Flank Steak Recipes

By Food & Wine

Updated January 22, 2018

Skip gallery slides

Credit: Eric Wolfinger

Lean and full of flavor, beef flank steak is a delicious cut that’s perfect for marinating and grilling. These simple and easy recipes are perfect for fast dinner meals. Try a few of our favorite or favorite recipes including vindaloo flank steak, grilled chili-rubbed flank steak and flank steak spirals with porcini & red wine sauce.

Start Slideshow

1 of 22

Cuban Flank Steak 

Credit: © John Kernick

Cookbook author Melissa Clark makes a Cuban-inspired marinade with citrus, oregano, garlic and cumin to infuse her juicy flank steaks with great flavor. She saves a bit of the marinade as a sauce to brighten up the sweet mango served alongside.

Advertisement

Advertisement

2 of 22

Flank Steaks with Shallot-Red Wine Sauce

A buttery red wine-and-shallot sauce with a touch of sweetness from balsamic vinegar turns a simple, juicy flank steak into a special meal.

3 of 22

Grilled Balsamic-and-Garlic Flank Steak

Advertisement

4 of 22

Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak

A balsamic vinaigrette doubles as a marinade here, giving flank steak enormous flavor while its marinated overnight. The dressing comes together quickly in a blender with garlic, rosemary, oregano and a touch of mustard. Serve the sliced steak over toasted bread with grilled vegetables or in an epic steak sandwich.

5 of 22

Grilled Flank Steak with Soy-Chile Glaze

Credit: © JAMES BAIGRIE

6 of 22

Grilled Flank Steak with Corn, Tomato and Asparagus Salad

Mark Fuller prepares this steak in the spring and summer to showcase the Pacific Northwest's iconic Walla Walla onions and morel mushrooms. The tomato-and-asparagus salad he serves alongside the beef would be wonderful all on its own as a first course.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

7 of 22

Cola-Marinated Flank Steak with Frito Chilaquiles

Credit: PHOTO © CHRISTINA HOLMES

To make his version of chilaquiles (fried tortilla chips lightly cooked in salsa), Jamie Bissonnette unabashedly opts for Fritos. “They have great corn flavor, and they are crunchier than I could ever get tortillas by frying them myself.”

8 of 22

Vindaloo Flank Steak

Credit: © Andrew Thomas Lee

In India, this fiery curry is often served with chicken, lamb or vegetables. Atlanta chef Meherwan Irani turns it into a thick paste to marinate steak. The meat is terrific on its own or served with naan.

9 of 22

Grilled Flank Steak with Sichuan Peppercorns

Marcia Kiesel loves the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns. Inspired by dan dan, the Sichuan noodle dish, she seasons flank steaks with a simple but potent blend of the peppercorns and store-bought Chinese black bean–garlic paste.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

10 of 22

Flank Steak with Herbed Salsa

Jamie Oliver likes to chop all the salsa ingredients together on a large cutting board so the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno and herbs get well combined. He even seasons the salsa and adds a splash of olive oil on the board.

11 of 22

Grilled Flank Steak Salad

12 of 22

Flank Steak with Chimichurri

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne

Flank steak lends itself to an assertive sauce because it has such a strong and rich flavor," says Colby Garrelts, chef at Bluestem in Kansas City, Missouri. For this chimichurri that he makes at home with his wife (and Bluestem pastry chef), Megan, Colby swaps out the usual red wine vinegar with sherry vinegar and makes the garlicky herb sauce extra-piquant with capers.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

13 of 22

Wasabi Flank Steak and Miso-Glazed Potatoes

Chef Way Takashi Yagihashi crusts strip steak with a spicy wasabi-horseradish cream, then serves it with miso-glazed potatoes and deep-fried salsify (a root vegetable).

Healthier Way Coat lean but tasty flank steak with bottled horseradish and wasabi—no cream. Skip the salsify.

14 of 22

Chile-Rubbed Flank Steak with White Polenta

Jing Tio hand-delivers bottles of Spanish arbequina olive oil to chef Ron Siegel of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. Siegel uses the artichoke-inflected oil to marinate flank steak. The oil has such a wonderful flavor that Siegel also uses it in place of butter in the soft polenta that accompanies the beef.

15 of 22

Lemon-Garlic-Marinated Flank Steak

Credit: © Eva Kolenko

Chef Jimmy Bannos, Jr., of Chicago's The Purple Pig, swears by his double-marinating technique. Here, he marinates his steak before it goes on the grill in a tangy lemon marinade and then gives it a quick dunk in a clean batch of marinade when it's hot off the grill. Bonus: The high amount of acid in the marinade also makes tougher cuts like flank and skirt steak extra tender.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

16 of 22

Rolled Flank Steak with Prosciutto and Basil

Credit: © ANNA WILLIAMS

Bruce Aidells, a cookbook author and the owner of Aidells Sausage Company, likes this recipe because it looks hard to make but isn't. And it's great for all seasons. In the summer Aidells grills the steak in a kettle barbecue and in the winter he roasts it in the oven

17 of 22

Grilled Chili-Rubbed Flank Steak

18 of 22

Flank Steak Spirals with Porcini & Red Wine Sauce

Mario Monticelli, the winemaker for Trinchero Napa Valley, learned to make this stuffed steak from his mother.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

19 of 22

Flank Steak Burrito with Guacamole and Salsa

An ancho chile powder rub gives lots of flavor and a little bit of spice to these simple but delicious burritos.

20 of 22

Flank Steak Over Corn-Kernel Polenta

The brown glaze left in the pan after sauteing the steak is the base for a highly concentrated sauce. A cup of white wine and a half cup of brandy deglaze the pan and then too strong, but drizzled over the steak, it's divine.

21 of 22

Steak Pizzaiola

In Italy, the briefly cooked fresh tomato sauce called pizzaiola is traditionally served atop steak. We use sirloin, but if you'd prefer to use flank steak or skirt steak, just reduce the cooking time. The sauce is also good on pasta.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

22 of 22

Mrs. Tran’s Master Pho Broth  with Flank Steak 

Credit: Eric Wolfinger

Chef Qui Tran of Nudo House in St. Louis shares his mother’s master recipe for pho broth, simmered slowly with beef knuckle bones, whole toasted spices, and aromatics. You’ll want to keep a batch of broth in the freezer for an instant, soothing noodle bowl any night of the week.

Up Next

By Food & Wine