Rosemary Steak

Do you wish you could cook the most tender and flavorful steak, better than what you can get in any restaurant? This easy-to-make-at-home Rosemary Steak is cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet and finished with rosemary butter!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🧈 How to make rosemary butter
• 🥩 How to make rosemary steak
• 💡 Tips for the perfect steak
• ❓ Can I use different cuts of steak?
• 🎉 Other flavor variations
• 🍽️ What to serve with
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

I'm not the kind of person who craves steak all the time and wants it over all else. It has to be really good steak for me to want it. I'm talking perfectly cooked, super tender, and incredibly flavorful.

Lots of fresh herbs, garlic, and butter help, too, of course. And after I made this rosemary steak for the first time, I really did start craving it. And I think you will, too!

Just be careful... If you make this for your family, they may start requesting steak for dinner every night!

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

Not only is this rosemary steak perfectly cooked, but it's packed with so much flavor. From really simple ingredients!

It's super easy to make and once you get the method down, you'll be able to cook the perfect steak every time.

Serve it with a couple easy vegetable sides, potatoes, or a salad and this makes for both an easy weeknight dinner and an impressive dinner for guests on special occasions.

🗒 Ingredients

There are two components to this entree: the rosemary butter and the steak. Both are super easy and require simple ingredients.

Here's what you need (be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amount and full instructions):

• New York strip steak: I recommend buying steaks that are about 12 oz each and 1" thick
• Oil: you can use olive oil, but I like using an oil with a higher smoke point, like avocado, grapeseed, peanut, or sunflower.
• Coarse salt
• Ground black pepper
• Homemade rosemary Butter: see ingredients below
• Smashed garlic cloves
• Sprigs fresh rosemary

And here's what you need for the rosemary butter:

• Butter: You can use salted or unsalted. If using salted, omit the salt listed below.
• Finely chopped fresh rosemary
• Garlic powder
• Salt: if using unsalted butter
• Ground black pepper

For equipment, I recommend using a large cast iron skillet and meat thermometer.

If you have a Blackstone Griddle, check out this recipe for how to make Blackstone steak.

🧈 How to make rosemary butter

To start, you'll want to make this fantastic compound butter that's flavored with rosemary. This is key to adding lots of delicious flavor to the steak and it's so easy to do!

Make sure your butter is softened. And then pop it in a small bowl with chopped rosemary, garlic powder, salt (if using), and pepper.

If you're using salted butter, you don't need to add additional salt.

Using a small rubber spatula or fork, mix together until well combined.

Try not to immediately eat it with a spoon. I mean...

But really, you can use the butter right away as is.

Or you can place it on a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a log, and wrap it tightly before chilling.

🥩 How to make rosemary steak

And now onto those perfect steaks and the best easy way to cook them.

I like to remove them from the fridge about 30 minutes before I'm planning to cook them to bring them closer to room temperature (there's some dispute on if this actually matters, but some of my most trusted chefs recommend it).

Heat a dry large heavy skillet (I highly recommend cast iron) over medium-high heat.

Rub both sides of steak with cooking oil and generously season both sides with salt and pepper.

You can definitely use olive oil, but I love using avocado oil since it has a higher smoke point.

When ready, place steaks in hot skillet and let cook for about 3 minutes, until browned.

Flip and let cook for another 3 minutes.

Now, reduce the heat to medium and add 4 tablespoon rosemary butter, smashed garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs to skillet.

Let the butter melt and tilt the pan to swirl the butter all around (be sure to use an oven mitt as cast iron will be hot!). Continue cooking until desired internal temperature is reached (about 125-130 degrees for medium rare or 130-135 degrees for medium... Remember that temperature will rise about 5 degrees more while steaks rest), while continuously swirling butter and spooning it over steaks.

I highly recommend getting a good instant-read thermometer.

Remove from skillet, transfer steak to a clean cutting board, and tent with foil. Let rest for about 5-10 minutes before slicing against the grain.

Serve steak with additional rosemary butter, if desired. And yes, it's desired! You didn't make that rosemary butter for nothing, did you?!

In case you can't tell, we like our fairly rare steak over here.

But no matter how you cook it, this rosemary steak is going to be delicious because it's absolutely packed with flavor and buttery goodness.

I'll be honest that I can sometimes find rosemary flavor to be a bit overwhelming, but it's absolutely perfect here and pairs so well with the garlic and butter flavors.

If you're looking for another fabulous and unique steak recipe, try this air fryer chicken fried steak!

💡 Tips for the perfect steak

Ask 10 chefs and you'll probably get 10 different pieces of advice for how to cook steak for the perfect results. But here are some things that I always stand by:

• Use a cast iron pan: I highly recommend investing in a cast iron pan as they heat evenly and retain heat well. This will help you get the best sear on your steak and cook it nice and evenly. This is my favorite cast iron pan.

• Season your steaks well: You can use any seasonings you want and I always tend to add a little more than I think is necessary. At the very least use kosher salt and pepper. If I'm not making rosemary steak or another recipe that already has lots of flavor, I'll often use paprika, garlic powder, thyme, and/or cayenne.

• Rub the steaks with oil: If you worry about smokiness, I find that rubbing the oil on the steaks works better than adding oil into the pan. Because there isn't extra oil in the pan to burn, you'll create less smoke.

• Use an oil with a higher smoke point: Oils with high smoke points will help cut down on smokiness in your kitchen. These include avocado, peanut, grapeseed, and sunflower oil.

• Remove steaks from heat 5 degrees before your desired temperature is reached: Because of the residual heat, steak will continue to cook a bit once removed from heat, so remove them a little bit before your ideal temperature is hit.

• Always let your steak rest before cutting: This will result in the best juicy steak since the juices need a little time to redistribute after cooking.

• Slice against the grain: Always take a look at your steak before cutting and be sure to slice steak against the grain for the most tender meat.

Here's a great guide to steak doneness and temperatures (with visuals to help you determine what you want!).

❓ Can I use different cuts of steak?

Yes, definitely! While this recipe recommends using NY strip steak, rosemary filet mignon, tenderloin steak, rib eye, and flank steak would also be delicious!

Just note that different cuts of beef at different thicknesses will need slightly different cooking times.

If you have a tougher cut of beef, you may want to marinate it first in order to help tenderize it. I recommend this steak marinade.

And if you're looking for another unique steak dish, try this steak tartare.

🎉 Other flavor variations

Now that you know how to make rosemary steak, the different flavors you can use are really endless. Here are some herbs and spices that would be fabulous (they'd also be great butters!):

• Thyme
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Sage
• Basil
• Chives
• Dry Mustard
• Parsley

And never be afraid to use a big mixture of your favorite seasonings! This steak would also be delicious topped with a scoop of agrodolce.

🍽️ What to serve with

One of the great things about this rosemary steak is that there are so many options for what to serve it with! From simple vegetable side dishes to all kinds of potatoes (basked potato, mashed potato, baby potato, and more!) to easy salads, there's not much that doesn't go with this entree! Here are some ideas:

• Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
• Blistered Green Beans
• Chopped Kale Salad
• Lemon Pepper Asparagus
• Roasted Cauliflower Salad
• Bacon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
• Greek Zucchini Cakes
• Skillet Green Bean Casserole
• Warm Cannellini Bean Salad
• Sunshine Winter Citrus Salad
• Chipotle Kale Caesar Salad

I hope this rosemary steak recipe helps you fall in love with steak a little bit more and gives you another great easy weeknight dinner to add to your arsenal.

What's your favorite way to cook steak?

📖 Recipe