8 Best Ever Steak Marinades (Freezer Meal Prep)

5/28/19

These 8 Best Ever Steak Marinades are perfect for freezer meal prep and each of the marinades only contain 5 easy ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!  Jump to Recipe

Why should I marinate steak?

The purpose of a steak marinade is to infuse the meat with flavor. Much more effective than seasoning during the cooking process, steak marinades impart all of their flavor throughout the cut of meat. Particularly important if the steak will be grilled, a steak marinade nearly eliminates the carcinogens created by grilling.

In my steak marinade recipes, the citrus and vinegar ingredients serve to tenderize the meat. This makes it not only easier to chew but also easier to digest. It locks in the moisture for a better meal all around.

How do you make steak marinades?

There are four essential ingredients you’ll need to make a fantastic steak marinade:

• an acid
• a flavouring
• cooking oil
• salt

Acid

The first ingredient is an acid. This can be vinegar, citrus (lemon and lime juice are what I use in most of my marinades) or wine. The acid tenderizes the meat to prepare it for cooking.

Flavouring

Next, we use flavouring. Below you will find eight of my very favorite flavour combinations for steak marinades. The garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning and other herbs and spices give each marinade a distinct flavor. Try them all and then find a favorite to use, or tweak them to make your own marinade. It will impress anyone who joins your dinner table!

Oil

The third ingredient in any steak marinade is oil. The oil holds all of the ingredients together and adds moisture to the meat. I like to use oil olive for its quality and taste, but really any type of cooking oil will work. By the way, sesame oil is what I use for the Asian steak marinade recipe because it adds a nice sesame flavour.

Salt

The final ingredient you need to use in any steak marinade recipe is salt. In addition to adding flavour, salt acts like a barrier, keeping the juices inside the steak. This helps to keep the steak from drying out.

What cuts of steak can be marinated?

The tougher the cut of meat, the longer it needs to be marinated. Tough cuts (such as sirloin, chuck and round cuts) are from the muscular parts of the body that do the most work. An animal’s legs are always working hard and therefore will produce a tougher cut of meat. Those steaks should be marinated between six and 24 hours.

More tender cuts of steak (such as ribeye, tenderloin and t-bone) are found where the animal carries less weight and work. Four-legged animals (such as cows), do almost no work with their back muscles. Those muscles then provide the tender meat that we look for when we’re going to be grilling.

Those tender cuts will only need to sit in steak marinades for 15 minutes to one hour but you could marinate them for longer if you wish.

What are the best cuts of steak to use?

Here are the top cuts that I recommend you use for steak marinades:

• Sirloin
• Ribeye
• Flank
• Tri-tip
• New York strip steak
• T-bone
• Filet mignon
• Tenderloin
• Skirt steak

Should you pound steak to tenderize it?

Some people pound their meat to tenderize it. Even poultry can be pounded, but people tend to do steak because it's tougher, and sometimes even use meat tenderizers to soften it up. Personally, I find a good marinade will serve to tenderize the meat enough, and then you don't have to go through any extra work so you can feel free to skip the pounding step.

Should you marinate steak in the fridge?

Any type of meat must always be marinated in the refrigerator. Bacteria grows quickly at room temperature, making the meat unsafe to eat.

How long should you marinate steak for?

The simple answer is that you can marinate a steak anywhere from 20 minutes to 48 hours. If you're in a hurry, choose a more tender cut of steak (see more info on that above) and marinate it for a shorter time. Sometimes you really want to lock in that flavour though, or are meal prepping ahead, and in that case you can leave your steak marinating up to 2 days.

Typically, I'd say that 4-8 hours is a happy medium. Get your steak marinating earlier in the day and then go to cook it later at night.

Freezing steak marinades

Absolutely! Any of these steak marinade recipes can be made in advance and frozen. Tightly seal a large Ziploc freezer bag to prevent leaking and the marinade will last in the freezer for about three months.

Having a variety of steak marinades ready in your freezer makes grilling on a weeknight easy and fast! Just make sure you defrost your steak in the fridge earlier in the day.

