Andee's Apron

  • My Story
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • My Story
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • My Story
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

×
Home » Recipes » Dinner

The Best Steak Sandwich with Arugula and Caramelized Onion

Modified: Oct 31, 2023 · Published: Oct 24, 2021 by Andee · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

↓ Jump to Recipe
Pin the Recipe

Say hello to your new favorite steak and arugula sandwich! This sandwich is piled with steak, gruyere cheese, caramelized onion and pepper, and arugula. It is mouthwatering good and a true crowd-pleaser.

Assembly of steak sandwich piled with caramelized onion and pepper, arugula, and gruyere cheese.
Assembly of steak sandwich piled with caramelized onion and pepper, arugula, and gruyere cheese.

This sandwich is actually a play on a recipe that I grew up eating as a kid. We called them peanut oil sandwiches. Sounds gross, right? I agree but I can promise that they were the exact opposite of gross...they were delicious! The version that we had growing up was simple. We boiled the steak to cook it in this peanut oil mixture. We then put it on a roll with mayonnaise and nothing else. It seemed like such a treat back then so now when I make this more exciting version, it seems absolutely heavenly!

Ingredient Highlights:

This steak and arugula sandwich doesn't have any crazy ingredients, but they do have a few key ingredients that you should note.

  • Steak: I use flank steak for this recipe but you are welcome to use whatever steak you would like. I like trying to find steaks with as little amount of fat as I can. I hate it when I'm eating a steak sandwich and get a chewy piece. If you buy a steak that has a lot of fat, I would recommend trying to trim the steak before cooking it. If you'd like to save time, you can also purchase shaved steak or stir fry steak.
  • Boar's Head Pepperhouse Gourmaise. You should be able to find this in your local grocery store. However, I found it on amazon as well. I absolutely love this sauce and it goes excellent with this steak sandwich or most other sandwiches you traditionally make!
  • Gruyere Cheese. I have used plain gruyere cheese and smoked gruyere cheese for this recipe. Both are delicious. You can substitute for another kind of cheese if you'd like such as provolone!
Overhead of Steak and Gruyere Sandwich with Caramelized Onion and Pepper.
Overhead view of Steak Sandwich with Arugula and Caramelized Onion

Tools to Make this Steak Sandwich:

Like the ingredients for this steak and gruyere sandwich, the tools needed are also simple. Below is a summary of the main tools you'll need for this recipe.

  • Nonstick Pan. I got a Calphalon nonstick pan from my mom as a birthday gift and I'm obsessed with it! It's oven safe which is great for when you need to start something on the stove top but finish it in the oven. I used it to caramelize my onions.
  • Sauce Pan. This is great to have for a variety of recipes. It's needed in this recipe to cook the steak! You'll heat up the oil in it then drop the steak in and boil until cooked.
  • Sheet Pan. This will be needed to cook the steak sandwiches in the oven. It's always good to have a few sheet pans in your kitchen for cooking sandwiches like this or baking delicious cookies!
  • Silicone Pastry Brush. Use this to brush the butter mixture on the tops of the sandwiches before baking. If you don't have one of these, I suggest you buy one. I use mine all the time for a variety of recipes!
Steak and Gruyere Sandwich with Caramelized Onion and Pepper

📖 Recipe

Steak and Gruyere Sandwich with Caramelized Onion and Pepper

Steak Sandwich with Arugula and Caramelized Onion

This steak and arugula sandwich is bursting with flavor! Steak is caramelized by boiling it in an oil mixture before assembling a sandwich with steak, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and peppers, and arugula, all on ciabatta bread. Say hello to mouth watering goodness! Give it a try and be sure to tag @andees_apron on Instagram!
Print Email Pin
Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 7 Sandwiches
Author: Andee
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
  

Caramelized Onion and Pepper

  • 1 Red Bell Pepper
  • 1 Red Onion
  • 2 tablespoon Butter unsalted
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Steak Mixture

  • 1 ½ lb Flank Steak
  • 1 cube Beef Bouillon
  • ¾ c Peanut Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
  • 2 tablespoon Teriyaki Sauce

Sandwich Topping

  • 2 tablespoon Butter unsalted
  • ½ tablespoon Pepperhouse Gourmaise Boar's Head Brand
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley Flakes

Sandwich Assembly*

  • 2 c Arugula
  • 7 Ciabatta Rolls
  • 8 oz Gruyere Cheese
  • ⅓ c Pepperhouse Goumaise Boar's Head Brand

Instructions
 

To Caramelize the Onion and Pepper:

