Juicy, flavorful carne asada tacos made with tender grilled beef, fresh toppings, and warm tortillas! This easy recipe brings authentic street taco flavor right to your kitchen.
I love a good filet mignon or ribeye as much as the next person, but over the past few years it's the more affordable cuts of meat that have really started winning me over. Skirt steak, in particular, has become one of my absolute favorites. Sure, it can be a little tough if you don't treat it right, but when you marinate it, grill it, and slice it properly like in these carne asada tacos? Pure heaven.
Honestly, half the time I find myself snacking away while I'm cutting the meat, barely leaving enough for the tacos themselves. It's that good.
Why you'll love this carne asada taco recipe:
Affordable and flavorful: Skirt steak is budget-friendly and packed with beefy flavor.
Easy marinade: Simple, fresh ingredients you probably already have on hand.
Quick to cook: Just a few minutes on a hot grill and you're done!
Perfect texture: Tender, juicy slices thanks to the right marinade and slicing technique.
Great for meal prep: Marinate ahead of time for even more flavor.
Crowd-pleaser: Perfect for taco nights, backyard BBQs, or casual weeknight dinners.
Better than takeout: Fresh, homemade carne asada tacos always win.
Jump to:
What is Carne Asada?
Carne Asada, which literally translates to "grilled meat", typically refers to a marinaded and grilled flank or skirt steak and is an absolute staple here in Texas. While flank steak works great, I prefer using skirt steak not only because of it's deliciously beefy flavor, but because it's relatively inexpensive when compared to other cuts.
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Equipment
- Grill: I love my Charbroil Grill and use it all the time!
- Grill safe tongs or spatula
- Foil lined pan
- Cutting board and knife
- Meat Mallet: I like this Oxo Meat Tenderizer from Amazon.
- Measuring Cups and spoons
- Meat Thermometer (optional): This is optional but it's definitely the best way to ensure your meat is cooked properly. I highly recommend the Oxo meat thermometer.
Ingredients:
- Skirt steak: You could also use flank steak if preferred.
- Orange juice: Fresh or bottled both work.
- Olive oil
- Jalapeno jelly: I personally love using jalapeno jelly in this recipe because it adds a little heat, sweetness and acid from the vinegar. However, if you don't have any on hand you could use sweet chile sauce. I also have a recipe for Jalapeno Pepper Jelly is you fancy making it yourself.
- Lime: You could also use lemon.
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh cilantro: Dried will also work.
- Cumin seeds: Lightly crushed with the flat edge of a knife, or just use cumin powder if preferred.
- Onion powder
- Cinnamon
- salt & peppe
To assemble the tacos (optional):
- Tortillas: I prefer corn but flour works too.
- White onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Shredded purple cabbage
- Avocado
- Queso fresco or cojita cheese
- Hot sauce
Dietary Modifications
To make the marinade Paleo, Whole30 and Keto compliant simple replace the jalapeno jelly with fresh chopped jalapeno and the soy sauce with coconut aminos.
To make the tacos Paleo, Keto and Whole30 compliant replace the corn tortillas with butter lettuce leaves and leave out the cheese (keep the cheese with Keto).
How to warm up tortillas?
There are several ways to do this and if you prefer to warm your tortillas with damp paper towels in the microwave or in foil in the oven that is perfectly fine. My preferred way is on a nonstick skillet on the stove.
- Preheat a skillet over high heat on the stove. Dunk or sprinkle your corn tortilla with a little bit of water and add to the pan.
- Warm over medium high-high heat for approximately 10-15 seconds per side, until the tortilla is soft and pliable.
- Transfer to foil and cover.
- Repeat with additional tortillas, piling one on top of the other wrapped in foil until done.
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Made these Carne Asada tacos? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Recipe
Carne Asada Tacos
Equipment
- Grill
- mixing bowl
- Cutting board and knives
- Meat mallet
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb skirt steak
For the marinade
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon jalapeno jelly
- 1 lime, juice of
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed with the flat edge of a knife
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- salt & pepper
To assemble the tacos
- 8-10 corn tortillas
- finely diced white onion
- fresh cilantro, chopped
- lime wedges
- shredded purple cabbage optional
- avocado, sliced optional
- queso fresco or cojita cheese optional
- hot sauce optional
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk to fully combine.
- Take your skirt steak out of the package and lay out on a cutting board. Using a meat mallet, tenderize both sides a few times to get a consistent thickness. (be careful not to overdo it or break up the meat). Place the skirt steak in a large plastic freezer bag and pour marinade over the top. Marinade for 4-6 hours or overnight in the fridge. *Note* In a pinch you can marinade for 30 minutes before grilling but just know it may not have the same depth of flavor
- Pull the steak out of the fridge about 30 minutes before grilling to let the meat come to room temperature. Preheat your grill over high heat. You want it smoking hot before adding the skirt steak.
- Place the marinated skirt steak on the grill. For medium rare, close the lid cook over high heat 2-3 minutes. Then flip the steak and grill for an additional 3 minutes on the other sideImmediately remove the steak to a foil lined baking pan let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Cut into strips and then into bite size pieces. *Very important.* Be sure you slice the steak AGAINST the grain.
- To assemble the tacos warm up your tortillas. Then add grilled skirt steak pieces and toppings. Enjoy!
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