This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
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!
- Combine: Add oy 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.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
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.
I absolutely love this marinade recipe! I have used it numerous times and always delighted with the outcome. I do grill my steaks and they turn out perfect. 😍
How many steaks would one serving be able to marinade? Looking to marinade 4 steaks on Sunday and just want to make sure I have enough ingredients
The marinade is for 4lbs of steak, but if your steaks are small this could be enough. You may want to double it just in case. You could reserve some to use as a sauce before marinating your steaks.
Hi Alyssa,
The ingredients seem delicious. I noticed that you only stated to cook the steaks on a skillet, but have you attempted to use the grill? Just curious if it comes out different
It would come out delicious! Here is my post about perfectly juicy grilled steak!
I used this same marinade for London Broil. Absolutely delicious with different doneness as the slices move to toward the middle. Everyone got what they wanted from well done to medium rare. I used the left over marinade making sort of a glaze. I will make this again using your marinade on this cut as well as the ribeye.
Let steak rest at room temperature before frying it will make for a more tender steak..
Lemon juice and worcestershire absolutely do not taste well combined on anything! This is officially the world’s worst marinade!! Epic fail! Flavors are fighting each other as if the steak was a wrestling ring and it’s a tag team match. Awful.
I’m so sorry you didn’t like it, that can be super frustrating to make something and it doesn’t turn out how you expect. Thank you for trying it!
Would this marinade be suitable for a 4 lb. beef tenderloin roast?
Hi Ed, I would say yes! The serving says 6 steaks so I’m assuming 4 pound beef roast is totally fine.
I marinated 2 each 1lb sirloin. 2lbs total. Started at 7pm but now my husband doesn’t want it until tomorrow night so how long is the maximum amount of time safe to cook it?
Hi Tiffany, I wouldn’t let them sit longer than 24 hours. The marinade can actually start to break the muscle down and make it tough when you cook it. Good luck!
I loved This marinade! I could tell right off just buy the ingredients It was going to be yummy! I use lime instead of lemon, because I didn’t have any lemon, and it was wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing!
I don’t have a cast iron pan, only stainless steel or an indoor electric grill…any recommendations on which to use?
Good flavor, next time I’ll try lowering the lemon juice to 1/4 cup as I found it a tad to sour/lemony tasting. Used on sirloin, personally I wouldn’t a marinade like this on a ribeye it isn’t necessary.
Hi I want to make this but have a question. Can I put the marinate on the steak and then freeze it until I’m ready to cook it?
Hi Tina, thank you for the question. I wouldn’t freeze it with the marinade on it. At a certain point the marinade will actually break down the steak and make it tough.
My go-to steak marinade – my boys absolutely love it and request it often. thank you!
I hated this. Way too sour.
Hi Taylor, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like this marinade. This is one of my tope recipes that people have truly loved. Can you explain what about this recipe was sour?
It makes sense that the lemon juice would be the source of the sourness, right, Alyssa? It’s really the only ingredient in this marinade that would add that tangy flavor.
Honestly was afraid of overdoing it on my ribeye, but am pleasantly surprised!
Great flavors.
Added a dash of liquid smoke.
Used my Jaccard tenderizer (if you know, you know!?) before vacuum sealing overnight.
Cooked to perfect medium rare!
I have never tried lemon juice, always use apple cider vinegar. I liked the difference, will make a switch going forward. 4 stars though because of the overwhelming italian seasoning flavor, it covered everything else.