This dense bean chimichurri steak salad is fresh, vibrant & nutrient dense! It’s made canned chickpeas, cannellini beans, roasted red peppers, crumbled feta & juicy steak all tossed in a bright & herby chimichurri sauce.
Chimichurri Steak Salad At A Glance
- Chimichurri as a salad dressing:
- Chimichurri may be known as a marinade or a finishing sauce, but you can just as easily use it as a vinaigrette overs salads like we’re doing here. It’s simple, bright and incredibly bold – perfect paired up with creamy beans and umami-rich steak.
- Hearty mix of meat & beans = protein packed & nutrient dense:
- Steak is a complete protein meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids necessary for healthy growth & bodily functioning. While plant based proteins like chickpeas and cannellini beans aren’t complete, they still come packed full of vitamins, fiber and slow release carbohydrates.
- Wilt free – ideal for meal prep:
- Since there are no wilting leafy greens to contend with, this salad keeps well in the fridge to prepare and enjoy for quick lunches and easy dinners throughout the week. In fact, salads like this usually taste even better after a few hours once all the base flavors get a bit more time to hang out!
Chimichurri Salad Recipe Steps
1. Make Chimichurri: Whisk chimichurri ingredients together in a bowl then set aside while you prep the other salad ingredients.
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cumin
2. Cook Steak: Season both sides of the steak with about 1 tsp coarse sea salt and black pepper (½ tsp per side) then rub 1 tsp avocado oil or another high smoke point oil over each side.
Grill as you like or cook in a pre-heated cast-iron pan for about 3-5 minutes on each side or until cooked to your preferred doneness. The size and thickness of your steak will ultimately determine the necessary cook time. Once cooked, remove from the heat and set aside to rest as your prep the other ingredients.
↳FYI: Don’t forget that the internal temperature will continue to rise another 5-10°F while resting. If you’re aiming for a specific doneness, make sure to pull the steak when you’re about 5°F away from your ideal temp. Use a meat thermometer for best results.
3. Slice Steak: After resting, slice the steak up into thin strips against the grain. To find the grain (the muscle fibers) look for the fine lines running across the meat in the same direction. Place your knife so that it’s running perpendicular to the grain at a 90° angle and slice though the meat.
You can stop here if you like, but I prefer slice the steal up into smaller bite-sized pieces that are closer in side to the cannellini beans. This makes it easier to get a little bit of everything in every bite.
4. Salad Prep: Drain, rinse & pat the beans/chickpeas dry then add them to a large salad bowl along with the remaining salad ingredients and diced steak.
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 ½ cup corn kernels
- 2 roasted red peppers
- ½ small red onion
- steak bites
5. Combine: Pour the chimichurri sauce over the top then toss together until fully combined. Enjoy ASAP or cover and refrigerate a few hours so the flavors have time to really mix together.
Add, Swap & Customize your Steak Salad
- Add some greens: Add a bit more color and bulk to the salad by adding fresh greens. You can’t go wrong with peppery arugula. If you want a crunchier texture try this with chopped romain or iceberg lettuce.
- Tip! If you plan on making this as meal prep or to enjoy later – wait to add leaf greens until just before serving for max freshness.
- Chimichurri is as versatile as you’d like it to be: I stuck with a classic Argentinian-style chimichurri made with parsley for this recipe, but you can get more creative with the herbs. Check out the Customize Your Homemade Cilantro Chimichurri section in my cilantro-based recipe for more herb, vinegar, chili and spice swaps/additions.
- Beans swaps & additions: Double up on either the cannellini or chickpeas. Swap out one can of either for other white beans, black beans, pinto beans or kidney beans.
- If you want to add an extra can of beans I recommend double up on the chimichurri sauce.
- Other veggie additions:
- Avocado: Technically avocado is a fruit, but we can look past that here. It’s mildly nutty, buttery flavor plays well with the more sharp and intense chimichurri flavor. It’s also a great, creamy addition to use in place of cheese if you’d like a dairy free salad.
- Cucumber: To avoid an overly watery salad, I recommend you use a seedless variety (like Persian cucumbers) or scoop out the watery insides before dicing up and adding to the salad.
- Tomatoes: Add 1-2 medium or large tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes. I also recommend scooping out the tomatoes seeds and the surrounding watery gel to keep the salad from getting excessively soggy.
- Add Cheese: Cotija cheese is an excellent feta replacement if you can find it. Try goats cheese for a creamier option. Bleu cheese if you want to add a bit more funk to your salad (respectfully). Mozzarella is a great choice if you’d prefer a lessin-your-face cheese.
More Protein Packed Dense Bean Salad Recipes
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Chimichurri Steak Salad recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Chimichurri Dense Bean Steak Salad Recipe
Made with canned chickpeas, cannellini beans, corn, roasted red pepper & juicy steak all tossed together and coated in a fresh & vibrant chimichurri sauce.
Ingredients
Chimichurri
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (90ml)
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (15ml)
- 1-2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp sea salt + more to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper + more to taste
- ½ cup fresh parsley, stems & leaves - wash first & tightly pack (15g)
Steak
- 1 lb hanger steak (aka - skirt steak or flank steak)
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt and black pepper - each
- 2 tsp avocado oil
Salad
- 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz | 400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cup corn kernels from about 2 ears or drained from a can/defrosted if frozen
- 2 roasted red peppers, diced
- ½ small red onion, diced
Instructions
- Chimichurri: Combine all of the chimichurri ingredients together in a small cup or bowl. Whisk together until well combined. Taste and season as you see fit.
- Steak: Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 tsp avocado oil over both sides. Heat a cast-iron pan over a medium-high heat. When the pan heats up (starting to smoke) add the steak and cook without moving it for about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side another 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and rest the steak while you prep the other salad ingredients.
- Salad: In a large bowl toss together the beans, chickpeas, corn, red onion and peppers.
- Slice Steak: After resting, slice the steak into thin strips against the grain, then cut the strips into small pieces. Add to the salad bowl.
- Combine: Drizzle the chimichurri over the steak and bean mixture then toss together until fully combined and coated in chimichurri. Taste and season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
- Enjoy: Serve and enjoy ASAP or transfer to an airtight storage container and keep in the fridge about 5 days. If time permits, I recommend you cover and rest the salad about 20-30 minutes to give the ingredients more time to marinate in chimichurri.
Sarah Sorbel says
Really loved this one! I did want a little more of a creamy texture to the sauce so I added a tiny bit of mayo and it was soooo yummy.
Sarah Nevins says
I’m so pleased to hear that! Love the idea of adding a bit of mayo to make a creamier dressing too – sounds delicious!