This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
A delicious marinate for steak that yields perfectly seasoned, tender and juicy Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions!
At our house, we eat chicken or fish probably 99% of the time – but lately we’ve been on a bit of a steak and potatoes kick! Sometimes, the craving strikes for a juicy burger or steak – and these Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions are a delicious way to satisfy any red meat craving!
My husband Jack developed this recipe for steak tips with caramelized onions many years ago after working in a restaurant where the tips were among the most popular items on the menu. It has a ketchup-based marinade that combines sugar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and A-1 Sauce with the ketchup for added flavor. The combination of flavors makes a really fantastic marinade for beef! And, if you are using a less expensive cut of beef for your tips – you can also add in some Coca-Cola to the marinade which lends even more flavor, plus it helps to tenderize a tougher cut of beef!
And, a bit more about which cuts of beef to use when making these steak tips with caramelized onions…we recommend a really good cut of meat like sirloin or rib eye. (We used rib eye for the photos show here; it happened to be on sale at the market!) Whichever you choose – just look for nice marbling (thin lines of fat) throughout the meat, which will result in tender tips.
Topped with simple and delicious caramelized onions and served along with our Parmesan Truffle Fries – dinner is ready!
You may enjoy these other Steak recipes:
- Perfect Pan-Seared Steak
- Steak au Poivre with Crispy Shallots
- Perfect Grilled Sirloin Steak
- Sous Vide Grill-Seared Chuck Steak
- Chili Lime Steak Bites
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions
Using Coca Cola is a commonly-used ingredient in steak marinades and it helps tenderize the beef. But – if you use a really good-quality cut of beef, it is not necessary and water can be used. (For our rib eye tips, we used water.)
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup Coca-Cola or water (see note)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup A-1 Sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
Other Ingredients
- 2 pounds sirloin or rib eye trimmed and cut into large cuts as big as 2 to 3 inches square
- 1 large onion, cut into thick strips vertically
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, place all marinade ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Trim any gristle or large pieces of fat from beef. Cut into large pieces; about 2-3 inches square. Place cut beef in a zip lock bag. Pour cooled marinade over beef, seal and marinate 8-24 hours.
- In a medium sauté pan over low heat melt butter in olive oil and place onions, salt, pepper and sugar and cook stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until onions are caramelized but not cooked down too much. Start cooking tips as the onions get close to finishing.
- When you are ready to grill, drain all marinade and heat a ribbed grill pan over extremely high heat or heat your outdoor BBQ grill to the highest setting.
- Lightly oil or spray pan or grill and place beef onto grill or pan not touching each other and cook untouched for 2-3 minutes (Depending on how thick they are and how hot your grill or stove gets, the timing will need to be monitored). If you are not certain, cut into one and check for doneness. Turn once and cook for another 1-2 minutes for medium rare. Remove to a platter and serve with the caramelized onions.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Jan Rongey says
I think this recipe is awesome… I can taste it now.. Yum… I’ll be the one cooking it so I’ll have to read it a few time’s.. Husband likes to entertain.. Any ways I’ll let you now how it turns out.. Thank You again for this recipe..
Martha says
We hope you love it Jan!
Carol Swanson says
Just made this for supper tonight and it was delicious! The meat had that steak house flavor that I just love. I served it with rice pilaf and when I carmalized the onion I added zucchini and brown mushrooms throwing in a little of the meat marinade at the end. My husband and I are still drooling.
Martha says
So glad you both enjoyed the recipe Carol! Thanks for taking the time to write to us.
brenda says
Great recipe no need for going out to get a great steak! However I did cook on garage stove. Getting good heat in your grill skillet is the trick. Makes smelly mess probably best on outdoor grill but don’t have one I used slotted large griddle skillet and I marinated fresh sirloin steaks about 8 hours. Thank you for recipe best homemade steak in my 40 married years.
Martha says
WOW Brenda – We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Chuck says
I have made this recipe several times now, and will continue to do so. It reminds me of the Steak Tips on the menu at IHOP!
I have a question about the marinade: Rather than completely discarding it before grilling the steak-tips, is it safe to pour some of it off near the end of the marinating cycle and add it to the sauteed onions and mushrooms in order to infuse into them some of that same flavor as the meat? If so, do you have a recommendation for how many minutes into the sauteing it would be best to do so?
Martha says
Hi Chuck – So glad you are enjoying the recipe! You can add a few tablespoons of the liquid early on when sauteing the onions – while the onions are firm. You’ll just want to make sure that you cook the marinade long enough and hot enough to kill any bacteria that might have been introduced from the meat. Hope that helps!
Sandy says
Just bought a beautiful sirloin tip roast(appx 1 1/2 inch thick). Will it be just as tender if I don’t over cook!
Jack says
A sirloin tip roast is a cut that is near the sirloin but not the sirloin itself. It is lean and will most likely be a little tough if cooked like this. The marinade will help and I’m sure it will be tasty, just not as tender as the sirloin itself or the rib eye. Sirloin tip roasts are typically found cut up in stews or roasted low and slow but with a marinade could be used for this recipe or as a kabob.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Key says
Can this recipe be used with lean beef stew chunks??
Jack says
You can however they will not be as tender as rib eye or strip. The marinade will tenderize them some but depending on the cut of beef the market or butcher used to pull the beef from, it will be a coin toss if they come out tender or not.
Susan says
This is a really delicious recipe and a family favorite!
Martha says
Thanks Susan!
Tulea says
This sounds so yummilicious! Couple of questions. I’ll be using top sirloin steaks, would a cast iron skillet work on stove top? If I use ACV instead of red wine vinegar, would any of the other ingredients need to be adjusted? Planning on making this for Christmas dinner with mushrooms and onions, garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed carrot – zucchini.
Martha says
Hi Tulea – A cast iron skillet will work fine. No changes required for apple cider vinegar – the flavor will be a little bit different but it won’t require any other changes to the recipe. Enjoy!
Victoria says
Is there anyway to cook this in the oven?
Martha says
Sure Victoria – you could broil the steak tips.
Martha says
Sorry for the delay in responding Vickie – you should still be ok!