steak sandwich on ciabatta bun with caramelized shallots and baby arugula sitting on cutting board next to ramekin on sauce

A.J. Forget/Mashed

This sandwich isn't the kind that you stuff into the kids' lunchboxes on a frantic Wednesday morning — this is something special. This is a sando that you'd pay a pretty penny for from the hip new deli across town, or might order alongside a glass of gamay on a swanky night out. But enjoying this meal doesn't need to come with a big price tag or a trip to the other side of town. These sandwiches are simple enough to whip up in your own kitchen and serve with a glass of the finest boxed wine.

A good steak is a wonderful, simple thing, but a good steak sandwich relies on a complex interweaving of flavors and textures. Here we take top sirloin steak and season it simply with salt and pepper before giving it a quick sear and slicing it thinly. The rare steak is piled high on a ciabatta roll — an airy bread with enough tooth to stand up to the meat — and complemented by a variety of strong flavors. We have caramelized shallots: Sweet, salty, pungent, and a touch acidic, they provide an excellent counterpoint to the meaty steak. A handful of baby arugula adds a bitter and peppery touch, freshness, and color. But no sandwich is complete without a sauce, and here our creamy Dijonnaise — a simple mixture of Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and white wine vinegar — truly shines. All together, it is the sort of sandwich you won't quickly forget.

Gather the steak sandwich ingredients

sirloin steak sandwich ingredients set out on wooden table

A.J. Forget/Mashed

This recipe is split into several parts. For the Dijonnaise, you will need mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, and white wine vinegar. For the caramelized shallots, you will need shallots, vegetable oil or butter, sugar, water, and white wine vinegar. The steaks are done simply in this recipe, requiring just the sirloin steaks themselves as well as salt, pepper, and a touch of vegetable oil. Finally, to finish the sandwiches, you will need ciabatta rolls and baby arugula. Once you have these ingredients together, you are ready to begin cooking.

Step 1: Make the Dijonnaise

bowl of creamy Dijonnaise sauce with spoon in it

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Make the Dijonnaise by combining the mayonnaise, Dijon, pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar in a small bowl and mixing well. Set this aside for now.

Step 2: Start the shallots

small skillet of sliced shallots

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Start the caramelized shallots by bringing a small skillet to medium-low heat and adding the oil or butter followed by the shallots.

Step 3: Add the sugar and water

hand pouring small dish of water into skillet of sliced shallots

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Sprinkle over the sugar, add 3 tablespoons of the water, and stir.

Step 4: Cook until caramelized

small skillet of cooked sliced shallots

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Cook the shallots, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes, or until caramelized.

Step 5: Deglaze the pan

small skillet of caramelized shallots with wooden spatula resting on the edge

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Once caramelized and browning, deglaze the pan with the white wine vinegar as well as the remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Stir the shallots and set aside for now.

Step 6: Season the steak

two raw sirloin steaks seasoned with salt and pepper on a plate

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Next, cook the steak. Begin by seasoning the sirloin on both sides with salt and pepper.

Step 7: Sear the steaks

hand placing raw sirloin steak into glistening cast iron pan

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Bring a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron, to high heat and add the vegetable oil, and then place the steaks in the skillet.

Step 8: Cook the steak to your preferred doneness

two seared sirloin steaks in a small cast iron pan

A.J. Forget/Mashed

To cook the steaks rare, sear for around 2 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 2 minutes on each side. Or cook to desired doneness.

Step 9: Rest the meat

two cooked sirloin steaks on a cutting board next to a chef's knife

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Once cooked to desired doneness, remove the steaks to a cutting board to rest for around 5 minutes.

Step 10: Slice the steak thin

thinly sliced rare sirloin steak on a cutting board next to a chef's knife and a set of tongs

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Slice the steak into thin strips.

Step 11: Build your sandwiches

hand placing strips of steak onto a ciabatta roll slathered in Dijonnaise

A.J. Forget/Mashed

To assemble the sandwiches, first spread Dijonnaise on both sides of the ciabatta rolls. Then layer the steak and top it with caramelized shallots and baby arugula.

Step 12: Time to eat

steak sandwich on ciabatta roll with caramelized shallots and baby arugula sitting on cutting board

A.J. Forget/Mashed

Serve the steak sandwich warm.

What can I serve with this steak sandwich?

