She began her 2011 with international level cross country races. She was ninth at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country, sixth at the Cinque Mulini, and won at the Hannut Lotto CrossCup. After a fourth-place finish at the English championships, she made her world level debut at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, taking 54th place. She had runner-up finishes at both the Great Ireland Run and London 10,000 (improving her best to 32:48 min), but managed only seventh at the 5000 metres British trials on the track. Her road running season remained at a high standard as she had a number of victories including the Frank Duffy 10 Mile Race, Bristol Half Marathon, Great Yorkshire Run, and the Great Birmingham Run. She was the pre-race favourite for the European Cross Trials, but was beaten at the line by Hatti Dean. At the 2011 European Cross Country Championships, Steel was among the leaders and the midpoint of the race and was in second place by the final lap. She was overtaken by Portugal's Ana Dulce Félix in the final stages, but managed to take third place for an individual bronze medal (her first international podium finish) and to lead the British women to their second ever European team title at the event.