Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema

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These flavorful carne asada street tacos with avocado lime crema and fresh pico de gallo are a whole new way to make every day feel like Taco Tuesday!
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When it comes to cooking Mexican food, Alex and I are partial to chicken-based dishes – mostly because it’s what we’re comfortable cooking. But since we started this blog to take on new challenges and expand our skillset, we decided to develop a recipe for carne asada tacos!

Three carne asada tacos with crema, pico de gallo, and a margarita

Aside from burgers and the occasional ground beef taco, we’ve only cooked red meat a handful of times. But after some practice and research, we discovered it’s really not that hard to grill steak. The real challenge was developing a citrusy, salty marinade and a spicy, flavorful dry rub for our carne asada.

So how do you make delicious, authentic carne asada? Traditionally, carne asada is simply thin-cut steak marinated in lime juice, dry-rubbed with seasonings, grilled, and cut into thin strips. We really wanted to bring out the citrus flavors and spice in our meat to complement our other taco fillings – Cilantro-Lime Rice, a homemade avocado lime crema, and fresh pico de gallo – so we went all out with our marinade and dry rub recipes.

Carne asada tacos in flour tortilla shells topped with cilantro lime rice, pico de gallo, and avocado lime crema
Here’s what goes into our carne asada marinade:
  • Orange juice
  • Lime juice
  • Lemon juice
  • Soy sauce
  • Avocado oil (or vegetable oil)
  • Chopped yellow onion
  • Minced garlic
And here’s what goes into the dry rub:
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Chili powder
  • Cumin
  • Ground red cayenne pepper
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
Two plates of carne asada tacos topped with avocado lime crema and pico de gallo
From there, it’s pretty easy to make delicious carne asada for your tacos! Here are a few important steps to take:
  1. Let the steak marinate for about 4-6 hours in the fridge, turning the bag over occasionally to let the meat really soak in all the flavor. Then remove the meat from the marinade and let it rest at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before cooking. 
  2. Once you’re ready to grill, season one side of the steak with half of the dry rub and place it seasoned side down onto a hot grill. Dry rub the top side of the steak, flip partway through, and cook until steak is medium to medium-well.
  3. Remember to slice your carne asada thin! You might also want to cut some slices into smaller, bite-sized pieces to make your tacos slightly less messy.
Two plates of carne asada tacos topped with avocado lime crema and pico de gallo, served with tortilla chips

Even though the carne asada is the real star of the show, every good taco needs a few delicious components that complement one another. We crafted these tacos with soft flour tortillas, a layer of Cilantro-Lime Rice, a drizzle of homemade avocado lime crema, and a spoonful of fresh pico de gallo. Each topping was carefully picked to complement the juicy, spicy flavors of the carne asada and create the right balance of textures. Trust us, it’s worth making all the components of this dish for the perfect taco night!

A bowl of freshly made avocado lime crema

Serve up our Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema at your next Taco Tuesday with a side of tortilla chips and Homemade Guacamole, and let us know what you think in the comments!

4.5 from 2 votes

Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema

These flavorful carne asada street tacos with avocado lime crema and fresh pico de gallo are a whole new way to make every day feel like Taco Tuesday!
Servings 12 tacos
Prep Time 6 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 12 street taco (4-inch) flour tortillas
  • 2 servings Cilantro Lime Rice*
  • 1 lb skirt steak (or flank steak)

Carne Asada Marinade

  • cup orange juice
  • ½ cup lime juice
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup avocado oil (or vegetable oil)
  • ¼ medium yellow onion chopped
  • ½ tbsp minced garlic

Carne Asada Dry Rub

  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp ground red cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

Avocado Lime Crema

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp sour cream
  • Pinch salt

Pico de Gallo

  • 3 medium roma tomatoes
  • ½ medium yellow onion
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • ½ tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • Sea salt to taste

Instructions

Carne Asada

  • Combine all marinade ingredients with the steak in a gallon-size resealable bag and shake gently to mix.
  • Marinate the steak for 4-6 hours in the fridge, turning over occasionally.
  • Remove steak from the marinade and allow to rest at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.
  • While the steak is resting, prepare the dry rub seasoning. Add all seasonings to a small bowl and mix with a fork until well-combined.
  • Preheat grill pan on the stove over medium high heat.
  • Rub half of the seasoning on one side of the steak and transfer to grill pan, placing the seasoned side down. Then rub the remaining seasoning on the top side of the steak.
  • Cook steak until medium to medium-well, flipping partway through.
  • Transfer cooked steak to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
  • Thinly slice and set aside.

Avocado Lime Crema

  • Cut the avocado open and scoop the flesh into a small bowl. Mash with a fork until smooth.
  • Add lime, sour cream, and salt and stir to combine.
  • Cover with plastic wrap, carefully pressing out the air, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Pico de Gallo

  • Wash and dry all produce.
  • Dice the tomatoes, yellow onion, and jalapeno and transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Add lime juice, minced garlic, and sea salt to taste, then stir again to combine.

How to assemble the tacos:

  • Warm up tortillas in the microwave according to package directions.
  • Scoop a spoonful of Cilantro Lime Rice into each tortilla. Fill with carne asada, then drizzle with avocado lime crema and top with pico de gallo.
  • Serve with a side of tortilla chips (and our Homemade Guacamole) for a delicious taco night!*

Notes

Cilantro Lime RiceOur super easy recipe for cilantro lime rice, that tastes just like the kind you get at Chipotle.
Serving suggestions: Our Homemade Guacamole makes the best side for taco nights with tortilla chips!
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Author: Nicole
Calories: 244kcal
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Avocado, carne asada, cinco de mayo, flank steak, pico de gallo, skirt steak

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 465mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 308IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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Join the Conversation

  1. 5 stars
    Made both the Pico and the Avocado crema to go with fish tacos tonight. Doubled the pico recipe and added an orange bell pepper. They were a hit! Thanks for the inspiration!

    1. Nicole Author says:

      That sounds delicious! Adding bell pepper to the pico sounds like an interesting twist, we’ll have to try it out!

  2. I made these tacos tonight and they were so delicious!! I loved the marinade and dry rub on the steak and the avocado crema was amazing. Super easy to prepare too – definitely will be making these again!

    1. Nicole Author says:

      So glad you enjoyed our recipe!

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