Air Fryer Steak Kebabs

June 2, 2021

Air Fryer Steak Kebabs

Cubes of beef sirloin marinate in soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, and a little brown sugar, then get threaded onto skewers with bell pepper, red onion, and mushrooms if you’re using them. The air fryer takes it from there: a hot 400°F (204°C) basket chars the outside of the meat and vegetables in well under fifteen minutes, no grill required.

The soy and sugar in the marinade brown the beef nicely on the outside, while the inside stays pink and juicy if you pull it around medium-rare. The peppers soften and blister at the edges, and the onion turns sweet.

Skewered, marinated meat and vegetables show up in cooking traditions across the world, from Turkish şiş kebap to Southeast Asian satay. This version is a modern American take built specifically for the air fryer, without a single traditional recipe behind it — just a scaled-down, indoor way to get the char and speed of a grill.

Serve the kebabs straight off the skewers with rice, a green salad, or warm pita and a yogurt sauce. They come together quickly enough for a weeknight, but look good enough for guests too.

Ingredients

Serves 4

The kebabs

600 g beef sirloin (or top sirloin), cut into 2.5 cm cubes
2 bell peppers, mixed colors, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
1 large red onion (about 180 g), cut into 2.5 cm pieces
200 g baby bella (chestnut) mushrooms, whole, stems removed, optional
1 tbsp olive oil, for tossing the vegetables
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

The marinade

45 ml olive oil
45 ml soy sauce
3 cloves garlic (about 15 g), minced
15 ml lemon juice (or Worcestershire sauce)
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Directions

The marinade

Whisk the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice (or Worcestershire sauce), brown sugar, cumin, and ground black pepper together in a bowl. Add the beef cubes and turn to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours if you want deeper flavor. Take the meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking so it isn’t ice-cold when it goes into the basket.

The kebabs

While the beef marinates, cut the bell peppers and onion into pieces about the same size as the meat. Toss them, and the mushrooms if you’re using them, with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and a little salt and pepper.

If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 10 to 30 minutes so they don’t scorch, then trim them to fit the air fryer basket. Thread the marinated beef onto the skewers, alternating with the peppers, onion, and mushrooms, and leave a little space between pieces so air can move around them.

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C) for 3 to 5 minutes, then lightly oil the basket. Lay the skewers in a single layer without crowding them, cooking in batches if they don’t all fit at once. Air-fry for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the skewers halfway through, until the beef is charred on the outside and cooked the way you like it.

Let the kebabs rest for 3 to 5 minutes under a loose tent of foil before serving. This settles the juices and keeps the meat from drying out on the way to the table.

Notes

Doneness (use a meat thermometer): rare about 125°F (52°C), medium-rare about 135°F (57°C), medium about 145°F (63°C), medium-well about 150°F (66°C). USDA recommends 145°F (63°C) plus a 3-minute rest for whole-muscle beef.
Cut the beef and vegetables as evenly as possible so everything cooks at the same rate.
Don’t brush the cooked kebabs with leftover raw marinade. If you want to turn it into a sauce, simmer it to 165°F (74°C) first.
Vegetable swaps: zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, or pineapple all work. Mushrooms and onion char nicely; softer vegetables like tomato and zucchini cook faster, so cut them a little larger than the beef.
Storage: refrigerate leftovers off the skewers for 2–3 days; reheat in the air fryer at 360°F (182°C) for 2–3 minutes.