, then grill for another 5-7. I aim for a temperature of 150-155F when we remove the steak from the grill; carryover heat will continue to cook it for a few more minutes.
For lean steaks like flat-iron steak, grill it to medium doneness, then slice very thinly against the grain before topping your steak. You don't want it beyond medium, or it will be tough; you don't want it sliced thickly for the same reason.
Look up instructions specific to your grill and cut of beef for the best results.
Yes! Your options are to sear the steak on the stovetop or broil it in the oven. I recommend pan-searing in cast iron to get the best sear; oven broilers rarely brown meat as well as a hot pan. Put your kitchen ventilation to high; there will be smoke with either method. Consult a cookbook such as Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything for pan-searing instructions for your cut of meat, or search online.
Prep the steak and clean the greens ahead of time, and store in the refrigerator. However, assemble the dressing immediately before serving; sesame oil solidifies in the refrigerator, and lime juice lightly pickles the greens over time.
More Summer Flavors
This steak salad is the quintessential warm-weather meal, but these recipes also scream summer. Yes, even grilled winter squash - it shows up at the CSA sooner than you expect!
I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.
📖 Recipe
Steak Salad with Lime and Cashews
Equipment
- wire whisk (affiliate link)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces sirloin or strip steaks (1 inch thick or less)
- 7 ounces spring mix (cleaned and dried)
- 1 jalapeño (seeded and diced; or ½ teaspoon dried crushed jalapeño)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (30 grams; ~juice of 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (14 grams)
- 6 tablespoons cashews (2 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat your grill. Ours is gas and we heat it to high heat.
- Remove your steaks from the refrigerator to let the chill come off for a few minutes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Whisk together the lime juice, sesame oil, crushed dried jalapeño (if using), and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Once the grill is hot, cook the steaks over high direct heat. To cook to medium well, grill for 5 minutes over the hot part of the grill. Flip, then grill another 5-7 minutes, until the temperature of the steaks reaches 155F.
- Remove the steaks from the grill and let them rest for a few minutes while you assemble the salad. The steaks will coast up to 160F.
- Divide the spring mix between two plates and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with cashews and fresh diced jalapeños (if using). Top with steak - slice it first if you prefer. Enjoy.
Leona Konkel says
I never believed I would have a favorite salad, but miraculously, I do in this recipe! I hope you love my recipe as much as I do. Be sure to ask me if you have questions!