Steak and Pasta Salad is the perfect way to use up leftover steak! This salad is creamy, tangy, meaty, flavorful, and loaded with all sorts of yummy things! Easy and delish, switch up your leftover steak routine and try this salad today!
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ALL the best things are in this salad! Tender steak, tangy blue cheese, sweet candied nuts, and plenty of veggies are tossed with a creamy dressing that ties this Steak and Pasta Salad together. The perfect use of leftover steak, I make an extra steak just to make this salad!
Hearty and satisfying but at the same time light and flavorful, this steak pasta salad recipe is perfect on hot nights when a cool dish is called for or whenever you’re craving a great meal. And the dressing! The buttermilk ranch dressing is so good! It’s even great on top of leafy salads! Yum!
Easy to make, you can prepare this steakhouse pasta salad recipe and pop it into the fridge until you’re ready to serve!
What you’ll love about Steak & Pasta Salad
- It’s packed with big, bold steakhouse flavors!
- It’s the perfect use of leftover steak!
- Make it ahead of time and serve when ready!
Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – Light or regular mayo.
- Buttermilk
- Dijon mustard
- Lemon juice
- Garlic – Fresh is best!
- Fresh herbs – Parsley, chives, and dill are all tasty.
- Dried pasta – I used farfalle, but any pasta shape will work.
- Steak – Leftover grilled steak works fabulously! Smoked steaks also work.
- Cherry tomatoes – Or grape tomatoes.
- Baby spinach
- Corn – I love using leftover grilled corn in this pasta salad recipe. Frozen corn niblets will also work.
- Blue cheese – Or blue cheese crumbles.
- Radishes
- Red onion
- Candied walnuts – Optional but oh-so-good.
How To Make The Best Leftover Steak and Pasta Salad
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe near the bottom of this page.
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions. For pasta salads, pasta should be al dente, so a little bit on the firm side. Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water to cool it down completely. Set it aside.
- Make the dressing by whisking the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh herbs in a bowl. Pop it in the fridge to chill while preparing the rest of the salad.
- Slice the steak into thin strips, halve the cherry tomatoes if they’re large, and cut the corn off the cob if you’re not using niblets. Crumble the blue cheese, slice the radishes thinly, and also slice the red onion.
- Toss 3/4 of the dressing with pasta, spinach, steak, tomatoes, corn, half of the blue cheese, radishes, and red onion. Top with the candied walnuts and a few more blue cheese crumbles, and serve!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- You can cook the pasta ahead of time and prep all the ingredients – including the dressing – ahead of time. Even a few days ahead. Then, just toss it all together about 20 minutes before serving.
- If your steak has BBQ sauce on it, you can scrape off the sauce or even rinse it off. Or, just leave it on for extra flavor.
- Use the reserved dressing on leftover pasta salad to help get it creamy again, or use it on your favorite greens. It’s a great dip, too!
Recommended
Make It A Meal
One of the best parts about a pasta salad is that it is great as either a side dish or a main dish. I will eat a bowl of this for lunch or dinner, but it’s also terrific for BBQs, potlucks, and gatherings of all kinds. Serve it along with other tasty eats like copycat Paula Deen deviled eggs, Smoked Tomatoes, Pork Belly Burnt Ends, or carnitas.
Storage
Pasta salad will keep fine in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days, as long as the steak you used in the salad hasn’t been sitting around for days already. Leftover steak – in any dish – should be consumed within about 5 days of cooking. If your pasta salad is a bit dry (the noodles will absorb the dressing), you can moisten it up again with the reserved buttermilk ranch dressing, a splash of buttermilk or even regular milk.
Step By Step Process
Steak & Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 8 ounces dry pasta cooked per package instructions to al dente
- 8 ounces cooked steak thinly sliced
- 2 cups baby spinach packed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
- 1 cup corn niblets
- 4 ounces blue cheese divided
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1 cup candied walnuts optional
For the Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs parsley, dill, chives, basil etc
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the salad
- Cook the pasta as per package instructions, ensuring it is al dente. Drain it and cool it under cold tap water until cool.
- Add the pasta, steak, spinach, cherry tomatoes, radishes, corn niblets, half the blue cheese, and red onion to a large bowl and toss.
To make the buttermilk ranch dressing
- Whisk the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, chopped herbs, lemon juice, and finely minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble
- Toss the pasta salad ingredients with 3/4 of the dressing. Reserve the remainder of the dressing for any leftover pasta salad.
- Chill for 20 minutes then serve.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.