For the love of southern cooking, this Southern-Style Hamburger Steaks with Onion and Mushroom Gravy is so dang good!!
If you’re not from the south, you’re probably thinking— errr, isn’t this Salisbury Steak?? No, it’s not; however it’s Salisbury Steaks’ southern cousin. The difference really isn’t much other than the fact that Salisbury Steaks have a bit more “fancy” ingredients in it like breadcrumbs, bell peppers, and more whereas a hamburger steak is just a simple beef patty smother in a fantastic onion gravy.
Growing up my grandmother, Nonnie, made hamburger steaks all the time. The gravy she whipped up was essentially made from a package of onion soup, a package of brown gravy mix, a lot of Worcestershire sauce, some beef broth and sautéed mushrooms and smothered over a skillet burger. Obviously it was delicious.
I’ve taken Nonnie’s recipe and modernized it a bit and made the gravy without all the packaged food and with only real, simple, and clean ingredients. It’s honestly just as savory and perhaps, more delicious. (Sorry, Nonnie. I still love your version!) I love how hearty and comforting this dish is and most importantly, so easy to make!
To serve, I highly recommend making a side of my Whole30 Mashed potatoes and any green goes great with these Southern-Style Hamburger Steaks with Onion and Mushroom Gravy! Enjoy!
Southern-Style Hamburger Steaks with Onion and Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients
For the Hamburger Steaks:
- 1.5 lbs ground beef (preferably 80/20)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- black pepper
For the Mushroom and Onion Gravy:
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 cups yellow onion, thinly sliced about 1 large onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1.5 cups baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced about 5 mushrooms
- 2 tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
For the Hamburger Steaks:
- Gently form ground beef into 4 even hamburger patties, being careful not to overwork the meat.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Immediately before cooking, generously season the patties with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.
- Cook burger on one side until a deep brown crust forms, about 3 minutes. Flip burgers and cook until burger is cooked to your desired doneness. I do mine for 3 to 4 more minutes for medium (pink in the center). Transfer cooked burgers to a plate and set aside.
For the Mushroom and Onion Gravy:
- Once the burgers are cooked, reduce heat in the same skillet to medium and add ghee to melt. Once ghee is melted, add onions and cook, stirring, until tender, about 4 minutes and scraping up any brown bits in the bottom of the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning and dried thyme.
- When the onions are very tender add the mushrooms and stir to combine and cook, stirring, for about 2 more minutes to develop some flavor on the mushrooms. Add arrowroot starch and stir until well-combined into the onion mixture. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the beef broth, coconut aminos, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar and continue to cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and all flavors are combined, 4 to 5 more minutes.
- Return the hamburger steaks to the skillet and laddle gravy over the burgers. Top with parsley and serve. Enjoy!
29 Comments
kasey
April 3, 2022 at 10:54 pmI’ve made this so many times because it is such a crowd pleaser in my home with my husband and 2 teenage boys!
I’ve also shared this recipe with others. It is just so good! I grill my meat outside and then add the yummy gravy on top. Thank you, thank you for such a great combination of flavors!!
Krista
February 16, 2022 at 1:11 pmThis looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it! Does this freeze well? Wondering if I could make ahead and freeze for my dad!
Alex
February 16, 2022 at 6:06 pmHi!! yes this recipe is a great one to freeze!
Kate Dubroc
October 14, 2021 at 3:01 pmThis was a hit at our house! I substituted bone broth for the beef broth and it was great!
Tracey Shingledecker
October 11, 2021 at 12:26 amA perfect Sunday night supper! I also made the potatoes. Adding it to my go to list of cozy feel good meals.
Kristen Anaya
September 30, 2021 at 3:08 amAlex, this one is AMAZING!!! We are throwing out all other hamburger, mushroom gravy recipes and keeping this one for a lifetime! Kudos to you for recreating a southern fav!!
Lisa
September 16, 2021 at 11:37 pmAmazing… Although I have yet to try one of your recipes that wasn’t!
Aly
September 15, 2021 at 5:49 pmMade this for dinner last night and my husband was surprised because it’s waaaaay out of my comfort zone for what I usually make. It was fantastic! We both loved it and my husband said we should def put it on the rotation. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Angela
September 13, 2021 at 7:21 pmOMG!! Made this for Sunday dinner yesterday and it was a hit! So delish! Absolutely loved the flavors!
