This is the recipe that had my husband’s work staff clamoring at his office door because of the aroma flooding the clinic at lunchtime.
It’s always rewarding when you can prepare a meal that smells amazing, tastes as good as it smells, and is visually appealing. Because you don’t always get all three, you know? Sometimes a dish can smell great but be a letdown when you taste it, or it can taste absolutely amazing but look less than appetizing. These Spanish Steaks have it all: Flavor, Aroma, Looks. And while they may not look terribly fancy, the bright and vibrant colors give these steaks a lovely visual, feel-good appeal.
And there’s something else special about this dish: I got this recipe from my mom who’s been making it ever since I can remember. I can still remember as a little girl coming home to the most wonderful aroma filling our home. These Spanish Steaks have always been a family favorite. My mom uses strictly green bell peppers, because it’s really the green peppers that contribute the most depth of flavor to this dish. I’ve made just one alteration to brighten up the dish and make it look even prettier, and that is to include a variety of bell peppers for color.
This dish is incredibly simply to make with absolutely phenomenal results. I can virtually guarantee you’re going to love it!
But a word of warning: These are so aromatic – be prepared to have your neighbors at your doorstep pleading for a dinner invite!
Let’s get started!
Use any steaks you like. Since they’re going to be baked slow and slow you can use tougher cuts.
Lay them in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Now we’re going to layer them with this beautiful, colorful array of fresh produce.
Slice everything into rings and mince the garlic.
And now the layering act begins! Sprinkle the minced garlic over the steaks.
Add the onion rings.
Add the bell peppers.
Add the lemons.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Now it’s time to drizzle on sauce!
Slather the sauce over everything. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in an oven preheated to 325 degrees for an hour (depending on the thickness of the steaks), then remove the foil, increase the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes or so until the edges of some of the vegetables are just beginning to brown.
If you leave the home while these are cooking and then walk back in, you won’t be able to keep from salivating from the wonderful aroma!
And don’t forget to PIN this!
- 6 (6-8 ounce) steaks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced into ¼ inch thick rings
- 1 of each: Large green, red, orange, and yellow bell pepper, washed, cored and sliced into ¼ inch thick rings
- 1 large lemon, washed and sliced into ¼ inch thick rings
- For the Sauce:
- 1½ cups ketchup (paleo: use sugar free)
- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons water
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Place the steaks in a 9x13 inch casserole dish and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle the minced garlic over the steaks.
- Layer the sliced onions, peppers and lemons over the steaks.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Slather the sauce over everything. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 1 hour then remove the foil, increase the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes until the edges of some of the vegetables are just starting to brown. (Adjust baking time according to thickness of steaks and desired doneness).
- Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
This post is sponsored by Zaycon Foods, a business I have supported for years. As always all opinions are entirely my own.
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Cori Landon says
Oh. my. gosh. I’m out the door in 5 minutes to get the ingredients!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yahooo! Happy cooking, Cori, and ENJOY!
Trish Rowley says
Yes, pleeeeeeease!!! These look incredible, I’m seriously drooling all over my computer screen!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Trish, they’re a definite must-try!
Catherine T. says
Wow, these look delicious! Love all the colors and I can only imagine how wonderful it must smell. I’ve added this to my list to make this week :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Catherine! I’ve already made this dish twice in the past week :) We love it!
Anonymous says
This looks amazing and easy to prepare as well. Can’t beat that combination!
I’m glad to see your referral to Zaycon Foods. I’ve been wondering about using them for sometime now. Here’s what I wondered…their chicken breasts look huge from the photos so I wondered if maybe the chix were fed all sorts of unfavorable food to reach that size. Can you please address that.
Also, can you please share again the type of baking pans that you once recommended in a post. It has what I’ll call a lip around the edge.
Many thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you! I’ve been using Zaycon for years and have always been happy with their products. I think the reason they may look larger is because they’re not “trimmed”. Many of the chicken breasts you find at the butcher have had any excess edges and fat trimmed off so they look prettier – and they charge a premium price for them for that reason. While Zaycon’s chicken is not certified organic, it’s advertised as “100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients” and I take comfort knowing their chicken is vastly fresher than the stuff they sell at the butcher counter in grocery stores.
