Grilled Steak Recipes & Best Sides to Serve with Steak

Five grilled steak recipes — from the simplest salt-and-pepper ribeye to a coffee-rubbed strip — and five sides that actually go with them. The steak section covers cuts, seasoning, temps, and resting. The sides section links to full recipes.

The Steaks

1. Classic Grilled Ribeye

Ribeye is the most forgiving steak you can grill. The fat marbling throughout keeps it juicy even if you overshoot your target temp by a few degrees, which makes it a good starting point if you’re still figuring out your grill’s hot spots.

Take the steak out of the fridge 30-45 minutes before grilling. Pat it dry — surface moisture is the enemy of a good sear. Season both sides generously with coarse salt and black pepper. That’s it. Anything else and you’re competing with the beef flavor, which on a good ribeye is the whole reason you’re eating it.

High heat, lid open. About 4-5 minutes per side for a 1-inch steak to hit medium-rare (130°F). For medium (140°F), add another minute per side. Rest it on a cutting board for at least 5 minutes after it comes off. The internal temperature will climb another 5 degrees while it rests — that’s called carryover cooking, and if you don’t account for it, your medium-rare becomes medium.

If the fat cap on the edge hasn’t rendered, hold the steak on its side with tongs over the hottest part of the grill for 30-60 seconds until it crisps. Most people skip this and end up with a chewy strip of white fat along the edge.

2. Marinated Flank Steak

Flank steak is lean and flat, so it takes a marinade well and grills fast. The trade-off is it gets tough if you cook it past medium or slice it wrong.

The marinade: soy sauce, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, brown sugar, cumin, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Marinate for at least 2 hours, up to 8. The soy and lime do a lot — the acid breaks down the outer fibers and the soy adds depth that flank steak doesn’t have on its own.

Grill over high heat, 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Here’s where the slicing matters: let it rest 10 minutes, then cut thin slices against the grain. You can see the grain lines running lengthwise across the steak — your knife should go perpendicular to them. With the grain and you’re chewing forever. Against the grain and it’s tender. Same piece of meat, completely different eating experience depending on how you cut it.

Good in tacos, on a salad, or on its own with the chimichurri from recipe #5.

3. Grilled NY Strip with Herb Compound Butter

The steak itself is straightforward — salt, pepper, olive oil, high heat, same approach as the ribeye. NY strip has a firmer texture than ribeye with a strip of fat along one side instead of marbling throughout. It’s a leaner chew.

The compound butter is what makes this one worth its own section. Mix softened butter with minced fresh herbs — parsley, thyme, chives, a little garlic, pinch of salt. Roll it into a log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. Slice off a coin and put it on top of the steak right when it comes off the grill.

The butter melts down over the steak while it rests and creates this rich, herby sauce without any actual sauce-making. You can make the butter days ahead — it keeps in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for a month. It’s the kind of thing that takes 5 minutes of extra effort but changes the whole plate.

You can also do variations: blue cheese butter, garlic and roasted red pepper butter, or just plain garlic butter. Same technique, different mix-ins.

4. Coffee-Rubbed Grilled Steak

A dry rub instead of a marinade. This one goes on a thicker cut — a strip or ribeye at least 1.25 inches.

The rub: finely ground coffee, brown sugar, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper. Mix it together, press it onto both sides of the steak, and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for at least an hour. The surface dries out, which sounds bad but is actually what gives you a better crust on the grill.

The coffee doesn’t make the steak taste like coffee. It adds a dark, slightly bitter, smoky flavor that works with the beef the way chocolate works in a mole sauce — you can’t quite name it but you notice when it’s there. The brown sugar helps the outside caramelize.

Grill over high heat, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare on a 1.25-inch steak. The rub will blacken in spots — that’s normal and tastes good. It’s not burnt, it’s the sugar and spices forming a crust.

5. Chimichurri Grilled Skirt Steak

Skirt steak is thin, cooks in minutes, and has a beefy flavor that’s stronger than most cuts. It’s also one of the cheaper steaks at the butcher, which doesn’t hurt.

Season the steak with just salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Grill over the highest heat you can get — 2-3 minutes per side. Skirt steak is thin enough that medium-high won’t sear it fast enough and you’ll end up overcooking the interior before the outside gets any color.

The chimichurri goes on after. Finely chop flat-leaf parsley (a full bunch), a few cloves of garlic, and a small shallot. Mix with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt. It should be loose and spoonable, not a paste. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes so the flavors come together.

Slice the steak against the grain — same as the flank, this matters — and spoon chimichurri over the top. The bright acidity of the sauce cuts through the charred, fatty meat. You’ll make more chimichurri than you need for one steak, which is fine — it keeps for a few days in the fridge and is good on chicken, fish, eggs, bread, basically anything.

The Sides

You could eat any of these steaks on their own, but if you’re making a full dinner, here are five sides that pair well. Full recipes linked for each one.

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Creamy mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and parmesan folded in. This is the rich, heavy side — pair it with a leaner steak like the flank or skirt, where the plate needs something substantial to balance it out.

Get the Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes Recipe →

Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Cheddar

Baked potatoes scooped out, mixed with sour cream, cheese, bacon, and chives, then stuffed back in and baked again. They’re a bigger production than mashed potatoes but you can make them ahead and reheat, which is useful if you’re also managing a grill.

Get the Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes Recipe →

Brown Butter Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Green beans cooked in browned butter with slivered almonds. The butter gets nutty when it browns and the almonds add crunch. This is lighter than the potato sides, so it works well next to a richer cut like the ribeye or the NY strip with compound butter, where the plate is already heavy.

Get the Brown Butter Green Beans Recipe →

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Balsamic Glaze

Halved brussels sprouts roasted until the edges are crispy, tossed with bacon and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. The balsamic adds sweetness that works especially well with the coffee-rubbed steak, where you’ve already got smoky and savory covered and need something to round it out.

Get the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Recipe →

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

Thinly sliced potatoes layered with cream and cheese and baked until bubbly and golden on top. This takes about an hour in the oven, so start it before you fire up the grill and it’ll be done around the same time the steak is rested and ready.

Get the Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe →