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These oven-baked 3-ingredient Salisbury Steak patties are tender, savory, and covered in rich brown mushroom gravy. They bake right in the casserole dish, so dinner comes together with less fuss and fewer dishes. You’re going to love how comforting and easy they are.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy oven-baked dinner — the patties cook right in the casserole dish under their gravy.
- Just 3 main ingredients — ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and brown gravy mix do the work.
- Rich mushroom gravy — no chopping mushrooms or making a roux required.
- Feeds four comfortably — six thick patties make dinner plus a possible lunch leftover.
- Great with simple sides — serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or with vegetables.
Ingredient Notes
Use ground beef in the 80–85% lean range here. You need a little fat for tender, flavorful patties; super-lean beef can get dry and a little sad in the oven. I’ve made it with leaner beef when that’s what was on sale, and it still worked, but I missed that richness.
For the soup, regular condensed cream of mushroom is exactly what this recipe wants. Campbell’s is a familiar choice, but store brand is fine. Low-sodium soup works well if salt bothers you, especially since brown gravy mix can be salty enough to make you reach for your water glass halfway through supper.
The gravy packet should be plain brown gravy mix. Nothing exotic. The little packet is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, bless it.
You can season the meat with salt and pepper, but go lightly. Actually, I usually skip the salt altogether and add a little black pepper. Then sometimes I do salt it. Depends on whether I’ve remembered the gravy mix has plenty already.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, preferably 80–85% lean
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 (0.87–1-ounce) packet brown gravy mix
- 1/4 cup water, optional but recommended for a smoother, pourable gravy
- Salt and black pepper, to taste, though I go very easy on the salt
- Nonstick cooking spray or a little oil, for greasing the casserole dish
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a medium casserole dish with cooking spray or a little oil. Any medium baking dish that holds six patties in one layer will do. Don’t crowd them on top of each other; they need their own little real estate.
Put the ground beef in a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper if you’d like, keeping in mind the soup and gravy mix are already seasoned. Mix the beef gently—just enough to distribute the seasoning. Do not knead it like bread dough. Overmixing can make the patties tough.
Divide the beef into 6 equal portions and shape each one into a thick oval patty, about 3/4 inch thick. They don’t have to be identical. Mine never are. Arrange them in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish with a little room between them.
In another bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup, brown gravy mix, and 1/4 cup water. It will be thick but should pour. If you want a looser gravy—especially if you’re serving this over noodles—add another tablespoon or two of water. I like it fairly thick over mashed potatoes, because potatoes are basically gravy’s favorite place to be.
Pour the mushroom gravy mixture over the patties, doing your best to coat each one. Use a spatula to spread it around if the soup wants to sit in one stubborn lump. It happens. The gravy will run down between the patties and look a little unpromising at first. Leave it alone. The oven handles the rest.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes. The foil matters; it keeps the patties moist while they cook. Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes, butter some egg noodles, or—if it has been that kind of day—warm up whatever vegetable you can locate in the freezer.
Carefully remove the foil after 30 minutes. Watch the steam. Return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the gravy is bubbling and slightly thickened.
Check that the center of the patties reaches at least 160°F with a meat thermometer. Let the patties rest in the hot gravy for about 5 minutes before serving. Spoon plenty of that gravy over each one.
Variations
If you need to stretch the meat a little farther, mix in 1/4 to 1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs and one beaten egg before shaping the patties. It makes them softer, more like a meatloaf-style Salisbury steak, and you may get an extra patty out of it.
Stir dried minced onion into the beef, usually 1 or 2 tablespoons. You can also put thin fresh onion slices under the patties sometimes. It’s good, though soft cooked onion is not for everyone.
For mushroom lovers, add a small can of drained mushroom pieces or about 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms to the gravy before pouring it over. The larger mushroom slices can be picked around if needed.
You can briefly sear the patties in a skillet before baking for a deeper browned flavor, but I almost never do it. It’s delicious, yes. It also dirties a skillet, and the entire charm of this supper is that it does not ask too much of you. Worcestershire sauce can shift the flavor, so the plain version is best here.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of baking, once they’ve cooled down a bit. I store the patties right in their gravy in a covered container, and they keep well for about 3 days. The gravy thickens in the refrigerator—quite a bit sometimes—but a splash of water loosens it nicely.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot and steaming, or warm the whole thing in a covered baking dish in the oven. Make sure the patties are heated through. I prefer the oven if there’s enough left to justify it, but microwaving one patty in a bowl works too.
Oddly enough, these may be even better after resting in the refrigerator. The gravy settles into the meat, and everything gets that cozy leftover flavor. Not pretty. Very good.
Final Notes
Serve these with mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, or a piece of plain white bread to swipe through the gravy. Green beans, corn, or mixed vegetables round things out in the old-fashioned way. A crisp salad with something tangy is nice too, though I’ll be honest: when I make this, the salad is often the first thing I decide not to bother with.
There are recipes you make because they impress, and then there are recipes you make because the day has been long, the weather has turned mean, and you want a warm plate. This is the second kind.
This recipe works. The casserole dish comes out hot and fragrant, with plenty of gravy for serving.
Oven Baked 3-Ingredient Salisbury Steak Patties
Ingredients Â
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef preferably 80–85% lean
- 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 0.87–1-ounce packet brown gravy mix
- 1/4 cup water optional but recommended for a smoother, pourable gravy, plus another tablespoon or two if desired
- salt and black pepper to taste; go very easy on the salt
- nonstick cooking spray or a little oil for greasing the casserole dish
InstructionsÂ
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a medium casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray or a little oil, using a dish that will hold six patties in one layer without crowding.
- Place the ground beef in a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper if desired, and mix gently just enough to distribute the seasoning without overmixing.
- Divide the beef into 6 equal portions and shape each into a thick oval patty about 3/4 inch thick.
- Arrange the patties in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish with a little room between them.
- In another bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup, brown gravy mix, and 1/4 cup water until thick but pourable, adding another tablespoon or two of water if you want a looser gravy.
- Pour the mushroom gravy mixture over the patties, using a spatula to spread it around so each patty is coated.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes to keep the patties moist while they cook.
- Carefully remove the foil, watching for steam, then return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the gravy is bubbling and slightly thickened.
- Check that the center of the patties reaches at least 160°F with a meat thermometer, then let the patties rest in the hot gravy for about 5 minutes before serving.
- Spoon plenty of gravy over each patty and serve with mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, vegetables, or plain white bread for swiping through the gravy.