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This steak marinade is one of the top recipes on my site! It’s my go-to for turning tough, budget-friendly cuts into juicy, flavor-packed steaks that practically melt in your mouth.
A Reader’s Review
Loved loved loved this recipe!!!! This my first time making steak and was so pleased! Easy and simple. Thank you!!
Asma
Why Everyone’s Obsessed With This Marinade
- It’s totally foolproof! Even if you’re nervous about cooking steak, this marinade guarantees juicy, flavorful results every time.
- It lets the steak shine! This is NOT one of those marinades that hides the steak; it brings out the best in it. The perfect blend of spices, herbs, and acidity complements the natural flavor of the meat!
- It works year round! Grill it outside in the summer or sear it to perfection in a skillet when it’s freezing out. This marinade tastes amazing either way!
Ingredients Needed
- Soy Free: Swap soy sauce with coconut aminos for a soy-free option.
- Lemon Juice Substitution: Instead of lemon juice, you can use lime or orange juice, OR a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar, OR a tablespoon of whole grain or Dijon mustard for a little bite.
- Italian Seasoning: Not a big fan of Italian seasoning? Reduce it to 1 tablespoon, or use a different seasoning mix. Cajun, chipotle, and southwest would all be great!
How to Make Steak Marinade
Simple pantry ingredients all come together in this incredible steak marinade recipe to give you such amazing flavor and the perfectly cooked, juicy steak! Try my Tri-Tip Marinade next!
- Combine: Add soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, ground black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to a small bowl and whisk until combined.
- Marinate: Add 4 pounds of your choice of steaks to a zip lock bag. Pour the marinade over the steaks, then seal the bag, and marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Steak Questions? I’ve Got You (FAQ’s)
- How do you make a steak tender? I use lemon juice in my marinade to break down tough fibers and soften the steak. For really tough cuts, I’ll also pound the meat before cooking.
- Why is my steak tough and chewy? It usually means the fibers didn’t break down enough. Tender cuts need quick, high heat; tougher cuts need slow cooking with moisture to stay tender.
- How long do you marinate steak? At least 2 hours, but overnight is even better for maximum flavor and tenderness. But don’t marinate the steaks for longer than 24 hours. After that, the lemon juice will start to break down the steak, leaving it tough and mushy.
Make Ahead & Leftover Steak Marinade
- Make Ahead: You can make the marinade 2-3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge. Set out at room temperature for an hour or two before adding the steak so the olive oil isn’t solid.
- Leftover Marinade: *Never reuse a marinade that has touched raw meat! If you want extra marinade for basting or making a sauce, set some aside before adding the raw steaks.
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The BEST Steak Marinade
My steak marinade turns you into the steak master everyone talks about. Juicy, tender, bold, whether your grilling or searing!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
Marinade
- Add ⅓ cup soy sauce, ⅓ cup lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 pinch red pepper flakes to a small bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add 4 pounds of your choice of steaks to a resealable zip lock bag. Pour the marinade over the steaks, seal the bag, and marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Video
Notes
Servings: Makes about 1 ⅔ cups of marinade, enough to marinate up to 4 pounds of steak.
Cooking Steaks in a Skillet: Heat the skillet over high heat before adding the steaks. Add the marinated steaks and cook on each side for 3 minutes or until the outside forms a brown crust. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook the steaks to the desired doneness. Mine took about 10 minutes, flipping 3 times to get a medium well. Top the steaks with salted butter and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 279kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 3gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 1596mgPotassium: 246mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 68IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
More Delicious Steak Recipes
Steak is already a rockstar! It doesn’t need a lot to taste amazing. A good cut is packed with flavor on its own, but the right recipes (like these!) take it to the next level.
Made an account just to give this a 5 star. My family now thinks I’m a steak genius thanks to this recipe. I’ve found a full 24hr marinade gives it the best flavor
That is awesome! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Found this recipe 3 years ago and have used it every time I have steak since, absolutely perfect
I have this marinating now. Can’t wait. Thanks so much!
For that exact amount of marinade, how many pieces of steak should I marinate? Thanks.
Hi! We love this recipe! We normally marinade steak for a couple hours but just got rained out of a planned bbq and now can’t make them until the day after tomorrow. Is that too long to marinade? Thank you
Yes, that will work great!
Oh wow!!
I changed this a bit put almost 3/4 soy sauce and only 1 tbsp workshire sauce. Fresh lemon juice (from 1 and a half lemons) 1/2 tsp regular ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp herbed Polish “ziolowy pieprz” style pepper I have. Added 1/2 tsp sweet red pepper. 3 minced& pressed cloves of garlic plus 1 tsp Polish style dried garlic.
Best marinade ever. Marinated only two hours, used veal T-bone steaks. Wow, served with baked potatoes. A winner. This will be my go to marinade from now on! Thank you!!
I’m allergic to anchovies and most Worschire sauce has anchovies in it. Is there a good substitute for it?
We usually don’t have Worschire sauce on hand do just use that amount in soy sauce also.
Yes, that will work too!
I do not have lemon juice. I have lime juice. Would that work? Or is there another substitute I could use without having to go to the store
Lime juice would actually work! That will be a fun zesty twist! Let me know how it turns out! Just marinade it in less than 4 hours because of the citrus.
The first time I did this recipe, I ran out of lemon juice, so substituted the rest with lime (so it was a combination of lemon and lime juices) and family loved it. Since then I’d made it mostly with lime juice, and recently tried it with just lemon juice (cause I ran out of lime juice lol!)
We found that the time made with lemon juice only, the meat was more tender. I don’t know if it was a different cut of meat (as I’ve tried this with a variety of cuts) or the time marinating, or if lemon juice has more potent tenderizers in it than lime juice does.
The flavor has a subtle difference, but both versions are very very tasty!
amazing blog mate ! love your blogs keep uploading more cheers
Can this be made ahead and refrigerated for a day or so?
Yes, it can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.
Going to try for meats that tend to be tough. Can you cook this on the grill
i bet this would also be good with either chicken or pork chops.
Oh this definitely looks tasty! We love some new recipe inspiration, and this marinade sounds delicious. Wonder if it works as well on seafood?
Yes! This marinade is so good on lots of different meats including seafood!
Can you make this in the Air Fryer as well then?
Yes, you can marinade your steak then use this steak recipe to air fry it: https://therecipecritic.com/air-fryer-steak/.
Yikes I accidentally added the butter to the marinade. Hope it doesn’t curdle in all that lemon juice
Do I pour the marinade in the pan with the steak when I cook it?
No, you can discard the rest of the marinade.
Or freeze it and use it again! That’s what I do with extra marinade, anyway