This steak marinade recipe is made with olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lemon, herbs and spices, and takes just 5 minutes to put together. It adds tons of flavor to any tender cut of beef and can be used for grilled, broiled or sauteed marinated steak.
I love to use marinades in cooking, it adds so much great flavor with very little effort. I regularly marinate grilled chicken tenders, grilled shrimp and marinated salmon, and I always have this amazing best steak marinade in my constant rotation.
You can never go wrong with a good marinade, whether it’s a tri tip marinade, turkey marinade, shrimp marinade or this savory steak marinade.
Table of Contents
Steak Marinade Ingredients
This marinade consists of pantry staples that you probably already have on hand.
- Olive Oil: The oil forms the base of the marinade. It adds flavor to the meat and helps to prevent it from drying out as it cooks.
- Soy Sauce: This sauce adds much needed salt to the steak, as well as a complex, savory flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This sauce pairs perfectly with red meat, and is a must-have for this marinade.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best. This ingredient helps to tenderize the meat, as well as adds a bright, fresh flavor.
- Garlic: You can’t have steak without garlic! Mince your own fresh garlic for the best results. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, use 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Seasonings: The ingredients of dried Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and onion powder round out the flavor profile of the marinade.
How Do You Make Steak Marinade?
This steak marinade is a blend of soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, Italian seasoning and spices. Mix everything together in either a bowl, airtight container or a gallon sized freezer bag. Add your steak, and give it at least one hour in the refrigerator to soak up all that great flavor!
Tips For Steak Marinade
- Feel free to use a low sodium soy sauce if you’re watching your salt intake.
- Italian seasoning is a blend of dry herbs that is available in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. This seasoning is typically a blend of dried basil, parsley, garlic and oregano. If you can’t find Italian seasoning, you can blend together your own dried herbs in equal amounts.
- The steak in these photos is topped with an herb butter which is super easy to make. Simply combine 1/4 cup softened butter with 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, salt and pepper. Add a dollop of butter on top of each steak as it comes off the grill.
- Looking for a Mexican inspired meal? Try my steak fajita marinade recipe!
- This marinade works well with most cuts of beef, I recommend using it on flank steak, New York strip, ribeye, T-bone, skirt steak, sirloin or filet mignon. If you are making London broil, be sure to check out my London broil marinade recipe!
Quick Tip
This marinade will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days, so it’s great to make in advance if you’re entertaining. You can even freeze your marinade for up to 2 months if need be!
Recipe FAQs
While it’s not a requirement to marinate your steak, most cuts of beef benefit from being marinated. The marinade adds a lot of flavor, and a longer marinating time allows for the ingredients to really penetrate the meat.
I recommend marinating your steak for a minimum of one hour, but if you have time, it’s really best to marinate your steak for at least 6-8 hours. You can leave your steak in the marinade for up to 24 hours if you prefer.
This marinade will help to tenderize steak. The acid in the lemon juice is the tenderizing agent.
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Steak Temperatures
Use a digital thermometer to gauge when your steaks are ready. You can insert your thermometer into the thickest part of your meat to determine whether the steak is at your preferred level of doneness. I personally like to cook my steaks to medium, I don’t recommend cooking your meat over 150 degrees F as it will be more likely to be tough or dry.
Keep in mind that steaks should rest for at least 5 minutes before you cut into them, so it’s best to take them off the heat a few degrees before you reach your desired temperature, as they’ll continue to cook as they rest.
- Rare: 130 degrees F
- Medium Rare: 135 degrees F
- Standard Medium: 145 degrees F
- Medium Well: 150 degrees F
- Well Done: 160 degrees F
Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as-is, but you can easily change up some of the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Herbs: Swap out the dried herbs for 2 tablespoons of fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano, basil, parsley or chives.
- Seasonings: Feel free to add other flavorings such as balsamic vinegar, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a little bit of brown sugar or some hot sauce.
- Protein: This marinade also works well for chicken and pork chops.
I typically grill my steaks, either on an outdoor charcoal grill or inside on a grill pan. That being said, this marinade is perfect with sauteed or broiled steak, so go ahead and use whatever cooking method works best for you. Offer a variety of fabulous side dishes such as Olive Garden salad, make ahead mashed potatoes, Southern mac and cheese, funeral potatoes, carrot souffle or air fryer baked potatoes. Your family will thank you!
More Great Steak Recipes
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Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl or in a resealable gallon sized freezer bag. Mix to combine.
- Add steaks to the marinade. Marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Cook steak as desired. Marinade makes enough for 2 pounds of steak.
Notes
- This marinade can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, so it’s great to make in advance if you’re entertaining. You can even freeze your marinade for up to 2 months if need be!
- Feel free to use a low sodium soy sauce if you’re watching your salt intake.
- The steak in these photos is topped with an herb butter which is super easy to make. Simply combine 1/4 cup softened salted butter with 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Add a dollop of butter on top of each steak as it comes off the grill.
Best marinade for steak tips, hands down. We grilled the steak tips for dinner tonight after they marinated all day. My whole family agreed this was by far the best flavored steak tips we’ve ever had (and we eat them often at home or out at restaurants). Thank you for sharing. It will become a staple in our house!!
Can I substitute avocado oil instead of olive oil?
That should be fine!
I would like to try in the air fryer because the weather is bad outside and can’t grill. Do you have suggested time/temp. for air fryer? Do you think it would work in the fryer?
You can use these cooking instructions from my air fryer steak recipe: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/air-fryer-steak-with-garlic-butter/
This marinade is the bee’s knees. I will never use another. I used it to marinate a small roast which I then seasoned, seared in a cast iron skillet, then finished off in my smoker.
I don’t like to brag, but it turned out wonderfully, so I was proud of myself. But so much of the perfection is due to this recipe.
I’m so grateful to have come across it, because I will make it time & time again.
This is one of my favorite marinades. I actually use it with stew beef! Marinate it for a few days, then throw it all in the crockpot to slow cook all day! Serve it up with mashed potatoes and a veggie.. and yummmmm!
Thanks for a great recipe!
I accidentally added the butter to the marinade I’m grilling the steaks later this afternoon I just checked on the steaks in the fridge they seem to be alright
Should I remove the marinade from the steaks before grilling
You just take the steaks out of the marinade and place the on the grill!
I used this marinade to make steaks last night and they were the best steaks ever! Definitely using again!
This marinade really was so flavorful!! We used it for our dinner tonight and absolutely loved it!
This marinade is excellent because it really brings out the flavor of the steak meat! It’s so delicious, I even use it as a dipping sauce!
This was delicious! I’m a big fan of Worcestershire sauce and the flavour really made the meat tasty here.
! The flavors were perfectly balanced and really enhanced the taste of the steak. It was easy to make and turned out so delicious.