Garlic Steak Skillet (2024)

This Garlic Steak Skillet is tastes almost too delicious to be so EASY! You can whip this hearty dinner up with only a few ingredients in just minutes on your stovetop to feed a hungry family. The steak is perfectly tender and packed with delicious flavor! The Garlic Steak can be served with your favorite sides, or makes a great option for meal prep. Not only is this recipe easy and delicious, but the Garlic Steak Skillet is also a great gluten free, dairy free, and low carb meal option!

Garlic Steak Recipe

I have to admit I am not much of a beef eater, but when I think of eating beef, the thing that really makes my mouth water is a good cut of steak with a caramelized sear to it and loads of garlicky flavor.

If you are doing beef, you need to do it right! While beef can be cooked to perfection on a grill, it can be done equally well in a skillet. This recipe is so simple and takes advantage of all of those things to bring the most flavor into a simple-to-make every day kind of dish.

There are three main parts to the recipe, first cooking the garlic low and slow to give it that mellow creamy flavor and infuse the oil we will use to cook the steak with flavor. Second, cooking the steak super high and super fast. And third, mixing the garlic in at just the right time to maximize the flavor without burning it.

This Garlic Steak Skillet does it all, and does it in just one pan!

How to Serve Garlic Steak

You can serve this Garlic Steak Skillet dinner in a variety of ways. It is a super flexible meal that allows you to make the dish and even let everyone customize how they eat it without much extra work. It also makes a really great recipe for meal prep since it can be paired with many different sides and kept throughout the week to quickly heat and eat.

These are some of my favorite options that we like to serve with Garlic Steak.

Traditional Garlic Steak Sides

• Potatoes- Almost any potato will go well with this dish. Try any of my favorites:
  • Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
  • Ranch Smashed Potatoes
  • Green Chile Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
  • Baked Potatoes
• Rice- Try a wild rice (I like Uncle Ben’s) or a rice pilaf
• Garlic Bread- Nothing says delicious steakhouse-worthy dinner more than a big slice of garlic bread
• Broccoli Salad– This is a favorite of ours and pairs really well with this meal. I also love to put the leftover steak on top of the leftover broccoli salad for a really awesome lunch the next day!
• Corn Casserole– This is one of the most requested sides at our house!

Low Carb Steak Side Dishes

• Side Salad- Make this just like a steakhouse by doing a homemade ranch dressing, or make it look a little fancier by putting together a classic Chef Salador Kale Salad.
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Garlic Green Beans
• Sautéed Spinach (pictured)
• Steamed Broccoli
• Sautéed Mushrooms

You can keep this meal as simple as you want, just pairing it with one side, or make it a big meal by adding a few sides. If you have another side idea you like to serve steak with, let us know in the comments!

How to Make Garlic Steak Skillet

This dish is super simple to make, but I will walk through the recipe here and offer my tips as we go. Hopefully this will answer any questions that might arise as you make the recipe. Scroll to the bottom of this post to find the FULL RECIPE card!

To start this the Garlic Steak Skillet, we will need A LOT of garlic. Don’t be alarmed at the amount. Garlic is potent, but when the garlic is cooked the flavor becomes mellow and the texture almost creamy for a really addictive combination, so you will want enough to go around in your skillet.

The first thing we do is slow cook most of the garlic. I suggest about 15 cloves here and you can use more or less. Since it is so much, I like to buy the garlic cloves pre-peeled in the refrigerator part of the produce section. You absolutely don’t have to do this, but it is a great time saver and usually easy to find and inexpensive.

Place about 1/4 cup of oil in your skillet with the garlic and turn it to the lowest heat setting. You will want the bottom of the skillet to be covered so if it isn’t, you can either move to a smaller skillet or add more oil. The garlic will cook about 20 minutes, and you can mostly ignore, it, but do make sure to turn the cloves (I use tongs) about every 5 minutes so they cook evenly.

