With just a few ingredients and seasonings, this truly is the Best Steak Marinade Recipe. It not only infuses every bite of your steak with flavor but helps tenderize the meat so you get a tender, juicy steak every time.
Grilling chicken? We’ve got a simple and delicious Grilled Chicken Marinade, too!
The Best Steak Marinade
Like our other sauces and dressings, it’s good to have a homemade steak marinade in your recipe collection. This is ours and we truly do believe it’s the best all-purpose one. It’s beyond easy to make and results in the most flavorful, juicy, and tender steaks. Use this recipe for summer grilling or year-round on the stovetop.
This is a simple marinade, made with lemon juice, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce along with a few seasonings. The lemon juice helps to tenderize the steak while the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce add a savory umami flavor that infuses every bite. Our homemade Italian seasoning, brown sugar, and garlic are all added to enhance the flavor. Add your favorite cut of steak, come back in a few hours, and it will ready to cook to perfection.
Steak Marinade Recipe
This easy steak marinade requires just a handful of ingredients with great depth of flavor.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Olive oil: for moisture and richness.
- Lemon juice: for a bright, tangy, citrus flavor and helps tenderize the meat. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Soy sauce: we recommend low-sodium to avoid an overly salty marinade.
- Worcestershire sauce: adds a flavor that’s salty, sour, and sweet at the same time.
- Seasonings: a combination of dried Italian seasoning, brown sugar, fresh garlic, salt and pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
For serving:
- Steaks: Sirloin or New York strip steaks pair wonderfully with this marinade.
- Butter & parsley: for finishing off the cooked steak before serving.
What Cuts of Beef Can I Marinate?
This homemade steak marinade works with essentially any type of beef steak. Our preferred cuts are sirloin and New York Strip steaks, especially for the cooking method we use in this recipe. It also works well with flank steak, ribeye, and even filet mignon.
How to Make Steak Marinade
This easy steak marinade literally comes together in seconds! Here’s a summary of how to make it:
(Don’t miss the printable recipe card below for details.)
- Make the marinade. Pour all of the ingredients into a gallon sized plastic bag. Mix to combine.
- Marinate the steaks. Add the steaks and turn to coat. Marinate for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Cook & enjoy. Discard the marinade, blot the steaks with a paper towel, and cook as desired. We recommend using a cast iron skillet for the best sear.
Can I Make This In Advance?
Yes, you can make this sirloin steak marinade up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container or plastic bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
How Long Can You Marinate Steak?
Steak can be marinated for up to a day, though the sweet spot is about 6 to 8 hours. Anything more than a day and you run the risk of the marinade breaking down the meat. The 6 to 8-hour spot is great for putting it all together in the morning and coming home to steak ready to marinate at night. Don’t have several hours? No worries. You can almost marinate a steak to perfection in just an hour.
Tips for Success
If you’re ready to turn this homemade steak marinade into a mouth-watering dinner, keep these suggestions in mind.
- Discard any extra marinade. Do not re-use marinade! Once you remove the steak from the marinade, it should be discarded. Blot any excess marinade from the steak.
- Cook the steak to perfection. Perfectly cooked steak, in our opinion, happens when you pull it off at medium doneness, which is approximately 145 F. Use a meat thermometer to double-check the internal temperature and keep in the mind the steak will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing it from the heat.
- Allow steaks to rest before serving. After you remove your steak from heat, allow it to rest on a plate for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Cut steak against the grain. For tender bites of steak it’s essential that it be cut against the grain when slicing and serving.
What to Serve with This Easy Steak Marinade
You can serve the steak whole or serve or thinly sliced. We enjoy ours with a dab of butter and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley. Though those additions are optional, they elevate and complement the other flavors of the dish.
Steak pairs so well with many sides, like a baked sweet potato or sweet potato fries, a regular baked potato, and a simple side salad for a complete meal.
More Easy Beef Recipes:
- Beef Stir Fry
- Grilled Flank Steak
- Salisbury Steak
- Most Incredible Beef Stew
I hope you love this quick and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Best Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For serving:
- 4 (1-inch thick) sirloin or New York strip steaks
- slab of butter
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Pour all of the marinade ingredients in a resealable gallon sized plastic bag. Mix to combine.
- Add steaks, seal, and turn to coat. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight (the longer, the better.)
- Discard marinade. Blot steaks dry with a paper towel.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; swirl to coat. When it just begins to smoke, add steaks.
- Sear steaks in batches, depending on how they fit. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes or until outside is browned. Reduce heat and cook the steaks to the desired doneness. (Mine took about 9 minutes, flipping 3 times, to get medium and an internal temperature of 145°F)
- Transfer to a plate; cover loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. (Steaks will continue to cook slightly as they rest.)
- Serve whole or thinly sliced across the grain with a dab of butter and sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Other Notes
I made steaks with this marinade and they were great!! My husband said they were the best steaks I have ever made.
This is the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve used this recipe. It tenderizes the meat and gives it such a great flavor!!
We all enjoyed this – GREAT flavor!
Recipe was delish! Kids loved it, too.
I have used this repeatedly and always get compliments. So simple to put together and much cheaper than a prepared store bought version.
Best steak marinade we’ve tried!