Do you want a fast and fancy dinner that has steakhouse quality? With these Sizzling Garlic Butter Steak Bites you get tender bites of steak that are covered in an amazing sauce that is butter based. It’s a simple dish to prepare whether you are cooking for yourself or having guests over.
TL;DR (Quick Summary)
What it is: Bite-sized chunks of steak that are seared in a hot pan, and then finished in a frothy garlic butter with fresh parsley.
Why it works: A scorching pan creates a Maillard effect crust in less than 2 minutes. Finishing the bites in butter and garlic (instead of starting the cook with it) prevents burning of the garlic and glazes each piece in fat.
Timing: Approximately 15 minutes total: 5 minutes prepping, 4 minutes searing, 1 minute butter basting, and 5 minutes resting and plating.
Flavor profile: The dish is rich, savory, and deeply caramelized with a buttery garlic finish. Parsley and a squeeze of lemon (optional) balance the heaviness.
Key tips:
- Make sure you pat the steaks completely dry, add the garlic toward the end, and do not overcrowd the skillet.
- Burnt garlic ruins the sauce.
- Best texture move: Let the steak sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking. Searing is impossible when the steak is cold, as it will simply steam in the pan.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of steak (sirloin, ribeye, or New York strip) cut into small chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of freshly minced parsley (and additional for garnishing)
- Optional: a pinch of red pepper flakes for a slightkick.
Instructions
Equipment: Although not required, a splatter screen can be useful; otherwise, you will need a cutting board and sharp knife, cast iron skillet (recommended), tongs, paper towels, and a heavy skillet.
1) Take the steak out of the fridge and place it on the counter for about 15-20 minutes. Cold steak in a hot pan will cause them to steam instead of searing which results in no crust formed. While the steak is coming to temperature, cube the steak into even-sized pieces that are 1 inch to 1 ½ inch in size.
2) Using paper towels, dry each piece of steak. This is perhaps the most important step. Any moisture on the surface will turn to steam the instant the steak touches the pan and will inhibit the browning process. Generously season with salt and freshly ground black pepper on all sides.
3) Preheat a heavy skillet or cast-iron pan for about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. It needs to be hot! Then, add the olive oil and let it shimmer, close to smoking. If the oil is not shimmering, then the pan is not hot enough.
4) Place the steak bites into the pan, making sure to leave space between each piece, and if the pan will become too crowded, do this in two parts. Allow them to sizzle for about 2 minutes so they can create a rich, golden crust. Once this is achieved, flip the steak bites and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until they reach your desired doneness (about 125°F for rare, 135°F for medium-rare, and 145°F for medium).
5) Remove the seared steak from the pan and place it on a plate to rest for a minute. This allows for juice redistribution and gives you time to prepare the sauce.
6) Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter and minced garlic to the same skillet. Garlic burns easily, so stir it frequently. After the butter starts to froth, and the garlic is golden and fragrant (30-45 seconds), return the steak bites to the skillet, including any resting juices. Add chopped parsley, and if you are using them, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir all ingredients together until the steak is fully coated with the garlicky butter.
7) Before serving, plate the dish, sprinkle with more parsley, and pour additional melted butter on top.
Popular Variations
Garlic Butter Steak and Shrimp: After you finish searing your steak, add ½ pound of peeled, large shrimp to the pan. Shrimp only takes 60-90 seconds to cook on each side. Finish them both in the butter for a surf-and-turf vibe in one skillet.
Steak Bites with Blue Cheese Crumble: Once plated, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola over the warm bites. The cheese melts enough to feel decadent without overpowering the steak.
Cajun Steak Bites: You can substitute salt and pepper with 1½ teaspoons of Cajun seasoning. Also, you can finish the dish with a squeeze of lemon juice instead of, or maybe as well as, putting parsley on.
Garlic Butter Steak and Potato Bites: Start by searing small cubed potatoes in a skillet for about 10 minutes until they are golden. Once done, remove them, and sear the steak. Combine both in the finishing butter. You now have a complete meal made in just one pan.
Balsamic Glaze Steak Bites: Once you’ve finished the butter sauce, drizzle 1 tablespoon of reduced balsamic glaze on the plated bites. The acidity balances out the richness very well.