The pans I use for baking cakes and bread are the Parrish Magic Line pans. They’re hand-forged in the USA of heavy gauge aluminum and I love them not only for their quality but because they’re also the only pans that give you those perfect straight edges.
Sandi Stevens says
Hi Kimberly. Many thanks for your added explanation of Zaycon. Having you recommend them says a lot to me! I appreciate knowing more about the company and will certainly use. Also, thank you for the reminder of the Parrish Magic Line pans.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
You’re very welcome, Sandi, and thank you!
bakeaffairs says
Hi Kimberly, this looks soooo delicious and I can’t wait to try it out! Thank you for sharing.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, bakeaffairs! :) I think you’ll really enjoy this!
Karin Lundy Arranz says
Have you tried this recipe in a crock pot?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Karin! You can absolutely make this in a crock pot, you just won’t be able to achieve the end “caramelization” of the veggies, but it will still taste fantastic!
jesusan says
This sounds delicious, and I wish I could make it. But both my husband and I have developed difficulty in digesting bell peppers, so I’m going to have to pass… :-(
Anonymous says
Kimberly: Thanks to you and your Mom for your excellent collaboration. Did the Spanish Steaks tonight and we rate them A plus. Very nice dish. I used yellow, orange and red bell peppers. Thanks again for the great recipe. It’s a keeper.⚓️ H
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, so happy they were a hit and really appreciate the feedback!
Anonymous says
Made this tonight & it was a Huge hit!!!!! Served with Spanish Rice…..only thing I did different was I added Chili Sauce with the ketchup (equal amounts)…..My husband & 4 boys Loved it….Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome!!! I’m thrilled to hear that, thank you!
Anonymous says
Made this tonight…it was a HUGE Hit with my husband & 4 boys!!! the only thing I did different was I added Chili Sauce ( equal amounts of chili sauce & ketchup) Served it with Spanish Rice….Thank You for sharing this recipe :)
Phyllis says
I made this tonight and it was yummy! I will be making it again for sure! Snowy greetings from Southern Ontario Canada!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Phyllis, thank you! Warm greetings to Canada! In a few weeks we’ll be enjoying the Canadian snow for our skiing vacation in Whistler. It will be our kids’ first time skiing and they are SO excited! :)
Donna Smith says
I made this tonight and it was absolutely perfect! It’s a keeper, my daughter told me, and I totally agree. Thanks for a great recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that, Donna! Thanks so much for your feedback!
thefoodcharlatan1 says
This steak sounds amazing Kimberly! I love recipes like this. I need to jump on the Zaycon bandwagon!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much! I’ve been using Zaycon pretty consistently for several years – I think you’ll be very happy with them!
Anonymous says
this looks amazing ! What about tomoatoe paste/sauce instead of ketchup?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Tomato sauce and paste have a very different flavor than ketchup. I would stick with ketchup on this. It’s not that tomato sauce wouldn’t taste good, it just won’t taste nearly as good.
Alison says
do you find that you have to cut out the tough connective tissue in the middle of each steak?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Alison, after opening a few more packages since this recipe I have noticed that a few of the steaks have a line of that tissue running through them. For this particular recipe, because the steaks cook so long and become tender, it wasn’t an issue, but when I’ve used them to cut in other dishes yes, I did remove the tissue.
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free says
That sounds like such a wonderful company! I really need to seek out more local options. The recipe looks fabulous, too! Bursting with flavor I bet.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
It really packs a ton of flavor, Alisa, and is a family favorite!
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection says
Looks delicious! I love the simple prep.
Justine | Cooking and Beer says
Wow, this looks so flavorful! I have never had Spanish steaks…this needs to change!
Jessica - The Novice Chef says
Oh yum! I’ve never made steak this way, but will definitely have to try!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Is your mother from the BRD? Because I can’t picture most Eastern German mothers making this. Haha. Seriously. No offense to any older former DDR residents reading this. ;) And it looks delicious!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Erin! My mom’s from Bavaria. She lived in east Germany for a few years as a kid and then the rest of her childhood/teens/young adulthood in Stuttgart. She’s always been into international cuisine, loves exploring different flavors and I learned from the best :)