  • Thinly slice onion and pepper.
    1 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Red Onion
  • Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for a minute until fragrant. Add onion and pepper and stir to coat.
    1 Red Bell Pepper, 2 tablespoon Butter, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 Red Onion
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and cover for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the lid and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. By the end of the second 20 minute time block, the onions should be golden. If they are not, increase the heat a little bit and continue cooking until golden.**
  • Add brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the onions are to the desired color and consistency that you like.
    1 teaspoon Brown Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar, Salt and Pepper

To Cook the Steak:

  • Combine beef bouillon, peanut oil, soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling. While you wait for the mixture to boil, thinly slice the steak.***
    1 cube Beef Bouillon, ¾ c Peanut Oil, 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce, 2 tablespoon Teriyaki Sauce, 1 ½ lb Flank Steak
  • Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and stir mixture, ensuring that the bouillon cube has dissolved completely.
  • Begin adding steak strips to boiling oil. This will need to be done in increments. I cooked my steak in 3 rounds. The steak that you place in the saucepan needs to be fully covered by the oil.
    1 ½ lb Flank Steak
  • Boil steak until cooked to desired doneness. Remove with slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

For the Sandwich Topping:

  • Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Mix in pepperhouse gourmaise and dried parsley.
    2 tablespoon Butter, ½ tablespoon Pepperhouse Gourmaise, 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley Flakes
  • Set aside until ready to brush tops of ciabatta rolls.

Sandwich Assembly:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Slice ciabatta bread and lay the bottom halves in a single layer on a sheet pan. Cover the bottom half with your desired amount of pepperhouse gourmaise.
  • Top with steak slices, caramelized onions and peppers, gruyere cheese, and arugula, in that order.
  • Place tops on sandwiches and brush with butter mixture.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Notes

*Amount of each ingredient in this section may vary. You can use more or less of each ingredient here depending on how you like you're sandwiches. These amounts are approximations based on how I made my sandwiches.
**For efficiency when making this recipe, I began working on cooking the steak once I removed the lid to begin the second 20 minute time block. Doing so allowed the caramelized onions and steak to be done at approximately the same time so I was ready to assemble the sandwiches.
***You can slice the steak as thinly as you would like. Once I thinly sliced my steak, I also had to cut them into shorter strips so they would fit on my bread nicely without having to fold it over. 
Tried this recipe?Mention @andees_apron or tag #andeesapron!

More Dinner

  • Overhead view of pumpkin chorizo soup with someone taking a spoonful.
    Pumpkin Chorizo Soup
  • Overhead view of BBQ bison meatballs with sweet potato and broccoli on a plate.
    BBQ Bison Meatballs
  • Birria egg rolls with consommé on a plate.
    Birria Egg Rolls
  • Two plates of beetroot ravioli with lemon ricotta filling and lemon cream sauce.
    Heart Shaped Beetroot Ravioli with Lemon Ricotta Filling

Comments

    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Spillt User says

    March 29, 2024 at 8:02 am

    5 stars
    These were seriously GREAT. ? They're a little indulgent but soooo tasty. We will for sure be making these again!

    If you don't have or can't find the pepperhouse gourmaise, just mix 4 parts mayo, 1 part deli mustard, and a ton of freshly ground black pepper + a dash of white pepp if you have it.

    Reply
    • Andee says

      March 30, 2024 at 12:59 pm

      Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed them!

      Reply

Hi, I'm Andee!

I am a full-time engineer by day but spend most of my nights in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes. I am self-taught in the kitchen but have spent a lot of time learning about new techniques and flavors. My primary love is baking which is why most of my recipes are centered around baking but I also enjoy cooking so you'll see some of those recipes here as well!

More about me

Popular

  • Chocolate marshmallow ice cream scoops in an ice cream bowl.
    Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream
  • Samoa ice cream in a cone.
    Samoa Ice Cream
  • Overhead view of a coconut pecan cookie on a cooling rack.
    Coconut Pecan Cookies
  • Overhead view of sweet rolls in a pan.
    Raspberry Almond Sweet Rolls
  • Overhead view of chocolate chip pecan cookies.
    Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
  • Overhead view of banana pumpkin muffins with one of them cut in half.
    Banana Pumpkin Muffins
  • Finished no bake pumpkin cheesecake bars with whipped cream on top.
    No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Biscoff Crust
  • Side view of huckleberry sweet rolls with icing.
    Huckleberry Sweet Rolls
  • Baked and frosted huckleberry scones.
    Huckleberry Scones
  • Overhead view of the bagels.
    Jalapeno Cheddar Bagels

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosures

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2026 Andee's Apron

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.
Andee's Apron
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.