Air Fryer Steak
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Create a juicy, flavorful, perfectly cooked steak in less than 20 minutes with this easy Air Fryer Steak recipe! With a simple seasoning and no need to fire up the grill, it’s an easy way to enjoy tender, restaurant-style steak any night of the week. Serve it with your favorite sides for a quick and delicious meal!
Why you’ll love this recipe
If you don’t have a grill available, or a cast iron skillet lying around, what’s the next best way to cook a steak? In the air fryer!
If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and mess-free way to make a perfectly cooked steak dinner, you just found it! Here’s why people love it.
- Speed: steaks cook in under 15 minutes with minimal prep and cleanup.
- Consistency: the air fryer circulates hot air evenly around the steak, giving you a nice sear on the outside while keeping the inside of the steak juicy and tender.
- Convenience: it’s great for an easy weeknight meal! Grab some steaks on your way home from work and have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.
- Year-round cooking: rain, snow, or shine, you can make steak indoors with great results using an air fryer!
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this air fryer steak recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Steaks – this recipe can be made with ribeye steaks, sirloin steaks, filet mignon or New York strip steaks. It’s truly versatile and I’ll give you all of the details on how to adjust the cook time based on which cut of steak you choose to use. The steaks can be bone-in or boneless, based on your personal preference. The best cut of steak to cook in the air fryer is your favorite cut of steak! The steaks seen pictured throughout this post are 16 ounce boneless ribeye steaks.
- Olive oil
- Worcestershire sauce (optional) – I love the umami flavor it adds to the steaks, but it’s totally optional. I’ve made this steaks with just the oil and seasoning and they’re delicious.
- Steak seasoning – I use my homemade seasoning which is made with a combination of coarse kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, dried mined onion and garlic. The coarse spices will give your steak a bold flavor and great texture. You can mix up the spice blend in advance and store it in the pantry for up to 6 months. You can also purchase pre-made steak seasoning on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Season the steaks. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and pat them dry. If you can can remove the steaks from the fridge 30 minutes in advance, fantastic! This will allow the steaks to come up to room temperature and they’ll cook more evenly. If you don’t have time, no worries, they’ll still cook up great in the air fryer. Rub olive oil and Worcestershire sauce on all sides of the steaks. Sprinkle steak seasoning on all sides and rub it in until the steaks are fully covered. Preheat an air fryer to 400°F while you’re seasoning the steaks.
- Air fry the steaks. Place the steaks in an even layer (not overlapping or touching) in the preheated air fryer basket. It’s super important that you preheat the air fryer, so you get the sear on the outside as soon as you add the steaks to the basket. For a perfect medium rare steak, air fry a 1 inch thick steak for 4 minutes per side at 400°F. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the steak reaches 130°F. The internal temperature will rise 5-10 degrees as the steak rests.
- Rest the steaks. Remove the steaks from the air fryer and let them rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. This will allow the juices in the steak to redistribute throughout the steak and will give you a juicy steak every time!
Air fryer steak time and temperature chart
No matter the cut of steak, you want to cook it based on the thickness of the steak. Yes, I take a $.99 wooden ruler into my kitchen and measure my steaks before cooking them, because I never want an overcooked steak!
Always use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the steak before removing it from the air fryer. This chart is just a guide and the thermometer will give you the exact temperature.
- 1 inch thick steak
- Cook for 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, until it reaches an internal temperature of 130°F.
- Air fry for 5 minutes per side for medium, until it reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
- Cook for 6 minutes per side for medium-well, until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F.
- 1 ½ inch thick steak
- Cook for 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, until it reaches an internal temperature of 130°F.
- Air fry for 6 minutes per side for medium, until it reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
- Cook for 7 minutes per side for medium-well, until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F.
- 1 ¾ inch thick steak (the thickness of the air fryer ribeye steak you see pictured throughout this post)
- Cook for 6 minutes per side for medium-rare, until it reaches an internal temperature of 130°F.
- Air fry for 7 minutes per side for medium, until it reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
- Cook for 8 minutes per side for medium-well, until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F.
I do not recommend air frying steaks that are less than 1 inch thick or they will overcook inside before getting browned on the outside.
What to serve with it
I highly recommend topping the steaks with a compound butter made with fresh herbs, as soon as you remove the steaks from the air fryer. It will melt perfectly over the steaks adding a ton of flavor. You can make it in advance and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the steaks.
If you don’t have time to make compound butter, a thin slice of butter and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and chopped fresh parsley is a great addition to the steak.
For sides, you can roast vegetables or cook a baked potato in the oven while you prepare the air fryer steaks. Or you can prepare a quick side dish in the air fryer while the steaks rest. Here are some delicious side dishes to try!
- Air fryer french fries – to make steak frites, prepare the fries before the steaks and set them aside. After the steaks come out of the air fryer, toss the fries back in to reheat for 2 minutes at 380°F.
- Air fryer baked potato – cook the potatoes in the air fryer first, then wrap them in foil while you cook the steaks in the air fryer. As long as you haven’t cut them open, the potatoes should still be hot when the steaks come out of the air fryer. If they’re cool to the touch, pop them back in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes to reheat them.
- Air fryer zucchini – diced zucchini will cook in the air fryer in about 13 minutes, so you can cook it while the steaks rest, tented with foil.
This air fryer steak is also delicious served with a blue cheese salad, broccoli salad, roasted asparagus, garlic lemon green beans, or steamed broccoli.
More air fryer recipes
After making this delicious air fryer steak, be sure to add these other popular air fryer recipes to your weekly dinner menu!
Air Fryer Steak
Ingredients
- 2 ribeye steaks, see the notes section below
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, optional
- 2 tablespoons steak seasoning, click link for the recipe
Instructions
- Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and pat them dry.
- Preheat an air fryer to 400°F.
- Pour the olive oil and worcestershire sauce over the steaks and rub it in on all sides. Sprinkle the steak seasoning over the steaks until they’re fully coated.
- Place the steaks in the preheated air fryer in a single layer.
- For a perfect medium rare steak, air fry a 1 inch thick steak for 4 minutes per side at 400°F. For a steak that is 1 ½ inches thick, add 1 minute to the cooking time per side. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the steak reaches 130°F.
- Remove the steaks from the air fryer and let them rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before serving. The internal temperature will rise 5-10 degrees as the steak rests.
- Optional: top with compound butter while the steaks rest.
Notes
- If you’re using a 6 quart air fryer, you should be able to fit two really large steaks (12-16 ounces each) or four standard-size steaks (6-8 ounces each).
- This recipe can be made with any cut of steak. The cook time will vary based on the thickness of the steak. Refer to the blog post above for a time and temperature table based on the thickness of the steak and your desired final temperature.
- The nutritional information provided is for four servings (8 ounces each) of air fryer ribeye steaks.
- Leftover cooked steak should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
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