Steak Bites over Rice or Pasta: Pour the contents of the whole skillet (including all of the garlic butter) over a bed of buttered rice or over al dente pasta. The sauce will serve as the dressing.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
- Creamy mashed potatoes: The classic combination. Garlic butter leftovers are best paired with mashed potatoes.
- Roasted vegetables: The slight char from roasted broccoli, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts add balance to the richness.
- Simple green salad: A salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing and spicy greens such as arugula and watercress provides a palate-cleansing distraction between bites from the creamy buttery dish.
- Crusty bread: You will require something to soak up the garlic butter. A warm baguette or sourdough will do the job.
- Red wine: The Malbec, Zinfandel, or Cabernet Sauvignon will pair well with the richness of beef due to their medium body.
- Sparkling water with lemon: If you prefer not to drink wine, a sparkling water with citrus will help reduce the richness really well.
- Serving temp: It is best to serve these while hot. Sitting for an extended period of time will result in butter solidification and crust softening. If you need to hold these for an extended period of time, you can keep them in a low oven (200°F) for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Troubleshooting and Pro Tips
Steak didn’t develop a crust. Either the pan wasn’t hot enough or the steak wasn’t dry enough. For optimal results, preheat the pan for about 2-3 minutes. Also, try to pat the steak dry just before you season it. Don’t apply the salt too far in advance, as salt pulls moisture out of the steak.
Steak is tough. Most likely overcooked. These are bite-sized, which means they can go from rare to well done in seconds. For the best texture, pull them at 125-135°F. Also, check your cut. Very lean cuts (like round or flank) tend to become tough if overcooked. If you want exact doneness every time, cook the steak with a sous vide first and finish it in the pan for the crust: this sous vide time and temperature calculator gives you the exact timing for each cut and doneness preference.
Garlic burned and tastes bitter. It went in too early. You should put the garlic in after the steak is done and the heat is turned down. It only needs thirty seconds in hot butter.
Butter separated or looks greasy. When you added the butter, the pan was too hot. Turn the heat down before you add the butter. In a broken butter sauce, you can also re-emulsify it with a small splash of water or broth.
Sauce isn’t coming together. You likely skipped the deglazing step. The fond is where the flavor is. Be sure to scrape the bottom to incorporate the fond when you add the butter.
Steak bites are gray instead of brown. Overcrowding causes moisture from the food to steam the pan instead of allowing the food to sear. It’s best to sear in batches and make sure there’s plenty of space in between each piece.
Dish tastes flat. Butter may not have had the chance to brown, or it may be undersalted. Salt before searing and allow the butter to froth and get slightly brown before adding the steak in.
Nutrition and Storage
This dish is high in protein. An approximate estimate of 4 ounces of steak with corresponding butter sauce would make the dish around 350-400 calories and roughly 30 grams of protein. The dish does contain high amounts of saturated fats due to the butter, which is partially why the portion size is so satisfying.
To make the dish more healthy, consider reducing the amount of butter to 2 tablespoons, use sirloin as a leaner cut option, and over a large quantity of greens instead of mashed potatoes. The dish still seems to be indulgent.
To create a dairy-free version, you can replace the butter with ghee (which contains no milk solids) or a premium-quality plant-based butter. While olive oil can be used, it won’t be as shiny.
Storage: With an airtight container, leftover steak bites can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the garlic butter separate from the steak to keep the flavors intact.
Reheating: Steak becomes rubbery when reheated in the microwave. Instead, try to reheat them gently using the following methods: either warm them in a skillet by medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes or heat them in an oven set to 275°F for 5 minutes. On the second day, a nice touch is to slice the bites a little thinner, and serve them over pasta or rice.
Freezing: This is not recommended. The cooked steak will lose its texture in the freezer and the butter sauce will separate. If you absolutely need to freeze, do it while it is uncooked (cubed and seasoned), then cook it directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to the sear.
Examples
Example 1 (The impressed guest): I prepared these for a friend who claims he “doesn’t really like steak.” Most of the skillet went to him & he even asked me where I learned to cook, which is funny. The entire process was shorter than the time it took him to finish his first beer. The lesson is that steak cooked hard and fast with real butter and real garlic is, for all intents and purposes, a restaurant quality meal.
