Fast & Delicious: Air Fryer Steak Bites - Swanky Recipes (2024)

Want your steak to turn out perfect every time, with this Air Fryer Steak Bites recipe you won’t be disappointed! The salt and soy sauce lends a hand in tenderizing while the air fryer does its magic in turning out a nice, caramelized protein-rich cut of juicy sirloin meat.

These juicy steak bites are the bomb when accompanied by rice, noodles, a stir fry or even kabobs. Use them in their simplest form and serve them with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and an oven-roasted broccoli or roasted asparagus side dish to accompany this steak bites recipe.

This homemade juicy air fryer steak bites recipe is quick and easy to make. With just a few ingredients and a little prep time, you’ll have dinner on the table in under 20 minutes.

If you’re new to air frying, be sure to read the manual or instruction book first. Most air fryers have a preheat setting that helps to speed up cooking time and ensure even frying. In this case, I’ve also set my own temperature setting to 400°F. In addition, the batch does not need to be flipped halfway through cooking. Typically, air fryer can call for oil. Either olive oil or vegetable oil may be of use.

How to Make Air Fryer Steak Bites

• Whisk together oil, pepper, salt, and soy sauce.
• Cut steak into 1 ½ -inch by 1-inch pieces.
• Add steak to bowl of sauce and toss until the meat is thoroughly coated.
• Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
• Place steak in air fryer basket.
• Cook coated steak bites in air fryer for 7-12 minutes.

Air Fryer Steak Bites Ingredients

• Sirloin Steak: A cut of steak that is leaner and contains a higher amount of protein and because of this they are not as robust as a cut containing higher fat like a ribeye. Cut into bite size pieces or strips. Cuts besides sirloin steak can include new york strip steak, and beef tenderloin.
• Vegetable Oil: Oil helps the soy to spread and coat the meat more evenly as well as retain more moisture. It’s important to use some oil to make steak bites in the air fryer.
• Black Pepper: Ground black pepper adds some much needed flavor to the beef meat as well as some heat.
• Salt: When salt is used with meat it helps draw the water out of the cut and in turn tenderizes it. In addition, I always salt and pepper my steak. Sometimes, I will add garlic salt in place of salt and add a tab of butter once it is done cooking.
• Soy Sauce: Rich in glutamates, soy sauce will make your meat more tender and taste more robust while adding caramelization. Since soy sauce is loaded with sodium, feel free to use low-sodium soy sauce but I prefer my steak on the salty side as it enhances the flavor even more.

Air Fryer Steak Bites Flavorful Variations

Onions: Add some cut up white or yellow onions to your bowl of sauce and toss well
before cooking.

Mushrooms: Steak and mushrooms go hand in hand. Simply add the mushrooms to the bowl to coat in the sauce with a little more oil and air fry them along with the pieces of steak.

Spices: Other spices that go great with soy sauce are garlic, ginger, paprika, cumin, coriander, chili powder, lemon juice, and toasted sesame seeds. Sometimes I like to garnish with parsley.

Sauces: Serve the steak bites with a chimichurri sauce, hummus, tzatziki sauce, A1 sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard cream, butter garlic sauce made with fresh garlic or garlic powder, steak Diane sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or Cajun butter sauce.

Cheese: I can’t get enough of blue cheese crumbles on my steak. Once it’s done cooking, add some blue cheese crumbles to the steak and allow it to slightly melt into the meat. Many famous steakhouses now offer this option and it’s one that I really do like. It add a tangy sharp taste to the steak.

Butter: Toss the air fryer steak in a bowl with butter once it’s done cooking. Not only will this ingredient add moisture, but flavor to it as well.

Garlic: If marinating, add the garlic at the beginning to lock in even more garlic flavor and then cook it according to the recipe directions. If you’re like me and enjoy raw garlic, mince the garlic and toss it in a bowl with a little melted butter to serve over the beef while plating it for dinner.

How to Serve Air Fryer Steak Bites

Serve this classic best air fryer steak bites over a bed of steamed white rice, fried rice, or noodles like this vegetable lo mein. In addition, this recipe is great with a side dish of vegetables, or brussels sprouts. Of course, a crunchy green salad is also a great choice.

If you’re looking to host a small get together, make a double batch and serve the bites with a toothpick and a variety of dipping sauces such as blue cheese, ranch, western, honey mustard, or garlic butter sauce.

Reader Questions and Tips About Air Fryer Steak Bites

Air Fryer Steak Tips

Cooking steak in an air fryer is a quick and convenient method. Preheat the air fryer, season the steak, and place it in the basket. Cook at a high temperature for a few minutes on each side until desired doneness. Rest the steak before serving for optimal juiciness and tenderness.

Air fryer steak medium-rare: you are definitely going to want to shorten the cook time from 12 minutes to 7 minutes. I would also suggest lowering the Air Fryer temperature from 400 degrees to 380 degrees. I would also recommend that if you are looking for a particular “doneness” that it would be best to keep the steak whole before putting it into the air fryer. This way you can ensure that your steaks internal temperature will not exceed that perfect air fryer steak you are looking for.

Looking for an Air Fryer? Check out this Cosori Air Fryer. It is the same one I use!