Name: The Best Easy Balsamic Steak Marinade Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Coconut aminos; 1/4 cup Olive oil; 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp Italian seasoning; 1/2 tsp Garlic powder; 1 tsp Sea salt; 1/2 tsp Black pepper; 32 oz Sirloin steaks ((4 8-oz steaks))

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Meet your new favorite balsamic vinegar steak marinade! This 5-ingredient sirloin steak marinade is bound to become a favorite because it’s SO easy and uses common pantry ingredients that you probably already have. It’s truly the BEST easy balsamic steak marinade recipe out there.

This amazing, easy steak marinade works well for just about any cut of meat, but I especially love it on grilled sirloin steaks. My post for how to cook sirloin steak in the oven (coming soon!) will show you my easy cooking process – no grill required.

As much as I love grilling and spending time outdoors, I must say that my favorite way to cook steaks is a quick sear on a really hot pan, and then finishing it in the oven until it reaches the level of doneness you want. (I’m a medium or sometimes medium-rare kind of girl, but you do you!)

How To Make Steak Marinade With Balsamic

This quick steak marinade takes less than 5 minutes to make and all it takes is 5 easy ingredients!

First, you’ll want to whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

Then, pour the marinade into a plastic bag, add the steaks, and move them around a bit so that all of the steaks are covered in some of the marinade.

Refrigerate the meat for 3 to 8 hours!

TIP: The optimal marinating time is between 3 and 8 hours, but not longer. The meat can get mushy if it sits too long in the marinade.

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you want to cook them to let them come to room temperature a bit. This will help them cook evenly.

TIP: Store the bag in a glass bowl or container and if you’re around, flip and rotate the bags of steak every so often. This isn’t required, but will help ensure that the top sirloin steak marinade is coating all of the meat well.

After marinating the steaks, cook them using your favorite method – typically either on the grill or in the oven. Here is how to cook steak in the oven.

Is Balsamic Vinegar A Good Marinade For Steak?

Yes. Balsamic vinegar is a good marinade for steaks for two reasons. It helps:

Tenderize: The acid in this great steak marinade help to break down some of the protein and fat in the beef, which makes it more tender.
Flavor: The balsamic vinegar also adds a subtle sweet flavor, without adding any sugars or sweeteners. While the dark vinegar stands up to flavorful red meat, you could also swap it for white wine vinegar and try this marinade on chicken or fish.

Can You Make Balsamic Vinegar Steak Marinade Ahead?

Yes, you can make balsamic vinegar steak marinade ahead.

The only thing you want to be careful of is actual marinating time. Three to eight hours is recommended as it is enough time to tenderize the meat and give it flavor, but not too long as to make the meat mushy.

So you can make the marinade ahead, but don’t add the meat to it until the day you are cooking the meat.

The marinade will last 4-5 days. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If the oil solidifies, simply take it out and let it come to room temperature before using or run the container under warm water.

Should You Marinate Steak In The Fridge?

Yes, you should marinate steak in the fridge if you will be marinating it longer than 30 minutes. While we want to remove the steak from the refrigerator prior to cooking, we don’t want it sitting out at room temperature for extended periods of time.

More Low Carb Keto Recipes

If you like this sirloin steak marinade recipe, you might also like these:

Tools To Make The Best Easy Balsamic Steak Marinade Recipe

Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.

10-Piece Glass Bowl Set – These nesting bowls get used daily in my house. Use a smaller one to whisk together the keto steak marinade and a larger one to store the bag of marinating beef in the refrigerator.
Cast Iron Skillet – I love to use the sear and oven method for steaks. This is the best pan to go from stove to oven and perfect for steaks.
Digital Thermometer – So helpful to ensure you are cooking meat to the proper and desired temperature. I love this one because you can set the temperature that you want the meat to reach and it will go off when it’s hit that temp. No more overcooked meat!

The Best Easy Balsamic Steak Marinade Recipe

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Ingredients

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Balsamic steak marinade:

1/4 cup Coconut aminos ▢
1/4 cup Olive oil ▢
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar ▢
1 tsp Italian seasoning ▢
1/2 tsp Garlic powder ▢
1 tsp Sea salt ▢
1/2 tsp Black pepper ▢

Steaks to use with steak marinade:

32 oz Sirloin steaks (4 8-oz steaks) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
Pour the marinade into a gallon zip lock freezer bag. Add the steaks, seal the bag, and move them around to coat well.
Marinate for at least 3 hours and no more than 8 hours. (More may result in mushy meat.)
Cook sirloin steaks as desired on the grill, or cook steaks in the oven like this.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 steak (8 oz)

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 450

Fat 24g

Protein 49g

Total Carbs 5g

Net Carbs 5g

Fiber 0g

Sugar 1g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Keywords: balsamic steak marinade, easy steak marinade, steak marinade recipe

