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These perfectly cooked Air Fryer Sirloin Steaks are first rubbed with a flavorful seasoning blend, then cooked to perfection in the air fryer in just minutes, leading to a delicious, filling meal with very little cleanup.
You might not think it’s possible to perfectly cook a steak in the air fryer, but it is. In fact, it turns out very juicy and can be cooked to your desired doneness with just a little attention paid to make sure the meat cooks to the right temperature.
With a nice steak rub on the outside, a crust forms and locks in the juices of the meat, so when you cut into it, it’s just as you would expect to get at a steakhouse – only in a fraction of the time.
Jill says: 
Easy and excellent way to prepare a sirloin steak! Tender and juicy, with a nice crust on the edges. I used a seasoning blend of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Next time I’ll use your seasoning blend.
» As long as we’re discussing steak, here are 9 Easy Air Fryer Steak Recipes to try.
Why You’ll Love It
- Even Cooking: The air fryer circulates hot air around the sirloin steak, ensuring it cooks evenly on all sides for a perfectly done steak every time, from edge to edge.
- Restaurant-Quality Seer: Achieve that coveted sear on the outside while keeping the inside tender and juicy, mirroring the quality you’d expect from a high-end steakhouse.
- Convenience and Speed: Cooking sirloin steak in an air fryer is not only quicker than traditional methods but also requires minimal cleanup.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sirloin steak – When purchasing steaks, look for ones about 6 to 10 ounces each, 1-inch thick, and well marbled. This will lead to the juiciest, most tender air fryer steak. You’ll want it to be at room temperature before cooking, so be sure to take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes in advance.
- Seasoning blend – I like to use a blend of garlic salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and oregano. You can use any steak seasoning or rub you like. Try mixing one up yourself to get the flavor you like.
How to Make Air Fryer Sirloin Steak
Step 1: Season the steaks
Mix the seasonings together in a bowl. Season the steak on both sides. Don’t be afraid to use all of the seasoning. It helps form a nice crust and adds tons of flavor.
Step 2: Preheat the basket
Preheat your air fryer on 400˚F (200˚C) for about 3 minutes. This will ensure that the basket is warm already, which helps get a sear on the steak.
Step 3: Air fry
Place the steaks in the air fryer basket, trying not to overlap them. If they are overlapped, they won’t cook evenly and won’t get the nice crispy edges all around. If you can’t fit them in your basket without overlapping, cook them in two batches.
Cook on 400˚F (200˚C), flipping once about 2/3 of the way through cooking. Since you may like a different degree of doneness, and every air fryer cooks differently, there isn’t a set cooking time. To achieve your desired degree of doneness, check the internal temperature of the meat throughout cooking.
- For rare, remove at 125˚F to 130˚F (52˚C to 54˚C), which will take about 6 minutes.
- For medium-rare, remove at 135˚F (57˚C), which takes about 7 minutes.
- For medium, remove at 140˚F (60˚C), which takes about 8-9 minutes.
- For medium-well, remove at 145˚F (63˚C), which takes about 12 minutes.
- For well-done, remove at 150-155˚F (65 to 68˚C), which takes about 14 minutes.
When the appropriate internal temperature has been reached, transfer the steaks to a plate, tent with tin foil, and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Helpful Tips
- First and foremost, remember that all air fryers cook differently and all pieces of meat are different size, thickness and pre-cooked temperature. For these reasons, there is no “set time” to cook your steak for. If you want it to be a certain degree inside, like medium rare, you will need to use a meat thermometer to know how long to cook it. There’s no way around this. See the cooking temperatures and approximate times above.
- Buy a well-marbled steak: For the best outcome, you need to buy steak that is high-quality and well-marbled. The marbling, or fat content, makes a bit difference in whether your steak will turn out juicy or dry. If you start with a low-quality steak, you can only expect to end up with a low-quality result. A well-marbled steak cooks really well in the air fryer because it gets rendered properly as it cooks.
- Use an instant-read thermometer: An instant-read thermometer makes checking for doneness quick and easy. You don’t have to wait for it to come up to temperature, while you’re losing heat from the air fryer. You really can’t get away with not using a meat thermometer when cooking a steak in the air fryer – or any other way for that matter.
What Steak to Use
You can cook all different cuts of steak in the air fryer. This recipe specifically uses sirloin steak, but you can use other cuts of meat as well.
Sirloin or top sirloin, ribeye, New York strip, or tri tip steaks are great cuts to cook in the air fryer because they are typically well-marbled and high-quality cuts. Experiment with whatever you like to cook and see how it goes.
More Steak Recipes
Try cooking some of these other steaks in the air fryer.
Storage Information
You can store any left overs in the refrigerator, well wrapped, for up to 5 days. The steak can be reheated in the air fryer whenever you’re ready to eat it again. It takes just a few minutes to reheat to the same degree of doneness, just like you did the first time.
Questions About the Recipe
What type of air fryer can I cook this in?
It doesn’t matter what type of air fryer you have, you can use this recipe. It’s fine to use a basket style or an oven style air fryer, or a Ninja Foodie. If your air fryer requires a pre-heating, go ahead and do so before cooking. You may have to adjust the cook time for this, but that’s not a problem because you’re going to use your meat thermometer to determine the doneness anyway.
How long does it take to cook steak in the air fryer?
There is no “one-time-fits-all” approach to cooking steak in the air fryer. While you can play it by ear a little bit, cooking your steak from 6 minutes up to 14 minutes – which will lead to varying degrees of doneness – if you want it to be an exact doneness, you need to check it with a thermometer to know for sure.
Do you need to flip a steak in the air fryer?
