Steak pizzaiola is an easy Italian weeknight recipe that will be ready in under 20 minutes! It uses thin cut sirloin steak (fettine) that are cooked on the stovetop with tomatoes, capers, and olives. Oregano gives it the perfect pizza flavor so that this dish lives up to its name!
A dish that basically tastes like pizza?! Sign me up!
Steak pizzaiola (aka carne alla pizzaiola) reminds me of my nonna Enza. It's truly a dish that gives off nonna vibes (in the best possible way). It's actually one of the last dishes she made for me in Sperlonga (my mom's town in Italy where I learned the ropes of Italian cusine) before she passed away.
I always look forward to making this dish because one, it's delicious, and two, (in my opinion) to make a complete meal, you just need to add a veg (like these carciofi alla romana or escarole with raisins and pine nuts) and some fresh bread.
Pro tip: If you want to add some pasta to your meal (which I will never say no to), use the final tomato sauce from this dish to sauce your pasta (I recommend spaghetti). It's a classic Italian way to get a primo (first course of the pasta) and secondo (main dish of the fettine/meat) by cooking only once, and not having to cook two separate dishes (similar to this pork ragu).
Cooking methods
There's many ways to make steak pizzaiola, but the main two methods are to cook your raw, thin steaks (fettine) in the tomato sauce until they're cooked.
The other method is to cook the steaks in the pan first without tomato sauce, then cook your tomato sauce in the same pan, and towards the end, add your steaks back into the tomato sauce.
In my recipe, you'll see that I use the two-step method. I've tested both ways and really prefer the second way. When you cook the meat in the tomato sauce directly, it almost gives the meat a boiled flavor, which I don't love.
Cooking the meat in the pan first gives it the opportunity to get a bit of char on it, which gives more flavor to the final dish.
The meat
For years, I just thought the name used for the mea in this dish was fettine, because that's what my nonna, mom and whole family would call them.
Fettine just means a small, thin slice (of anything). So when it comes to steak, it just means a thin slice of steak, in this case, thin cut sirloin. Fettine can also be made with veal, or any other type of meat, really. But veal and beef are the most common.
When buying this meat, I just go to my local Italian butcher shop and they cut and tenderize them right then and there.
The tomatoes
First off, I use canned tomatoes in this recipe, not fresh. I've tested this recipe with both passata (crushed strained tomatoes) and peeled plum tomatoes.
Peeled plum tomatoes won by a long shot. Why? The passata felt too heavy in the final dish. It didn't cling to the fettine right. It just didn't work.
Using peeled plum tomatoes gives a light, flavorful consistency in the end so that they truly compliment the meat instead of weighing it down and overpowering it.
How to make it
There's two main steps to making this dish:
- Cook the meat
- Make the pizza-flavored tomato sauce
Cook the steaks (fettine) in a pan with olive oil and garlic until about 80% cooked.
Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, make the tomato sauce - add extra oil, and toast the dried oregano. Add the capers and olives.
Add the peeled plum tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the steaks back in and let them finish cooking in the tomato sauce and absorb the flavors.
Add basil if desired for some extra pizza flavor!
Storing and reheating
Store leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat, add a bit of olive oil to a pan and add the steak and tomato sauce to the pan. Heat until warmed through.
Recipe
Easy Weeknight Steak Pizzaiola
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin, divided
- 1 garlic clove
- 6 steaks I used thin cut sirloin (fettine), tenderized
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- 14 oz peeled plum tomatoes small can, crushed with a fork
- 2 tablespoon capers
- ⅓ cup taggiasca olives
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Use a paper towel to soak up any excess moisture on the steaks. This will help them brown better.
- Heat up a large non stick pan over medium heat. Once heated, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Once olive oil is heated through, add the full garlic clove. Once garlic clove is sizzling in the olive oil, add the steaks. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to work in batches.
- When steak is cooked on one side and is slightly browned (about 1-2 minutes MAX), turn with tongs to cook on the other side, one extra 30 seconds- 1 minute. The steaks do not have to be fully cooked at this point, but about 80% cooked.
- Season the steak with salt and pepper. Once the steaks are cooked on the second side, remove them from the pan and place aside in a plate.
- If the pan is filled with the fat of the meat, you can clean the pan out and start new, and continue to the next step.
- If the pan is quite clean, add an extra tablespoon of olive oil directly. Add the dried oregano and let it toast slightly for 30 seconds to 1 minute max. This will release the flavors of the oregano and give the dish maximum flavor.
- Add the capers and olives and sautee for about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, along with some water from the can of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are slightly reduced down into a sauce. Remove the garlic clove.
- Add the steaks back in and let them finish cooking and absorb the flavors of the tomato sauce.
- Plate, top with tomato sauce and fresh basil if desired. Buon Appetito!
Recipe Notes
- If you can't find taggiasca olives, kalamata are a good substitute
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