30-Minute Meals/ Air Fryer/ Beef Recipes/ Popular Seasonal Favorites

Air Fryer Juicy Steak Bites

Want your steak to turn out perfect every time, with this Air Fryer Juicy 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.

For more air fryer recipes and beef recipes, try these delicious Air Fryer Cajun Butter Steak Bites with Mushrooms, easy to make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes, a tasty and tender Grilled Flank Steak, or the best Carne Asada Street Tacos. To make chicken bites instead of steak, try this Air Fryer Chicken Bites recipe.

Air Fryer Steak Bites - Juicy golden brown air fried steak bites in a white stoneware bowl. Displayed on a wooden surface with a white napkin under a tin plate and white bowl with parsley in the background.

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 half way through cooking. Typically, air fryer can call for oil. Either olive oil or vegetable oil may be of use.

Steak pieces tossed in seasoning and soy sauce and displayed in a glass bowl on a wooden surface.

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.
Steak Bites in Air Fryer. Pieces of beef are tossed in a seasoning and displayed in the air fryer on a wooden surface.

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.
Golden brown Air Fryer Steak Bites in a stoneware bowl. Text reads 12 minute air fryer juicy steak bites in a blue box with a white boarder.

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.

Classic Air Fryer Steak Bites in a white stoneware bowl with a tin plate. Displayed on a dark brown wooden surface with a blue and white napkin and parsley.

How to Serve 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.

Air Fryer Juicy Steak Bites - Beef steak cut into bite size pieces and served in a white bowl. Text in center reads air fryer (easy 19-minute recipe) juicy steak bites. Second image shows steak cut into pieces and tossed in seasoning.

Reader Questions and Tips

Should I marinate the meat longer or overnight?

The marinated meat will have time to soak up the sauce during the preheating of the air fryer. If you would like you wait 4 hours to maximize the flavor the meat needs to be put back in the refrigerator. It is not necessary to marinate overnight but if you are prepping for a party, you can certainly do this and it will not harm the
meat. Again, be sure to refrigerate.

Should I poke holes in the meat to make it more tender and absorb more sauce?

Don’t ever poke holes in your meat to marinate. You will make the meat lose it’s juices and it’s natural flavoring.

Can I control how done my cubes of meat are?

Yes, if you want to pull out a piece of meat and check it at the 8 or 9 minute mark you can do this. Simply cut a piece in half but be sure to taste it to make sure the meat isn’t tough if you are going for a rarer piece.

Does it matter which oil I use?

No, any oil, a form of fat, helps extend the soy sauce to evenly distribute so no one piece of meat has an overwhelming soy sauce taste.

What type of air fryer do you have?

I have the Cosori Air Fryer.

Air Fryer Juicy Steak Bites

Classic steak bites made in the air fryer in just 12 minutes. An easy and quick beef recipe to make for dinner. Serve with rice, noodles, a salad, vegetables, or as an appetizer with a variety of dipping sauces.
4.80 from 5 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer steak, air fryer steak bites, steak bites
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 19 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 495kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 lb sirloin steak (cut into 1½-inch by 1-inch)
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • tsp ground black pepper
  • tsp salt
  • tsp soy sauce

Instructions

  • Cut steak into 1½-inch by 1-inch pieces.
  • Whisk together oil, pepper, salt, and soy sauce.
  • Add steak to bowl and toss together with sauce until coated.
  • Preheat air fryer.
  • Cook in air fryer at 400°F for 7-12 minutes.
    7 minutes = more rare / 12 minutes = medium-well
  • Serve as main dish along with steamed rice, vegetables, or noodles.

Notes

Flavor 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.
  • Sauces: Serve the steak bites with a chimichurri sauce, hummus, tzatziki sauce, A1 sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard cream, butter garlic sauce, 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.
Additional Notes on cook times
This batch came out Medium-Well. If you prefer more of a Rare – Medium then I would suggest lower heat 6-8 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories:495kcal | Carbohydrates:1g | Protein:66g | Fat:23g | Saturated Fat:6g | Polyunsaturated Fat:3g | Monounsaturated Fat:12g | Trans Fat:1g | Cholesterol:184mg | Sodium:1419mg | Potassium:1052mg | Fiber:1g | Sugar:1g | Vitamin A:5IU | Calcium:90mg | Iron:5mg
Air fryer steak bites on a white plate. Bite size juicy steak bites in a quick marinade and cooked. Another image shows the raw beef in seasonings.

15 Comments

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Brenda K Babcock
    02/10/2022 at 1:28 pm

    Can’t wait to try these! Sound so good and quick and easy to make.

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Barry Dutton
    02/12/2022 at 9:34 pm

    4 stars
    12 minutes is too long unless you like your steak cooked well done.
    Next time I’m dropping cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes.

    • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
      Reply
      Swankyrecipes
      02/13/2022 at 10:55 am

      This batch came out Medium-Well. If you are looking for Rare to Medium I would suggest 6-8 minutes.

    • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
      Reply
      Jennifer Gregory
      05/10/2022 at 8:50 am

      Glad I read your comment. 1st time making & don’t like overdone!! Thanks.

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Doug Hein
    02/13/2022 at 2:05 pm

    Can this be done in the rotisserie basket in an oven style air fryer and if so any change to time or temperature?

    • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
      Reply
      Swankyrecipes
      02/13/2022 at 2:31 pm

      I do not have one of those, but I am sure it could be.

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Cotton
    02/13/2022 at 8:40 pm

    5 stars
    Bu I agree 12 minutes was to long. The steak was way to cooked. Next I’m taking 2 or 3 minutes off the cook time. So steak over cooked but it was still very tasty

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Connie
    02/17/2022 at 11:15 pm

    5 stars
    Can’t wait to make this!!

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Linda
    07/25/2022 at 8:15 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious! I used elk since that’s what I had on hand. Great flavor and so easy!

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Diane
    08/22/2022 at 3:56 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent, I used beef tenderloin, marinated for few hours, Air Fried for 8 minutes, it was perfect. Served it
    with sautéed onions and peppers over LoMein Noodles with a Beef Stir Fry Sauce. My Husband loved it!!

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Lewis B Hayes Jr
    11/15/2022 at 7:25 pm

    Question…..Can I use the air fryer to brown/sear lean cuts of 2 inch pieces of rump, then slow cooking tender on the stovetop for beef stew?

    • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
      Reply
      Swankyrecipes
      01/22/2023 at 6:25 pm

      I am sure it would work! Cooking is all about experimentation. Give it a try and let us know how it went =).

  • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
    Reply
    Kasey
    01/12/2023 at 11:07 am

    Is this something you could prep ahead and put in the freezer for a meal later? If so, what steps would you do to freeze??

    • Avatar for Swankyrecipes
      Reply
      Swankyrecipes
      01/14/2023 at 4:44 pm

      I do not think I would recommend that. Heating and then reheating the meat can lead to the meat cooking more than desirable.

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