This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Whether you’ve made a delicious filet mignon, flank steak, or ribeye steak – no matter what type of steak – or whether you made it at home or ordered it at a restaurant, keep reading for the best way to reheat your leftover steak!
When you’re ready to use your leftover steak the next day, try it in this steak and sweet potato hash – perfect for breakfast and leftover steak!
Let’s be honest: sometimes there is nothing better than a big and juicy steak for dinner. However…if we’re being even more honest, sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and we end up with leftover steak.
The best part? There is no “right way” to reheat your steak; pick whatever method works best for you!
Best Tips for Leftover Steak
We can’t sugar coat this: the first time you eat that hot and juicy steak will be the best that it will taste. Cooking steaks and eating them fresh off the grill or stovetop is the best way to enjoy a good steak.
However, while we never set out to eat steak and leave leftovers, sometimes, it happens.
If you have leftover steak, it is perfectly safe to reheat it, as long as it’s cooked properly the first time and stored correctly. According to the USDA, a raw steak cooked the first time should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees before consumption.
We know that internal temperature may be a little high for some of our users’ preferences so we have this guide that details the best temperatures for grilling steak to ensure your steak is safe to consume.
To store steak, be sure to use an airtight container or a zip-top plastic bag with the air expressed out of it. Steak is a perishable food so use your leftover steak quickly.
Even if stored properly in your refrigerator, it is only good for 3-4 days.
Reheating Leftover Steak
When you have leftover steak that you want to reheat, there are a few important things to have:
- Patience: Reheating steak requires a little bit of patience. Most methods for reheated steak work best when the steak is room temperature. While you can reheat steak straight from the refrigerator, the best results will occur when the steak is closer to room temperature.
- Diligence: All methods require proper timing and paying attention. To ensure your steak doesn’t turn in to a tough, rubbery, overly chewy slab of meat, make sure that you don’t rush the process of reheating your steak.
- Average expectations: Reheated steak is still delicious but steak the second time is never as good as the first. Don’t expect your steak to taste as great as it did when you first ate it!
The Oven Method – The Best Way
Reheating your leftover steak in the oven is going to be not only the best method, but the preferred method, out of all of the reheating process methods. It will be the most time-consuming but is an easy way to get your steak ready to use for leftovers!
How to Reheat Leftover Steak in the Oven
- Let your steak rest. Pull your steak out of your refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven. As your steak rests, preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare your baking sheet. This is arguably the most important step of reheating your leftover steak in the oven. Place a wire rack and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Using the wire rack helps to lift the steak up off of the baking sheet so that the heat can circulate around the steak. This helps the steak reheat evenly.
- Place steak in the oven. Put your leftover steak in the oven and bake 20-30 minutes, or, using a meat thermometer, until your steak reaches an internal temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook time in the oven may vary depending on the thickness of your steak.
- *Optional* Sear your steak on the stove top. If you’d like a nice crust on your steak, take a few minutes to give it a quick sear! Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or nonstick skillet to medium-high heat. Sear the steak on each side for about a minute.
- Let your steak rest. Yep – just like in step one – it’s time to let your steak rest again! After you’ve reheated it, let it sit for about 5 minutes before using it for your next delicious meal.
If you are looking to reheat your leftover steak and make a meal while you’re at it; we cannot recommend foil packs enough! This steak and sweet potato foil pack is an entire meal in itself but these Philly cheesesteak foil packs are a family favorite!
The Stove Top Method – The Great Way
If you’d rather skip the oven, you can go straight to the stove top to reheat your leftover steak. You can use any type skillet but for best results, we recommend using a nonstick skillet or cast-iron skillet.
How to Reheat Leftover Steak on the Stove Top
- Let your steak rest. For all of these methods, it’s important to let your leftover steak rest before reheating! Pull your steak out of your refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature before warming up on the stove top.
- Heat up the pan. Let your chosen skillet warm up on medium heat or medium-low heat.
- Add juices. Once the pan is warmed up, add your steak and whatever au jus is with it. However, to keep your steak from drying out, adding a little bit of moisture will help keep your leftover steak juicy. We recommend adding a little bit of beef broth.
