How Long To Cook Steak In Air Fryer?

Learn how long to cook steak in air fryer as part of our air fryer back to basics series.

Let us share with you the ideal air fryer steak cooking time and temperature, as well as a master recipe that you can keep as is or make it your own.

Air Fryer Steak

If you have not cooked steak in the air fryer, once you do it will change the way you have steak forever.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, doesn’t it?

But seriously, steak in the air fryer is amazing and any steak you would normally cook in a pan can be done in the air fryer.

Cooking steak in the air fryer tastes just as good as on the barbecue and for those of you that are not confident cooking steak, it’s a much easier method via the air fryer.

Today, I am going to show you how easy it is to cook air fryer steak, and most importantly how long to cook steak in air fryer. Plus, we can run through a few different types of air fryer steak and you can choose your favourite.

The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide

The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide is new for 2024, following on from our first air fryer cookbook. Our first cookbook sold over 160,000 copies worldwide is still selling well and has changed the way people use the air fryer.

In this newer mini book, we provide you with the air fryer cooking times and temperatures for more than 275 everyday air fryer foods. It also highlights with symbols when to flip, shake and spray your air fryer food.

Read more about The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide here.

Free Air Fryer Time & Temperature Printable

During the pre-order promotion of our first air fryer cookbook “The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook”. We gave away a free time and temperature air fryer chart of a lot of the single item foods that were featured in the cookbook.

It was a HUGE success and you asked for, so here I am with more for you. A FREE air fryer time and temperature chart that features the top 30 most cooked air fryer food including these yummy air fryer frozen egg rolls. You will no longer have to scroll whilst cooking dinner, because you can print it out and save it for later!

Can You Cook Steak In An Air Fryer?

Yes, you can cook steak in an air fryer and it’s so easy. When cooking steak in the air fryer, there’s no worrying about heating up a pan first. You just flip it halfway through the cook time. There is also no guessing about how long to cook your steak. We’ve all been taught to touch the steak while it’s cooking to determine whether it’s medium, medium well, etc. In the air fryer, you simply set the time depending on how you prefer your steak. Plus, you can season it however you want! Cooking steak in the air fryer really is the easiest way to cook a steak. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to cooking steak in a pan!

Do Steaks Brown In An Air Fryer?

Yes, steaks do brown in the air fryer and its like searing the steaks on both sides in the air fryer as it cooks.

You also have control over how you have your steak from rare to medium to medium rare and beyond.

Do You Need To Flip Steak In An Air Fryer?

Yes, we highly recommend flipping steak in the air fryer. It gives the best results and gives you an even cook on each side. Plus, by flipping your air fryer steak, it’s getting an all round sear.

How Do You Cook A Steak In An Air Fryer Without It Drying Out?

It’s all about the air fryer time and temperature. If you’re cooking your steak too hot or if you’re preheating your air fryer, your steak is likely going to dry out. We often don’t appreciate how quickly an air fryer cooks steak, so we tend to leave it in too long and overcook it.

What Setting Is Best For Steak In Air Fryer?

We recommend manually setting the time and temperature for all air fryer recipes and avoiding steak presets.

But if you have a Ninja with the option of bake, grill, air fry etc, always opt for air fry. Read more here: What air fryer settings should you use?

Do I Put Oil On Steak Before Air Frying?

No oil is required on steak before air frying and this is why. Lots of foods don’t require oil in the air fryer and steak is one of them. Steak naturally produces its own oil. The only time I personally add oil to my steak is if the oil is part of a marinade I am already using.

Can You Marinade Steak For The Air Fryer?

Yes, you can cook marinated steak in air fryer. You can buy it marinated from your local butcher or do your own.

I recommend following our air fryer chicken marinades post, I know its chicken, right? Well, it works with any protein, or even vegetables and they are delicious. There are 7 different marinades, and we use them all the time.

Air Fryer Easy Everyday + Steak Recipes

In our first air fryer cookbook, The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook (get it here) we taught you how to cook your first ever air fryer steak and they were so good people are still talking about them now. 

But in our 2^nd air fryer cookbook Air Fryer Easy Everyday (get it here) we were asked to show you a cheaper version and we made pork steak bites and veggies.

So, if you want to give your steak in an air fryer the wow factor, we recommend that you check out our cookbooks. 

How To Cook A Steak In The Air Fryer?

• Season. Be sure to space the steaks out in the air fryer. Season them well with salt and pepper.
• Cook. Air fry the steaks at 180c/360f for 4 minutes, depending on how you like your steak.
• Flip. Use silicone tongs to flip your steak.
• Season. Season the other side with salt and pepper and cook at the same time and temperature until the steaks have been in the air fryer for at least 8 minutes at 180c/360f.
• Rest. Allow your steaks to rest and then serve with your favourite sides.

That is how simple it is cooking steak in air fryer but now let’s talk all about how long to cook steak based on how you like it or the different types of steak.

How Long To Cook Steak In Air Fryer?

Before we dive into the how long to cook, note that we recommend flipping your steak halfway through the cooking time and that our initial time and temps below are based upon a medium steak that you have allowed to rest for a couple of minutes after air frying.

Air fryer sirloin steak, air fryer new York strip steak and air fryer porterhouse steak are of similar size, so lets talk first about how long they take in the air fryer.

The air fryer steak cooking time is 10 minutes with an air fryer steak temperature of 180c/360f.

But this is of course based on a medium steak, so what about the others?

How long to cook steak in air fryer medium-rare? To cook to a medium rare instead of medium you reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes each side taking it down to a total cooking time of 6 minutes (not 10).

How long to cook steak in air fryer medium-well? To cook to medium well, you would add 2 minutes to the medium time. So, you would cook your steak for 12 minutes total in the air fryer – or 6 minutes per side.

How long to cook steak in air fryer well done? To cook a steak to well done in the air fryer, you would need to cook for 7 minutes per side, or 14 minutes total at 180c/360f.

What About Your Favourite Steak In The Air Fryer?

Life would be boring, if we all liked the same steak wouldn’t it? Well, thanks to the air fryer you can cook any steak in the air fryer that you would cook in a pan. So of course, this means no braising steak/chuck steak as its too tough, but any of the other main steaks will work well.

How long to cook t bone steak in air fryer? Starting with t bone steak in the air fryer it requires just 18 minutes at 180c/360f, cooking it for 9 minutes on each side for a medium.

How long to cook ribeye steak in air fryer? Ribeye steak cooks in the air fryer for 10 minutes total, so 5 minutes per side, at 180c/360f.

How long to cook fillet steak in air fryer? Fillet steak is delicious in the air fryer cooking for only 4 minutes per side, so only 8 minutes total at 180c/360f.

How long to cook flank steak in air fryer? Interestingly, flank steak has the same cooking time and temperature in the air fryer as skirt steak. Because of its shape, you need the lower temperature of 160c/320f and then cooking time of 18 minutes, 9 minutes on each side.

How long to cook frozen steak in air fryer? I know it sounds weird doesn’t it? But frozen steak in the air fryer is delicious you just need the right time and temp. We would recommend cooking at 170c as frozen steak needs to cook a little lower and slower to prevent it from drying out. 8 minutes per side at 170c should yield the perfect steak in just 16 minutes.

What about thin steak in air fryer? We often cook air fryer steak that is half the thickness of a regular steak. For this we opt for 8 minutes at 180c/360f rather than 10 minutes, reducing the cooking time by 20 percent.

Air fryer cube steak is also delicious. Follow our air fryer steak bites and potatoes recipe and then you can cook both the cubed steak and potatoes together.

Steak In Air Fryer Oven

If you have an air fryer oven, follow the air fryer oven rules as outlined in our air fryer oven chapter of Air Fryer Easy Everyday.

To make steak in the air fryer oven, you should follow the 20 percent rule. An air fryer oven cooks 20 percent slower than an air fryer basket or a Dual Air Fryer. For example, while you’d cook a steak for 8 minutes in an air fryer basket, they’ll take 10 minutes in an air fryer oven.

You must also remember to preheat your air fryer oven for 2 minutes before cooking your steak.

You can cook your steak directly on the rack as the rack in the air fryer oven works similarly to the air fryer basket. Then, you just flip the steak halfway through as you normally would.

Steak In Ninja Air Fryer

If you have a Ninja Foodi, or maybe a Ninja Dual air fryer, then the steak cooks the same way as a standard air fryer.

The only differences are:

Dual can do steaks in one drawer, chips in the other.  Our air fryer steak and chips is perfect in the Dual to make a complete meal – steak and a side of chips, at one time.

Air fryers have several buttons and people are often confused about which function to use. Always use the air fry button to get the best result when making recipes specific to the air fryer.

If you have a Ninja Foodi we have our own recipe for it. Follow our Ninja Foodi steak recipe for an excellent steak in your Foodi.

What Temperature To Cook Steak In Air Fryer?

For air fryer steak temperature, we recommend 180c/360f for normal cuts of steak. For thin cut steaks or frozen steaks, we recommend cooking at 160c/320f.

Air Fryer Steak Recipes

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer Ribeye Steak

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer Steak Bites And Potatoes

Recipe This Blog

Frozen Steak In Air Fryer

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer Sirloin Steak

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer Steak And Chips

Recipe This Blog

Thin Steak In Air Fryer

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer T Bone Steak

Recipe This Blog

Air Fryer Fillet Steak

Plus, don’t forget about the sides you can cook in the air fryer. Our favourites include air fryer steak fries, air fryer homemade chips, air fryer frozen fries, and air fryer frozen onion rings. Why not add some of our soup maker cheese sauce or our soup maker peppercorn sauce without cream to serve with your air fryer steaks?

Learn all about steak air fryer cooking times below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free ebooks and useful cooking time charts and so much more.

Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!