Easy Garlic Butter Steak and Potatoes Skillet Recipe
Do you have “meat and potatoes” people in your life? You know the ones who almost forget that there are any other food groups as long as they’ve got their steak and potatoes. Vegetables…what are those? This recipe is made for those exact people who want tender, juicy bites of well-seasoned steak along with potatoes that are soft and buttery on the inside and lightly crisped on the outside. It’s a one-skillet recipe which I absolutely love. Who has time for extra dishes – surely not me! And it’s a dinner recipe that’s good enough to serve as a fancier dinner for say a dinner party or a Valentine’s night in or an anniversary dinner. But easy enough to make on busy weeknights. The whole meal is ready from start to finish in about 35 to 40 minutes which is music to me ears. It’s naturally gluten-free too.
Ingredients in Steak and Potatoes Skillet with Garlic Butter
To make a restaurant-worthy garlic steak and potatoes skillet, you only need a handful of common and easy-to-find refrigerator and pantry ingredients including the following:
Olive oil Baby Yukon gold potatoes Yellow onion Minced garlic cloves Thyme Rosemary Salt Fresh cracked pepper Red pepper flakes Unsalted butter Shredded Parmesan cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Garlic Butter Steak and Potatoes in a Skillet
It’s not difficult to make skillet steak and potatoes right in the comfort of your own kitchen – no outdoor grill nor even an indoor grill pan are needed! Follow these straightforward steps for the best steak and potatoes! Step 1: Preheat oven to 400F, dice the potatoes, and add olive oil to a large oven-safe skillet. Step 2: Add the potatoes and onions to the skillet. Step 3: Evenly sprinkle with 1 teaspoon each fresh thyme and fresh rosemary, add 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon each of the red peppers flakes and salt. Step 4: Cook the potatoes over medium high heat until browned, tossing frequently, and then add 2 tablespoons of butter, and stir to melt and combine. Step 5: Bake the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender. Remove the pan from the oven, take the potatoes out, and set them aside in a large bowl and keep warm. Step 6: Using the same skillet, add the remaining 1/4 cup of butter, garlic, all the remaining herbs, salt, and stir to combine and melt. It’s easy for me to remember to use pot holders when pull out a cake pan but for some reason, at times, it’s easy to forget that handles of skillets also require potholders! Step 7: Add the steak to the hot garlic butter mixture, and cook over medium heat, spooning butter over the steak as it sears and cooks. Step 8: Using the chart below, flip the steak as recommended, and sear steak on the second side, and spooning the butter. Step 9: Take the temperature in the thickest part of the meat, (pull it 5 degrees early to account for carryover cooking), and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Step 10: As the steak rests, add the potatoes back to the skillet and warm them up a bit. Step 11: Slice the steak against the grain, place it back into the skillet to rewarm slightly, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve!
How Long Should I Cook Steak?
Cooking a steak is both art and science in my opinion. For the art part – you know how some people just “know” when it’s done or when to flip it? That’s something that you can learn with time, practice, and patience. However, the science of how internal food temperature effects taste and texture is a pretty cut-and-dried scientific determination that is measurable and quantifiable. Use this as a guideline for steaks that are about 1 1/2-inches thick.
Rare: 120 to 130 F; 5 then 3 minutes per side; pull off the heat at max 125F Medium-Rare: 130 to 135 F; 5 then 4 minutes per side; pull off the heat at max 130F Medium: 140 to 150 F; 6 then 4 minutes per side; pull off the heat at max 145F Medium-Well: 155 to 165 F; 7 then 5 minutes per side; pull off the heat at max 160F Well-Done: 170 F or more; 12 then 10 minutes per side; pull off the heat at max 165F source
This means you need to use a digital read thermometer to know for sure! Don’t guess – use a thermometer instead!
What Kind of Steak Should I Use?
You can really use many different cuts of steak including: Meaning a thick steak cooked to medium may take 12 minutes total compared to a very thin steak which may only need 8 minutes total.
Ribeye steak Flank steak Skirt steak New York Strip steak Strip loin Sirloin steak Beef tenderloin (filet mignon)
Other Steak Considerations
Overall Size – Not too big/wide, or too many steaks in the package that it won’t fit in your pan Thickness – About 1-inch thick works best Price – Personally there’s no need to use filet mignon when something else much cheaper will be just fine but it’s up to you!
What Kind of Potatoes Should I Use?
For this steak and potatoes recipe, I like to use a waxier potato such as baby Yukon gold potatoes. The smaller size means you just need to halve them, and some of them will be small enough that you don’t even need to bother. You can also use:
Yukon gold potatoes (regular size that you dice or chop into bite-sized pieces) Red potatoes or baby red potatoes Fingerling potatoes
I do not recommend Russet potatoes because they’re a starchier potato and don’t hold up as well in this cooking style and format. Save your Russet potatoes to be made as traditional baked potatoes!
What to Serve with Steak and Potatoes
Many meat and potatoes lovers are completely fine with just meat and potatoes! However, if you’re looking for a little greenery or something else on the side, I have a few different options that come to mind including the following:
Stuffed Cheese Bread Rolls No-Knead Dinner Rolls Roasted Cheesy Asparagus Roasted Brussels Spouts Salad Roasted Balsamic Broccoli BLT Salad with Creamy Ranch Dressing
Storage Instructions
Let’s face it, steak and potatoes made in a skillet or really any way is going to be at its best warm and fresh and enjoyed right away. However, if you do have leftovers, they’ll keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat them very gently in the microwave or in a skillet carefully, making sure not to overdo-it.
Tips for the Best Steak and Potatoes Skillet
Cooking the Potatoes
Rather than doing a two-part cooking process with the potatoes that starts with cooking them for about 6 minutes on the stovetop and finishing them in the oven with 15 to 20 minutes, you can instead boil them whole for 8 minutes and then finish cooking them in the skillet for about 5 minutes, or until done.
Steak At Room Temperature
Make sure to take the steak out of the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes prior to cooking it. You want the steak to be the same temperature throughout before you begin to cook it.
Hot Skillet
Make sure the skillet is hot before adding the steak. In this steak and potatoes recipe, you’re melting butter with the herbs and salt before adding the steak to the mixture. But make sure that butter is melted and your skillet is hot.
Sear
It’s important to sear the steak on each side. Once you drop it in the skillet, let it be and don’t move it around until it’s actually time to flip it. When it’s properly seared, it’s actually easy to flip and you won’t be fighting with it or feeling like it’s sticking.
Check the Temp
As I mentioned above, cook the steak to the recommended temperatures based on if you want it rare or medium or well-done or anything in between. Use a digital thermometer and don’t guess.
Internal Temp
Remember that the internal temp will rise about 5 degrees during the resting period. So if you want a medium-rare steak, you need to pull it off the heat at 125 to 130F since the temp will increase by 5 degrees (130 to 135F) during the resting period, bringing it up to the 125-130F range.
Rest
Always allow a steak to rest for 5 to 10 minutes so the natural juices stay in the steak. And slice it against the grain.
More Easy Beef Recipes:
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