13 Easy Marinades That Make Steak Incredibly Flavorful and Tender

Need a recipe for your next taco Tuesday? Try this recipe where flank steak gets marinated with chipotle, citrus, cilantro, and onions.

Hanger steak, which is slightlyy more tender than flank steak, is delicious on its own. But this marinade made of citrus juice, olive oil, and garlic takes it to the next level.

A classic Latin American dish, here tender grilled steak is marinated with citrusy orange and lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, and plenty of fresh cilantro. There's a reason why its a classic.

Thanks to a classic Chinese technique, this easy beef dinner comes together in 30 minutes — and the meat is so tender. The steak is marinated with cornstarch, brown sugar, soy sauce, and baking soda then coated in a caramel-like, glossy, garlicky sauce.

Inspired by Korean bulgogi, this flavorful marinade is made with mashed canned pear, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook the steak anyway you like, although we're partial to grilling over high heat.

This easy marinade is made with orange and lime juices, canned chipotle peppers, onion, and garlic. We love to marinate flank steak with it for some pretty delicious tacos for acid, heat, smoke, and a little sweetness.

The ultimate marinade should freeze well and be effective in an hour or overnight — which this one does. Loaded with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic, it works well on a variety of steaks.

This salty-sweet-sour marinade is directly inspired by the Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham and tastes great with beef and pork. It gets its flavor from shallot, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar.

A Filipino classic, bistek typically is made with boneless ribeye steak that gets marinated in calamansi juice (or citrus juice, if you can’t find calamansi), soy sauce, chopped garlic, thick sliced onions, and bay leaves. It's bright, super flavorful, and is perfect served over cooked rice.

This versatile and aromatic marinade is made with lemongrass, chile-garlic sauce, fresh ginger, shallots, and lime juice. You can use to to marinate steak or even mix it into a stir-fry.

For a quick, no-brainer weeknight dinner, simply marinate steak with a blend of soy sauce, honey, white vinegar, ginger, and garlic. It's great served with grilled zucchini, fresh corn on the cob, or potato salad.

This flavorful marinade works on just about anything from steak, beef short ribs, chicken, extra-firm tofu, or even vegetables. But the magic happens once it hits the grill. The sauce caramelizes and provides an irresistible smoky, savory, sweet flavor.

This is the only fajita marinade you'll ever need, made with freshly-squeezed lime juice, sliced onion and bell pepper, and flavor-packed dried spices. It works well with chicken breast, and of course, flank steak.