Date and Steak Kabobs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad
by Katie Webster
May 6, 2014 (updated 5/10/23) Jump To Recipe
This special occasion Date and Steak Kabobs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad is full of big bold flavors. The skewers have meaty steak, grilled onions and candy-like Medjool dates. You serve those atop a spinach and arugula salad with crumbled blue cheese and an orange vinaigrette dressing.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Date and Steak Kabobs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad
This easy salad is great for summer dinner parties. Skewering dates onto the beef kebabs is an unexpected twist. There are so many disparate parts in this salad but the fruity orange dressing helps it all hang together deliciously.
Recipe Highlights
- Great with just a warm baguette for a complete meal
- Takes just 50 minutes start to finish
- This is an excellent option to serve to guests who are gluten-free. (Skip the baguette in that case!)
Key Ingredients to Make These Date and Beef Kebabs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad
- Orange: Both orange zest and juice are used in the dressing.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Shallot & Red Onion
- Pantry Staples: Red Wine Vinegar and Dijon mustard.
- Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper
- Strip Steak: You can also swap for another cut of beef if desired.
- Medjool Dates: You can buy them pitted at most grocery stores.
- Baby Spinach & Arugula
- Crumbled Blue Cheese: I like to but a whole chunk of blue cheese and crumble it myself.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make dressing
Puree the orange juice, zest, oil, shallot, vinegar salt, pepper and Dijon in a blender or mini-prep food processor. (Alternatively, whisk in a bowl.) Reserve ¼ cup dressing and refrigerate. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the steak, onion and dates in a medium bowl and toss to coat.
Step 2: Grill skewers
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Thread steak, onion and dates onto 8 skewers, alternating. Oil the grill rack. Grill skewers, rotating often until the meat is medium rare and the onions and dates are softened, about 8 to 14 minutes.
Step 3: Serve Date and beef kebabs with spinach blue cheese salad
Divided the spinach and arugula among four plates or pasta bowls. Top with the skewers. Drizzle with the reserved dressing (about 1 tablespoon per salad) and top with blue cheese.
FAQs and Expert Tips
To store leftover kebabs, place them in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave until just warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
Assemble the kebabs and make the dressing. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Strip steak is great for beef kebabs because it is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Rib eye, sirloin, and top sirloin are also good options.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Date and Steak Kabobs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 entree salads and 1/4 cup dressing 1x
Description
This special occasion Date and Steak Kabobs with Spinach Blue Cheese Salad is full of big bold flavors. The skewers have meaty steak, grilled onions and candy-like Medjool dates. You serve those atop a spinach and arugula salad with crumbled blue cheese and an orange vinaigrette dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 orange, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 pound grass-fed strip steak, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 24 chunks total)
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 6 medjool dates, pitted and cut into quarters
- 12 cups loosely packed baby spinach and arugula
- 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- Puree orange juice, zest, oil, shallot, vinegar salt, pepper, and Dijon in a blender or mini prep food processor. (Alternatively whisk in a bowl.)Reserve ¼ cup dressing and refrigerate. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the steak, onion and dates in a medium bowl and toss to coat.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Thread steak, onion and dates onto 8 skewers, alternating. Oil grill rack. Grill skewers, rotating often until the meat is medium rare and the onions and dates are softened, about 8 to 14 minutes.
- Divided spinach and arugula among four plates or pasta bowls. Top with the skewers. Drizzle with the reserved dressing (about 1 tablespoon per salad) and top with blue cheese.
Notes
Storing Instructions: To store leftover kebabs, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. To reheat simply microwave until just warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
Fiber: 4 g. Carbs: 24 g. Protein: 32 g. Sodium: 812 mg. Sugar: 16 g.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 salad, 2 kebabs and 1 tablespoon dressing
- Calories: 344
- Fat: 15
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
I totally get it, Katie. Until I took a month off and went to Hawaii, I didn’t realize how singularly focused I was on constantly trying to ‘catch up’ on everything with my blog. Then I realized it’s the type of job where I’ll never be caught up and I better learn to live with that. It’s very freeing.
This steak salad is beautiful! I’m eating red meat again and this will be a perfect dish. Sharing on FB 🙂
Btw…Mary’s Crackers are the best!
My wife and I don’t even have kids yet and we barely see each other. Our schedules are stupid hectic. I’m not sure if we will ever see each other once kids are in the picture! We do make an effort to eat dinner together at least a few times a week (and catch up on DVR, of course). It’s a time that we really cherish.
This steak salad looks amazing! I’m thinking I need to make some kebabs this weekend!
Bill, oh thank you. I think your way of looking at it is a great one. “An ongoing quest.” That makes it seem like a journey instead of a crisis. I know things will improve.
