20 Easy Steak Recipes That Are Healthy and Delicious

Written by Michael Matthews

Many folks reserve steak for fancy date nights or restaurant meals. But as these recipes prove, steak pairs well with much more than glowing candles and well-pressed tablecloths.

And contrary to its reputation, it’s not all that hard to prepare.

Read through the recipes on this list, and you’ll see that steak can be dressed up, dressed down, and/or plated with interesting accompaniments—think beer marinade, green bean chimichurri, creamy tomato sauce, cranberry glaze, or cauliflower mash.

In all cases, the recipes are easy enough for anyone with half a brain and a sharp steak knife to make. And the end results are absolutely delicious.

So have yourself a high-protein meal any night of the week—no candlesticks or dinner reservations required.  

Enjoy!

 

Steak Veggie Rolls

When you’re starving, forget about flatbreads and lettuce wraps. What you need is meat. In this recipe, steak holds everything together – both figuratively and literally.

Pick up a skirt steak, which is thin enough to wrap around a selection of veggies like asparagus, zucchini, and bell pepper. Once you try this method, it might come in handy for other fillings like falafel or a banh mi-style mix of pickles and fresh veggies.

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Steak with Fresh Green Apple Chutney

A great cut of meat just needs a little salt and pepper to taste amazing. So skip the marinade, and serve it with a sauce instead.

Not only are you going to get that juicy steak on the table faster, but with a topping like this, carnivores can adjust how much of the additional flavors to have in each bite.

And you’ll want leftovers because this green apple chutney is going to be delicious with any meat, like flank steak, pork loin, or chicken breast. Extra sauce will keep for two or three days in the fridge.

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Grilled Strip Steaks with Green Bean Chimichurri

Chimichurri is an Argentinian condiment made from fresh parsley, garlic, and oregano. Designed to enhance the flavor of grilled meats, there’s no way steak sauce or Worcestershire can compete when they often overpower the beef.

Green beans, also originating from South America, make a great addition to this parsley-cilantro chimichurri. Since this whole recipe makes a massive serving, you may want to split each steak between two people.

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Cranberry Glazed Tri Tip Roast

Tired of turkey for Thanksgiving? Try something different by serving this cranberry steak instead.

Well, a tri tip roast is more like an oversized steak – technically the bottom sirloin cut – and when purchased whole, it can be cooked into an incredible steak roast. That’s what makes this a decadent holiday entrée, good enough to bump the usual turkey or ham off the table.

The tri tip is extra-special with this fresh cranberry glaze, and you might want to double the recipe for that since it’s as good with dessert as it is on the dinner table.

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Black & Blue Steak Wraps

Don’t have precooked steak for a quick lunch? You can still get a couple wraps ready to eat in under a half hour. A thinly sliced strip steak won’t take long to cook in a skillet – about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Instead of taking time to marinade, the meat gets coated in a blackened Cajun steak seasoning. And with flavorful blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette, you won’t need more than simple veggies and greens to round out this steak wrap.

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Steak & Guinness Stew with White Cheddar Cauliflower Mash

Not in the mood to grill steak? You can still enjoy it with a flavorful stew like this one. Steak is the star, responsible for most of the savory flavor as well as the calories.

That’s not always the case for a meat and potatoes meal, but in this one, most of the mashed potatoes have been replaced with cauliflower to reduce carbs and total caloric content.

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Garlic-Lime Skirt Steak with Veggies

Even if you don’t follow a strict paleo diet, it’s great inspiration for an easy dinner like this. Some nights all you need to be well-fed and satisfied is a juicy hunk of meat and grilled veggies.

And this makes a great meal to fall back on when you aren’t in the mood to cook. Skirt steak is ideal for a weeknight because it’s naturally thin, requiring less than 10 minutes to sear in a hot pan.

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Fat-Loss Flank Steak

Steak gets a bad rap for being red meat, which contains more saturated fats than a lean protein like chicken.

But that judgment’s based on an oversimplification because the exact nutrition depends on what cut of steak you choose, as well as where and how the beef was raised.

Look for a lean cut of meat, preferably grass-fed for the greatest nutritional value, and prepare it on the grill or using the broiler to allow the excess fat can drip off.

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Steak Burrito Bowls

You won’t be tempted to set foot in Chipotle once you learn how to make these burrito bowls at home. It looks like a lot of ingredients, so keep in mind the whole recipe is easier to prepare in separate steps.

First, the steak will need a good rub for Southwestern flavor, so get the spice mix together. You can even make extras so there’s more ready in the pantry for the future.

Then prepare the cilantro lime rice and corn salsa a day ahead, if you prefer, and marinate the steak. After that, all that’s left is to grill the meat and layer all the ingredients into a massive bowl.

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Achiote & Beer Marinated Grilled Steak

For a beautifully seared steak that’ll make everyone at your summer cookout swoon, use this marinade of beer and achiote seasoning.

Also called annatto, ground achiote is known for its bright red color, which will give the grilled meat a mouth-watering appearance.

