The Leftover Steak Hack You’ll Be Using All Summer

It was so good when it was fresh off the grill, but now it’s sitting in your fridge. But you can make that leftover steak into another amazing meal.

You know that moment the BBQ ends and you’re cleaning up, and there’s that plate of leftover steaks sitting there? They were grilled to perfection hours ago, but now they’re dry, a little sad, and definitely not calling your name.

You pop them in the fridge and think, “Maybe someone will reheat them tomorrow.” But we all know—reheated steak is just not the same.

Well, here’s the hack that changed the game for us: Leftover steak = the best addition to a stir fry.

Yes, really.

Closeup of Steak Stir Fry in a wok.

Once you add it to a sizzling pan of veggies and sauce, it transforms. And the best part? You didn’t waste a thing.

You really don’t need a formal recipe for stir fry—it’s a “use what you have” kind of dish. Grab the veggies in your fridge drawer, throw them in a hot pan, season well, and boom—dinner.

But if you’re the kind who likes some direction, we wrote down one of our favorite combos. It’s super flexible, so feel free to swap in whatever veggies you’ve got.

Slices of leftover grilled steak on a wooden cutting board.

The key to making leftover steak actually good is cutting it small—like, smaller than you think.

Cutting leftover grilled steak into very small bite-size pieces, on a wooden cutting board.

This helps it heat through quickly and blend into the stir fry without feeling tough or chewy.

Frenched onion and minced garlic sautéing in a wok with a wooden spoon.

Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant and softened.

Green beans added to a Frenched onion and minced garlic sautéing in a wok with a wooden spoon.

Add the green beans,

Green beans and sliced red pepper added to a Frenched onion and minced garlic sautéing in a wok with a wooden spoon.

red pepper,

Green beans, sliced red pepper and mushrooms, added to a Frenched onion and minced garlic sautéing in a wok with a wooden spoon.

and mushrooms. Sauté until the veggies are just tender.

Bite-size pieces of leftover grilled steak on a wooden cutting board.

Add in your chopped leftover steak.

Frenced onion, minced garlic, green beans, sliced red pepper, sliced mushrooms, and leftover steak, sautéing in a wok with a wooden spoon.

Give everything a good stir.

Pouring teriyaki sauce from the bottle into a wok with Leftover Steak Stir Fry.

Pour in the teriyaki sauce and honey.

Quick Leftover Steak Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, Frenched
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • handful of green beans (fresh or frozen)
  • red pepper, sliced
  • 3 – 4 mushrooms, sliced
  • leftover grilled steak, cut into very small bite-size pieces
  • 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • oil for sautéing

Instructions

  • Heat a little oil in a large sauté pan or wok.
  • Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant and softened.
  • Add the green beans, red pepper, and mushrooms. Sauté until the veggies are just tender.
  • Add in your chopped leftover steak. Give everything a good stir.
  • Pour in the teriyaki sauce and honey. Keep stirring for another 2–3 minutes until everything is nicely coated and heated through.
header between carpools logo

Between Carpools

Between Carpools is a collaboration between five talented friends who like to get a lot of stuff done “between carpools.” Since 2016, we’ve been sharing home and organizing tips, parenting insights, activities, how-to’s and DIYs, and of course, entertaining ideas, recipes, and inspiring reads both on the site and app.

2 responses to “The Leftover Steak Hack You’ll Be Using All Summer”

  1. R Avatar
    R

    That looks delicious. Another idea I use to avoid waste (also with the ends of the roast that don’t slice nicely) is to cut it into “meat croutons”, and then freeze the diced meat and add to chulent.

  2. eg Avatar
    eg

    Such a smart idea! I always have leftover grilled meat after a yt meal. fresh grill panned london broil is amazing but the next day…not so much. I will give this a try next time!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact Us

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FREE GIFT!

Close the CTA

Get our BCP Lifepages Planner by signing up to our email list!