I can always so relate to your posts, Katie. You have a full time job with kids and family. I have a full-time career in IT. I get totally overwhelmed as well and am always in the search for balance. It’s an ongoing quest, i guess. This salad is the ultimate healthy meal for me. Love the idea of pairing dates and beef. Awesome!!
Okay, first thing’s first, this salad sounds amazing! I adore salads, and have just recently started warming up to adding a bit of blue cheese to them. I love the addition of dates, too. I never would have thought to put dates on a steak kebab, but now I think I have to.
Secondly, I have no idea how you, and other moms, manage to blog so well. To be honest, you make it look easy, and I know (truly know) it is not. Some days I feel just so overwhelmed with my own blog, and I don’t have kids underfoot or needing to be taken to classes or anything like that. Reading your daily schedule there makes me realize just how much work it would be to keep up with a blog on top of being a mother, or having other jobs or commitments to take care of. I really admire how much energy and passion you have to be able to do what you do.
Thirdly, thank you for linking up to my ramp pesto! I’m sorry to say I hadn’t discovered your beautiful blog until now, but I am so glad I did. I can already tell we have so much in common when it comes to food! 🙂
Thank you so much Willow. I guess I sort of eased into this and have only really just taken a look and realized how crazy it all is. So yes looking in on it from the outside seems crazy. But I have no doubt you’d be able to handle it. Not that i am recommending it. I think my first step is working on limiting the social media hours.
I am so glad to connect with you. I remember finding your blog and thinking! Oh I have to remember this chick we should be friends! So glad you came by 🙂
Thanks for sharing my link:)
Me always being on my computer is a growing issue with me and my husband too…and we don’t even have kids yet! I just have to keep working at that whole balance thing:) Really enjoyed this post!
Thank you Kylie. Balance. It is my new mission I guess. It is hard isn’t it??? Glad to commiserate with you. You are so welcome about the link. I love your blog.
This looks so delicious! Definitely going to try this soon! We grow a bunch of spinach in the summer so I’m always looking for new ideas!
I just planted a whole row Pamela. So excited for things to start popping up soon. I appreciate your stopping by.
And you still have time to update the blog? wow..you are a super woman, Katie.
The salad looks super duper delicious!
Not really, ha ha. I have a lot of ideas for that, but I can never squeeze it in. The fitness page was a real exception.
We almost never have family dinner because one of us is dashing out the door to exercise. I know it’s not great, but it’s working for us.
I however spend far FAR less time on social media than you do. Admittedly you are rocking it so you’re efforts are paying off. But looking at your schedule just makes me want to take a nap. Where is the stillness? Reading a book? Maybe you have screen and screen-free “zones” of the day? We’re struggling with this too full on. I totally get it.
So maybe no advice but just a *sigh* of solidarity.
Exercise is always a HUGE priority for me, so I totally support that choice Alexis. The social media thing is a big area for me where I need to reign in. I really do have to create some rules for myself because it can be so time consuming. Another thing I have to remind myself that I spend almost two hours of my day schlepping back and forth in my car. Next year when my little one is in K, I will get to drop at least one 50 minute round trip. That will be a little time relief.
Oh, Katie, I so get it! I think the biggest issue is social media distraction. I try to spend less time on the phone! I dedicate a few hours of it instead of checking and posting something every 20 minutes. My schedule looks similar to yours but less crazy. I just don’t spend that much time on social media and it works for me. I just can’t…I have a family…I schedule once a day, pin for 30 mins or so and move on to developing recipes and writing. I get frustrated husband too. I get him, I know, I get it, I’m trying…And your tip is A+!!! As a kid I never had father and functional family, so it’s non-negotiable to have family dinner every night. And I LOVE your Friday night dinner idea! We go easy on Fridays too and you really get to know your family – the most important thing in life. I’m sure you will figure it out!:) You are so smart, I’m happy to have you as my blogger friend.:)
I think you’re right Olena. I need to post my social media hours! And stick to them. Thank you so much for your support and for participating in this little link party. You are awesome.
When you have a job like this one, where you COULD be on all the time, it really is hard to take a step back. But kudos to you for realizing that a change needs to happen and working towards it! That’s the first step.
I so love all the unique flavors in this salad!
Totally true about taking a step back Joanne!! I forget to do that and the moment I get free time I think to myself, what can I be doing that will get me out in front of the ball. I need to work on that.
Great tip, Katie! Honestly, we only do family dinner 3 or 4 times a week, in part because with 3 young ones, family dinner can be such a circus that I find it quite stressful. So Friday nights are “movie night” where the kids get to eat in front of the TV while Tim and I enjoy a glass of wine together. But I am cognizant of the fact that family dinners will eventually be more calm and will be a foundation for us all.
Thanks so much Carolyn. I think it is also what about what works for your family. With my husbands work schedule the family dinner thing works for us. But really it is more about choosing what the non-negotiable things are for you and your family, right? This happens to be mine. I think the family movie night and connecting like that with your spouse sounds great!