The flavor of achiote is mild and earthy, so it’s not necessary for this delicious beer-marinated steak. If you can’t hunt down the specialty spice, substitute sweet paprika and a pinch of turmeric.

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Aji Panca Nutella Steak Sauce

Adding a chocolate spread like Nutella to a steak recipe might sound crazy, but hear me out on this. You’re getting two flavors in one – hazelnut and chocolate – both of which can enhance the richness of juicy meat. One of the most popular Mexican dishes worldwide includes a sauce full of deep, complex flavors.

That’s mole, which is made from tomatoes, spices, a touch of cocoa powder, and guajillo chiles. This steak recipe just swaps out the red chiles for yellow, but if you can’t find them, use any mild chile peppers in your market.

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Mini Filet Mignons

When you want to serve steak at a dinner party but don’t have the budget for a prime cut, prepare these mini filets as half of a surf ‘n’ turf appetizer with shrimp. Since they’re so tiny, the steaks will be quick to cook. Either pan-fry or deep-fry them for a couple minutes.

The only time-intensive part is wrapping all the individual filets in bacon, which can be done a day ahead of time. Either pan-fry or deep-fry them for a couple minutes.

The only time-intensive part is wrapping all the individual filets in bacon, which can be done a day ahead of time.

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Peruvian Steak & Roasted Sweet Potato Bowl

This isn’t the kind of rice bowl you can order at Taco Bell or Panda Express. It’s simple enough to put together with grilled flank steak, black beans, and avocado, but it’ll taste like a whole new meal thanks to a few extra additions.

Roasted sweet potato and pumpkin seeds aren’t exactly rare ingredients to find, just not the go-to pairing for salsa verde steak. So with this recipe, you can infuse your steak rice bowl with new flavors without taking a trip to a specialty store.

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Caprese Grilled Filet Mignon

When you’re aiming for a lean steak dinner, you might avoid filet mignon, thinking it needs to be wrapped in bacon to come out right.

Luckily there are other ways to prepare this naturally tender cut of beef, and this one looks even more gourmet than the usual steakhouse preparation.

This stunning entrée is easy to assemble, though, by laying sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on top of the filet. The only challenging part might be grilling the steak. When in doubt, pull it off the heat early, and cover the steak to rest until it reaches medium-rare.

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Lemon Tuna Steaks on Roasted Vegetables

Quality tuna can be turned into sashimi, of course, but if you can get a sizeable filet, then it’s an even better feast as steak.

These are a cinch to cook – all you need is a heavy-bottomed pan like cast iron and a few minutes of your undivided attention.

A timer won’t work so well for this since the time required to cook the steak depends on its thickness. Once the bottom third of the tuna has turned brown, flip it. It should take the same amount of time to cook the second side, leaving the middle pink for a medium to medium-rare steak.

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Lean Chicken-Fried Steak

How can comfort food like chicken-fried steak have less than 10 grams of fat per serving?

Start by selecting a cut of top round beef, often labeled London broil, which can be tenderized with a mallet or other specialized device. If you’d rather skip that step, pick up the beef labeled “cube steak” – that means the butcher already tenderized it for you.

To keep the recipe lean, use egg whites for dredging. And what would Southern fried steak be without gravy? The smothered chicken-fried steak will be finger-licking good with a gravy of skim milk and turkey bacon.

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Lamb Sirloin Steak

Americans don’t eat much lamb, but it’s nutritionally awesome. Like other meats, the fat content will depend on the exact cut and how you cook it.

These sirloin-style steaks come from leg of lamb, which has a comparable protein-to-fat ratio as a tender cut of beef – so no different than enjoying top sirloin. And since it has even richer flavor than beef, a lamb steak is supremely satisfying for carnivorous cravings.

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Broiled Steak with Carrot & Artichoke Salad

This simple dinner doesn’t have any of the weird processed ingredients you might expect from something inspired by the 1950s. Mid-century might have been the time when packaged foods became the norm, but it was also the era of high-protein dinners like steak.

Remember this was before nutritionists claimed red meat was bad for us, so take a step back in time with this recipe, and leave any hang-ups about eating a giant ribeye steak behind.

In case you need reassurance, take a look at these macros – you’ll find three times as much protein as fat.

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Steak & Farfalle Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Steak isn’t often served with pasta because the noodles are so delicate. Yet thick, whole-wheat farfalle – that’s the bowtie pasta – can stand up to a steak since it has a large surface area.

For a low-fat dinner, this recipe uses cube steak, which is like a roast that’s been tenderized. But it’s rich and full of flavor from not just steak but Dijon, sour cream, and red wine vinegar.

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Philly Cheesesteak Tin Foil Dinner

Classic Philly cheesesteak is made from thinly sliced beef cooked on a hot griddle or flat-top grill. It might seem like you can’t recreate it using ground beef, but even if you’re prepping dinner by the campfire, you can enjoy the Philly flavors with a hamburger-style steak dinner that comes together in a foil packet.

This is one recipe where you don’t want to skimp on the cheese in terms of quality or quantity. The melty provolone is what transforms the veggies, mushrooms, and ground beef into a quick cheesesteak.

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