These Garlic Butter Steak Bites are quick and easy to make – and they vanish fast! Serve them as finger food on appetizer night, as part of your game day spread or as part of a fun family dinner date.
My family appreciates a good steak – be it Filet Mignon for an extra-special occasion, air fryer steak or a classically seared and oven baked steak… Everyone likes it.
Steak bites are especially fun for the kids. I know it’s a recipe mostly served as an appetizer (Super Bowl! or any Game Day party!) , but we don’t mind them as a regular meal at all. They are quick and easy to whip up, and turn out so tender!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Steak: You can use any tender, boneless cut of steak, cut into cubes. Sirloin steak, strip steak or ribeye all work. You can use beef tenderloin/fillet if you want them extra-tender and special, which is something I love to do for a Valentine’s Day dinner with the kids.
- Minced garlic: I HIGHLY recommend using fresh garlic. Dried or powdered doesn’t come close.
- Parsley: Totally optional, but highly recommended by my entire family, save the picky 5 year old who thinks the green bits are a waste of space ?
How to make steak bites
1. Start by removing your meat from the fridge about 30 minutes before preparing it. You’ll want to take it out of the package, cut it, season it and then leave it on the counter on a plate.
2. Once you’re ready to cook the steak, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until sizzling hot. Add the oil, then sear the steak bites for about 2 minutes per side. Watch out for splatters – wear something long sleeved and keep your face away!
You’ll want them with a really nice, browned crust, which does need the high heat. If your stove is very strong and your steak chars too much, consider switching down to medium-high.
And make sure you don’t overcrowd your pan, I seared mine in 3 batches. Just set the finished pieces aside on a plate and tent them with foil to keep them warm.
sear in batches 
set aside add butter and garlic toss with steak bites
3. Once all of your steak is seared, reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter and garlic to the skillet and heat for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Take off the heat.
4. Add the steak bites to the skillet and toss around in the hot garlic butter. Toss around, then serve with chopped parsley, if you like.
Recipe tips
Meat temperature: It does really help with tenderness to have the steak at room temperature before starting to cook it. So I highly, highly recommend to plan ahead and remove the steak from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking it.
Bite size: You can really cut these as large or as bite-sized as you like. Smaller bites cook more quickly and are more done, larger “bites” stay more tender and have a more medium middle.
I cut mine just under 1 inch, and cooked them for around 2 minutes per side, plus some extra tossing around for 30 seconds to get the edges charred.
Searing time: 4 minutes yielded just under 1-inch bites with a medium-done middle. If you want yours more rare, stick to 1-inch cubes and go with a short and blazing hot sear.
For more done bites, sear them a little longer on medium-high heat instead; and/or cut them smaller. Just make sure you don’t overcook them, or they may turn out chewy.
Serving ideas
If you make these as part of an appetizer spread, they go really well with air fryer potato wedges, homemade chipotle mayo, ranch dip, stuffed mushrooms, zucchini fries…
As a dinner, we like them over rice, over mashed potatoes (or smashed potatoes – so good) or with air fryer french fries. Roasted asparagus (air fryer asparagus), roasted broccoli (air fryer broccoli), sautéed zucchini or garlic butter baked mushrooms make for some great sides.
More easy appetizers
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Garlic Butter Steak Bites
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 2 pounds steak cut into bites
- salt and ground black pepper to taste (season on the generous side)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley optional for serving
Instructions
- Prep steak: Remove steak from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Unwrap, cut into cubes (see notes at bottom of recipe for size recommendation) and season with salt and pepper. Let sit on plate on counter for 30 minutes. (For best results, do not skip this step.)2 pounds steak, salt and ground black pepper
- Sear steak: Once ready, heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat. Add oil, then sear steak for around 2 minutes per side, until a nice, browned crust forms but middle stays tender. Work in batches if needed, do not overcrowd pan! Set seared steak bites aside on a plate and tent with foil.1 tablespoon oil
- Make garlic butter: Once steak is done and set aside on a plate, reduce heat to medium. Add butter and garlic to empty skillet. Heat about 2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Take off the heat.4 tablespoons butter, 2 cloves garlic
- Finish: Add steak to skillet with garlic butter. Toss to coat. Serve immediately with chopped parsley, if desired.2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Lexi b says
Do the steak bites come out well done? Or do they come out with pink in the middle? I like my steak well done. Any tips for someone who never cooked steak before.