You will know the garlic is done cooking because it will be soft all the way through and golden brown on the outside. Once it is done, remove the garlic cloves and set aside, and drain and reserve the oil. This oil is now infused with delicious roasted garlic flavor so we will use this to cook the steak and add tons of great flavor.

While the garlic is slow cooking you can prepare the steak. To do this trim any excess fat from the steak, and cut the steak into 1 inch cubes. Season the steak with salt and pepper evenly.

How Long To Cook Garlic Steak

Once the garlic is done, measure 1 tbsp of the oil from the garlic and add it back into the pan. Turn the burner to high heat. The key to getting the steak cooked well with the most flavor is using high heat in a single layer, so that we sear the outside and create that great caramelized crust on the steak. If the steak doesn’t fit in the skillet in a single layer, do two rounds of cooking, but mine had no problem fitting in a large skillet.

Let the oil heat for a couple of minutes, then add the steak to the skillet and stir it once to make sure the oil is distributed, then let it cook without stirring for 2 minutes. This will form the delicious crust.

After 2 minutes, use tongs to flip each piece over, cook for 1 minutes, then stir in the pressed garlic (use fresh for the best flavor) and stir while cooking 1 final minute.

This should be all you need to get your steak pretty much perfect! If you prefer it more well done, you can cook longer before you add the garlic. If you prefer less done, I recommend cutting the steak in bigger pieces, since you need to cook a minimum of these times to get the crust on the steak and flavor from the garlic.

To Serve the Steak

Remove the steak from the heat and toss the garlic cloves and chopped parsley back in with the steak and stir to combine. Serve hot with your favorite sides!

What to do with Leftover Garlic Steak

To save the garlic steak, place in a zip top bag or air tight container and place in the

• Refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• Freezer for up to a month.

Leftover Garlic Steak Meal Ideas

If you have any of these delicious Garlic Steak Bites leftover, you are in luck because they make some pretty delicious leftover meals.

• Garlic Steak Wraps- Use tortillas, lavash bread, or butter lettuce to create wraps with your favorite veggies and a drizzle of balsamic dressing.
• Garlic Steak Quinoa Bowls- Mix your favorite chopped veggies such as peppers, cucumber, tomato, carrots, etc with quinoa and a healthy pour of balsamic dressing then top with the garlic steak.
• Garlic Steak Stuffed Pitas- Place a layer of hummus, tzatziki, greens and steak inside a toasted pita pocket. Serve with cucumber tomato salad.
• Garlic Steak Stir fry- In a large pan, stir fry peppers, onions, snap peas, and carrots. Once they are tender, stir in garlic steak bites and teriyaki sauce and stir until the steak is heated through. Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or cabbage with a drizzle of asian mayo.
• Garlic Steak Salad- Pile romaine and spinach in a bowl, top with cucumber, tomato, shredded carrots, and blue cheese. Drizzle with Balsamic vinaigrette and garnish with croutons.

Do you have other easy dinner ideas?

If you enjoyed this recipe, I have many more to ease the dinner burden for another night. Make sure and sign up for my e-mail here to get them regularly in your inbox.

Also, I would love for you to take a moment to leave a comment or review! Not only do I love hearing your experience with the recipe, but your positive comments and reviews help my website to grow!

Easy One Skillet Dinner Ideas:

• Garlic Chicken Bites
• Ranch Chicken Bites
• Cheesy Taco Skillet
• Honey Balsamic Chicken

Leave a Reply

1. Rachel Tangherlini

   January 8, 2022

   
   This was probably my favorite of the week and so amazing and easy! I then used the leftover oil and garlic to saute some mushrooms to go with the steak.

   Reply

2. Megan

   February 12, 2020

   When we stir the garlic into the meat, is it just the pressed garlic or all of the garlic, including the whole cloves?

   Reply

   1. Heather

      December 19, 2021

      That is my question as well.

      Reply

   2. Heather

      December 19, 2021

      Found it in the long version of the recipe. It’s the pressed garlic that is stirred into the meat.

      Reply

3. Denyse

   December 17, 2019

   
   This recipe was so delicious. It was so easy to make.

   Reply