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 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.
- 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 or a gallon sized freezer bag. Add your steak, and give it at least one hour 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 done. 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
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
Love This Recipe?
lease leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
Excellent!!! I am very pleased with this recipe!!!
I have used this marinade many times and never left a review but I decided it wasn’t fair to the recipe, not to give it one. My carnivorous clan loves steak and we only eat them this way now!
This was very good. I liked the fact that it is simple to put together with pantry ingredients. Typically I only season my steaks with salt and pepper but was in a mood for a change up. Found this recipe while doing a search. Worked well. I marinated my steaks for about 6 hours. Will definitely use again.
If making the marinade ahead of time, is it ok to be room temp or do I have to refrigerate? I use the recipe so much that I make an extra large batch for multiple uses.
I would refrigerate if you’re not using it within 2 hours. The olive oil may solidify in the fridge, if that happens just set it out for about 15 minutes before you use it and the oil will liquefy again.
Damn those steaks cook quick on low temperature!! Keep a close eye
This recipe is an absolute game changer for me. I’m a good cook, but have always been intimidated about grilling steak. I hate to admit how many I’ve ruined in the past. We’ve used this several times this spring. It makes the most delicious, tender steak. This marinade gives me confidence to add steak to my regular list of go to dishes. Thanks so much!
This looks like a great recipe and as mentioned above, all ingredients I already have. Can this be used to make a beef roast or to cook a slab of 1 kg beef in.
Yes that should be fine!
I’m out of Soy sauce. Any substitute for that? More Worcestershire? Omit?
You could add another 2 tablespoons of worcestershire and you may want to add a bit more salt.
Have you tried this on pork chops? Really enjoyed it on our steaks. Thanks.
Yes this will work on pork!
Outstanding. I let it sit for 24 hours.
Do I The steaks at room temperature or in the refrigerator? Please help!
In the refrigerator!
I don’t have any lemon juice? Will that make a big difference?
You should be able to omit it!
Just made this tonight for the wife and me. AMAZING!!
I had to sub olive oil with vegetable oil & minced garlic with powdered garlic (I know… lol) but it was just delicious.
Thanks!
can I use Grape
seed oil I do not have Olive Oil?
That should be fine!
Absolutely delicious! Even before the steaks were cooked, the marinade looked and smelled so good that my mom ended up making the same thing for her supper the same night! My mom and her partner, and my husband and myself all loved this marinade and agreed that this will be our go to marinade recipe going forward. We both followed the recipe exactly, the only exception was I added some chili flakes to my marinade for personal taste. The end result was juicy, delicious and tender steaks. Will be making this again and again!
Side note – This recipe makes a generous amount of marinade. We used half of the marinade for two large steaks – which was more than enough. With the second half of the marinade, I tossed it in with two steaks in a freezer bag and put them directly in the freezer for a quick and easy future meal.
If I leave the marinade on ribeyes for 24 hours will they be too tender? I’ve read not to marinade tender meats for too long.
It should be fine at 24 hours!
I prepared without lemon juice, because I didn’t have any on hand at the time, but my husband loved them! Will use recipe again. Very moist steaks and delicious! Thank you so much!
Wow! Loved this marinade. Used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and added red pepper flakes. Marinaded ribeyes for 7ish hours. No steak sauce required! Will definitely make again and again!
YUMMY!! This is a great marinade. Easy to make with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. I saved some to use on chicken breasts. Printed it out to use again!
This marinade resulted in one delicious steak! My husband said “wow this is the best steak you’ve ever made” so many times I lost count. Thanks!
I’m marinating the steaks now! Can’t wait to grill them…definitely need a delicious meal to look forward to during this pandemic! I will follow up with my review tomorrow. Stay safe and healthy every one!