Yes, it’s best to flip the steak one time while cooking in the air fryer. This will ensure that both sides get equally cooked. I like to flip them over at the 2/3 mark in the cooking. Since the first side starts cooking from cold, this will give it the most even distribution of time on each side.
What Side Dishes to Serve?
You can serve some really easy side dishes with your main dish cooked in the Air Fryer. Sometimes, you can cook them together in the air fryer to make it even faster.
Some of our favorite side dishes to serve include:
- Air fryer cauliflower
- Air fryer baked potatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Corn on the cob
- Crispy smashed potatoes
- Cottage fries
Here are 30 more air fryer side dishes to try
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Perfectly Cooked Air Fryer Sirloin Steak
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sirloin steaks approximately 8 oz each, at least 1” thick
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the seasonings together in a bowl. Season the steak on both sides.
- Preheat your air fryer on 400˚F for about 3 minutes to heat the basket.
- Place the steaks in the air fryer basket, trying not to overlap them.
- Cook on 400° F for 8 minutes (for medium), flipping it once about 2/3 of the way through cooking. To achieve your desired degree of doneness, check the internal temperature of the meat throughout cooking. For rare, remove at 125˚F to 130˚F (52 to 54˚C). For medium-rare, remove at 135˚F (57˚C). For medium, remove at 140˚F (60˚C).
- When the appropriate internal temperature has been reached, transfer the steaks to a plate, tent with tin foil, and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Buy a nicely marbled steak for the best tenderness and flavor.
- Preheat the air fryer for 3-5 minutes to get a nice sear on the steak once it’s added.
All air fryers have different wattage and may cook at different rates. You may need to adjust the time or temp for the best results.
Nutrition
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Laura is a passionate foodie and owner of Air Fry Anytime She is dedicated to sharing delicious recipes and helpful tips for using air fryers at home. With years of experience in the kitchen and a love for healthy, flavorful cooking, Laura has become an expert at using air fryers to create amazing meals that are both nutritious and delicious.
Had no idea you could make good steak in the air fryer. This is genius!!
Easy and excellent way to prepare a sirloin steak! Tender and juicy, with a nice crust on the edges. I used a seasoning blend of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Next time I’ll use your seasoning blend.
thanks for this recipe I will try this one
The meat looks so tender and delicious!
I am so excited to make this at home for everyone!
I will admit, I was nervous about making steak on the air fryer…but this turned out great! The steak turned out super juicy. We served it with mashed potatoes and steamed greens. Super tasty and will make again soon.
Glad you liked it Karen!
I’ve always been intimidated by the thought of making steak in the air fryer, but this recipe was so easy to follow and the results were amazing.
We love to hear it!
I’m cooking for a large crowd. Can I overlap the steaks in the air fryer so I can make more at one time? I’m afraid to try it and ruin the meat.
It’s best not to overlap steaks in the air fryer. If you do, you risk them cooking unevenly.
I’ll definitely be making these again!
Again turned out amazing! It was a hit with my family.
Can I make this recipe with a different type of steak, like t-bone or ribeye? Or is it best to stick with sirloin?
Hi Daniel, Yes, you can use any type of steak you want.
A must-try recipe for any steak lover!
I love how easy this is, so I don’t have to worry about standing over the grill watching them. They were even better than our usual steaks.
I’m always happy to hear that. I think air fryer steak is better than oven cooked.
I think the air fryer cooks the steak even better than my flat top grill.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. My husband didn’t believe they’d turn out well in the air fryer, but they totally did.
I also appreciated the helpful tips temp guide.
I made steaks for Father’s Day and my dad said they were the best gift he’s ever gotten! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe that made our celebration even more special!
Aw, I’m so happy to hear that!
I also made a compound butter to go with mine. It was great.
That’s a great idea.
I made these steaks for a dinner party and they were a huge hit. Everyone kept asking for the recipe! I don’t know why I felt sheepish to tell them I made it in the air fryer. Haha
These are hands down the best steaks I’ve ever had!
Happy to hear that Harris.
I cooked them from frozen and it worked pretty good.
Glad to hear it Frederick.
This is the best recipe for air fryer steak I’ve tried. I like that it’s so hands off and it’s cooked perfectly. Everyone loved them.
That’s awesome, Amelia.
Cant wait to try this! Should the steaks be at room temp, or direct from the fridge for this recipe?
I also used a homemade dry rub on my steaks that I’ve been perfecting, and it was a match made in heaven.
I made these steaks for my family last night and they were absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
We are so glad you liked it Jonathan.
They were so tender and juicy.
I’m not a fan of garlic. Can I leave it out?
Sure, use the seasonings that you like the best.
What’s the best way to reheat leftover steak without drying them out?
Reheating steak in the air fryer is a great way to go and won’t dry out your steak. Set the air fryer temperature to 350 °F. Air fry until the steak is heated through. For more information check out https://airfryanytime.com/how-to-reheat-steak-in-the-air-fryer/.
If I am only cooking 1 steak 1/2 inch thick how much would I reduce the cooking time?
Wendy you shouldn’t need to reduce the time for just 1 steak, if it’s 1″ thick. It will take the same amount of it.
Just wondering, do you not preheat the air fryer first? Thanks so much!
Hi Kristi, yes we do! I guess we missed adding it in, I will do that now. Steak is one of the only things that we preheat the air fryer for. For this recipe you would want to preheat at 400° F for 3 minutes.
Definitely takes longer than 8min!
Everyone’s air fryers will cook differently based on their wattage. I’m sorry the cooking time wasn’t spot on for you. We do test our recipes to take the guess work out of it for everyone. I hope you will give it another try. Cooking steak in the air fryer really is a great way to go.