- Cover it. Cover your steak with a lid and reduce to a lower temperature. Let it cook until its internal temperature reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit by checking it with a meat thermometer.
- Sear it. Once your steak is at the right temperature, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the leftover steak and wipe the pan clean of any juices and liquids that remain. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and place the pan back on your stove top over medium-high heat. Give your leftover steak a quick sear, about a minute on each side. This may vary depending on the thickness of the steak.
- Let your steak rest. It’s a pattern! 🙂 Let your steak rest for about 5 minutes before consuming.
We love pan-seared steak in this steak stir fry.
The Microwave Method – The Quickest Way
If you are absolutely crunched for time, you can reheat your leftover steak in the microwave. Admittedly, this won’t give you the best results but it will work in a pinch!
How to Reheat Leftover Steak in the Microwave
- Let your steak rest. To get the best results, let your steak come to room temperature. While you may not have the time, it is best to not microwave your steak as a “straight out of the refrigerator” cold.
- Add juices. Once your steak is at room temperature, place it in a microwave-safe container with any of the leftover steak drippings or au jus. We recommend a dash of beef broth!
- Cover it and microwave. Cover the container with plastic wrap or the container’s lid. If you use the lid, do NOT seal the container but simply place the lid on top to cover. Adjust your microwave’s heat setting to cook at a lower temperature – we recommend 50% of full heat – and microwave in 30-second intervals.
- Let your steak rest. Let your steak rest for about 5 minutes before consuming as this will help it retain moisture.
This herby garlic steak and potato recipe or our creamy Balsamic steak pasta are both great options to serve with your leftover steak.
The Air Fryer Method – The Easy Way
One of our favorite kitchen appliances is our air fryer! The ability to get crispy, hot and juicy leftovers without the oil is why it’s one of our favorites. It’s also an easy way to reheat not only leftover steak but also all leftovers!
How to Reheat Leftover Steak in the Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer. Heat your air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove steak from the fridge. Unlike with other methods, you don’t have to let your steak come to room temperature before putting in the air fryer!
- Put steak in the air fryer. Place your whole steak directly on the wire rack in your air fryer basket. Make sure there is a wire rack in the air fryer basket so that the heated air circulates properly!
- Heat it. The amount of time to reheat your steak will depend on the thickness of your steak. For an average-sized steak, start with 3-5 minutes and adjust accordingly.
- Let it rest. Even though you don’t have to let it rest before you heat it up, you do need to let it rest before you consume it. Cover it with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Add some moisture. Leftover steak from the air fryer will come out perfectly seared but, on its own, it may be a little dry. To get flavorful meat, top it with a little garlic butter!
If you love the air fryer as much as we do, try out some of our other favorite air fryer recipes! These Hawaiian chicken kabobs would be great with steak, but we also love these crispy air fryer salmon bites, this air fryer orange chicken, and this air fryer breaded shrimp!
Cold Steak – A Different Way
That’s right – our fifth and final way of reheating your steak is to, well, not reheat it! The good news is that that this is still an excellent way to enjoy your leftover steak.
Cold steak is great on top of salads. Try cold steak on top of this strawberry spinach salad with health poppyseed dressing or add it to this kale salad with goat cheese. We also love cold steak in warmed up tortillas for tacos or as part of cold sandwich.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! As long as your steak was cooked to a safe internal temperature in the first place and you have stored it properly, reheated steak is perfectly safe and delicious!
Leftover steak is good for 3-4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
There is no one perfect way to reheat leftover steak; however, our preferred method is in the oven. The oven method allows a slow
You can season your leftover steak but remember: it was already cooked once so those flavors and seasonings will still shine through, even after reheating! If you are looking for the perfect seasoning, try out best homemade steak seasoning. If you want to add flavor, we recommend doing so through a little bit of moisture or liquids, like by adding garlic butter or beef broth.
Delicious Steak Recipes
- Steak and potato breakfast hash
- Sheet pan steak fajitas
- Creamy balsamic steak pasta
- Flank steak stir fry
- Homemade steak seasoning