Calories: 450 kcal

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24 Comments

Robin
0 March 9, 2022Reply

This marinade sounds delicious. However, balsamic vinegar has a lot of carbs, for those of us on 20g or less per day. Is there a reasonable substitute, like white or wine vinegar? I know the taste will be different. I’ve been looking for a super low carb marinade. Thx!
- Wholesome Yum D
  0 March 9, 2022Reply
  
  Hi Robin, This marinade recipe makes 4 servings, and because it is just a marinade you will not be consuming all of the balsamic vinegar. But feel free to substitute if you do not want to use it.
Julie
0 June 27, 2021Reply

This is the first review I have ever done on a recipe. It was soooo wonderful!!! Followed the instructions exactly as written and it was perfect. Thank you for your wonderful recipe. To anyone that doesn’t have coconut aminos, don’t make it until you find it. It adds a wonderful flavor that totally makes the difference.
Christine
0 June 6, 2021Reply

I dont do very well cooking cheaper cuts of meat, turn out like shoe leather, but with meat prices rising, I had to resort to buying sirloin. Bought 2 large sirloin steaks for the grill, butcher suggested marinating them to make them tender. I used this recipe for the marinade, wow, blown away at how well it tenderized the meat and flavor was fabulous, thank you!
Hilary Graham
0 April 16, 2021Reply

Hi! Thanks for this recipe!
I have a drawer full of spices, but I don’t buy spice blends, so when I see 1 tsp Italian seasoning, I either just move on to a different recipe or I google Italian seasoning and then do the math to figure out how much oregano, thyme etc. I don’t know if this is an issue for others, but I’d appreciate it if you printed the quantities of specific spices. Thanks! Hilary
- Agnes King
  0 May 7, 2021Reply
  
  Thanks for the recipes
BONNIE
0 February 2, 2021Reply

This marinade is perfect for steak! I tried it last night on a rib eye steak. So delicious!
Jeff Sample
0 January 30, 2021Reply

At the top of the article it says 5 minutes and just 5 easy ingredients that I probably have in my kitchen already. The recipe card at the bottom lists 7 ingredients (5 of which I do have) so can I just leave out the coconut aminos and italian seasoning? I assume it is really about the vinegar to tenderize and oil coat with salt, pepper and garlic powder for flavor.
- Wholesome Yum M
  0 January 30, 2021Reply
  
  Hi Jeff, I generally don’t count pantry mainstays in ingredient count. In this case, it’s the salt and pepper. The coconut aminos and Italian seasoning lend a lot of flavors to this marinade, I don’t recommend skipping them.
Brenda
0 April 16, 2020Reply

Can I use soy sauce in the place of the coconut amino?
- Wholesome Yum M
  0 April 21, 2020Reply
  
  Hi Brenda, Yes. As long as you don’t have any issues with gluten, soy sauce works great.
Laurie Bean
0 April 8, 2020Reply

This was the best steak marinade I have ever used. So easy and absolutely delicious. Love all your recipes. Thanks so much.
Barbara Befort
0 February 14, 2020Reply

How important is the coconut aminos? I’m from a small town and can’t find it our grocery store.
- Wholesome Yum M
  0 February 19, 2020Reply
  
  Hi Barbara, Coconut aminos is a gluten-free and soy-free alternative to soy sauce. It provides a lot of flavor in dishes and would be noticeable to skip that ingredient. Coconut aminos can be found online here.
- Jan
  0 March 12, 2020Reply
  
  Trader Joes Sells Organic Coconut Aminos Seasoning for $2.99 a bottle. If you have a Trader Joe’s store or online.
Breanna
0 June 25, 2019Reply

Are these nutrient facts for just the marinade or the marinade plus steak?
- Maya | Wholesome Yum
  0 June 26, 2019Reply
  
  Hi Breanna, The nutrition info includes the steak. I thought that was more useful than just the marinade by itself.
Emily
0 May 22, 2019Reply

Love this marinade. I’ve been missing the taste of balsamic vinegar since I’ve been doing low carb. So happy to find a recipe with the same taste but none of the carbs.
Chrissy
0 May 20, 2019Reply

Love this easy recipe! I usually do some sauteed mushrooms with my steak, but wanted something a little different. Had coconut aminos that I hadn’t got around to using yet so tried this. Super good. Love the balsamic flavor combo with the meat.
Lisa
0 May 20, 2019Reply

mmmm I’m always looking for an amazing steak marinade and this one was phenomenal!! It does help that I absolutely love balsamic. Either way, I will definitely have this again! 🙂
Julie Menghini
0 May 20, 2019Reply

This is brilliant! Balsamic is perfect for steak.
Nellie Tracy
0 May 20, 2019Reply

Such a great marinade! Makes for a great dinner!!
Sara Welch
0 May 20, 2019Reply

This was super easy and quick to prepare! Perfect for busy weeknights! Can’t wait for dinner tonight!
Geoffrey
0 May 20, 2019Reply

Marinades are what make the meat, in my opinion. I love marinades and dressing with balsamic vinegar, so definitely loved this recipe. Thanks