Flat Iron Steak substitute

Best substitute

Skirt steak

Use the same amount by weight as the flat iron steak you are replacing

Best for grilling

Different texture

The best substitutes for flat iron steak are skirt steak or flank steak at 1:1 by weight, or sirloin steak if you want something thicker and less chewy. The job flat iron does is deliver ribeye-level tenderness and a strong beefy, faintly mineral flavor from a cheap shoulder cut, in a piece thin enough to sear in under ten minutes. Choose a swap that is tender enough to eat at medium-rare and sliced across the grain, and do not reach for chuck or round, which need slow cooking.

Other flat iron steak substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Flank steak
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
A wide, flat steak from the belly wall, sold in nearly every supermarket and the easiest flat iron swap to find.
What changes
Best for
grilling, sliced steak for two or more, stir-fry, steak sandwiches, fajitas
Similar beefiness and a similar thickness, so timing barely changes, but the grain is much coarser than flat iron's and the meat is leaner. Practically, that means it is less tender and less forgiving: it is at its best at medium-rare and turns noticeably stringy past medium. Sliced thin against the grain the difference mostly disappears. Serve it as slices rather than as a whole steak.
3Sirloin steak or top sirloin
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
A thicker, leaner, more conventionally steak-shaped cut that is available everywhere and priced similarly.
What changes
Best for
a steak served whole on the plate, pan-searing, grilling, steak with a pan sauce
Cleaner and milder than flat iron, without that faint iron or liver note some people notice in shoulder cuts, and firmer rather than buttery in the mouth. Because it is often an inch or more thick, add three or four minutes and cook to 130 to 135 F rather than following the recipe's clock. This is the best choice when you want a steak that stays whole rather than being sliced into strips.
4Hanger steak (onglet)
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The other great cheap tender steak, from the muscle that hangs beside the diaphragm.
What changes
Best for
bistro steak dishes, grilling, steak frites, sliced steak with a sauce
The closest match on tenderness and arguably the best-tasting swap here, deeply beefy with the same mineral undertone as flat iron but a little more pronounced. It is thicker and rounder, so give it another two minutes a side. Trim the tough silverskin down its center, or cut it out entirely and cook the two lobes separately. Supply is limited, so it may cost more than the flat iron did.
5Ribeye or ribeye cap
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The premium option, and the flavor and tenderness benchmark that flat iron is usually compared to.
What changes
Best for
special occasions, pan-searing in butter, grilled steak
Richer and far more marbled, so the plate tastes fattier and more luxurious and there is a lot more rendered fat in the pan. It is more forgiving of overcooking because that fat keeps it juicy. The cost is the obvious drawback, often two to three times flat iron, and in a marinated or heavily sauced recipe you are paying for marbling you cannot taste through the sauce.
6Chuck eye steak
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
A neighboring shoulder cut, cheap and marbled, sometimes labeled poor man's ribeye.
What changes
Best for
budget grilling, steak and onions, sliced steak for tacos
Beefy and well-marbled in the same family as flat iron, but less reliably tender because it carries seams of connective tissue the flat iron does not have. Expect the occasional chewy bite, and expect the steak to fall into two or three pieces along those seams as it cooks. Slice thin to hide it. Good value, less consistent.

What is Flat Iron Steak?

Flat Iron Steak is a thin, evenly shaped steak cut from the top blade muscle in the beef shoulder, tender enough to sear hot and fast and eat at medium-rare, and also sold as top blade steak, butler steak in some shops and oyster blade in Australia and the UK.

Cooking tips

Flat iron is uniformly about three quarters of an inch thick, which is why it cooks so predictably. When you substitute something thinner like skirt, cut the cooking time roughly in half; when you substitute something thicker like sirloin, add several minutes and go by internal temperature instead.
Every good substitute here shares one non-negotiable rule: slice thin and across the grain. Look at the direction the muscle fibers run on the cooked steak and cut at ninety degrees to them. This single move does more for tenderness than the choice of cut.
Flat iron and its swaps all want a very hot, very dry pan or grill. Pat the meat completely dry, salt it at least forty minutes ahead or immediately before cooking but not in between, and do not crowd the pan or you will steam instead of sear.
Cook to 130 to 135 F for medium-rare and rest for five minutes. Thin shoulder and belly steaks lose their appeal fast past medium, going from tender to distinctly chewy in the space of a couple of minutes.
If your flat iron substitute has a line of silvery membrane running through it, as hanger and some top blade cuts do, cut it out with a sharp knife before cooking. It never softens and it curls the steak in the pan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the steak out?

Not really, since the steak is the meal. But you can be relaxed about which one you buy: any tender fast-cooking cut sliced across the grain will deliver the dish. If you are trying to skip beef entirely, thick portobello caps or firm marinated tofu take a sear and a chimichurri well, though they will not read as steak.

Is flat iron steak the same as top blade or oyster blade?

Yes. Flat iron and top blade are the same American cut, oyster blade is the standard Australian and British name for it, and butler steak turns up in some butcher shops. A blade steak with a line of gristle running down the middle is the same muscle before it has been split into two flat irons.

What is the cheapest substitute for flat iron steak?

Chuck eye steak or flank steak, depending on your store. Chuck eye is usually cheaper per pound and closer in flavor but less consistently tender. Flank is more reliable, and because it comes in a large single piece it is often the better buy when you are feeding four people.

Can I use chuck roast or round steak instead?

Not the same way. Chuck roast and round steak are tough cuts that need an hour or more of moist heat to become tender, and seared like a flat iron they come out chewy. If chuck roast is all you have, cut it into cubes and braise it instead of trying to cook it as a steak.

Why did my flat iron substitute come out tough when the flat iron never does?

Two usual causes. Either you sliced with the grain instead of across it, which turns even a tender cut ropey, or you cooked it past medium. Skirt, flank and chuck eye are all less forgiving than flat iron on both counts, so use a thermometer and look hard at the grain before you cut.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Flat Iron Steak substitute

Other flat iron steak substitutes

2Flank steak

3Sirloin steak or top sirloin

4Hanger steak (onglet)

5Ribeye or ribeye cap

6Chuck eye steak