Best Steak marinade made with soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, ginger and garlic; you’ll never taste a better grilled steak. It’s fast, flavorful and everyone enjoys it.
Steak marinade recipe that’s insanely delicious & has been a favorite in our family for years. Comes together in minutes and you won’t believe the incredible flavor! This steak marinade recipe has been in our family for years (Thanks Aunt Pam!) and continues to be one of our favorites.
What is steak marinade?
Steak marinade refers to a combination of ingredients added to steak to tenderize and add flavor. Steak marinade can be made of liquids, like my recipe below, or a combination of dry ingredients that’s most often referred to as a “dry rub.” When I make a marinade, I aim to combine the following: an acid to tenderize + an oil + flavor. For my acids, I usually use soy sauce, lemon juice, orange juice or even Dr.Pepper or Coke. I prefer using a light olive oil in my marinades. I always add some salt for flavor, but I also like to add garlic, onion or onion powder and dried seasonings. There are so many types of marinade; it’s always fun to try new recipes!
What type of steaks to marinate?
Our entire family of 7 really enjoys steak, but whew, it can get pricey! A great compromise is to buy less expensive cuts of steak and marinate them for tenderness and added flavor. Our favorite steaks to marinate are Flat Iron steak, Skirt or Flank steak, Tri-tip steak or even London Broil.
How do you make marinade?
It’s quite simple! When I make a marinade, I aim to combine the following: some form of acid to tenderize (soy sauce, lemon juice, orange juice & even Dr.Pepper!), an oil and flavor. I always add some salt for flavor, but I also like to add garlic, onion or onion powder and dried seasonings. Whisk the ingredients together and toss with your choice of meat. Small pieces of meat season faster, so you won’t have to marinate them for very long. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard. Cook however you’d like and enjoy your juicy, flavorful meat.
How long do you have to marinate steak?
How long you marinate steaks really depends on how thick the steak is before cooking. If you’re using a Tri-Tip steak, which is 2-3″ at it’s thickest part, you’ll want to marinate it for 6-7 hours. Skirt teak or flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef for a few simple reasons- it’s inexpensive, super tender and easy to cook! Skirt steak often is folded in the package so once you remove it, you’ll see it’s quite thin. Thin steaks don’t need to marinate very long! I aim for 3-6 hours, and usually end up marinating mine for 4 hours.
This really is the BEST Steak Marinade ever! It’s very simple to make as it uses just 6 ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry. Marinade for 3-6 hours, depending on the type of steak you’re using. Small, thin round steaks take less time to marinade than flank steak, but I love flank steak, so that’s what I use most often. The marinade yields a flavorful, juicy steak that everyone loves. It’s reminiscent of teriyaki with a slight twist- try it and you’ll see what I mean!
BEST Steak Marinade ingredients
Here’s what you need to make our steak marinade:
–Soy Sauce: You’ll need 1/2 cup. I use Kikkoman brand. Low sodium works! You can use Coconut Aminos as a soy alternative as well!
–olive oil: I prefer a light olive oil. You’ll need 2 TBSP.
–brown sugar: we use 1/2 cup regular brown sugar for this steak marinade. You’re welcome to reduce the sugar to 1/3 if you prefer.
–Season All: You’ll need 1/2 teaspoon of any type of all-purpose seasoning salt.
–SPICES: You’ll need 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, garlic powder & black pepper.
How to marinade steak
Put a gallon-sized Ziplock bag in a bowl and add all the ingredients of the marinade to the bag. (The bowl helps keep the bag upright and in place.)
Seal the bag and shake the bag around a bit, as well as squish it around with your hands to mix all the ingredients.
Add the steak and squish it all around again, until the marinade covers the steak.
Allow to marinate for 3-6 hours, depending on the thickness of your steak.
Grill steak 2-6 minutes per side, depending on the type of steak used and overall thickness.
Let steak rest for 5-10 minutes after grilling, to allow the juices to redistribute. Slice, serve & enjoy!
THE BEST STEAK MARINADE
Ingredients
- ½ cup Soy Sauce
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp Season All {or any type of all-purpose seasoning salt}
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Put a gallon-sized Ziplock bag in a bowl and add all the ingredients of the marinade to the bag. (The bowl helps keep the bag upright and in place.)
- Seal the bag and shake the bag around a bit, as well as squish it around with your hands to mix all the ingredients.
