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!
Pat B. says
Had a sweet friend who shared this same/similar recipe with me many years ago named
“ Pam” .😄… AF wives together! Could only think this might be the same gal! Great recipe…been using it for years but lost the written recipe…did it by memory. Longer you marinate the better the flavor.
Molly Kumar says
That was such a delicious and quick marinade. We loved it and going to try again in the future.
Alison says
Molly, We eat this on repeat at our house, so glad you enjoyed it as well!
Robin Gagnon says
Worked great. It is similar to the one my late husband used to make.
NATHAN KANG says
OMG!! I did a comparison using blade steak…one in the marinade and one with simple seasoning of coarse salt and garlic powder. They were seasoned about 4 hours before cooking. I grilled them on the bbq using the reverse sear method. First about 15 minutes on indirect heat, then seared them at the end to get a nice char.(the steaks were about 1 1/4″ thick). HANDS DOWN! The marinated steak was so tender and flavorful…I swear even the fat and grisal became tender! Thx for sharing your recipe! I hope to do the same with my family.
Alison says
Nathan, I love the experiment! Glad it turned out so good for you!
Brandy says
So good. Steak came out nice and tender.
Alison says
So glad you enjoyed this one as much as we do!
Laila says
I doubled the ingredients and used 1 cup of ginger ale since I used frozen steaks it tendered them just right. It was amazing!
Alison says
Laila, sounds awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
Mr Jan Groot says
Tasty
Pamela says
Could you omit the soy sauce? Because I get REALLY BAD MIGRAINES, and was told by doctors that I should be careful with anything with msg. I have a London broil I need a good marinade for, and would love to try this, but I sure don’t want a migraine…I’ve had to be hospitalized several times because of them😞
Thank for your help!!!
Jessica says
Kikkoman brand soy sauce doesn’t contain MSG! 🙂 Enjoy!
mary nethercutt says
Can you use this on Pork?
Jessica says
I’ve never tried it on pork, but I imagine it’d be just fine! It’s very flavorful though so you’ll probably not have to marinate it long, depending on the cut of pork you’re using.
John Collard says
I made Pork Kebabs last evening and although I didn’t use THIS Recipe, the one I did use was very similar.
Very tasty, although I should have given the Pork some bashing to tenderise it a bit.
Sherry says
I made this the night before we left for a Labor Day camping trip; a double batch for two thick London broils. We didn’t end up grilling the steaks until a day and a half after the marinade. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE in the group of 14 went crazy for this. Some even have a misconception that I can actually cook now. Thanks you!
Jessica says
I’m SO glad everyone loved it Sherry! And what are you talking about- YOU CAN COOK! 😉
Marissa says
Can i make use this marinade on Ribs?
Jessica says
I think that sounds INCREDIBLE.
Jano says
Covid 19 Quarantine & I can’t cook! Searched for steak marinade & this recipe popped up. I had all the ingredients so I marinated for 8 hours! BEST MARINADE EVER!! Thanks!
Nellie says
So glad you enjoyed it! If you can make steak, you can cook anything! 😉
Charli says
I noticed this was for 12 servings. I have a 2lb flank steak 4-6 servings, would I half this recipe or just do the entire marinade? Thank you.
Nellie says
I would still just do the entire marinade!
Charli says
Marinated a 2lb flank steak all day in this. Hands down BEST marinade EVER! Thank you!
Alison says
That’s the best way to do it! So glad you enjoyed it!
Nancy says
I know you suggest certain cuts of steak but can use this marinade on boneless strip steaks?
Jessica says
I think that sounds amazing!
Jayk says
“Remove the meat from the marinade and discard. ”
Having gone to the trouble of marinating the meat, why would you then discard it?
Jessica says
Discard the marinade… cook the meat.
John Collard says
I was just teasing!
Juliane Whitmore Pendell says
Very good marinade; used it for beef round strips in stir fry. I added corn starch. Came out fantastic!
Alison says
So glad it turned out great Juliane!