The leanest cuts of steak are eye of round, bottom round, top round, top sirloin, and sirloin tip side steak.
As a professional chef, I got to see firsthand how important health became in the restaurant industry. Due to this, I had to study up on the healthiest and unhealthiest cuts of red meat, allowing me to now assist you.
In this post, I will outline the leanest cuts and give you a breakdown of just how much fat they contain!
This distinction goes to the eye of round steak. It has a minimal amount of total fats, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Due to this, it can be argued that it is also one of the healthiest cuts of beef around.
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Here is the definite ranking of the steaks with the least amount of fat. The quantities are calculated for a 3 ounce steak.
This is actually considered an extra lean cut! It has just 3g of fat and only 1.1g of this is saturated fat. As for cholesterol, there is just 37.5mg. To add to this, the lean cut is quite affordable too.
Unfortunately, it isn’t all roses when it comes to your eye of round steak. As it comes from the tough eye of round roast, this isn’t the most tender cut of steak and certainly isn’t the tastiest either.
However, if your main concern is about reducing your fat intake, then this is the steak for you!
This is yet another of the lean cuts that you should be reaching for if your health is at the forefront of your mind.
There is just 4.5 grams of fat here, only 1.5g of this is saturated fat. The cholesterol content is at 56.4mg. There is also only 120 calories in the smaller steaks.
Now, as with other lean cuts of beef, the bottom round roast and the bottom round steak aren’t winning any awards for texture of flavor.
The good news, though, is that with a little bit or marinating, you can make this is a pretty good steak.
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With 6.8 grams of total fat and 2.6g of saturated fat, the top round steak and top round roast are firmly in the lean cut territory.
Now, as it comes from tougher cuts of beef, it is unlikely that you will see too many top round steaks in restaurants. This meat is best slow cooked, for an extended period of time. Due to this, you are most likely to find it in a stew or other braised dish.
If you are trying to cut down on fats, though, this would make a good steak for you.
For the longest time, this steak was considered one of the most lean cuts but has recently been dethroned. Despite falling a bit in the list, it is still one of the healthiest cuts of red meat that you can buy.
A single serving of top sirloin steak has just 8.2 grams of fat, and only 3.2g is made up of saturated fat. As for cholesterol, this top round steak peaks at 74.8mg.
To add to this, a single serving is less than 200 calories.
If you need even more good news, the top sirloin steak isn’t just at the top of the lean cuts list, it is also one of the more affordable cuts of lean meat around. Therefore, you can stay healthy on a budget!
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The sirloin tip side steak does come in fifth place but I will argue that it can easily tie for fourth. It has 8.3 grams of total fat and 3.4g of saturated fat.
If you are also paying attention to your calorie intake, then sirloin tip side steak may actually be better than the top round steak here. 3 ounces of this lean beef is just 150 calories.
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It isn’t enough to know about which lean meat steak to eat. It is just as important to know which cuts of beef steak that you need to be staying away from!
Well, this is not a steak that you should be eating on a regular basis. The total fat content is 19 grams and the saturated fat content is 7.6 grams.
What this steak cut lacks in the health factor, though, it makes up for in taste and texture. The excess fat in the meat makes it one of the better steaks that you can buy.
Now, considering that this is a relatively sought after steak, you would be surprised to learn that the filet mignon steak isn’t quite as unhealthy as you may thought.
Sure, it isn’t topping the list for the leanest cuts of beef, but still, it contains around 15g of total fat and 5.7g of saturated fat. All things considering, this isn’t too bad.
This moderately lean cut is a good one to turn to when you want a treat but don’t want to abandon your healthy diet completely.
The Porterhouse steak fares a little better, a total fat content of 12 g and saturated fat content of 5.1g.
The T Bone steak boasts similar quantities of fat as it is also cut from the loin section of the cow.
Also known as a flank steak, this is very close in fat content to the Porterhouse and T Bone. It has the same amount of total fat and a slightly lower saturated fat content.
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Now, not only do you know which cuts of steak are the leanest, you also know which cuts of beef you should be staying away from. You can also find a good balance between health and flavor.
You don’t have to abandon your favorite steaks completely but if you are suffering from health issues or are simply trying to be healthier, you do need to be more careful about what you eat. With the help of this post, this will now be easy for you to do!
