These Skirt Steak Pinwheels are the kind of dinner that looks like a serious project, but the whole thing is on the table in under an hour. Skirt steak gets pounded thin, layered with melty provolone, spinach, and fresh basil, then rolled into a spiral and grilled until the edges char and the cheese goes golden. These get doused in lots of cowboy butter before serving, and they're just the perfect summer dinner!

Shot of a skirt steak pinwheel showing the inside layers and perfectly cooked interior, surrounded by more pinwheels, zucchini, and corn on the cob.

Save This Recipe! 💌

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

These Grilled Steak Pinwheels Look Fancy & Impressive Without Too Much Fuss 🥩

We make these any time we want dinner to feel like an occasion without actually turning it into one. The pinwheels do a lot of heavy lifting visually, and once you slice into that spiral of steak, nobody's asking how hard it was. (It wasn't.) A little cotton twine holds the shape; the grill does the rest.

The cowboy butter almost steals the show with these, though. 🤤 We started serving it on the side, and now we just pour it straight over the top. It's garlicky, herby, a little spicy, lemony, and it can take any protein to over-the-top delicious levels!

The best part for entertaining: you can build these a day or two ahead. We assemble the rolls, tie them, and stash them in the fridge, then they go straight onto the grill when people show up. Nothing kills a dinner party like being stuck at the stove while everyone else has a drink in their hand, and this skips all of that. They look like we tried hard. We did not, and no one has to know! 😉

🧄Ingredients for Skirt Steak Pinwheels

Just a handful of ingredients here. The skirt steak is the only thing you'll make a special trip for, and the cheese, herbs, and spices are probably already in your kitchen.

Ingredients to make skirt steak pinwheels laid out on a table and labeled to denote each ingredient.

How to Make Steak Pinwheels on the Grill ✨

Don't let the spirals intimidate you. The whole process is pound, season, layer, roll, slice, grill. Here's how it comes together.

Skirt steak on a plastic cutting board pounded thin with a meat mallet and with the ends cut off of the steak.

Step 1: Pound and trim the steak. Lay the skirt steak on a cutting board and pound it to an even thickness with a meat mallet, then trim the ends square so it rolls evenly. Don't toss those trimmings; cook them up as a snack. 😏

🔪 Outside vs. inside skirt: If you can find outside skirt steak, grab it. It's more tender and better marbled than the inside skirt most grocery stores carry. Either works here. The outside skirt is just thicker, so you'll pound it down a little more. (Bavette steak or flank work too; see the recipe notes if you're swapping.)

Seasoned skirt steaks on a silver baking sheet on a wooden table.

Step 2: Season generously. Drizzle the steak with a neutral high-smoke-point oil, then rub the seasoning blend over every surface. We never skimp here. The blend is herby, smoky, and a little spicy, and it's what gives the steak a super flavorful backbone.

🧂 On the salt: We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in everything unless we say otherwise, at about 1 teaspoon salt per pound of meat. It's less salty by volume than other brands, so if you're using Morton's or fine sea salt, use about half as much.

Steaks covered with provolone cheese slices, basil, and spinach.

Step 3: Layer the filling. Lay provolone slices over the steak, then spinach, then fresh basil, leaving a small border around the edges so nothing squeezes out when you roll.

🧀 Leave a border: Resist the urge to pile the filling to the very edge. A clean half-inch margin keeps the cheese inside the spiral instead of all over your grill grates.

Hands tightly rolling skirt steaks filled with spinach and cheese.

Step 4: Roll. Roll the steak up snugly with the grain running the long way, holding firm so nothing falls out.

Steak rolled and shaped like pinwheel stuffed with cheese and spinach being held by two gloved hands.

You should see bits of cheese and green poking out of the spiral.

Gloved hands tightly tying steak pinwheels with twine.

Step 5: Tie. Tie the roll tightly in two places toward the middle, leaving about 1 to 1.5 inches between the ties.

Hands cutting twine with scissors to leave less excess string.

Snip off the excess string so it doesn't burn on the grill.

Steak pinwheels cut in half to show the rolled interior, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

Step 6: Cut & season. Then cut the roll in half between the ties, so each half has twine holding it together. Drizzle the outsides with a little more oil and season again with salt and pepper.

💡 Tie first, then cut: Tying before you slice keeps the spiral wound tight on the grill. Cut right between your two ties, and each half stays locked in place instead of unraveling.

Steak pinwheels cooking on a hot grill with grill marks showing and cheese oozing out.

Step 7: Grill. Preheat the grill to medium-high, about 400°F, or until you can hold your hand a few inches above the grate for only 3 to 4 seconds. Add the pinwheels, close the lid, and cook for about 8 to 9 minutes before flipping to get nice grill marks. Flip and continue cooking until you're a few minutes under your target temperature. Ours took around 20 to 23 minutes total.

🌡️ Pull them early, they keep cooking: We take ours off around 120 to 125°F for a really pink, rosy medium-rare, since the temperature carries up as the steak rests. If you like yours a touch more done, pull closer to 130°F for medium-rare or 140°F for medium. Skirt steak overcooks fast, so an instant-read thermometer is the move.

Spoon drizzling steak pinwheels with a buttery herbed dipping sauce.

Let the pinwheels rest about 10 minutes, snip and remove the twine, and serve with cowboy butter poured over the top or alongside for dipping.

Cutting board with steak pinwheels on it, with one sliced in half to show the medium rare center and spiraled fillings.

Serve with grilled veggies, this creamy dill potato salad, or lemon butter asparagus for the perfect summer meal.

🌟Leave a Review!

If you make these Cowboy Butter Steak Pinwheels, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below with your rating for the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸

📖 Recipe