A single steak ranges from about 300 to 700 calories depending on the cut, size, and how it’s cooked. A standard 8-ounce ribeye comes in around 576 calories, while the same weight of top sirloin lands closer to 386. The cut you choose matters far more than most people expect, with fat content creating the biggest swing in calorie count.
Calories by Cut and Size
Not all steaks are created equal. A well-marbled ribeye carries significantly more fat (and therefore more calories) than a lean sirloin or filet. Here’s how the most popular cuts compare for a cooked 8-ounce steak:
- Ribeye: roughly 576 calories, 45g fat, 42g protein
- Top sirloin: roughly 386 calories, 11g fat, 67g protein
- Filet mignon (tenderloin): roughly 440 calories, 22g fat, 56g protein
- New York strip: roughly 480 to 520 calories, 28 to 34g fat, 48 to 52g protein
- Flank steak: roughly 360 to 400 calories, 14g fat, 60g protein
These numbers assume the steak is grilled or broiled without added oil or butter. Pan-frying in a tablespoon of butter adds about 100 calories to any of these totals. Two tablespoons of oil does the same.
Why Portion Size Changes Everything
The USDA considers a single serving of cooked beef to be 3 ounces (about 85 grams), which is roughly the size of a deck of cards. That’s far smaller than what most restaurants serve. A typical steakhouse portion runs 10 to 16 ounces before cooking, which shrinks by about 25% as moisture cooks off. So a “12-ounce” steak on the menu yields roughly 9 ounces of cooked meat, or three USDA servings.
One ounce of cooked top sirloin contains about 48 calories. That makes the math straightforward: a 6-ounce cooked sirloin is around 289 calories, while a 12-ounce cooked sirloin climbs to 578. For fattier cuts like ribeye, each ounce carries about 72 calories, so the same size jump has a much larger calorie impact.
Leaner Cuts With Fewer Calories
If you want steak without the calorie load, the Mayo Clinic identifies several cuts as the leanest options: eye of round, top round, bottom round, top sirloin, and top loin. These cuts have less marbling, which means less intramuscular fat. A 3-ounce serving of eye of round, for example, has under 150 calories and less than 5 grams of fat.
The trade-off is texture. Leaner cuts can be tougher and less juicy, especially when overcooked. Cooking them to medium-rare or medium and slicing against the grain helps. Flank steak and sirloin sit in a sweet spot for many people, offering decent tenderness with noticeably fewer calories than a ribeye or prime rib.
How Beef Grade Affects Calories
USDA beef grades (Prime, Choice, and Select) reflect the amount of marbling in the meat. Prime has the most fat, Select has the least, and Choice falls in between. The same cut of steak can vary by 50 to 100 calories per serving depending on grade.
A Choice ribeye will have fewer calories than a Prime ribeye of the same weight, simply because there’s less fat woven through the muscle. Select-grade steaks are the leanest option at the grocery store, though they’re less common in restaurants. If the package doesn’t specify a grade, it’s most likely Choice, which is what the majority of supermarkets carry.
Cooking Method and Added Calories
Grilling and broiling are the lowest-calorie ways to cook a steak because the fat drips away from the meat during cooking. Pan-searing in a cast iron skillet is popular for building a crust, but most recipes call for butter or oil in the pan. Each tablespoon of butter adds 102 calories, and a tablespoon of olive oil adds 119. A restaurant-style sear that finishes with a butter baste can easily add 150 to 200 calories on top of the steak itself.
Compound butter, béarnaise sauce, or blue cheese crumbles on top push the total even higher. If you’re tracking calories closely, grilling with just salt and pepper gives you the most accurate count.
A Quick Reference by Steak Size
For a grilled steak with no added fat, here are ballpark calorie ranges based on cooked weight:
- 6-ounce steak: 220 to 430 calories (lean to fatty cut)
- 8-ounce steak: 290 to 576 calories
- 10-ounce steak: 365 to 720 calories
- 12-ounce steak: 440 to 864 calories
The low end of each range represents lean cuts like sirloin or round. The high end represents well-marbled cuts like ribeye or prime rib. Most people eating a standard restaurant steak of 8 to 10 ounces are consuming somewhere between 400 and 600 calories from the meat alone.