Example 2 (The Tuesday night win): On a weeknight I came home tired after work, took a pound of sirloin from the fridge and managed to have dinner ready in 20 minutes. It was then served with buttered egg noodles and a portion of roasted broccoli. The combination of “minimal effort” with “this is a proper dinner” is what makes this recipe a keeper.
Actionable Steps / Checklist
- Remove the steak from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes prior to cooking it.
- Cut steak into 1-1½ inch cubes
- Pat pieces thoroughly dry with paper towels
- Season generously with salt and pepper
- Allow heavy skillet to heat for 2-3 minutes at medium-high.
- Pour in some olive oil, then wait until it shimmers.
- Sear the steaks in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes on each side for the desired doneness.
- Remove steak; lower heat to medium
- Add butter and minced garlic; stir for 30-45 seconds until you can smell the garlic becoming fragrant.
- Place the steak back in the pan along with the parsley (and red pepper flakes if you are using them).
- Toss to coat; transfer to platter
- Add additional parsley and the rest of the butter as a garnish.
Glossary
Maillard reaction: The reaction between amino acids and sugars occurs at high temperatures and produces the brown crust and rich flavors of seared meats. A dry surface and a hot pan lead to the Maillard effect.
Sear: Cooking meat at high heat to form a browned crust. The objective isn’t to ‘seal in liquids’ (a myth), but rather to create a taste through the Maillard reaction.
Fond: These are the browned bits that are stuck to the pan after searing. These bits are very concentrated with flavor and they’re the star of any pan sauce. Make sure to scrape these up when you deglaze.
Resting: Allow meat to rest after cooking so the juices can be reabsorbed into the protein fibers instead of running out when the meat is cut.
Deglazing: An essential step for pan-sauce dishes like this one is adding liquid (such as butter, broth, wine, or water) to a hot pan to release the fond and create a sauce.
FAQ
What’s the best cut of steak for this? Sirloin is a great value and performs great. Ribeye is the classiest due to its marbling. New York strip is in the middle. Avoid the tougher cuts like round or flank; they chew up when cut into bites.
Can I use frozen steak? Moisture that destroys the crust is created during the searing of frozen meat, so the meat must be completely thawed. To prepare for cooking, refrigerate overnight to thaw, then pat the meat extremely dry before cooking.
How do I know when the steak is done? The most trustworthy instrument is a thermometer. The temperatures are 125°F for rare, 135°F for medium rare, and 145°F for medium. For smaller pieces, visual cues are applicable: medium-rare is usually brown on both sides and a little firm to the touch.
Can I make these ahead for a party? Not ideally. These are best served ASAP. If you want to prep ahead, you can cut and season the steak earlier in the day, but do the cooking when the guests arrive. The entire process is 10-15 minutes.
Why does my garlic keep burning? Because it went in too soon. Garlic can burn quickly over high heat and become bitter. You should always put in garlic after the steak is removed and the heat is turned down. It only needs 30-45 seconds in warm butter.
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted? Yes, but please go easy on the salt for the steak. Different brands of salted butter have different amounts of salt, so it’s possible for you to have a dish that is way saltier than you think.
Can I add other ingredients to the butter sauce? Certainly. Fresh thyme or rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, or balsamic glaze make a great combination. You should add these at the end with the garlic.
Final Thoughts
Garlic butter steak bites are the closest thing to a restaurant meal you can make in 15 minutes on a weeknight. The method is straightforward, the number of ingredients is minimal, and the outcome far exceeds the effort required. There is no great secret here; it is simply about being patient with the pan, ensuring the surface of the meat is dry, and having the self-control to add the garlic last.
The contrasts of this dish are what give this dish its success. The hard seared exterior contrasts nicely with the tender interior, the rich butter is balanced with a sharp garlic, and the fesh parsley is a nice counter through the fat. Each element contributes positively to the dish. Although you could skip many of the elements, including all of them adds to the success of the dish and gives the feeling of accomplishing somthing big.
Enjoy them with a side of mashed potatoes, throw them on top of some pasta, or eat them directly from the skillet with a fork. Regardless of how you choose to eat them, these bites will make any ordinary Tuesday seem extraordinary.
