Best Pittsburgh Salad Recipe

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Our Pittsburgh Salad recipe is based on thorough research and testing to achieve perfection. Our salad consists of traditional ingredients such as mixed greens, steak, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, egg, croutons, and French fries. Drizzle the whole thing with Ranch dressing and enjoy.

pittsburgh salad recipe with ranch

What Is A Pittsburgh Steak Salad?

A Pittsburgh steak salad is typically known as a lettuce salad with steak, French fries, and ranch dressing on top. It can include all of your other favorite salad ingredients too. It is a well-known and considered the best salad by some. Pittsburgh steak salad is famous in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Wait, Putting French Fries On A Salad Isn’t Normal?

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania putting French fries on salad is completely normal. People who live there don’t give it any second thought about topping off their salad with some decent tasty fries. However, those of us from other parts of the country might think it’s odd. But hey, give it a try and who knows, you might find a new normal.

All Salads Should Have French Fries On Them

We’re of the opinion that all salads should have French fries on them. It just makes them taste that much better. We love fries, but then again if you’re eating salad because it’s lower in calories, putting French fries on all your salads might not be the best idea.

Pittsburgh salads prove you can put fries on absolutely anything

I remember when we were kids and we would meet friends at the local fast food restaurant every Sunday after church. And our friends would eat French fries in their sandwich and fries even dipped in their milkshake. And in Pittsburgh fries go on salad, which proves you can put fries on absolutely anything.

Pittsburgh Chicken and Fries Salad

Did you know the Pittsburgh salad can also be served with chicken instead of steak. It can. And it makes for quite the tasty chicken and fries salad that way too. Use a chicken breast and cook it using your favorite cooking method. Then let it rest for 5 minutes to get the juices flowing and slice and serve it on top of your salad.

Unique Eats Pittsburgh

I don’t know whether you’ve ever been to Pittsburgh, but it can be quite a foodie place. They have delicious restaurants with unique eats such as this Pittsburgh-Style Steak Salad, made with steak and fries. If you love food, it’s a fun place to go and poke around. And if you talk to the locals, they highly recommended The Pittsburgh Salad.

pittsburgh salad recipe steak in cast iron pan

Let’s Make It

Now that you’ve decided that you want to give this delicious salad a try, let’s get ready to make it. Pull out your ingredients and then we’ll get started with The Pittsburgh Salad – A Local Favorite You’ll Want To Make.

Best Pittsburgh Salad

In our opinion the best Pittsburgh Salad is one that’s custom made at home, according to your favorite ingredients and all of your favorite salad toppings. We’ve included the traditional toppings in our ingredient list, but you can always expand to make it the best salad for you.

What You Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make a Pittsburgh salad at home:

salad greens
steak
French fries
cheese
eggs
tomatoes croutons
ranch dressing

pittsburgh salad recipe close up

How To Make A Pittsburgh Style Steak Salad

Making a Pittsburgh style steak salad is quite straight forward with typical salad ingredients, except the French fries. We’ll go through each of the ingredients one by one to give you detailed knowledge of how to make this salad.

Salad Greens

Using mixed greens can be ideal. Mixed greens tend to have a variety of flavors and a variety of leaf shapes and color which helps to add to the visual appeal of the dish. If you don’t have access to mixed greens, any type of lettuce will do.

Romaine lettuce is often used in this salad as is Iceberg lettuce. You can even mix in some spinach if you’d like. Use whatever greens, lettuce, or combination you like best.

Steak

We did some research to see whether the Pittsburgh salad is served with a specific cut of steak consistently. And the results were that the cut of steak varies from restaurant to restaurant.

So, when you’re making a Pittsburg Salad at home, there doesn’t seem to be a right or wrong answer for the steak that’s used. Use your favorite and cook it to the desired doneness, let it rest, then slice it and serve it on top of the salad.

French Fries

The cut of French fries can also vary from chef to chef. Some folks prefer a thick cut steak fry, while others like thin cut shoestring fries. Feel free to use waffle fries, home fries, curly fries, seasoned fries, plain fries, or any type of fries you like.

Cheese

Our research shows that shredded cheddar is typically the flavor of cheese that’s most often used on the Pittsburgh Salad. In keeping with tradition, we’re grating our own cheese and sticking with cheddar. But you can be creative and use whatever you’d like.

Egg

A Pittsburg salad is classically prepared with one hard-boiled egg cut and placed on top of the salad. If you don’t like egg or have an allergy to egg, there’s no need to include it. It’s optional. And nothing says that it must be boiled either. You could potentially fry it or scramble it just as well.

Croutons

Croutons are also optional, and we like the crispy aspect as well as the texture these provide. So for us croutons are a win.

