Pink steak is not recommended during pregnancy. The FDA advises cooking beef steaks to an internal temperature of at least 145°F (63°C), followed by a three-minute rest before cutting. A steak cooked to that temperature will likely still have a slightly pink center, so the real question isn’t about color at all. It’s about temperature.
Why Color Alone Doesn’t Tell You Enough
Steak color is an unreliable indicator of doneness. A well-done steak can retain pink pigment due to the protein myoglobin, while a steak that looks brown throughout might not have reached a safe temperature. The only way to confirm safety is with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the steak. If it reads 145°F or above and you let it rest for three minutes, the steak is considered safe for pregnancy, even if the center still looks pink.
A rare or medium-rare steak, typically pulled at 120°F to 130°F, does not meet that threshold. That deep-pink, cool center means portions of the meat haven’t reached temperatures high enough to kill harmful organisms.
Why Pregnancy Raises the Stakes
Hormonal shifts during pregnancy suppress parts of your immune system, specifically the cell-mediated response that fights off intracellular pathogens. This is a normal adaptation that helps your body tolerate the pregnancy, but it also makes you more vulnerable to certain foodborne infections. An undercooked steak that might cause mild symptoms in a non-pregnant person can pose a more serious threat when you’re expecting.
The Infections That Matter
Toxoplasmosis
The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is the biggest concern with undercooked beef during pregnancy. Most healthy adults who pick it up notice nothing, or experience mild flu-like symptoms: fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen glands. That makes it easy to miss entirely.
But if the parasite crosses the placenta, the consequences can be severe. Congenital toxoplasmosis raises the chance of problems with the brain, eyes, heart, kidneys, liver, and spleen. Infections acquired in the first trimester carry the highest risk of serious damage. Up to 90% of infants with congenital toxoplasmosis go on to develop complications over time, including vision loss, seizures, hearing loss, or developmental delays. These problems can appear months or even years after birth, not just at delivery. Research also links active toxoplasmosis during pregnancy to preterm delivery (before 37 weeks), low birth weight, and an increased chance of stillbirth.
Toxoplasmosis is diagnosed through blood tests that measure specific antibodies. If you’ve been exposed before pregnancy, you likely already carry protective antibodies. Your provider can test for this early in pregnancy if you’re concerned.
Salmonella and Listeria
These bacterial infections are less commonly associated with beef steaks than with poultry or deli meats, but they’re not absent. Salmonella has been detected in roughly 30% of beef samples in some studies of raw meat at retail level. Listeria is rarer in beef but still possible. Both can cause serious complications during pregnancy, including high fevers, dehydration, and in the case of Listeria, direct infection of the placenta.
Steaks vs. Burgers: A Key Difference
There’s an important distinction between a whole-muscle steak and ground beef. On a solid steak, bacteria live almost exclusively on the outer surface. When you sear the outside, you kill most of what’s there, which is why a steak cooked to 145°F is considered safe even with some pink inside.
Ground beef is a different story. The grinding process takes bacteria from the surface and mixes them throughout the meat. A pink center in a burger means the interior may not have reached a temperature high enough to kill pathogens that are now distributed evenly through the patty. That’s why ground beef has a higher recommended temperature of 160°F (71°C), with no pink remaining.
This distinction matters at restaurants. Ordering a steak cooked to medium (around 145°F to 150°F) is a reasonable choice. Ordering a medium-rare burger is a bigger gamble.
How to Check Temperature Accurately
An instant-read meat thermometer is the simplest tool for this. Insert the probe into the center of the thickest part of the steak. To find the right depth, hold the probe alongside the steak, note the midpoint with your fingers, then push it in to that mark. Keep your hand flat on top of the steak so you can feel the probe going in straight rather than angling toward one side.
For steaks thinner than about one inch, getting an accurate reading is tricky. You can insert the probe horizontally through the side of the steak into the center. Once you hit 145°F, pull the steak off the heat and let it rest for three minutes. Carryover heat continues cooking the interior slightly during that rest, which is part of why the resting period matters for safety.
Eating Out During Pregnancy
Restaurants don’t typically check steak temperatures with the same precision you’d use at home. If you order a steak out, requesting medium or medium-well is the safest approach. You can also ask the kitchen to temp-check it before plating. A steak that arrives with a warm pink center (medium) has generally reached 145°F. A cool, red center (rare or medium-rare) has not.
If your steak arrives more underdone than expected, it’s fine to send it back. The brief inconvenience is worth it. And if you’ve already eaten a pink steak before realizing the recommendation, there’s no need to panic. The odds of any single serving carrying a dangerous pathogen are low. Just aim for proper temperatures going forward and mention it to your provider if you develop fever, muscle aches, or flu-like symptoms in the following weeks.