Comfort food comes in many different forms, but perhaps the most identifiable of them all is pasta. Throw a gorgeous, beefy steak on top and you're looking at a picture-perfect dinner. Deeply flavorful and extra hearty, this Steak Pasta features sliced pan-seared steak, an irresistibly creamy, Gouda cheese sauce, and comes fully loaded with fresh veggies like sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and more!
Serve it over Pappardelle, Farfalle, or Rigatoni pasta to cure any and all comfort food cravings!
Not only can this savory pasta dish take on the hungriest of appetites, but it's also quick and easy to make. Sound too good to be true? It's not. The whole dish comes together, start-to-finish, in just 30 minutes. Steak and Pasta is easy enough to enlist as a quick-fix, weeknight dinner, yet elegant (and delicious) enough for entertaining!
Love pasta? Bookmark our decadent Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta or this easy Chicken Pesto Pasta for next time!
HOW TO MAKE STEAK PASTA
- Cook the Steak - Add oil to a large frypan over medium-high heat. Note, a cast iron skillet will get you the best sear. Allow the oil to come to temperature and prep the steak by patting it dry with a paper towel. Then, rub it with oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear the steak for 5 minutes, then turn, and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove the steak from the pan and set aside to rest.
- Cook the Veggies - Add the diced onion to the pan and sauté, stirring occasionally until softened. If you need to add another tablespoon of oil to pan, feel free to do so at this point. Then add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and stir for about 1 minute more.
- Start the Sauce - The Gouda sauce for this Steak Pasta Recipe begins with a sprinkle of flour. Just add it to the pan and stir until the vegetables are coated. Then, begin streaming in the warmed milk, whisking all the while. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Finish the Sauce - Once the sauce has slightly thickened, finish it by adding in the Gouda cheese, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Add the Spinach - Add the spinach in three separate additions, stirring just until wilted after each addition.
- Slice and Serve - Slice the steak into thin strips, taking care to cut against the grain. Then cut it into bite-sized pieces, if desired. Add the steak to the sauce, stir, and serve over your choice of pasta (cooked according to package directions).
For even more delicious, beefy pasta, be sure to check out our taco pasta next!
INGREDIENTS
The ingredient list for this recipe can be broken down into four simple parts: The steak, pasta, veggies and the sauce.
Below, you'll find tips for working with these Steak Pasta ingredients, as well as ways you can customize the recipe to tailor-fit your needs!
STEAK
You can use either Ribeye or Sirloin steak for this Steak Pasta. Either way, you'll want it to be about 1 ¼" thick.
The thickness matters because it will affect the cooking time if it is much thinner or thicker. Take note, that the total cook time is 10 minutes, which will cook your steak to medium doneness. If you'd like your steak to be less done, shave about 2 minutes off the cooking time. If you'd like it to be more done, add about two minutes to the cooking time.
PASTA
This is certainly not the time for thin, wimpy noodles, but feel free to use just about any hearty pasta you'd like for this Steak Pasta Recipe! Pastas like Pappardelle, Farfalle, or Rigatoni would be great!
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THE VEGGIES
You'll find the red onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh spinach add a ton of flavor and color to this dish. But, this pasta is extremely customizable and you should feel free to add to or take away from the veggie list as desired!
- Sub fresh grape or cherry tomatoes (one heaping cup) in the place of sun-dried tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, you'll need to add them along with the onions.
- Add chopped asparagus (about ⅔ cup) in when you start to soften the onions!
- Add sliced kalamata olives or capers a ¼ cup) for a briney bite! These ingredients would go in along with the garlic.
- Sliced mushrooms (about 8 ounces) would be another great addition in this dish. If using them, you'll need to start cooking them a couple of minutes before the onions go in. Then, after a few minutes of cooking, add the onions and keep going with the recipe as directed.
THE GOUDA SAUCE
This is quite possibly the best part of the entire dish. It's a creamy, cheesy Gouda sauce that can't be beat when it comes to Steak Pasta!
It begins with all-purpose flour sprinkled over the veggie mix. The flour serves as the thicknener. Then, in comes the milk. Whole milk is best to use here, and make sure you warm it as directed before adding it to the pan. This small step helps to ensure your sauce mixes up smooth and creamy!
After you've got your milk mixed in, it's time for the cheese. Freshly grated is always best as it improves upon both the flavor and texture of the cheese.
Smoked Gouda is our number one choice for cheese in this dish, but you could also use a plain Gouda, Havarti, or even Fontina cheese.
5 MORE BEEFY RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
- Steak Fajitas
- Steak Quesadillas
- Grilled Cowboy Steak
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Grilled Porterhouse Steak
Steak Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound Farfalle, Rigatoni, or Pappardelle pasta
- ¼ cup avocado or canola oil, separated
- 10-16 ounce sirloin or ribeye steak (about 1 ¼"-thick)
- 2 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, separated
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, separated
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 sun-dried tomatoes, minced (preferably packed in oil)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk warmed in the microwave for 1-2 minutes
- 1 ½ c freshly grated Gouda or Smoked Gouda cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped roughly chopped
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously season with salt. Add pasta and cook to al dente, according to package instructions.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a Dutch oven or large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat and allow to come to temperature.
- Pat the steak dry with paper towels, then rub it with 1 tablespoon of oil and season 1 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt and a ½ teaspoon black pepper. Rub all over to adhere. Sear the steak for 5 minutes on the first side, turn, and sear for 5 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, followed by the onion, and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and sundried tomatoes, and sauté for about 1 minute more.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir until the mixture looks pasty. Very slowly, stream in the warmed milk and stir until no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and allow to lightly simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Add the cheese, along with 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Stir until cheese is melted. Then, add the spinach in three additions, stirring just until wilted.
- Slice the beef into thin strips cutting against the grain, and cut into bite-sized pieces, if desired. Add steak to the sauce, serve over your favorite pasta, and enjoy!
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Noelle says
Yum! I love the addition of steak in this recipe, great idea!
Gina says
I will definitely be making this again! So good!