Nora says
Hey Lexi! The steak bites in this recipe are cooked pretty quickly, so they usually come out medium-rare to medium, with a bit of pink in the middle. But no worries if you like your steak well done! You can definitely cook them a little longer to your liking—just keep an eye on them so they don’t get tough.
Here’s a tip for a beginner: cut your steak into even-sized pieces so they cook evenly, and use a hot pan to get that nice sear. If you want them well done, let them cook a little longer on each side, maybe 1-2 extra minutes, and reduce the heat slightly toward the end so they don’t burn. You’ve got this—happy cooking! 😊
TL says
this recipe came out even more delicious than I had anticipated. when warming the butter and garlic together I did add two tablespoons of parmesan garlic sauce to the mixture which gave it an even more garlic flavor as my family loves garlic. I would definitely recommend this recipe!
Linda says
very delicious, served it with roasted asparagus. turned out yummy.
Shara says
Turned out yummy! I used a grill seasoning blend, seasoning salt, and pepper because I was afraid just the salt and pepper would be too bland for our preferences and I’m glad I did. Used basil instead of parsley since basil is my favorite herb and loved that punch of flavor too!
Anika Foster says
These are absolutely delicious! Tgis is going to be my go to for dinner. So easy and the taste. .yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Lynn Pace says
My family begged me to make this delicious easy dish . Winner every time. Yummm
Dawn says
Made this tonight for dinner. My boyfriend usually douses his steak with bbq sauce but he ate TWO helpings with nothing on it. It’s that good!!! And so easy to make. Definitely adding to recipes that my picky eaters like!
Mary Babcock says
so so good with mashed potatoes and jalapeño bites
Teeka says
Amazing!!!
Kim says
Quick and easy and will be added to meal rotation menu. Thank you for the added comments/instructions…for those who haven’t been cooking long, these provide a wealth of info about food.
Angela says
Can these be made ahead and held in a warming oven? Would love to make for upcoming holiday party, but would like to have clean-up out of the way before guests arrive. Just curious if anyone has tried.
Nora says
I haven’t tried this, Angela. I usually prefer to cook steak shortly before serving. Could you prepare it and have everything ready to only have to sear it once your guests are there? This would be my preferred method. Or sear very shortly before your guest arrive so it will rest for around 10 minutes before serving.
Laurie says
I have made these and my family absolutely loves them! I am wanting to know if they could be made ahead and rewarmed without losing flavor. I am having extended family for Christmas and need something do-ahead.
Nora says
Laurie, I think making steak ahead of time is really difficult. Like I replied to another comment, I would either sear them 10mins before guest arrive, then serve right away. Or get everything ready and sear shortly before serving. Hope this helps!
Jason says
Made this tonight and threw onions in with the butter and garlic. served with rice and steamed broccoli. So good!
K G says
so yummy!!!
the 30 min are definitely worth it
Diana says
I do it with venison.
Dawn Greer says
So, so good!!! I added a step to deglaze the pan with wine after searing the steak, just to get all of the flavor from the steak. I’m going to make them again and use them for steak tacos 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋
Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Nora says
Oh, that sounds genius with deglazing the pan, Dawn! Making a note to try this myself… 🙂
Lori says
Delicious, my husband loved it!
DK says
Great! Loved it
Erin says
I was fighting for my life to come up with a new meal to add to my family’s dinner rotation . This had to be one of the quickest and easiest meals I have ever whipped up. My son had a sneak bite then filled up the plate leaving barely enough for his dad. Both of them cleaned their plate. This was a definite winner. But I know I have to get double the steak next time 😂 (full disclosure I only made half the recipe so I’ll know better from now on)
Nora says
Haha, what a precious story, Erin! Glad the recipe was a hit.
Denise says
This was super yummy. I buy a cow tenderloin (much cheaper than a beef tenderloin) and skin it out. Chop it up into 4 or 5 chunks, freeze them. I use them for steak tacos, mongolian beef and now garlic steak bites. Any recipe that calls for a better cut of meat. I admit I was a bonehead and added mushrooms to the cast iron pan! The meat didn’t sear but hubby and I ate it all up. I will use this recipe again w/o the mushrooms(and the water they created). It was so good. Great call on using the real garlic.
Nora says
That’s so smart, Denise! Love this tip. And I’m glad it turned out great despite the mushroom situation ?