Our easy Air Fryer Tri-Tip recipe shows you how to make a juicy, flavorful beef roast in just minutes!
With this simple method, you can cook an entire tri-tip roast in under 20 minutes, delivering perfectly cooked, tender slices every time.
Air Fryer Tri Tip Recipe
Cooking a Tri-Tip in the Air Fryer couldn’t be any easier! Preheat your air fryer while you season the roast with herbs and spices. Then air fry the tri-tip to juicy, tender, medium-rare perfection.
If you enjoy making roasts, why not try our Air Fryer Pork Loin Roast recipe next? It comes out juicy and delicious every single time.
What Is A Tri-Tip?
A tri-tip roast is a lean and tender cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. It is a triangular muscle (hence the name), that is packed with flavor and juicy and delicious when prepared properly.
Popular on the West Coast, tri-tip is easy to find in California but may require a special request at East Coast butcher shops.
This versatile cut can be cooked whole or sliced into steaks. In this recipe, we’re air frying a whole, trimmed tri-tip quickly at high heat for perfect results.
In this way, air frying tri-tip is similar to grilling tri-tip, but with much less preparation and fuss!
Ingredients List
- Tri-Tip Roast – Look for a whole, trimmed tri-tip roast that is under 2 pounds. Any larger than and it won’t fit into your air fryer easily. This cut of beef is shaped like a triangle and is lean and boneless, but very flavorful.
- Olive Oil – To coat the meat, keep it moist, and help it to sear up beautifully in the air fryer.
- Garlic Powder – Steak is always better with garlic.
- Dried Herbs – You can really use any type of dried herbs that you enjoy with beef here, In the UK you can often find “mixed herbs” which are a bit of marjoram, basil, oregano, and thyme. A salt-free Italian seasoning works well too.
Steps to Make it
- Allow your roast to come to room temperature, then coat it with olive oil. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F/200°C for at least 5 minutes.
- Mix the salt, pepper, dried herbs, and garlic powder together, and season the tri-tip on all sides.
- Transfer the tri-tip to your air fryer basket, and air fry for 8 minutes.
- Carefully flip the beef over, and continue to air fry for another 8 minutes.
- Remove the tri-tip from the air fryer and wrap it with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, your roast should have an internal temperature of about 130°F, which is perfectly medium-rare.
How to Serve Tri Tip
Sliced tri-tip goes really well with a dipping sauce. Try it with melted butter with garlic, chimichurri sauce, creamy cilantro garlic sauce, or homemade barbeque sauce.
On the side, why not serve your steak with some air fryer potatoes? Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes, Air Fryer Home Fries, or Air Fryer French Fries will be perfect.
Tips for the Perfect Tri Tip
- Preheating the air fryer and starting the meat at room temperature are both important in this recipe. If the meat is too cold or the air fryer is too cold, you won’t be able to get the center of the tri-tip warm while the outside of the roast browns.
- Adjust the Seasonings. Steaks can be seasoned in so many delicious ways. Use whatever steak seasoning you have at home, or any flavor combinations that you like.
- Allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice into it. If you cut into the tri-tip too soon, all of the juices will flow out, and the meat could be dry.
- The rest time wrapped in foil also gives the roast time to come to its final temperature.
- Be sure to cut tri-tip roast into slices that go against the grain of the muscle. This will ensure that the steak is tender and easy to chew.
FAQs
Using this method, it takes about 16 minutes to cool tri-tip in the air fryer. Be sure to flip it over halfway through so that it cooks evenly.
The temperature that your steak is cooked to is really a matter of preference. I prefer to cook tri-tip to medium rare, which is about 130°F. If you prefer your meat to be more cooked, add extra air fryer time.
There are benefits to both cooking methods when it comes to this cut of beef. I find that cooking the tri-tip quickly in the air fryer at a high temperature gives it the best texture.
More Air Fryer Steak Recipes
Don’t be afraid of cooking steaks in the air fryer! With the right method, you can make perfectly cooked steaks of all types using your countertop cooker.
First, try my Air Fryer Steak Bites. This was one of the first recipes I posted here and is always a favorite. Melt-in-your-mouth steak bites are seasoned with butter and garlic and are done in just 10 minutes!
If you’re air frying with a Ninja Foodi, we have specific instructions for making a perfect steak in it! The cooking times and temps are a bit different for this machine, so it’s useful to follow specific Ninja Foodi recipes.
Is your steak still frozen? Learn how to make perfect Frozen Steak in the Air Fryer that’s not overcooked, dried out, or still cold in the middle.
Now, go outside of the box, and use the air fryer to cook Tuna Steaks, Pork Steaks, and Cube Steaks too!
Air Fryer Tri Tip
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs tri tip steak at room temperature
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp dried herbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F/200°. Clean and dry the beef. Brush the meat all over with olive oil.
- Mix salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and herbs. Sprinkle the seasonings on all sides of the beef.
- Transfer the trip tip to the air fryer basket. Bake for 8 minutes on one side.
- Flip the beef to the other side and fry for another 8 minutes.
- Transfer the beef to a piece of foil and wrap it. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes. In this way, you can cook tri tip medium rare. The temperature inside the beef should not exceed 130°F. If you want to get medium or medium-well, then increase the roast time by 1-2 minutes per side, and wait until the temperature inside reaches 140°F and 150°F respectively.
- Unwrap the tri tip and cut into slices to serve.
Notes
- Preheating the air fryer and starting the meat at room temperature are both important in this recipe. If the meat is too cold or the air fryer is too cold, you won’t be able to get the center of the tri-tip warm while the outside of the roast browns.
- Adjust the Seasonings. My suggestions of herbs and garlic are delicious, but steaks can be seasoned in so many delicious ways. Use whatever steak seasoning you have at home, or any flavor combinations that you like.
- Allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice into it. If you cut into the tri-tip too soon, all of the juices will flow out, and the meat could be dry.
- The rest time wrapped in foil also gives the roast time to come to its final temperature.
- Be sure to cut tri-tip roast into slices that go against the grain of the muscle. This will ensure that the steak is tender and easy to chew.
