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This steak pasta features perfectly cooked marinated steak on top of a creamy sauce. Marinating the steak in balsamic and searing it with a crispy crust makes all the difference.
If you’re craving another pasta recipe, try one pot taco pasta, braised short rib pasta, or salmon pesto pasta.
Table of Contents
- Molly’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients (Brands I Love)
- What Steak To Use (You Have Options)
- Let’s Make this Steak Pasta
- Cook the Pasta
- Sear the Steak
- Make the Creamy Sauce
- Mix it All Together
- Add Sliced Steak and Serve
- Cook Your Steak To The Right Temperature
- Storage and Reheating Steak Pasta
- More Easy Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Balsamic Steak Pasta Recipe
I’ve attended countless beef cooking demos with the Ohio Beef Council, and took all those tips to purchase, prep, and sear the best steak for this recipe. There’s nothing like a crusty steak (color equals flavor!) on top of creamy pasta.
Drizzle balsamic glaze on top for an easy, delicious dish. Add some fresh spinach and sun dried tomatoes for some greens and extra flavor.
Molly’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: the combination of balsamic and steak is up there with my favorites of all time.
Texture: the sear and crust on the steak with the creamy pasta covers all the bases.
Ease: a from scratch pasta dish is totally doable in 30 minutes or less!
Pros: easy to customize and add veggies if you want
Cons: it takes some skill and and meat thermometer to cook the steak perfectly.
Would I make this again? I would and have (many times). My kiddos love it.
Save this for a romantic dinner date or make it quickly during the week for the whole family. Everyone loves perfectly cooked steaks on top of creamy cheesy pasta!
Try this slow cooker braised short rib pasta next! The short ribs melt into the sauce, making the most tender short-rib pasta you’ve ever tasted.
Ingredients (Brands I Love)
Here are the simple ingredients for this steak alfredo. Most are pantry staples and easy (and affordable) to find in grocery stores. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
Steak
- Sirloin steak: I love a top sirloin because it comes from the top part of the cow, making it extra tender because of it’s minimal use. A similar cut of steak is the ribeye, which has a bit more marbling. You could also use skirt steak or flank steak—something that benefits from a marinade and cooks quickly!
- Balsamic vinegar: The vinegar helps break down some of the tissue in the beef and makes it even more tender.
- Salt and black pepper (basic, but important for beef recipes)
Creamy Pasta
- Fettuccine: I love this pasta for alfredo and creamy dishes. But whatever you have in your pantry will do. My recent obsession is Kaizen pasta because it’s low-carb, high-fiber, and high-protein.
- Butter, flour, and garlic: together these create the roux and thicken the alfredo sauce. I like Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour.
- Milk or cream: whole milk, heavy cream, or dairy-free milk are all great options.
- Parmesan cheese: this salty variety of cheese adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. Swap this for the similar nutty, salty ingredient, nutritional yeast, for a dairy-free option.
- Spinach and sun-dried tomatoes: these are totally optional if you’re look for a basic steak with pasta on the side, sans veggies. But I’m also trying to sneak in some greens and spinach is ideal!
- Toppings: steak and blue cheese are a match made in heaven—highly recommend adding some crumbles (like this buffalo chicken casserole).
What Steak To Use (You Have Options)
Our favorite cut of beef to use for pasta is one that’s naturally tender, so they don’t require a ton of marinating. I also love a steak on the thinner side because they cook quickly.
For these reasons, we love NY strip steak, sirloin, or ribeye steak. Ribeye is going to have more marbling (fat), so it will have a little richer flavor.
Learn more about the different cuts of beef and how to prepare them.
Let’s Make this Steak Pasta
Skip down to the recipe card if you want to see the full recipe and print it out. Keep reading if you’re a visual learner (like me!) and want to see the recipe with photos at each step.
Marinate the Steak
Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and place in a ziplock bag with the balsamic vinegar and marinate for 20-30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
Can you skip this? Technically, yes you will still have delish seared steak with salt and pep only. But the acid makes it tender and the sugars give it a crispy crust. Highly recommend.
Cook the Pasta
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, to al dente.
Success tip: Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water for later to thin the sauce, if needed.
Sear the Steak
Give the steak a good sear in a hot skillet (medium high heat) for 4 ish minutes on each side while the pasta cooks. Sear both sides of the seasoned steaks for about 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 135-140°F for medium rare. Remove the steak to a cutting board to rest (key for a juicy steak).
Hate all the smoke? America’s Test Kitchen can show you an easy way to sear steak without the splatter and smoke.
Make the Creamy Sauce
Saute fresh garlic in melted butter over medium heat then stir in the flour to create a roux. Cook for a few minutes to get rid of any raw flour taste then slowly whisk in the milk and parmesan cheese until it’s thick.
I didn’t try it in this recipe, but adding white wine to deglaze the pan would be so good (it works well in this Boursin chicken).
Mix it All Together
Stir in the spinach and sun dried tomatoes (optional) and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is wilted. Top the pasta with sliced steak for the perfect meal.
Add Sliced Steak and Serve
Top the pasta with sliced steak for the perfect meal.
Cook Your Steak To The Right Temperature
The FDA recommends steak be cooked to 145°F for medium-rare, but your should pull it off the heat around 130°F. That results in a cooked steak with a pink center. It’s the best for this steak pasta, but you can look at our guide to determining beef doneness to reach your desired steak temp.
