One of my favorite ways to use up arugula from the garden is to pair it with leftover steak and adding it to penne pasta.

Steak and arugula pasta combined with balsamic dressing, feta cheese and toasted pine nuts is a scrumptious meal hot or cold!

If you’re new to growing arugula, it’s an easy cool season plant perfect for the kitchen garden. It’s extremely versatile in the kitchen and adds a mild peppery nutty taste to dishes. Read my post How to Grow Arugula: Simple Garden to Table Recipes for my complete guide to arugula.

Why Make Steak and Arugula Pasta

Steak and Arugula Pasta is a simple way to use up leftover steak. It doesn’t matter if you grilled ribeyes, broiled a flank steak or made filet mignon in a cast iron skillet, any leftover steak will do.

I like to slice it up thin and then cut into bite sized pieces to create a dish that doesn’t require knives and cutting. Everything ends up bite sized and ready to eat which is perfect for on the go meals.

This brings me to my next reason. This pasta dish is delicious hot or cold and travels well.

Make the steaks for a dinner on a weeknight.
Make this pasta dish on a later night for dinner served warm.
Eat the leftovers cold for lunch or picnic the next day.

The biggest reason for me? Using up my arugula from the garden! I love growing it and having it on hand for all sorts of recipes. It’s a great substitute for spinach and vice versa-you could use spinach in this recipe if you don’t have arugula.

How to Make Steak and Arugula Pasta

This pasta dish is super easy to make, especially if you use store bought dressing. I prefer homemade, but will use a little help if I need it!

Begin by gathering your ingredients:

steak (any type will do)
penne pasta (other similar sized pasta will work, too, like bow tie)
balsamic dressing with honey
arugula fresh from the garden if you have it
toasted pine nuts
crumbled feta
butter
salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. I use a lot of salt for my pasta water, but use your own judgement for your health needs.

While the pasta is cooking, slice and chop your cooked leftover steak into bite sized pieces.

Wash and dry your arugula. If the leaves are on the larger side, rip or cut them into smaller pieces.

Prepare your balsamic dressing and crumble your feta if necessary.

If you need to toast your pine nuts, do that as well. It’s not difficult to do. I pour the bag or jar of pine nuts into a dry non-stick skillet and warm over medium-high heat. I toss the nuts every 30 seconds or so to keep them from burning on one side. Once they are uniformly golden, I remove from the heat and pour into a glass storage container. After they cool, I will attach the lid and store in the pantry for 1-2 weeks.

Using the same skillet, I will add a tablespoon of butter and heat up the steak.

Finally, put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and stir gently to combine. The flavors from the dressing, feta, pine nuts and arugula mixed with the leftover steak are out of this world.

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