Looking for a quick and easy way to make tender and flavorful steak tips? Look no further than this delicious Air Fryer Steak Tips recipe! With just a few simple ingredients and a hot air fryer, you can have perfectly cooked steak tips in no time.
Whether you serve this with your favorite sides or as an afternoon snack, this is sure to become a family favorite!
Looking for more delicious air fryer beef recipes? Try this air fryer ribeye, or these air fryer short ribs!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Crispy and satisfying. Made with pantry staples, you can find anything you don't already have on hand in nearly any grocery store.
- Quick and easy recipe. This recipe is made in the air fryer in under 10 minutes. Who doesn't love a short cook time?
- Easy to customize. It's quite easy to customize this recipe to your liking. Substitutions and variations are below.
- Less mess. Cooking a steak on the stovetop can result in a ton of splatters and cleanup. You don't have to worry about that with this recipe!
🥩Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Steak tips - We used sirloin steak.
- Olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Steak cut. You can use any type of steak that you prefer, such as rib eye, New York Strip, filet mignon, or top sirloin. Please note that you may need to adjust the cooking time based on the thickness of the steak.
- Seasoning. Feel free to adjust or add seasonings to your liking. Try chili powder or cayenne for extra heat, rosemary or thyme for more of an earthy herb flavor, or anything else that sounds good to you.
- Marinade. Marinating your steak overnight in the fridge will result in even more flavor. A simple marinade of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic works well.
- Vegetables. Add mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, or any of your favorite vegetables with the steak for a complete meal.
- Sauce. Serve the steak with your favorite sauce. Garlic butter sauce, chimichurri sauce, or our Cowboy Butter recipe works great for this!
🔪Prep work
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
- If you are using a full cut of meat, cut it into 1-inch cubes.
- Pat your meat dry with paper towels.
- Let your meat come to room temperature.
- Measure out all ingredients.
📋Instructions
Combine the red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl. (Image 1)
Season the steak cubes with the seasoning blend. Flip to coat all sides. (Image 2)
Next, coat the steak with a little oil. Flip and cover all sides with the rest of the oil. (Image 3)
Toss until well coated. (Image 4)
On an air fryer tray or in the air fryer basket, arrange the steak in a single layer. Air fry for 4-5 minutes for medium doneness. This will ensure the best results for crispy bites! (Image 5)
✨Pro Tip: Use an oven safe meat thermometer (affiliate link) to monitor the temperature of the steak while it cooks. Different air fryers will cook the meat at different times, so a meat thermometer ensures accuracy.
Let the tasty steak bites rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into them. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
These steak bites taste amazing dipped in our cowboy butter dipping sauce!
✨Tips & tricks
- Use a meat thermometer. Depending on the cut of meat and your air fryer, the steak bites may need slightly different cooking times to achieve your desired doneness. Use an oven safe meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- Take the steak out of the air fryer a few degrees early. We recommend taking the steak out of the air fryer about 3-5°F below your desired cooking temperature, because the temperature will continue to rise after cooking. This will prevent overcooking the meat. For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be around 130-135°F, so you can the steak out at about 125°F. See temperature guide below for more details.
- Don't overcrowd the cooking tray or basket. If the small pieces are too close, they will steam rather than fry. Give them space between each other for better results
- Let the steak rest. This will seal in the juices for maximum flavor! You only need 3-4 minutes to achieve this.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is best enjoyed right away, and we don't recommend making it in advance. However, if you need to save it, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.
We don't recommend using frozen steak as it can become tough and cook unevenly. Make sure to thaw it completely for the best results.
No! You can use your favorite cut of meat for this recipe, whether that be filet mignon, ribeye steak, NY strip, eye of round steak, etc. Different cuts of steak have different fat-to-meat ratios and thicknesses, so we recommend using a meat thermometer to get the correct internal temperature.
♨️Temperature guide
Please note, that we can't guarantee cook times when reaching these temperatures. We suggest using an oven safe meat thermometer. As mentioned, these are target internal temperatures, and the steak tips should be taken out of the oven 3-5°F before the target temperature is reached.
- Rare - 120°F - The center of the roast will be cool to warm, very tender, and a red to pink color.
- Medium rare - 130°F - This is generally considered the "perfect cook" on most cuts of beef. The center will be red and warm.
- Medium - 140°F - This cook will have a hot pink center, and the roast will be slightly firmer in texture. We find this to be a little over cooked.
- Medium-well - 150°F - The roast will be mostly brown and firm in the center.
- Well done - 160°F+ - Finally, this cook will have absolutely no pink color in the center. It will be completely brown, firm, and very dry. We don't recommend cooking your roast to this temperature.
Side dish ideas
Not sure what to serve with steak bites? Here are a few suggestions!
- Air fryer zucchini
- Lemon garlic green beans
- Air fryer fingerling potatoes
- Redskin mashed potatoes
- Air fryer waffle fries
- Air fryer garlic bread
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Steak Tips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound steak tips, cut into bite-sized pieces (we used sirloin, use any cut you prefer)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional and to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Place the steak cubes on a plate and pat dry with paper towels.
- Make the dry rub first. Combine the coarse black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt together in a bowl. Cover all sides of the steak bites with the rub.
- Cover steak bites with olive oil and coat all sides.
- Place the steak bites on the air fryer trays or in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Make sure to leave space between each one to ensure they fry rather than touch and steam.
- Air fry for 4-7 minutes for your desired doneness. We recommend using an oven-safe meat thermometer while cooking and removing the steak 3-5 degrees before the target temperature is reached.
- Let the steak sit for 3-5 minutes to let the flavor lock in. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave, on the stovetop, or in the air fryer at 350°F.
Notes
- Use a meat thermometer. Depending on the cut of meat and your air fryer, the steak bites may need slightly different cooking times to achieve your desired doneness. Use an oven safe meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- Take the steak out of the air fryer a few degrees early. We recommend taking the steak out of the air fryer about 3-5°F below your desired cooking temperature, because the temperature will continue to rise after cooking. This will prevent overcooking the meat. For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be around 130-135°F, so you can the steak out at about 125°F. See temperature guide below for more details.
- Don't overcrowd the cooking tray or basket. If the small pieces are too close, they will steam rather than fry. Give them space between each other for better results
- Let the steak rest. This will seal in the juices for maximum flavor! You only need 3-4 minutes to achieve this.
- Rare - 120°F - The center of the roast will be cool to warm, very tender, and a red to pink color.
- Medium rare - 130°F - This is generally considered the "perfect cook" on most cuts of beef. The center will be red and warm.
- Medium - 140°F - This cook will have a hot pink center, and the roast will be slightly firmer in texture. We find this to be a little over cooked.
- Medium-well - 150°F - The roast will be mostly brown and firm in the center.
- Well done - 160°F+ - Finally, this cook will have absolutely no pink color in the center. It will be completely brown, firm, and very dry.
Nutrition
These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.
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