I highly recommend using or investing in an Instant Read Thermometer to help you know when the steak is done. I like to remove my steak from the heat when it reaches about 130-135°F to allow for 10-15 degrees of carryover cooking.
Storage and Reheating Steak Pasta
- Store: place leftover steak and pasta in a separate airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: although it won’t be as creamy and fresh, you can freeze steak pasta. Place in an air tight container in the freezer. If it’s well sealed it should last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: allow any frozen food to come to thaw overnight in the fridge. The best way to warm up this dish is by adding the pasta back to a pan with additional milk to warm it through and thin it out. Warm the steak separately in the microwave or a pan and enjoy!
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Creamy Balsamic Steak Pasta
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Steak
- 1 1/2 lbs sirloin or ribeye steak
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Creamy Pasta
- 12 ounces fettuccine (I used Gluten free)
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tablespoons flour gluten-free if needed
- 2 cups milk any kind
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (Note 1 Dairy-Free)
- 3 cups fresh spinach optional
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes roughly chopped
- Optional toppings: balsamic glaze, blue cheese, fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Marinate the steak: Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and place in a ziplock or reusable storage bag with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and marinate in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Cook the pasta: While the steak is marinating, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water then drain the pasta from the rest of the water and set aside.
- Sear the steak: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the steak from the fridge and place it on the hot pan, without any additional oil. Discard any remaining marinade. Cook the steak for 4 minutes on each side or until it reaches your desired doneness. We like to remove the steak when it reaches an internal temp of 135°F to allow for 5-15 degrees of carry-over cooking while it rests to achieve a medium-rare steak (145°F).
- Make the creamy sauce: While the steak is resting, melt the butter, or vegan butter, in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the flour (or gluten-free flour) to the butter and stir well to create a paste, also known as a roux.
- Slowly whisk in the milk then add the salt and pepper. Continue to stir and cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Add the parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast) and stir until melted and/or combined.
- Mix it together: Stir in the cooked pasta. If the sauce seems too thick, pour in the reserved pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time to reach your desired consistency. Add the fresh spinach and sun dried tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Top with steak and serve: Slice the steak into thin pieces against the grain and top the pasta. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and top with gorgonzola and parsley if desired.
Notes
Video
Equipment
- Large, deep skillet or dutch oven
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Well, I’ll apparently be the first to say this recipe wasn’t as good as expected. Apart from the Gargozolo, it needed some flavor in the worst way. The creamy sauce was flat bland. Noodles have to go into sauce immediately when al dente or they get soggy. Not a whole lot to tie the steak to the pasta. It’s a terrible shame to have a cream sauce without exquisite taste, but this accomplished exactly that.
Love ya Molly, but this recipe was a miss.
Bummer to hear you think that! This is a super classic alfredo cream sauce with butter, parmesan, and heavy cream. It actually includes more flavor like tomatoes and spinach—so I’m surprised you had this result. You may need to add salt to your taste. That makes a big difference to some. Did you use gluten-free noodles? That can happen, but depends on which brand you use. I’ve made this several times and didn’t have this experience, but apprecate your feedback. Thanks!
This was pretty good & super quick and easy to make! I did add extra seasoning to the marinade like another commenter said. I would definitely add more salt and pepper next time to the pasta sauce. I also cooked the marinade after the steak finished with the pasta sauce.
Delicious exactly as written and easy to make. Use the best ingredients you can find. Made this as an alternative to traditional Thanksgiving meal as we had two Thanksgiving gatherings this year. Used American wagyu ribeye and homemade fettuccini and homemade rosemary and garlic artisan loaf. Outstanding meal! Thank you!
this was soooo yummy! however, i added a few extra things that i think really brought out the delicious flavors in this dish. first off, when i marinated the steak i cut it into strips raw and added raw minced garlic to the mix, as well as some basic italian seasoning and paprika. after cooking the steak, i set it aside and made the sauce in the same pan! i also added red onion to the butter and garlic before making a roux. i added paprika and italian seasoning to the sauce as well. cooking the sauce in the same pan as the steak made it pick up some more flavor! yummy and i will definitely make again 🙂
SO SO good! I made ours with a venison sirloin. Even my 3 year old loved it! I stayed almost entirely true to the recipe except for the sub for venison and I used 1 C frozen chopped spinach instead.
I think personally I would add some more sun-dried tomato and I might marinade the meat with some more seasonings; it didn’t pick up a ton of balsamic flavor but the balsamic DID do an amazing job in the searing process for a gorgeous crust. Also note the sauce is very thick even with the pasta water. It was creamy and delicious but next time I might try 2 Tbs flour for a sauce a little thinner.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I was looking for some way to use venison sirloin other than street tacos and I’m so happy I found this one. Defs going to make again!
This is my new favorite recipe! Quite possibly the best pasta I’ve ever had. This recipe is so simple but so flavorful and uses a lot of ingredients I already have on hand. Highly recommend!
Thank you, Caroline!! That means so much. We have this one on our meal plan to make tomorrow!
Your ingredients up top say heavy cream, but your ingredient list says milk. I’m just going to mix both, but think that should be clarified.