Steak Pizzaiola Recipe
Published March 22, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This easy-to-make Steak Pizzaiola Recipe is loaded with seared slices of beef cooked in a delicious garlicky stewed tomato herb sauce. We make this recipe at least every other week at our home. It’s that popular.
I don’t eat meat very often these days, but if I do, I make sure it’s loaded with flavor. If you’re similar to me, check out my Swiss Steak or Salisbury Steak.
Steak Pizzaiola
This is a traditional simple Neapolitan recipe consisting of thinly cut pan-fried steaks braised in a very easy-to-make tomato sauce. If you look at the word pizzaiola, you can see the word pizza, so essentially, the sauce would be used in this recipe.
When many of these traditional recipes were created, the world was not wealthy, so they depended on what was available then. If there was leftover pizza sauce, it was used as the braising liquid along with meat, which created this dish.
Weekdays can get a little crazy, but if you’re like me and still want to get a great meal on the table for your family, then this steak recipe will deliver. In addition, the great part about this recipe is that it uses few ingredients, which you are most likely to have already lying around the house.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Steak — This recipe commonly uses a thinly sliced sirloin steak gently pounded with a mallet until flattened. You can also use cuts such as strip loin, beef tenderloin, flank steak, or round steak.
- Olive Oil – In Italy, their version of fat and cooking in fat is olive oil, nothing else. However, you can also use any neutral oil like avocado or clarified butter.
- Garlic — Traditionally, you would fry a whole garlic clove in this recipe, but finely minced garlic helps to spread the flavor further.
- Onion – You can use a red, white, yellow, or sweet onion.
- White Wine – This ingredient would be optional, but it does add exceptional flavor to the recipe—any dry white wine like pinot grigio or chardonnay.
- Tomatoes — If in season, fresh peeled and seeded vine-ripe or Roma tomatoes would be best. If out of season, whole peeled San Marzano or Canned Tomatoes will be delicious.
- Oregano is a necessity for this recipe. You can use dry, which would be put in at the beginning of the tomato stewing process, or finish with fresh.
How to Make It
- Gently pound the steaks until they are about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick
- season the steak with salt and pepper.
- Pan-fry the thin cuts of steak until browned on both sides and set aside.
- Caramelize the onions and garlic in the same pan until browned.
- Deglaze with optional white wine, add tomatoes, and stew for 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper
- Add the pan-fried beef back into the tomato saucepan, place a cover on it, and cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Finish by mixing in fresh chopped oregano and serve.
How to Make Steak Pizzaiola in a Slow Cooker
- Brown the large seasoned beef cut in a pan or use the saute function of your slow cooker.
- Next, deglaze with white wine and add the remaining ingredients except for the fresh oregano, salt, and pepper. If you are using dry oregano, add it at this stage.
- Slow cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours.
- Finish by stirring in fresh chopped oregano, salt, and pepper.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This is meant to be eaten once it is finished cooking. However, keep it warm over very low simmering heat for 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and store the steak pizzaiola in the sauce in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can cover it and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of steaks to a rondeau or saucepot along with some of the sauce and cover and heat over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until warm.
chef notes + tips
- Pizza sauce in the Napolitano region of Italy is simple tomato sauce, not the thick tomato paste-style pizza sauce we know in America.
- You can also use rabbit or poultry meat, as these would have been traditional.
- For the wine, I used an Italian Pinot grigio.
- Make sure the steak is pounded out before pan-searing.
- Try serving this will pasta, risotto, or polenta.
- There will be leftover tomato sauce, which can easily be tossed with or added to the top of the suggested serving sides above.
- To concasse a tomato, cut out the stem and slice an x in the bottom of the tomato. Boil in water for 45 to 60 seconds and then immediately cool in an ice bath for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the skin, slice it in half, squeeze out as many seeds as possible, and then roughly chop.
- If you use dry oregano, put it in when the tomatoes enter the pot.