- Add the steak and gently shake the bag around again, until the marinade covers the steak.
- Allow to marinate for 3-6 hours, depending on the thickness of your steak.
- Grill steak 2-10 minutes per side, depending on the type of steak used and overall thickness.
- Let steak rest for 5-10 minutes after grilling, to allow the juices to redistribute. Slice, serve & enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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What to Serve with Grilled Steak?
I love serving grilled steak with a fresh & flavorful salad like our GARDEN VEGETABLE CAPRESE SALAD or LEMON CAESAR SALAD. Serve ROASTED RANCH POTATOES or ALFREDO TWICE BAKED POTATOES as a side dish. Breads like our Homemade Hawaiian Bread or Cheesy Breadsticks go well with grilled steak too. Finish the meal off with Lemon Cake Drops or Frosted Strawberry Cookies!
Find even more BBQ recipes here:
- BBQ Chicken Pineapple Kabobs with Bacon
- Best Cheeseburger Recipe
- Greek Chicken Souvlaki with Lemon Rice
- Ranch Chicken Bacon Kabobs
- Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken
- Easy Grilled Italian Chicken with Vegetables
- Grilled BBQ Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
- BBQ Sticky Chicken recipe
- Jack Cheese Pineapple Chicken
- Grilled Honey Chicken with Glazed Pineapple
Steak marinade for the best steak of your life! Made with soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, ginger and garlic; you’ll never taste a better steak marinade!
Ken Wenman says
Love your steak marinade recipe! Looks wonderful! Ken.
Jessica says
Thanks Ken!!
Allison says
This marinade is EXCELLENT! My family loved it.
Jessica says
So happy that you liked it Allison!
Eva says
So just saw this on facebook for the very first time, I’m not much of a steak eater but I do love my Chicken and pork Chops on the grill do you think this marinade would work with them too. I love everything you put in the recipe that is why I am asking. Thank you
Jessica says
I think it’d be fantastic on pork or chicken!! Enjoy!
Lisa says
Is this good for the less expensive cuts like round or flank steak?
Jessica says
Yes, that’s what I use it with Lisa! Flank steak is my favorite for this one!
Loretta says
Why is the steak a dark color before adding the marinate ?
Jessica says
It’s flank steak, which is generally a darker color (it’s also called strip steak.) Other than that, maybe the lighting in my kitchen isn’t the greatest? 😉
Loretta says
Thank you for answering.Also I am on a cell phone so I was wondering if it could have been due to the screen size.Never had brown sugar on any other meat except ham so I am excited to try this..THANK YOU
Laura says
This is a delicious marinade! Glad I found it and will definitely be using it again!
Jessica says
So glad you liked it!
Eric Ivers says
I just checked with Zaycon. They told me there is no such thing as a steak sampler package (or any other kind of sampler) that they sell. Dang! I was hoping. They sell great meat at great prices.
Jessica says
It was a new product that they opted to not go with again. If you opt to get Zaycon emails, they’ll let you know about new products over time- it’s worth it! I love purchasing my meat from them!
Katelyn Blount says
Can you marinade just for an hour?
Jessica says
If you use thin steaks I imagine a 1 hour marinade will be just fine. That or slice up a thicker steak and marinade the pieces!
Amanda says
My new go to kabob marinade! Thank you!
Jessica says
SO GLAD you like it!! 🙂
Stephanie Raffaele says
Hey Jessica, I want to say thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. I have a couple of questions. Can you use this on whole steaks to? Or is it better on skewers?
Jessica says
Hi Stephanie! I think it’s great on whole steaks! If you do skewers, it’d take less time. Both are good!
charlotte says
would this be good to marinade thick ribeye steaks?
Jessica says
I think it’d be fantastic!!
Donald Wilson says
Can I use this marinade overnight? Or is it a 6 hour max?
Jessica says
It really depends on how thick your steak is. For a thin steak like flank, 6 hours is really the max time I suggest.
Ricky Shearer says
I want to say thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. I have a questions. Can you use this on whole steaks to?
Jessica says
Of course! We’ve used it on a variety of steaks over the years! I hope you like it!
Dana DeVolk says
Omg, yes, looks so good!
Parrish says
This sounds amazing!! I think it will be my new go to!!
Ron says
I am trying this recipe tonight, I will report how it turns out. Thank you for sharing.
Jessica says
I hope you enjoyed it Ron!