How to Make Carne Asada Tacos

Tacos are amazing. They’re handheld vessels of delicious meats and veggies on warm tortillas (circular dough vessels for taco meats). We guarantee that two or three of these bad boys will fill you up and leave you happy! In this post, we’ll tell you the secrets on how to make delicious carne asada tacos. Keep reading!

They’re also an extremely healthy meal option if you’re looking for food that is easy to make and not too heavy on sugar and fats.

We remember wanting to create our own carne asada tacos. We walked into a Mexican grocery store in Orange County, California, and asked someone to help me recreate those delicious tacos that you typically buy from standalone trucks and Mexican eateries throughout Southern California (aka SoCal).

A nice Mexican lady, who also worked at the grocery store, told me to follow her and she would show me how to make carne asada tacos at home! She also mentioned that it was her grandma’s recipe. We were super stoked to try a family recipe that has been handed down for generations.

Below we’ll share our tips on how to recreate Carne Asada Tacos in your own home!

Carne Asada Tacos Recipe

Below are the ingredients you need to make carne asada tacos.

Carne Asada Spice Blend/Marination Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound flank steak
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/5 cup olive oil
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (dry is preferred)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (alternatively you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• OPTIONAL: Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper powder to make it spicy!

What Tortillas Should I Use?

As for tacos, we recommend either flour or corn tortillas that can be purchased in packs at the grocery store. We like to use this masa (corn) flour to make our own tacos using a tortilla press.

What’s good about grocery store tortillas, is that they can be placed in your freezer to be eaten at a later time.

If you looking to reduce your caloric intake, we recommend using Romaine lettuce as shells for a low-carb taco option.

Garnish

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 onion diced
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• Mexican cheese blend OR shredded Oaxacan cheese OR Cotijo cheese crumbles
• Sour cream or crema
• Your choice of hot sauce. Tapatio and Tabasco are great choices!

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your clean bare hands or use gloves.
• Combine the marinade and steak in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Seal and refrigerate the marinated meat for at least 3 hours or overnight. The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender it will be once you cook it. The acid from the citrus fruits will break the meat down.
• Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. You can also turn the heat on medium-high on your stovetop if you decide to cook it in a pan.
• Remove steak from marinade and shake any excess marinade from it.
• Add steak to the grill and cook for 6-9 minutes per side or until your meat is done to your preference.
• Remove from heat and let rest on a chopping board for ten minutes.
• Slice the steak against the grain into long slivers of meat. Alternatively, you can also dice the meat into thick squares so that it’s easier to bite into.
• Place into a tortilla (flour or corn) and garnish with cilantro, onions, sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce.

What goes good with carne asada tacos?

Jarritos (Mexican soda) or agua fresca (Mexican fruit coolers)

If you’re into trying new international recipes, we recommend you read our simple gazpacho recipe our how to make an authentic greek salad.

That’s it! Let us know that you tried our recipe by tagging us on Instagram at @GoodHomeChef. We’d love to tag along!

If you enjoyed our carne asada tacos recipe, please share it on Pinterest. You should also check the rest of our delicious recipes

Thanks for your support!