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
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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
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 😉