Tomatoes

We like cherry tomatoes on salad, but any variety will work.

Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is a favorite for our family, so it’s a must. But maybe for you there’s another favorite that you prefer. There are some good high quality ranch dressing options that can be purchased at the grocery store, or you might prefer to make one homemade.

To make homemade ranch dressing you’ll need, 1 cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup buttermilk, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp dry mustard, 3 tbsp fresh parsley minced, 2 tbsp fresh dill minced, 1 tsp fresh chives minced. Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix until combined.

pittsburgh salad recipe on yellow towel

Directions for Steak

One of our favorite ways to cook a steak is in a cast iron skillet with butter and a bit of garlic. However, your steak can also be grilled if preferred. Be sure to cook it until it reaches its desired doneness. Let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Then slice it before adding it to the top of the salad along with all the other goodies.

How To Make Pittsburgh Style Steak Salad At Home

To make our Pittsburgh Salad Recipe, you’ll want to gather your ingredients and then follow the step-by-step instructions below. The key is in timing up the hot French fries at the same time as the steak so that you can enjoy the tastiest salad.

Ingredients

2 cups salad greens
1 steak
1/2 cup French fries
¼ cup cheese
¼ cup croutons
¼ cup tomatoes
1 boiled egg

Instructions:

1. Prepare the salad greens by rinsing them in cool water and placing them to dry.

2. Rinse tomatoes and dice as desired.

3. Place a saucepan of water on high heat to boil. Add an egg and boil for 12 minutes, until egg is completely cooked. Rinse under cold water and remove the shell from the egg. Set aside.

4. Place French fries on a baking sheet and bake according to the package instructions.

5. In the meantime, prepare lettuce and tomatoes.

6. Cook steak until it reaches the desired doneness.Slice into thin strips.

7. Assemble salad. Top with ranch dressing and croutons. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe Variations

Following are some recipe variations based on our Pittsburg Salad Recipe

Pittsburgh Salad Nachos

Another way to enjoy Pittsburgh salad is on nachos. If you have leftover Pittsburgh salad and want to serve it to those who gather around your table a second night, nachos are a great way to change it up and make it seem fresh.

Or maybe you have kids that prefer nachos over salad. Chopping up all of the salad ingredients and serving it on top of nachos can be a great way to sneak this meal in for everyone to enjoy.

Pittsburgh Salad with Tyson Chicken Fries

If there are young people in your midst, why not use chicken fries as a substitute for the steak. Then you can have chicken fries as well as French fries on top of your salad. Kids tend to love them.

Pittsburgh Salad Riviera Dressing Recipes

Riviera dressing is another flavor of dressing that some like to pair with Pittsburgh salad.  To make it you’ll need 1 tbsp riviera herbs, ½ cup white vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder. Whisk it all together and serve.

Homemade Pittsburgh/Chicken Steak Salad

Homemade Pittsburgh Salad can be made with either chicken or steak. Grill up a juicy chicken breast and substitute it for the steak to add a different flavor in this delicious meal.

Taste of TNF recipe: Pittsburgh salad with grilled turkey

Looking for an ideal way to use some leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Grill it up and make a delicious Pittsburg salad with all the toppings. It’s a perfect alternate recipe for this dish.

Make Your Own Pittsburgh Salad

Hopefully by now you’re convinced that you can make your own Pittsburgh Salad. Timing up the two hot ingredients of steak and French fries is really the only trick. Otherwise, if you can chop vegetables, you can make this salad.

Nutrition Facts

The nutrition facts for this recipe are based on a single serving and are calculated based on the ingredients listed. Please note nutrition facts will vary based on the ingredients used as well as the brand. Here is our estimation for this recipe:

Calories: 675
Total Fat 28.7 g
Cholesterol 428 mg
Sodium 525 mg
Total Carbohydrate 18.3 g
Dietary Fiber 3.1 g
Total Sugars 1.7 g
Protein 110.3 g

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Readers’ Favorite Recipes

Our readers’ favorite recipes have often been everything salads such as the Pittsburgh salad. Here are some other salads you might also like:

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Pioneer Woman Big Steak Salad Recipe
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Author
Sarah
Sarah is known for her extra fancy yeast breads, melt in your mouth pies, and everything salads. She has won awards as a home cook, and is passionate about helping others feel smarter in the kitchen. Sarah is the cooking genius of the sister duo.

1 thought on “Best Pittsburgh Salad Recipe”

  1. Faith and Sarah. Wow! I had this salad tonight for dinner. I didn’t have any steak so I used chicken. I can’t have tomatoes so I used cranberries. I ran out of dressing so I substituted cottage cheese, but other than that, it was just like yours.

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