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Steak in the oven is really a game of thickness and target doneness, not a fixed number of minutes. A 1-inch strip steak and a 2-inch tomahawk can sit on the same rack at the same temperature and come out 10 minutes apart. Knowing how long to bake a steak in the oven means knowing your thickness, your target internal temperature, and when to pull it before it overshoots.
Quick answer: At 400F, a 1-inch steak takes roughly 8 to 12 minutes for medium-rare to medium, a 1.5-inch steak takes 12 to 16 minutes, and a 2-inch steak takes 16 to 20 minutes. Always confirm with an instant-read thermometer instead of the clock, since ovens and cuts vary.
| Thickness | Doneness Target | Pull Temp (remove from oven) | Approx. Bake Time at 400F | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 inch | Rare | 115-120F | 6-8 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 1 inch | Medium-rare | 125-130F | 8-10 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 1 inch | Medium | 135-140F | 10-12 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 1.5 inches | Rare | 115-120F | 10-12 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 1.5 inches | Medium-rare | 125-130F | 12-14 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 1.5 inches | Medium | 135-140F | 14-16 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 2 inches | Rare | 115-120F | 14-16 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 2 inches | Medium-rare | 125-130F | 16-18 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 2 inches | Medium | 135-140F | 18-20 minutes | 3 minutes |
These times assume a preheated 400F oven, a steak that has come to room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, and a rimmed pan or oven-safe skillet. Treat them as a starting range and let a thermometer make the final call, since oven calibration and steak shape both shift the actual time.
How Long to Bake a Steak in the Oven: Oven-Only vs. Reverse Sear
There are two common oven approaches, and they behave differently.
Oven-only bake
This is the table above: steak goes straight into a hot oven, usually 400F to 450F, and bakes until it hits the pull temperature. It is the fastest route and works well for thinner cuts, roughly 1 to 1.5 inches, where you want speed over a deep crust.
Reverse sear
For thicker steaks, many cooks prefer starting low and finishing hot. The steak goes into a low oven, around 250F to 275F, until it is close to the target internal temperature, then gets a fast sear in a hot pan or under a broiler for color. This produces steady doneness edge to edge on thick cuts, where a hot-oven-only bake risks a gray band under the crust.
| Thickness | Low-Oven Time at 275F | Sear Time (per side, high heat) | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 inches | 25-30 minutes to 115-120F | 1-2 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 2 inches | 35-40 minutes to 115-120F | 2-3 minutes | 3 minutes |
| 2.5 inches | 45-55 minutes to 115-120F | 2-3 minutes | 3-5 minutes |
These reverse-sear ranges assume a steak taken out of the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes beforehand and a home oven that runs close to its dial setting. Ovens vary by model, so check the internal temperature at the low end of the range the first time you try a new cut or a new oven.
Pull Temp vs. Serve Temp: Understanding Carryover
The temperature you pull a steak at is not the temperature it ends up at on the plate. Residual heat keeps cooking the meat for a few minutes after it leaves the oven, a phenomenon called carryover. Thicker steaks and higher cooking temperatures tend to carry over more, often 5 to 10F, while thin steaks cooked gently may only rise 2 to 3F.
This is why the pull temps in the tables above sit below the usual serve-temp targets. If you want a finished steak at 135F for medium-rare, pulling it at 135F and then resting it will likely land you closer to medium. Pull a little earlier, rest, and check again with a thermometer before cutting.
The instant-read thermometer is the one tool that removes the guesswork here. Insert it into the thickest part of the steak, away from bone or fat, and pull based on the number rather than the minute count.
USDA Safe Minimum and Rest Time
The USDA (Food Safety and Inspection Service) lists 145F as the safe minimum internal temperature for whole cuts of beef, including steak, followed by a 3-minute rest before carving or eating. That rest is not optional in the safety guidance; it is part of how the temperature is verified to have held long enough to be safe.
