Steak and Rice Bowls with Garlic Aioli and Chimichurri

TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)

• What it is: These steak and rice bowls are an easy, high-protein dinner made with reverse-seared steak, fluffy rice, roasted broccoli and red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, smoky garlic aioli, and bright chimichurri sauce.
• How to make it: Use the reverse-sear method to cook your steak to the perfect temperature. Roast the veggies in the oven while you cook the rice and prepare the sauces.
• Good to know: Reverse-searing is the secret to perfectly cooked steak, and the combo of creamy aioli and herby chimichurri makes these bowls feel extra special!

Ingredient notes: Additions and substitutions

These steak and rice bowls are made from 6 basic components:

1. Rice
2. Steak
3. Roasted veggies
4. Garlic aioli
5. Chimichurri sauce
6. Cherry tomatoes

But as with most bowl recipes, the list of ingredients is more of a suggestion than a formula. Swap out the rice and veggies (and honestly even the steak) to suit your personal preferences or to use up the ingredients in your refrigerator. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• I used broccoli and red bell peppers for the steak and rice bowls you see here, but pretty much any kind of vegetables will work. The only thing you want to think about is the roasting time. Some veggies take longer to cook than others. Check out the guidelines below for different roasting times for various vegetables.
• Use any kind of rice you like in these bowls - white rice, brown rice, wild rice, or any other variety. You can also swap the rice out for another grain such as couscous, farro, or quinoa.
• They won't technically be steak and rice bowls without the steak, but you won't hurt my feelings if you reach for another kind of protein. These bowls are an excellent way to use up leftovers!

Step-by-step photos and instructions

About 30 minutes before you plan to cook the steaks, preheat the oven and set them on a rack inside a broiler pan or on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. If they aren't pre-salted (see my tip for pre-salting below), sprinkle both sides with salt and let them rest while they come to room temperature.

While the steak rests, slice the cherry tomatoes in half and toss with salt. Now is also a good time to prepare the chimichurri sauce, which only takes about 10 minutes to make. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Roast the steaks until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the steak is 10 degrees lower than the desired temperature (*Scroll down for a list of internal temperatures for beef). Remove the steaks from the oven and crank up the temperature for the veggies.

While the steak roasts add the rice, 2 cups of water, and a pinch of salt to a 3-quart or larger saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or according to the package directions (brown rice and wild rice will take much longer to cook). Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes.

Toss the broccoli and red bell peppers with a bit of oil, garlic, a generous pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Spread the vegetables out on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Roast until the veggies are crisp-tender and browned in spots. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

While the vegetables roast, prepare the garlic aioli. Mix lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl then add mustard, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to mellow the garlic then stir in some mayo. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To finish the steak: Set a cast iron pan or skillet on the stovetop over high heat. When the pan is really hot, add a smidge of oil and add the steaks to the hot pan. Turn the steaks every 20 seconds or so until they've reached the internal temperature you prefer and have formed a gorgeous crust on the outside.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board, let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes. Then slice thinly across the grain.

To assemble the steak and rice bowls: Distribute the cooked rice between 4 bowls. Top with the roasted vegetables and slices of steak. Drizzle with garlic aioli and chimichurri sauce. Top with sliced cherry tomatoes.

Quick tips

For those of you who like to meal prep, this is the perfect recipe. The rice and vegetables can both be cooked in advance and then reheated right before you want to serve these steak and rice bowls. Likewise, the chimichurri sauce and aioli can be prepared up to 3 days in advance. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Even the tomatoes can be sliced, salted, and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days before sprinkling them over bowls of saucy steak and rice.

That leaves only the steak. Pre-salt the steak the night before you plan to cook it, then follow the recipe to cook the steak to the desired temperature. Heat up the rice and veggies, assemble and serve!

Salt the steak in advance (optional). Generously sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt. Set the salted steak on a plate and let it rest in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. This draws the seasoning into the meat, resulting in a more flavorful and juicy steak.

If you don't have time to do this, or if you forget, don't worry about it. Pre-salting steak makes a difference, but your steaks will still be juicy, flavorful and delicious if you skip this step.

Serving suggestions

The great thing about bowls is you don't really need another thing. The whole complete meal is right there inside the bowl. Even still, I sometimes like to serve these with a pile of warm homemade tortillas because.... yum.

I've been making these buttery homemade flour tortillas for literal decades and my mouth is watering just thinking about them. They are surprisingly easy (especially if you have a stand mixer) and just SO much better than anything store-bought. I mean, take it from Bill...

"Thanks to this recipe, store-bought is NO LONGER an option." - Bill

I also really love serving these steak and rice bowls with margaritas. What I don't love is hangovers, so I usually make these low-ish alcohol margaritas that deliver all the flavor and less of the stuff that makes you regret your life choices in the morning. You'll find this recipe in Let's Get Lost, my Substack newsletter.

All of the delicious ways to use chimichurri sauce

Steak and chimichurri sauce is one of the most delicious flavor combos I can think of. So, obviously, there are a lot of fun things to do with this fabulous combination and I'll happily say yes to any of them any time. But chimichurri sauce makes a lot of things better, not just steak.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to leave a comment and rate it!