Perfectly-seared sirloin steak is piled onto ciabatta with caramelized shallots, peppery arugula, and zesty Dijonnaise in our sophisticated steak sandwich.

rare steak sandwich on ciabatta roll with creamy Dijonnaise sauce, caramelized shallots, and baby arugula

  • For the Dijonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • For the caramelized shallots
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
  • 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
  • ¾ teaspoon sugar
  • 4 tablespoons water, divided
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • For the sandwiches
  • 12 ounces sirloin steak
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 ciabatta rolls
  • 1 cup baby arugula
  1. Make the Dijonnaise by combining the mayonnaise, Dijon, pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar in a small bowl and mixing well. Set this aside for now.
  2. Start the caramelized shallots by bringing a small skillet to medium-low heat and adding the oil or butter followed by the shallots.
  3. Sprinkle over the sugar, add 3 tablespoons of the water, and stir.
  4. Cook the shallots, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes, or until caramelized.
  5. Once caramelized and browning, deglaze the pan with the white wine vinegar as well as the remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Stir the shallots and set aside for now.
  6. Next, cook the steak. Begin by seasoning the sirloin on both sides with salt and pepper.
  7. Bring a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron, to high heat and add the vegetable oil, and then place the steaks in the skillet.
  8. To cook the steaks rare, sear for around 2 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 2 minutes on each side. Or cook to desired doneness.
  9. Once cooked to desired doneness, remove the steaks to a cutting board to rest for around 5 minutes.
  10. Slice the steak into thin strips.
  11. To assemble the sandwiches, first spread Dijonnaise on both sides of the ciabatta rolls. Then layer the steak and top it with caramelized shallots and baby arugula.
  12. Serve the steak sandwich warm.
Calories per Serving 971
Total Fat 47.8 g
Saturated Fat 12.3 g
Trans Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 138.3 mg
Total Carbohydrates 72.7 g
Dietary Fiber 8.2 g
Total Sugars 12.7 g
Sodium 1,076.0 mg
Protein 46.0 g

The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

How can I customize this sirloin steak sandwich recipe?

ciabatta roll topped with sliced rare, caramelized shallots, and Dijonnaise sitting on cutting board next to bowl of caramelized shallots

A.J. Forget/Mashed

What we have in this recipe is an excellent steak sandwich with a perfect array of complementary ingredients. But you can also look at it as a blueprint for how a steak sandwich should be constructed. Because while here the meaty sirloin is paired with sweet and pungent caramelized shallots, bitter arugula, and creamy, tangy Dijonnaise, those archetypal roles can be filled by many similar ingredients.

Steak and caramelized shallots are a beautiful match. The rich, salty meat is perfectly complemented by the sweet, pungent alliums — especially if they're finished with a bit of vinegar, as in this recipe. But there's no need to stick to shallots here. Or even alliums, necessarily. Perfectly caramelized sweet onions would make an excellent substitution, and mushrooms could fit the bill and add some earthy umami.

The sauce is another area ripe for experimentation. Our creamy Dijonnaise creates an elegant pairing of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, with a touch of garlic for savoriness as well as a dash of tangy vinegar (and it sounds a lot better than the other common name for the pairing of mayonnaise and mustard, mayomust). But many wonderful flavors pair with steak — and with mayonnaise — so the door is open to experiment with sauces like mayonnaise and store-bought steak sauce or mayonnaise and the classic Argentinian steak sauce, chimichurri. (Would chiminnaise or mayochurri be a better name for that one?)

Can I substitute a different cut of beef in this sirloin steak sandwich recipe?

two seasoned sirloin steaks in small cast iron skillet

A.J. Forget/Mashed

In this recipe, we opted for a thinly sliced sirloin as our steak of choice. Sirloin is a versatile cut of beef that tends to fall right in the middle of the charts for desirability. Depending on whether you opt for top sirloin or bottom sirloin, they come in at seventh and tenth, respectively, on our ranking of popular cuts of steak – out of 13. You'll also find sirloin right in the middle of our ranking of steak tenderness by cut. But this is actually perfect. You probably wouldn't want to use a prized cut like a filet mignon for a sandwich, after all. And with sirloin coming in at the middle of the pack, that means there are a lot of suitable replacements out there.

Really, the cut you use is up to you. For a steak sandwich, when it is so thinly sliced and paired with other flavorful ingredients like caramelized shallots and Dijonnaise, just about anything will do. If you happen to find yourself with an extra ribeye, it would work beautifully in this recipe, with the extra fat upping the richness of the recipe. On the other hand, you could equally go with a tougher (and often cheaper) cut like a flank steak, tri-tip, or even round steak. We think that a top sirloin is the perfect choice here, but with a sandwich this good, it's hard to go wrong.

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