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April 30, 2024

Carne Asada Tacos

Carne asada tacos are so good, and so easy! Just grill marinated flank steak, then pile it into warm tortillas for the best, quick Mexican-inspired dinner ever.

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a plate of carne asada tacos topped with cilantro, onion, and guacamole served with a lime wedge
Photography by Gayle McLeod

The Best Carne Asada Taco Recipe

As deluxe as it feels to put grilled steak in a taco, carne asada tacos are simple. Carne Asada means “grilled beef,” specifically flank steak that’s marinated, then grilled. Carne asada tacos are all about the pure, beefy flavor of grilled steak, dressed up with a delicious Mexican carne asada marinade made with lime juice, orange juice, and lots of garlic and spices. Juicy steak, warm Corn Tortillas and fresh Guacamole make for one killer dinner—just add Margaritas. The steak needs an hour to marinate, but otherwise, our carne asada taco recipe comes together quick. For more taco inspo, check out our Best Taco Recipes.

warmed corn tortillas, diced onion, carne asada, cilantro and guacamole in prep bowls

Ingredients for Carne Asada Tacos

  • Homemade Carne Asada, thinly sliced

  • Guacamole. Homemade Guacamole is the best, or store-bought is fine in a pinch!

  • Corn tortillas. Homemade Corn Tortillas will taste the most authentic, if you’ve got the energy!

  • White Onion

  • Cilantro

  • Even more carne asada taco topping ideas: try adding a little cojita cheese, or an extra squeeze of lime juice.

carne asada being cooked on an electric grill
carne asada being cut into bites on a cutting board

How To Make Carne Asada Tacos

  1. Make the Carne Asada. You can use a charcoal grill, gas grill, or even a trusty grill pan.
  2. Slice the carne asada! Slicing thin and against the grain is the key to making sure your grilled steak tacos are easy to eat.
  3. Warm your corn tortillas. Or, if they’re freshly homemade, they’ll already be nice and warm.
  4. Fill your carne asada tacos! Load the tortillas with the juicy grilled steak, and top with guacamole, onions and cilantro.
  5. Dig in! Serve the tacos with Corn Chips and Salsa, more Guacamole, and all of your favorite Mexican drinks — we’re thinking Spicy Margaritas and Aguas Frescas are a must. For more taco goodness, try our Carnitas Tacos, too!
a plate of carne asada tacos topped with cilantro, onion, and guacamole served with a lime wedge

Tips For The Best Carne Asada Tacos

  • Carne asada tacos are great for a crowd! Just set out the tortillas, grilled steak, guacamole, onions and cilantro, and let people assemble their own tacos.
  • How to cut flank steak for tacos: Flank steak and skirt steak are lean cuts of beef, so be sure to slice the grilled steak against the grain so that every bite of steak is tender and easy to chew. If you cut with the grain (i.e. the way the muscle fibers are aligned) you’ll wind up with slightly tough steak pieces.
  • Slice that carne asada thinly! This is another trick for making sure your homemade grilled steak tacos are nice and tender to bite into.
a plate of carne asada tacos topped with cilantro, onion, and guacamole served with a lime wedge
a plate of carne asada tacos topped with cilantro, onion, and guacamole served with a lime wedge

Taco Tuesday Has Never Tasted Better

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Carne Asada Tacos

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  30 min
  • Cook Time:  20 min
  • Calories: 500

Ingredients

Method

  1. Make the carne asada. Let it rest before cutting it (against the grain) into bite-size pieces.

    homemade carne asada cut up on a plate with a fork
  2. Prepare the toppings. While the steak is cooking, chop the onions, roughly chop the cilantro, prepare the guacamole and warm or toast the tortillas.

    carne asada, corn tortillas, onion and cilantro, radishes, salsa, guacamole and limes
  3. Assemble the tacos. Fill the warm tortillas with chopped steak, raw onion, cilantro and guacamole.

    homemade carne asada tacos with onion, lime, and cilantro

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories500
  • Protein35 g
  • Carbohydrates27 g
  • Total Fat21 g
  • Dietary Fiber4 g
  • Cholesterol100 mg
  • sodium617 mg
  • Total Sugars4 g

Carne Asada Tacos

Questions & Reviews

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  • Michelle

    10/10. Love the addition of fresh squeezed orange in the marinade. These were tender and so flavorful!

    Thanks Michelle, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Jess

    Just made this for Cinco de Mayo! I'm giving this 5 starts because it was good, but I think the meat I bought was poor quality or something. I made the marinade to the letter of the recipe, marinated for 2.5 hours, grilled it to medium rare, sliced against the grain and then into chunks. Ugh it was so so chewy that it was nearly inedible. Is it this cut of meat?? Any idea why it was so chewy?

    That is such a bummer, Jess! It very well could have been the quality of the meat. It shouldn't be super chewy.

  • jenn

    these were awesome. highly recommend.

    Thank you Jenn!