Many home cooks and steakhouses serve steak at lower internal temperatures, in the 125F to 135F range, for a rarer texture. That is a personal choice and a common one, but it falls below the USDA’s published minimum. If food safety is a priority for anyone eating the steak, particularly for someone in a higher-risk group, the 145F-plus-rest standard is the one to follow rather than a texture preference.
What Changes the Number
- Starting temperature. A steak straight from the refrigerator takes longer than one that has sat out for 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes by several minutes on a thick cut.
- Bone-in vs. boneless. Bone slows heat transfer near the bone, so a bone-in ribeye or T-bone can need a few extra minutes compared with a boneless steak of the same thickness.
- Pan material. A cast iron or other heavy oven-safe pan holds and radiates heat differently than a thin baking sheet, which can shift bake time in either direction.
- Oven accuracy. Home ovens can run 15 to 25 degrees off their dial setting. An oven thermometer is the cheap fix if your bake times consistently run short or long of published ranges.
- Fat cap and marbling. Heavily marbled cuts like ribeye can cook slightly faster near the edges due to rendering fat, while lean cuts like filet stay more even.
- Steak shape. An irregular cut, like a tapered flank or skirt steak, will have thin and thick zones that finish at different times even in the same pan.
Common Mistakes
Baking straight from the fridge
A cold steak needs extra time to come up to temperature and often ends up overcooked on the outside before the center catches up. Give it 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature first, longer for very thick cuts.
Judging doneness by time alone
Every range in this guide is a starting point, not a guarantee. Two ovens set to the same number can run several degrees apart, and steak thickness is rarely perfectly uniform. Check the internal temperature rather than trusting the clock on its own.
Skipping the rest
Cutting into a steak straight out of the oven lets the juices run out onto the cutting board instead of redistributing through the meat. The 3-minute rest tied to the USDA guidance also matters for texture, not just safety.
Not accounting for carryover
Pulling a steak exactly at your target serve temperature almost always overshoots it once carryover is factored in, especially on thicker cuts finished at high heat.
Other Ways to Finish the Job
If you are choosing between an oven bake and an air fryer for a smaller steak, the timing conversion is not one-to-one, since air fryers circulate heat more aggressively than a standard oven. The air fryer conversion calculator and oven-to-fryer table is a useful reference if you want to translate these oven times into an air fryer setting instead of finishing under the broiler.
If you end up with more steak than you can eat in a sitting, slicing and freezing leftovers for steak tacos or quesadillas is a common move, and the freezer-bag technique that works for meat is similar to what is covered in the tortilla freezing and storage guide, useful if you are freezing the tortillas alongside the meat for a later meal.
FAQ
How long do you bake a steak at 400 degrees?
For a 1-inch steak at 400F, plan on roughly 8 to 12 minutes for medium-rare to medium, adjusting up for thicker cuts as shown in the table above. Confirm with a thermometer since pan type and oven accuracy both shift the actual time.
Do you need to sear a steak before baking it?
No, but many cooks sear first or after for a browned crust, since a hot oven alone browns the surface more slowly than a hot pan. Reverse sear, which sears at the end instead of the beginning, is a common alternative that works well on thicker steaks.
What temperature should steak be when you pull it from the oven?
Pull it 5 to 10 degrees below your final target to account for carryover cooking during the rest, so a steak intended to finish at 135F for medium-rare is typically pulled around 125F to 130F. The USDA safe minimum for beef steaks is 145F followed by a 3-minute rest, which is closer to medium doneness.
Can you bake a steak from frozen?
It is possible with a longer bake time and usually a lower initial oven temperature to avoid a cooked exterior over a still-frozen center, but timing becomes far less predictable than starting from a thawed, room-temperature steak. If you go this route, rely heavily on a thermometer rather than any fixed time, since frozen thickness and shape vary widely.
Bottom Line
Match the bake time to your steak’s actual thickness, not a single number you saw once, and pull it a few degrees below your target to leave room for carryover. A reliable instant-read thermometer, checked against the USDA’s 145F standard when food safety matters, will get you a consistent result far more often than watching the clock alone.