Megan
September 2, 2021 at 1:39 pmI followed this recipe ingredient-wise. The only change I mad was to puree the gravy with an immersion blender to sort of hide the mushrooms and onions from my husband. The flavor was awesome and he kept saying how tasty it was. Thank you!
Alex
September 2, 2021 at 4:43 pmGreat idea!!!
Phillica
September 10, 2021 at 10:11 pmSo excited to try this! The gravy looks so delicious, I doubled it!
Mary
July 29, 2021 at 12:40 amThis was seriously restaurant quality!!!!!! So dang good!!!!! Thanks, Alex!!
Alex
July 30, 2021 at 8:00 pmSo glad you love it, Mary
Alexis
July 2, 2021 at 9:01 pmHoney, I was born and raised in the South and if someone told me to use “ghee” instead of butter or coconut aminos and arrowroot starch to MY hamburger steak with onion/mushroom gravy, I’d just laugh them right out of my kitchen. Sounds like you’re from south New York City, ’cause this is sure not something you’d find in Texas! Interesting recipe, good ideas, but I substituted things we use in the south and got a much better texture and flavor. Nice try, but so not Southern.
Alex
July 6, 2021 at 8:41 pmI was also raised in the South 😉 And these ingredients I opted to swap are ingredients that I like to use now in my kitchen (to follow a mostly Whole30/paleo diet) and re-imagine the recipes that I, too, grew up eating in my own way! You certainly can make it the good-old fashioned way. Nothing wrong with that, but I personally love to make it this way and it tastes absolutely fantastic.
Tamra
July 11, 2021 at 11:52 pmIf you didn’t make this recipe as it was listed, don’t go out of your way to leave a snarky review. It’s obvious these ingredients were created for a healthier version of hamburger steak. I am very much from the south but have been making this version of her hamburger steak for awhile. It’s AMAZING!
Vanessa J
June 30, 2021 at 1:28 pmI won’t rate this recipe because we made a significant change but I wanted to report that we made this with frozen grass fed burger patties from Costco for convenience and it was still delicious! It was messier because we added something frozen to the oil (lots of splatter) but it made dinner possible when we had no other plans or purchased ingredients.
This gravy is HEAVENLY! We’re going to try it over steak sometime.
Lisa
February 25, 2021 at 11:36 pmOh my goodness! This was absolutely delicious!! I’ve had pinned for a while and finally made tonight. A must do!! We have several favorites of yours and this is going to the top of the list!!
Gretchen
February 13, 2021 at 9:56 pmExcellent – served over cauliflower mash!
Kristie Miller
February 8, 2021 at 7:58 pmWhat brand of Cajun seasoning do you use? Or do you make your own? Can’t wait to make this!
Alex
February 10, 2021 at 2:07 pmI typically make my own. But honestly any store bought will do– this one is fine, too!
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Adams-Cajun-Seasoning-Spice-5-36-oz/10534732
Alanna Koos
February 5, 2021 at 4:48 amThis was so good, I would have kept on driving if not for the mustard , coconut aminos and apple cider, that stopped me in my tracks. Such as unique hearty but bright dish!
Camille
February 5, 2021 at 1:14 amThis dish is incredible! The gravy was the perfect consistency and flavor. It’s a wonderful comfort meal. We’ll be making this again!
Shannon
January 21, 2021 at 2:39 amMy entire family, plus the two guests we had staying with us, enjoyed this meal. Even my picky husband, who had horrible memories of a similar meal his mom used to make, said it was delicious (he particularly loved the gravy)! Thanks for the recipe.
Alexis
January 13, 2021 at 2:25 amMade this tonight for dinner and the entire family (kids and all) loved everything about this meal. Anyone that makes this will not be disappointed, it was easy to make and didn’t take long to cook. Thank you for continually creating recipes that taste delicious and my entire family loves.
Pam
February 6, 2021 at 2:51 pmI made this last night and we loved it! I was tempted to add to the burger ingredients because I expected them to fall apart or not have enough flavor. But I stuck with the recipe ingredients and instructions and they were perfect. The gravy was so flavorful! Served over Whole30 mashed potatoes. This will stay in my rotation. Thanks so much!
Haley
December 11, 2020 at 5:12 pmMy go-to recipe! I tried this recipe while doing Whole30 and family loved it! We are no longer on our diet and this is still our favorite recipe for hamburger steaks. Thank you for sharing!
Amity Krause
October 19, 2020 at 11:17 pmMade a similar recipe last week. My fiance raved! He said it reminded him of his Grandmothers cooking. This one looks amazing! Thank you for sharing!