Can you make the marinades ahead of time?

You can make the marinades themselves and keep them in mason jars in the fridge up to one week in advance. I wouldn't recommend any longer than that, especially for marinades with fresh herbs as they can lose their flavour. But creating the marinades ahead of time is a great way to cut down on prep time if you like to do a little bit of meal prep earlier in the week before cooking.

8 steak marinade varieties

Pictured below are the 8 different marinade possibilities for steak. Don't be afraid to get creative but also keep in mind that you want the flavours of the steak to shine through! These marinades are delicious ideas for pan frying and summer grilling.

You'll find the all the recipes below in the recipe card (Jump to Recipe ). Each marinade listed will marinate between 2 and 4 steaks, and the marinades themselves are made up of mostly pantry staples such as oils, vinegars and herbs & spices. I don't tend to use more than 4-5 ingredients in steak marinades in order to keep things simple and to focus on the steaks themselves.

Take a look at the pictures below then jump to the recipe below to make the recipe of your choice!

Cilantro lime marinade

Orange chili marinade

Mexican style marinade

Greek marinade

Balsamic marinade

Asian style marinade

Rosemary red wine marinade

Garlic herb marinade

Grilling vs pan frying steak

You can cook these steaks on the BBQ or on the stovetop. Using a cast iron skillet is best for pan frying as the heat is distributed more evenly and gives the steaks a better cook. Grilling is a great option as well to get that smoky flavour most people associate with steak. Either way, you're going to be looking at approximately the same amount of cook time and cooking on high heat for a short time period for best results.

How long should you cook steak for?

This depends on how you like your steak done, but 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare is your best bet. This is assuming that your steak is about 1-inch in thickness and the temperature level of your appliances but this is a good rule of thumb. Here's a list of times for steak:

• 1-2 minutes per side for rare
• 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare
• 5-6 minutes per side for medium
• 7-8 minutes per side for well-done

Hand test for doneness

Here's a great article that goes over the hand test for doneness. If in doubt, you should be looking at internal temperatures of 125-135 F for rare, 145 F for medium rare, 160F for medium and 170F for well done steak.

What to do with extra marinade

If you are planning to recycle the marinade, I'd recommend boiling it for about 10 minutes after you use it (assuming the marinade touched raw steak) then cool it completely in refrigerator before the next use. You'll likely lose some flavor, but it should still be delicious.

If you mixed the marinade in a bowl and reserved half of it (not ever touching the steak), then you can use it for other purposes such as a salad dressing or sauce for other dishes. I've even used leftover marinade in stir fries before!

What sides should you serve with steak?

Here are some great side dish ideas to go with these steaks:

• Roasted potatoes
• Grilled potatoes in foil
• Steamed or roasted veggies such as asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, red pepper, etc. (here's a recipe for spiced BBQ vegetables)
• Bacon brussels sprouts
• Caprese salad

More marinade recipes

Even though you can technically use these marinades for other types of meat and protein (even chicken and fish), I've got more marinade and spice rub recipes handy for you below.

• The best baked chicken breast (+ 6 marinades and spice rubs)
• 20+ chicken marinades
• Salmon marinades

Meal prep ideas for steak

There are so many ways to incorporate steak into your weekly meal prep! Here are some of my fave ideas:

• Steak flatbread
• Steak caprese sandwiches (use the balsamic marinade)
• Steak quinoa burrito bowls
• Carne asada fries (use the Mexican marinade for this one)

Meal prep tools for this recipe

• Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning these steaks into your weekly lunches.
• I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
• Get a meat thermometer to make sure your steak is cooked through
• Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're marinating the steak then freezing it

Meal prep e-course

If you'd like some more help with meal planning, then you'll love my free 5-day meal prep challenge! It's basically a free mini course that will teach you how to meal prep and cook healthy meals at home with some PDF bonus materials. Over the course of the challenge, I'll send you a free meal planner and shopping list templates so that you stay on the right track with meal prep (plus more goodies of course!)

Sign up for free below: