Who doesn’t love a good steak? For a leaner cut, we love flank steak. It’s such a great one to grill up and slice to enjoy in salads, sandwiches, or chop up for tacos. Or of course it’s great with just a side of veggies, especially drizzled with my new favorite dairy free green sauce (in the photos below) or this creamy chimichurri. I already have a few macro-friendly flank steak recipes, but we’re calling this one the best. Ha. Tough call.
How to Make the Best Marinated Flank Steak
Flank steak is one of those meals that seems kind of fancy, and yet it’s one of the easiest. The list of ingredients for the marinade looks long, but just think of it like a satisfying easy to do list. Everything blended up– DONE. It’s simple.
What You’ll Need:
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Red or white onion
- Garlic, minced (or frozen cubes of Dorot which is always my choice!)
- Red wine vinegar
- Grainy dijon mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Brown sugar
- Olive oil
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder
- Onion powder
- Flank steak, trimmed of fat
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
First, grab your parsley, cilantro, onion (you can use either red or white), garlic, red wine vinegar, grainy dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, and ground cumin. These are the ingredients that will be creating your marinade. Once you’ve gathered what you need, add all marinade ingredients to a small food processor or blender and process until pretty smooth. The small food processor I like using is from Cuisinart. If you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry. You can also make this marinade in a blender.
After blending the marinade, you’ll just want to trim your steak of any excess fat and then place the meat between two pieces of plastic wrap or inside a resealable bag. Pound the steak until it is an even thickness using a meat mallet (or sometimes I use my rolling pin.) This helps tenderize the meat well.
Add the tenderized steak and blended marinade to a large dish or resealable bag and marinate in the fridge for 2-12 hours. A large dish may make it easier to ensure that the meat is entirely covered while in the fridge, but using a reusable bag makes things easier to clean up. Either way you choose to marinate, just make sure to work the marinade around so it’s covering the entire steak.
Remove meat from the fridge about an hour before grilling to bring it close to room temp. This really helps it to be more tender after cooking. If we’re only marinating for 2 hours, I never bother to refrigerate. But I’m not the food safety police!
If you are cooking outdoors, preheat the outdoor grill to medium-high heat, (450° F when the lid is closed). I also love using my indoor grill pan. If you choose the indoor cooking route, make sure to also preheat to medium-high heat. Before cooking the flank steak, carefully oil your grill. I recommend using oil and paper towels on the grill, but if you like spraying, make sure to spray cautiously!
Right before putting the steak on the grill, sprinkle the meat with a little pepper and a good generous pinch of kosher salt on both sides. Like GENEROUS. (Don’t forget this step!) Helps make more of a crust on your meat and of course adds FLAVOR. Grill the steak for about 4-6 minutes per side, or until an internal thermometer reads 130-135° F for medium-rare or around 140° for medium. At our house, we like to pull it off the grill at 130° since it will continue to cook a little as it rests. Grill time will vary depending on the thickness of your steak and the desired level of doneness.
Remove the steak from the grill to a cutting board. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing to make sure you don’t lose any juices when cutting. Make sure you slice your steak into thin strips against the grain (perpendicular to the long strands). This helps your strips to be tender rather than tough and chewy!
How to Eat your Flank Steak
As you can see from this photo, I love my grilled marinated flank steak in my salads and bowls! But it’s also perfect in a sandwich with a crispy bun or in a fresh veggie-packed wrap. You could also enjoy it with a few yummy sides to make a full dinner. Here are a few sides that would be perfect with the best marinated steak:
- Smashed Potatoes With Creamy Chimichurri
- Spring Asparagus Grain Salad
- Spicy Carrot Fries with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
Other Macro-Friendly Steak Recipes
I know this is the best marinated flank steak recipe, but if you are interested in looking into additional recipes with flank steak here are some of my favorites:
Sweet Garlic Spiced Grilled Flank Steak
Steak Pitas with Romesco and Whipped Herb Feta
Steak and Arugula Salad
If you end up making this recipe for the best marinated flank steak be sure to tag me on Instagram @lillieeatsandtells. I love seeing how everyone adds their own personality into eating their macros. If you are looking for more quick and easy recipes you can also check out my cookbooks. They are all filled with macro-friendly recipes that your whole family will love.
Best Marinated Flank Steak
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley (20g)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (20g)
- 1 inch chunk red or white onion (50g)
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced (or frozen cubes of Dorot which is always my choice!)
- 3 TBS red wine vinegar (45g)
- 2 TBS grainy dijon mustard (30g)
- 2 TBS Worchestire sauce (30g)
- 2 TBS brown sugar (30g)
- 1 TBS olive oil (15g)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1.5 lb flank steak, trimmed of fat (650g)
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste (right before grilling)
Instructions
- Add all marinade ingredients (parsley through cumin etc) to a small food processor or blender and process until pretty smooth.
- Trim steak of any excess fat and place between two pieces of plastic wrap or inside a resealable bag. Pound into an even thickness using a meat mallet (or sometimes I use my rolling pin.) This helps tenderize as well.
- Add steak and marinade to a large dish or resealable bag and marinate in the fridge for 2-12 hours. Make sure to work the marinade around so it’s covering the entire steak.
- Remove meat from the fridge about an hour before grilling to bring it close to room temp. This really helps it to be more tender after cooking. If we’re only marinating for 2 hours, I never bother to refrigerate. But I’m not the food safety police!
- Preheat outdoor grill (or indoor grill pan) to medium-high heat, (450 degrees F when lid is closed). Carefully oil your grill using oil and paper towels, or spraying cautiously!
- Sprinkle meat with a little pepper and a good generous pinch of kosher salt on both sides. (Don’t forget this step!) Grill steak for about 4-6 minutes per side, or until an internal thermometer reads 130-135 degrees F for medium rare or around 140 degrees for medium. We like to pull it at 130 since it will continue to cook a little as it rests. Grill time will vary depending on thickness of your steak and desired level of doneness.
- Remove the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Make sure you slice your steak into thin strips against the grain (perpendicular to the long strands). This helps your strips to be tender rather than tough and chewy!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Tag @LillieEatsAndTells on Instagram with #LillieEatsandTells! We’d love to see your creations!
Hi, I’m wondering if you can make this marinade the night before, and then put the steaks in it the next day? Or do you have to make it the same day you will put it on the steak? Thank you!
Yes!
This is my favorite go to marinade for whatever meat I am cooking. Tried it first on flank steak – delicious, and especially love it on chicken thighs too. Really you can’t go wrong using it anywhere. Lillie always has great flavor combinations.
This was delicious!! I didn’t have cilantro/parsley or worchester sauce and the marinade still made this the best flank steak I’ve ever had! It sat in the fridge for about 5 hours before grilling. This is the only way to marinade it – highly recommend!
First time making flank steak and it was delicious!
Made this last night and I can confirm it really is Lillie’s best ever! Will be a rotating staple in my house for sure. The only work is in the marinade but its WORHT IT. Stop thinking about it and just make it.