More Beef Recipes
Video
Steak Pizzaiola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 8- ounce striploin or sirloin steaks cut in half width-wise.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- ¾ cup pinot grigio, optional
- 10-12 small to medium peeled,, seeded, and roughly chopped fresh vine ripe tomatoes (or 1 28-ounce and 1 15-ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes that are crushed by hand)
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- coarse salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the sliced steak in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or butcher's paper and pound using a mallet until it is half as thick as the original slice. They should be 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
- Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Add the olive oil to a large frying pan or rondeau pot over medium heat.
- Once the oil begins to smoke lightly, add the steaks and cook for 2 to 2 ½ minutes per side or until browned. You may have to do this in batches depending on how big the pan is. Remove the steak from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan and roast for 6-8 minutes or until browned.
- Deglaze with wine and cook until most of it has been absorbed. There should be 1 to 2 tablespoons left in the pan.
- Add the tomatoes and stew over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the tomatoes have broken down. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the steaks to the top of the tomato sauce, place a lid on, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes to warm the steak back up. You can additionally braise the steak in the sauce for 40 to 45 minutes over low heat to further tenderize the steak.
- Finish by stirring in some fresh oregano and serve it.
- I usually serve the leftover tomato sauce over pasta, risotto, or polenta.
My version is similar, and your suggestion of using for meat sauce is spot on. I serve over thin noodles, My granddaughter calls it steakgetti. Lol.
Excellent!
I’ve made this twice now in a month. I used cubed sirloin from my butcher ( we buy beef a half at a time). My family is crazy about this meal! Thanks for a fabulous dish!
appreciate you trying it
Made this recipe and it was so easy and delicious. I used fresh tomato and seeding it was easier than I thought . Family loved it and Watching Billiy s video makes me want to try more of his recipes. He needs a cooking show! Thanks
fantastic
Made this as a more upmarket family meal and it went down a storm! My kids thought I was some kind of ‘food Jedi’ for creating this dish. Granted it takes more time to properly concasse the tomatoes but it’s well worth it, and it teaches you another cooking technique to add to you’re skill set. I served mine with pappardelle pasta and some homemade garlic ciabatta. Would definitely make this again. Thanks Chef Billy
thanks for giving it a shot!!
My Grandmother was from Naples, I loved when she cooked this. I am almost 64 now but I seem to remember her putting green bell peppers in it as well, and since we were pretty poor I know she used chuck steak which she trimmed and pounded. My Grandfather loved it and as a boy I used to love sitting at the table watching him eat and drink his wine, dipping fresh Italian bread in it as he ate!
Great!
Have yet to make, BUT thank you for sharing this recipe!! Must admit, in watching ELR, Everybody Loves Raymond, I’ve heard about this So often, and have wondered what it was, and thanks to you, now I know, lol 😉 Keep up the Fab work, new fan here 🙂
I have made several of your recipes. I have learned amazing things. I love to cook and you have made me more confident. I am mostly Spanish and Mexican and Kentuckian heritage. Yes it is funny. I tell people I am a Span-Mex Hillbilly. So we eat a lot of different foods. Now I am Part Italian. wonderful.
Excellent
How should I handle the canned, whole tomatoes? Rough chop? Just squeeze them? Should I add the liquid with them or drain first? Thanks.
squeeze. Liquid is fine.
I loved making this recipe. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the steak which was cooked in a tomato sauce.
Your recipes and videos are amazing. Anyone can prepare great meals with your videos. Thank you so much!
What do you serve with this? I’m thinking maybe polenta.
Polenta is good. Pasta, rice or potatoes as well. I believe I provide options in the blog post 🙂
I seriously can not wait to make this! It looks and sounds amazing.
I can’t wait to make this! I was looking for a steak pizzaiola recipe years ago when we were watching The Sopranos and never could find one. My husband will be so happy!!
Great show!
So flavorful and delicious! Yum!
Thank you!
I am SO excited to make this! What a delicious recipe and gorgeous pictures too.
Thank you! Super easy to make and really tasty.
OMg I’m drooling over here. Putting this on our menu asap!
Haha, it is good 🙂