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Air Fryer Steak

Have you ever tried air fryer steak? It’s actually quite easy and the results are delicious. Using an air fryer is a great alternative to frying foods, with the opportunity to use less oil and in turn, less clean up!

two sirloin air fryer steaks on a plate

Why Use An Air Fryer To Cook Steak?

With plenty of options available to cook the perfect steak, why use an air fryer? There are many benefits to using an air fryer, not only is it a versatile appliance that can cook a variety of recipes, it can also make them with significantly less oil, or none at all.

When it is cooking, an air fryer won’t blast out a load of heat, making the kitchen unbearably hot. It also won’t be spitting out oil like when you cook steak in a frying pan (although I still love this method for cooking steak – see my section down below!)

But best of all, I love how you can pretty much leave the air fryer to do it’s thing without having to hover over it like you do with a frying pan.

How To Cook Steak In An Air Fryer

When using an air fryer to cook steak I use the same step by step process as I do for other methods.

Leave the steak out of the fridge until it gets to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

leaving steak out to get to room temperature

Optionally brush a little oil on each side and season it with your favourite blend – you can make your own seasoning mixture to go with it, or simply use a bit of salt and pepper.

oiling a steak before air fryer

Preheat the air fryer to 200C for 5 minutes.

Place the steak in the air fryer – I like to use a trivet to raise it up from the base, but you can lay it directly on the air fryer basket.

steak on trivet in Ninja Foodi air fryer

Set the air fryer off for your chosen time (see next section)

Half way through, using some tongs, turn the steak over.

air fryer steak in tongs

Check the steak is cooked to your liking and remove it from the air fryer. Leave it to rest for at least 5 minutes.

two slices of air fried sirloin steak on a plate

Serve with your favourite steak sides, cover with a steak sauce or garlic butter.

How Long To Cook Steak In An Air Fryer

As long as you preheat your air fryer, the same as you would when grilling or frying a steak, you can just follow similar steak cooking times.

These times are assuming an approximate steak thickness of around 2cm, for larger steaks you might need to cook it for longer.

Medium Rare – 3 to 4 minutes on each side

Medium – 4 to 5 minutes on each side

Well Done – 5 to 6 minutes on each side

This is a sirloin steak cooked for 4 minutes on each side at 200C (preheated for 5 minutes):

medium rare air fryer steak

Is An Air Fryer The Best Way To Cook A Steak?

It comes down to personal taste, but pan-frying a steak will always be the best way for me. Don’t get me wrong, the results are also great in an air fryer, but nothing quite beats that smoky, charred exterior you get when you pan-fry a steak!

If you want to reduce your oil consumption, the air fryer method might be a good solution.

air fryer steak with garlic butter

Air Fryer Steak

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes

Making steak in an air fryer is the perfect way to enjoy this delicious cut of meat.

Ingredients

  • Sirloin steak (or your favourite cut of steak)
  • Oil (optional)
  • Seasoning 

Instructions

  1. Take the steak out of the fridge and leave it out for at least 30 minutes so that it can get to room temperature.
  2. Preheat the air fryer to 200C.
  3. Optionally rub some oil on both sides of the steak and season according to taste.
  4. Place in the air fryer - either on a trivet or directly on the base of the air fryer basket.
  5. Set the air fryer timer to your desired time, depending on how well you want it cooked.
  6. Turn the steak over half way through.
  7. At the end of the cooking time check the steak is cooked to your liking and remove it from the air fryer and leave it to rest for at least 5 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 331Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 428mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 23g

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Anne Costello

Sunday 24th of September 2023

Looking forward to receiving air fryer recipes. Anne Costello

Janet Gray

Sunday 28th of November 2021

Are you going to produce an air fryer recipe book? I use your soup recipes all the time.

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