Carne Asada Street Tacos
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These carne asada street tacos with avocado lime crema and pico de gallo are bursting with bright, fresh flavors! Shake up your next Taco Tuesday with this SoCal inspired recipe.
When we lived in Southern California, we ate our fair share of street tacos. The best ones were always super simple yet so flavorful – a 3 part formula of a homemade tortilla with savory meat and fresh toppings, often onion and cilantro.
It’s hard to replicate the authentic flavors of a true SoCal street taco at home, but these carne asada tacos do the trick when we’re missing the west coast! Made with savory steak, fresh pico, zesty avocado lime crema and cilantro lime rice, they’re our favorite version of homemade steak tacos.
What This Recipe Entails
How long it takes to make these tacos all depends on how much cooking from scratch you want to do! If you want to make everything from scratch – steak, tortillas, rice, and toppings – you’ll need to plan ahead and be willing to tackle grilling steak, steaming rice, and cooking tortillas all approximately at the same time.
If you want to keep things simple, use store bought or leftover carne asada and store bought tortillas. You can even use store bought toppings, but we recommend making these from scratch still since they’ll only take a few minutes to prepare.
- Advanced prep time: 4 to 6 hours, to marinate the steak if making it yourself
- Prep time: 15 minutes, to prep toppings
- Cook time: 20 minutes, to steam rice, grill steak, and warm tortillas
Ingredients
A good street taco requires 3 components – a delicious tortilla, savory meat, and fresh toppings. For carne asada tacos, freshly made pico de gallo and avocado lime crema make the best toppings! We also love to add rice for extra substance, plus it helps soak up the juices from the steak and pico.
- Carne asada – You can easily make delicious carne asada at home with a thin cut of skirt or flank steak, a simple marinade, and a flavorful dry rub. Check out our carne asada recipe to try it yourself! Or, look for premade carne asada at your grocery store or local meat market.
- Corn tortillas – Authentic street tacos are typically served on corn tortillas. We highly recommend making your own tortillas if you’re up for a fun cooking adventure – they’re so much more flavorful than store bought! All you need is masa harina, water, salt, and a tortilla press.
- Cilantro lime rice – Bright and zesty rice adds another layer of flavor and texture to these tacos. Try our easy cilantro lime rice recipe!
- Avocado lime crema – A bright and creamy topping to contrast the savory steak. Make it yourself with just 4 ingredients and a food processor.
- Pico de gallo – We always recommend making fresh pico from scratch for the best flavor! But you can also use store bought to save some time.
How To Make Carne Asada Street Tacos
- Prep the carne asada. If you’re making carne asada at home, you’ll need to marinate the steak in advance (4 to 6 hours), then dry rub it and grill it. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing thin for tacos. Check out our carne asada recipe for more details.
- Make the toppings. Steam the rice and prepare the avocado crema and pico de gallo. Once the rice is cooked and you’re ready to serve, stir in the lime juice and cilantro.
- Make the tortillas. If you’re making tortillas from scratch, prepare them while the rice cooks. If you’re using store bought, warm them on a cast iron griddle a few minutes before serving.
- Assemble and serve. Bring all the toppings to the table and serve DIY style, or assemble tacos before serving. We recommend filling the tortillas with rice, steak, crema, and pico, in that order. Optionally serve with lime wedges.
Serving Suggestions
- Taco Tuesday – Serve with chips and salsa, homemade guacamole, or even more decadent sides like this Mexican bean dip for a delicious weeknight dinner.
- Dinner parties – Scale this recipe up and impress your friends with a summer dinner party on the patio! Prep the toppings ahead of time and then grill the steak while chatting and enjoying a spicy margarita.
- Holidays – Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with an authentic taco dinner (and maybe a plate of carne asada nachos, too!)
- Date night dinner – Make tacos together for a fun date night at home, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor with a cocktail in hand.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Store leftover taco ingredients separately in airtight containers in the fridge so everything stays fresh. The steak, rice, and crema will keep for 3 to 4 days, while the pico will last about 2 to 3 days.
- Reheat leftover steak and rice in the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute per serving.
- If you have homemade tortillas – Store these at room temperature wrapped in plastic. Reheat for about 30 seconds per side on a cast iron griddle over medium heat.
FAQs
The best cut of meat for carne asada is skirt steak, but flank steak will also work. Both are thin cuts, but the main difference is that skirt steak is more tender and flavorful than flank.
Homemade corn tortillas are the best for carne asada tacos (and most tacos, in our opinion!). But you can also use store-bought corn tortillas or flour tortillas if you prefer.
One pound of carne asada makes about 12 street tacos (4 inch tortillas). But this can vary depending on how full you like your tacos to be!
Expert Tips
- Making carne asada – Use skirt steak for the best flavor and texture, and give it plenty of time to marinate!
- Fresh toppings – Street tacos are all about simple, flavorful ingredients, which is why we always recommend making things from scratch! Try our pico de gallo and avocado lime crema recipes instead of using store bought.
- Corn tortillas – You really can’t beat the flavor of homemade tortillas. But if you’re using store bought, make sure to warm them on a hot griddle before serving.
Try our carne asada street tacos for your next Taco Tuesday and let us know what you think by rating, commenting, and sharing below!
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Carne Asada Street Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound carne asada sliced thin
- 2 servings cilantro lime rice
- ½ cup avocado cilantro lime crema
- 4 servings pico de gallo
- 12 4-inch corn tortillas
- Lime wedges optional
Instructions
Prep
- If you’re making carne asada at home, you’ll need to marinate the steak in advance (4 to 6 hours), then dry rub it and grill it. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing thin for tacos. Check out our carne asada recipe (linked in the Ingredients section) for more details.
- Steam the rice and prepare the avocado crema and pico de gallo. Once the rice is cooked and you’re ready to serve, stir in the lime juice and cilantro.
- If you’re making tortillas from scratch, prepare them while the rice cooks. If you’re using store bought, warm them on a cast iron griddle over medium heat a few minutes before serving, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.
Assembly
- Add 1 to 2 spoonfuls of rice to a tortilla. Top with a few pieces of carne asada, then with avocado crema and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges for an extra splash of acid.
Notes
- If you want to make everything from scratch – steak, tortillas, rice, and toppings – you’ll need to plan ahead and be willing to tackle grilling steak, steaming rice, and cooking tortillas all approximately at the same time.
- If you want to keep things simple, use store bought or leftover carne asada and store bought tortillas. You can even use store bought toppings, but we recommend making these from scratch still since they’ll only take a few minutes to prepare.
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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