Make the perfect steak in the oven that’s caramelized, juicy and tender. It’s quick and easy to prepare by first pan-searing the steak and then finishing it in the oven.
Top your steak with a pat of garlic herb butter, fresh herbs and serve with roasted red potatoes for restaurant quality dining at home.
Table of Contents
Easy Steak in the Oven
Steak is a classic dinner often reserved for special occasions. My family loves it and gets excited when it’s on the menu whether it’s grilled flank steak, steak bites and this oven baked steak anytime!
If you’ve never tried cooking steak in the oven, you have to give it a shot! It’s first pan seared to create a caramelized, crisp crust, then finished in the oven until tender and juicy inside. Serve with baked potato or mashed potatoes and green beans and it’s perfection!
Key Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Steak: There’s many cuts of beef to choose from, but I prefer to use a ribeye or top sirloin steak for this recipe. If you really want to splurge filet mignon is my personal favorite.
- Olive oil: Use a good extra-virgin olive oil here.
- S&P: Salt and pepper is all you need for seasoning. It helps bring out the flavor.
- Butter: We love adding a pat of butter or garlic butter on top.
How to Cook Steak in Oven
- Season. Bring steaks to room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes then pat steaks dry with a paper towel and rub with oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear. Preheat oven to 450°F and place large oven-safe skillet in oven while heating. Remove pan and place over high heat on stove. When pan is hot, add steaks to the hot skillet and sear on each side for 1 minute.
- Bake. Then place pan in oven and bake for 4-6 minutes on one side. Flip and cook other side for 4-6 more minutes. Remove the meat 5° before it reaches the desired temperature.
- Rest. Remove pan from oven and allow rest steaks for 5 minutes. Top each steak with a slab of butter and fresh herbs if desired.
Steak Temperature Doneness
Below gives you a good benchmark for each level of doneness (color, baking length, temperature). Cooking times may vary depending on your oven, so be sure to continue to check on your steak.
Remove the meat 5° before it reaches the desired temp. Temperature will continue to rise while resting.
- Rare: Sear outsides then bake about 4-6 minutes in oven until temperature is around 125°F and color is red.
- Medium-Rare: Sear outsides then bake about 6-8 minutes in oven until temperature is 130°F and color is deep pink.
- Medium: Sear outsides then bake about 8-10 minutes in oven until temperature is around 140°F and color is light pink.
- Medium-Well: Sear outsides then bake about 10-12 minutes in oven until temperature is around 150°F and color is slightly pink center.
- Well-Done: Sear outsides then bake about 12-14 minutes in oven until temperature is around 160°F+ and color is little or no pink.
Note: If you are a visual person, check out this cooking time chart that shows the doneness of each meat.
Cooking Tips
- Types of meat. There are 3 different types of meat: Select, Choice and Prime. I usually end up buying choice and it always has great flavor.
- Skillet. While any oven safe skillet works, I recommend using a cast iron skillet for this recipe and roast beef tenderloin. Heat is distributed more evenly and creates the perfect crust on the meat.
- Season generously. Don’t skimp on seasonings! Rub on a generous amount of salt and pepper, or use steak rub. Some seasoning will come off in the skillet, so using more ensures flavorful steak.
- Keeping it tender. To ensure a tender steak, first, bring meat to room temperature. This cooks it evenly and lessens chance of overcooking. Second, season with salt. Salt brings out moisture and break down proteins and muscle fibers.
- Let rest. Letting meat rest once removed from oven keeps it nice and juicy. Whether it’s steak or oven baked chicken, the juices flow back in and create a super moist and delicious meat. I like to let mine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Favorite Sides for Steak
There are all sorts of side dishes that pair wonderfully with a juicy steak recipe! Mixed vegetables and potatoes are our favorites, but below are some other great options.
- Garlic mashed red potatoes
- Oven roasted vegetables
- Loaded baked potato
- Roasted broccoli
- Glazed carrots
- Roasted asparagus
- Roasted potatoes and carrots
- Scalloped potatoes
- Homemade mac and cheese
Recipe FAQ
I personally like to bake my steak in the oven. Baking uses convection heat while broiling uses infrared heat. This means that when you bake, you are heating food by surrounding it with hot air.
When you broil, you are heating food from above by using the top elements of the oven. Food that is broiled typically gets more charred, especially on top. It has a tendency to cook and brown really fast. Baking the steaks is a little more fail-proof in my opinion. :)
For thicker steak I prefer to cook at 450°F. It helps crisp the edges while keeping the inside nice and juicy.
At 450° it will take about 10 minutes to cook to medium. It definitely depends on how you prefer your steak. Refer to the timing chart the post, but typically I cook for about 10 minutes.
Medium rare: 10-12 minutes
Medium: 12-15 minutes
Well done: 15- 18 minutes
Yes you can, it will just take a couple minutes longer to cook. For thin steaks like flank steak, you can also place under the broiler for a minute to get the seared edges.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve at breakfast with eggs, make steak fajitas or turn it into a philly cheesesteak!
A few of our other favorite special occasion meals are meatloaf, chicken marsala, spaghetti bolognese and fettuccine Alfredo.
More Favorite Steak Recipes
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How to Cook Steak in the Oven
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (1-inch thick) ribeye beef steaks (any cut will do)
- 1-2 Tablespoons oil , I use olive oil, canola or avocado oil
- Kosher salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
- 1-2 Tablespoons unsalted butter , or garlic herb butter (for finishing)
Fresh thyme or rosemary for serving
Instructions
- Remove the steaks from the fridge and bring to room temperature, about 15 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a large skillet in the oven while it is heating. Remove pan from oven and place on the stove over high heat.
- Dry steaks with a paper towel. Rub the oil over the steaks and generously season with salt and pepper. Once the pan is very hot place the steaks into the pan. Let each side cook 1-2 minutes, or until seared. Use tongs to flip.
- Place the pan in the oven 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Check the center with a meat thermometer or slice with a knife to check for doneness (see notes below for different levels of doneness). You want to remove the meat 5° before it reaches the desired temperature. Temperature will continue to rise while resting.
- Using an oven mitt, remove pan from oven and allow to rest on a plate 5 minutes before serving. Add a slab of butter on the top of each steak.
Notes
- Rare: 125°F (red)
- Medium Rare: 130°F (deep pink)
- Medium: 140°F (light pink)
- Medium well: 150°F (slightly pink center)
- Well done: 160°F (little or no pink)
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, 30 Minute Meals, 5 Ingredients Or Less, 5 Ingredients Or Less, American, Beef, Dinner, Low Carb, Reader Favorites, Stovetop, Valentine's Day
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Works great! Thank you!
Thank you for the review of the steak in the oven!
I’ve found that a 2 minute per side sear at med-high in a cast iron skillet followed by a 5 minute bake at 415 yields a perfect medium rare every time.
So glad you have perfected it how you like!
We loved it,it came out delicious
Thanks for the review!
Enjoyed this recipe for date night last night and we both agreed that they were some of the best steaks we’ve ever had! My husband usually grills our steaks, but making them in the oven was super easy…and much warmer since it’s snowing outside. :) We may never grill our steaks again!
This makes me so happy to hear Sandra! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this method of cooking steaks! And definitely beat standing out in the snow grilling ;)