Teriyaki air fryer cube steak recipe marinated tastes so good! Tender in the middle with a bit of crisp on the edges, itโs the best dinner ever packed with protein. Not frozen cube steak but fresh pieces we love makes a great quick meal.
If youโre looking for an inexpensive but super flavorful meal, give this air fryer cubed steak a whirl! Packed with protein and served over rice it is a low fat meal your whole family will love. Just one more of our favorite air fryer recipes on the blog. (affiliate links present)
Cube Steak in Air Fryer
In the beginning of our Ninja Foodi recipe creations we made air fryer steak wrapped with bacon. Man was that good!! I came across this tenderized beef at the store and it was so cheap I couldnโt pass it up. Tried it a few different ways and this was our favorite with teriyaki sauce!
Since then we figured out how to cook frozen steak in air fryer and the list goes on from there. Every time we make something new and it turns out great we just have to share so follow alongโฆ
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Hereโs a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Air Fryer Cube Steak No Flour
You donโt need to add anything to the outsides of these. Cook with just some seasonings or if you follow our lead you should marinate them in your favorite sauce first. Another lightly breaded Pork Cube Steak is good. Sauce will add moisture and tons of flavor though so itโs fork tender when done.
Cube Steak in Ninja Air Fryer
It doesnโt matter what brand you use either. If you do have a Foodi this is specific to the air crisp button with the lid that is attached. With that one you could pressure cook cube steak too to compare the two since it has that function as well.
This is what ours looks like. Not really typical when buying it in the store, but we buy meat in bulk every year from a local farm. Needless to say we make a lot of easy beef recipes because 1/2 of a cow lasts a whileโฆ.
How do you cook cube steak?
First of all I think a marinade is a must with this cut. You could use our steak dry rub instead but thick liquid with tons of flavor will really permeate the protein and make it even more tender.
That was gravy based, good, but higher in calories. Same goes for our slow cooker cube steak. If you have all day that one gets raving reviews also.
Cube Steak Air Fryer
When I think of a sauce to add to any meat, I automatically think teriyaki!! Maybe it is because I grew up in Hawaii, but itโs the best sauce ever if you ask me. I followed the same concept when making this air fryer teriyaki chicken dish.
This is what youโll need to get started:
- Cube steak already tenderized were used, 4 of them to serve all of us.
- I have used a bottle of teriyaki sauce. You could make your own sauce though using our homemade teriyaki sauce recipe.
- If you buy another brand just make sure it is thick, not thin like soy sauce.
If you need to โbeatโ your steak yourself, use this meat tenderizer. Want it right now without soaking? Just sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides, spritz with olive oil spray and air fry using our timing below.
Top round or top sirloin is whatโs usually used. The name is because of the deep indentations in the meat. That is made with a meat tenderizer. I buy it already done but you could do it yourself.
Just wrap pieces in one layer with plastic wrap or under some parchment paper. Use the pointy side of your tenderizer facing the meat. Hit from the inside out to create divots in the protein and flatten to make more tender when cooked.
In the Southern states you might hear it called bucket steak. This name may have come about because theyโre sold in cardboard buckets, who knows. Some say cubed steak instead of cube but any of the 3 refer to the same pounded pieces.
Yes it will. I prefer something with better flavor though, that is why I use teriyaki sauce instead which does the same thing (tones down the beefy flavor). Either way youโll want to let it sit for at least 1 hour, I prefer closer to 3 hours submerged with the bowl covered in the fridge.
Milk is better if making chicken fried steak coated in a seasoned flour mixture, but really anything works. It isnโt that you MUST do this but preferred for the optimal flavor.
Once theyโre nicely soaked youโre ready to get them cooked. Now this is super fast I tell you. I mean cook time does vary a bit. The differences are whether you like your beef totally dead without any pink, or more rare.
How Long to Air Fry Cube Steak
I am kindaโ in between. It will stay more tender if you leave some pink in the center. You can see how โwell doneโ ours was in 5 minutes in the picture at the top of this post. 6 minutes would make it closer to medium well.
Thickness of your pieces will change the timing a bit too. You can see the size of ours below. Two fit at a time so we did two rounds. You want your pieces to rest for a good 5 minutes so that worked out well anyway.
How to Cook Cube Steak without Flour in Air Fryer
- Put cube steak pieces and marinade in a bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate for two to four hours.
- If youโre using our dry rub instead, in a bowl whisk ingredients and pat on to both sides.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Put two pieces in at a time allowing excess sauce to drain back into the bowl before placing them into basket. Cook as many as can fit into the air fryer basket without overlapping.
- Close drawer of your favorite air fryer and cook at 380 F for 5 minutes. This will keep the middle a bit pink. If you do not want any pink 6 minutes might be better for you.
- Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Slicing right away will make the juices flow out, you donโt want that. Be patient so it turns out perfect for every bite. And there you have it!! We served air fryer vegetables and Ninja Foodi rice on the side and diced this into bite size pieces over brown rice.
A lot of times I cook things at 400 degrees, this is a bit lower. I think that is important to cook it a bit lower, for slightly longer so it stays super moist inside.
I know youโre going to love this but you may be thinking of other meals to make already so let me share another. Weโre going to stick with beef, since we still are getting through our cow from last year. I had a bunch of steaks to use up and came up with these killer air fryer steak bites!
Air Fryer Cube Steak
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 pcs cube steak
- 6 oz teriyaki sauce, or other marinade
Instructions
- If you have regular steaks you want to make cubed, put in between two pieces of parchment paper and pound with meat tenderizer on both sides to tenderize.
- Put cube steak pieces and marinade in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Put 2 pcs. in (allowing excess sauce to drain back into the bowl) or as many as can fit into the basket without overlapping.
- Close drawer and cook at 380 F for 5 minutes. This will keep the middle a bit pink. If you do not want any pink 6 minutes might be better for you.
- Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a quick, easy and delicious dish for a beginner air fryer like me!
I had no idea the air fryer could get the steak this moist, so good!
So good right
Does this work the same in an oven with air fry setting?
I havenโt tried but it should work the same in all models.
This is a great family meal for a busy night. My family ate every bite and asked when I was making it again!
Oh good
This was so good. I will definitely make it again!
Iโd just like to make a few comments about cubed steak. I am from the south and in all my 66 years have never heard it referred to as bucket steak nor have I ever seen steak sold from a bucket. Not sure where that came from. True cubed steak is beef that comes from various parts of a cow that are normally tougher cuts that is put into a cubing machine to tenderize. That is what makes the โwaffleโ look on the steak. A piece of steak that has not been through a cubing machine is not cubed steak and would need to be tenderized.
@D. Norris, thank u. Iโm also from the south and Iโve never heard anyone call it bucket steak.. Iโm glad to know im not the only southern woman who read that and agree that cubed steal has never been called bucket steak.