Air fryer ribeye
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Some nights call for a celebration dinner and if you want to spend a little less time standing at the hob, and a little more time prepping your sides and sauces or even a nice fun Green Wicked Witch Cocktail, then this air fryer ribeye recipe is for you.
My air fryer really is the height of convenience for my family. It’s great that I can just pop my dinner in the air fryer and it will mostly cook itself with minimal effort on my part.
How long this recipe takes to cook is really dependent on how you like your steak, and the thickness of the steak too, but I have provided an approximate guide below for your convenience.
I’d recommend using a meat thermometer to make sure that you’re getting the temperature that is appropriate for the cooked level that you like. It can be a bit of a trial and error but my guide should help you to maximise your chance of getting it spot on first time, and every time!
The main convenience for me of cooking steak in the air fryer is that I can place some vegetables alongside it and they’ll cook at the same time. Perfect if you're a fan of air fryer green beans, air fryer asparagus or air fryer butternut squash to accompany your steak.
If you’re looking for a delicious, tender, marbled ribeye steak in just minutes then the air fryer is a great choice. You can use one of my favourite seasonings, see below, or just enjoy it with a little oil and some salt and pepper.
While you’re here be sure to check out my slow cooker beef recipes or my air fryer minute steak recipe if you’re a beef fan.
Ingredients for air fryer ribeye steak:
1 - 1 ½ inch thick ribeye steak, approx 250g (one per person) - I used this one
Salt and pepper
5ml oil of choice or spray olive oil if you’re keeping it lower calorie
Method for cooking a ribeye steak in the air fryer:
(For medium rare steak - see below for further times/temperatures)
Pre-heat your air fryer at 200C (390F approx) for 2 minutes.
Pat your steak dry using kitchen towel. Personally I like to let my steak come up to room temperature before I cook with it as this seems to work the best.
Brush the ribeye steaks with your oil of choice and then season well with salt and cracked black pepper.
Air fry at 200C (390F approx) for 5-6 minutes for a medium-rare steak.
Remove the steak from the air fryer, place on a plate and leave it to rest for around a few minutes. This gives you time to put together your sides and heat through any sauce you’re serving with your steak.
Timings for different temperatures of steak:
Rare is typically 4-5 minutes - aim for a temperature of around 48C - 50C (118 - 122F)
Medium rare ribeye is typically 5-6 minutes - aim for a temperature of around 52 - 54C (125 - 129F)
Medium is typically 6-7 minutes - aim for a temperature of around 58 - 60C (136 - 140F)
Medium-well is typically 7-8 minutes - aim for a temperature of around 62 - 65C (143 - 149F)
Well done is typically 8-9 minutes - aim for a temperature of around 68 - 70C (154 - 158F)
These timings are a rough guide and remember that the steak is going to keep cooking through for a short time after you remove it, particularly if you’re placing it under foil to keep warm.
Do you need to flip steak in air fryer?
Personally Like to flip the steak over halfway through the cooking time, as that suits my preference, but you could skip this step if you want to save on time.
Air fryers typically have good air flow, as long as you’re not using foil or baking paper etc, and sometimes I’ve forgotten and it’s worked out great still.
How do you cook a steak in an air fryer without it drying out?
Rest your steak after cooking for a few minutes as this will allow the muscle fibres to relax and let the juices be evenly distributed throughout the steak.
You can use any of the juices that are left on the plate in your sauce or marinade you’re making, just to bring a little bit of extra flavour. You'll have made a lovely juicy ribeye steak in this recipe so may have a few juices left in the air fryer basket too.
Do I put oil on steak before air frying?
Personally I do, and I preheat my air fryer too. I find this gives the best sear to a steak and works great when cooking it.
Why is my steak chewy in the air fryer?
Keep the temperature a little on the high side to avoid the steak taking too long to cook and become chewy or rubbery.
You want a nice high temperature to sear your meat well and ensure it is cooked to perfection.
Do I need to sear steak before air frying?
I like to preheat the air fryer, as I find this helps to sear it a little when I place it in the air fryer basket.
If you’re going to sear it in a frying pan beforehand then you can take 1-2 minutes off the cooking time, maybe 3 minutes if you like your steak well done.
Looking for some side dish suggestions to serve with your steak?
There are so many lovely dishes that work well with steak. If you want to keep it a little on the traditional side then go for air fryer chips or potato wedges in the air fryer.
Personally I love to serve up a few sides such as air fryer green beans, air fryer roasted tomatoes, air fryer frozen french fries, air fryer frozen onion rings and sometimes a nice pat of homemade garlic butter.
What sauces go great with ribeye steak?
Peppercorn sauce, chimichurri sauce, Diane sauce, beef gravy, beef drippings, tomato ketchup, tomato & chili salsa and garlic and herb dip all go beautifully with steak.
Want to try a flavoured butter to baste your steak in?
Garlic butter is a classic, as is salted butter. I find it really easy to whip up a fresh garlic butter but if you’re looking to try something a little different then lemon butter, sun-dried tomato butter and flavoured compound butters all work very well.
Want to adapt this recipe for dietary requirements?
This air fried ribeye recipe will be gluten free as it is and dairy free also. Just watch the seasonings and sauces that you're using and check the ingredients first. I always check the ingredients of everything I purchase as typically brands will switch ingredients up right as you get used to things.
Be sure to check out some of my favourite potato dishes for some inspiration:
- Air fryer hasselback potatoes
- Roast potatoes in the air fryer
- Rosemary and garlic roast potatoes
- Air fryer parmentier potatoes
- OXO roast potatoes
- Marmite roast potatoes
- Air fryer canned potatoes
Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!
How to cook ribeye steak in an air fryer:
Air fryer ribeye steak
Ingredients
- 1 - 1 ½ inch thick ribeye steak approx 210-230g (one per person) - I used this one
- Salt and pepper
- 5 ml oil of choice or spray olive oil if you’re keeping it lower calorie
Instructions
- (For medium rare steak - see above for further times/temperatures)
- Pre-heat your air fryer at 200C (390F approx) for 2 minutes.
- Pat your steak dry using kitchen towel. Personally I like to let my steak come up to room temperature before I cook with it as this seems to work the best.
- Brush the ribeye steaks with your oil of choice and then season well with salt and cracked black pepper.
- Air fry at 200C (390F approx) for 5-6 minutes for a medium-rare steak.
- Remove the steak from the air fryer, place on a plate and leave it to rest for around a few minutes. This gives you time to put together your sides and heat through any sauce you’re serving with your steak.
Nutrition
Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.
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