Our Delicious and easy carne asada recipe can be grilled outside or cooked on the stove top for carne asada tacos or burritos. The flavors are perfect for Cinco de Mayo celebrations! 
Easy Carne Asada Recipe
This Carne Asada recipe is a Latin American grilled beef dish that’s usually sliced and served in tacos, burritos or salads. We absolutely love Mexican carne asada on tacos and when we’re out looking for street tacos to eat, carne asada is on the top of our list. This carne asada recipe has a fantastic and flavorful marinade that produces a juicy, tender and delicious cut of beef that everyone loves. It’s not intimidating at all to make carne asada because it’s super easy to make. All you need is a great and simple recipe for carne asada (which we have below!), some salsa, lettuce and all the taco trimmings. What you have is a fabulous game day, Cinco de Mayo or outdoor grilling Summer dish that’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser. This is an absolutely delicious carne asada recipe that can be made on the grill or on the stove top!
Watch Video for this delicious Carne Asada Recipe :
Best Beef for Carne Asada?
We love skirt, flap or flank steak because not only is it an inexpensive cut of beef, it’s super tender when sliced thin. You can serve a whole lotta tacos to a whole lotta friends when you use this cut of beef. Just make sure to have a whole lotta beer to go with it! Of course, you can use other cuts of steak too if you want. Our marinade is flavorful and it’s best to marinate the beef for a few hours to let all the great flavors from the garlic and spices soak into the meat. You can marinate the whole steaks (easier for grilling) or pre-slice them and marinated the slices (easier to cook in a skillet). Don’t forget to grill this carne asada recipe it to a nice caramelized char! Cook it hot, cook it quick! That adds to the great flavor and each bite will wow everyone in your party. But hey, just don’t limit yourself to beer when you’re eating carne asada. Margaritas are awesome too! Enjoy! More Beef Recipes and More Appetizer Party Recipes.
More great Mexican and Cinco de Mayo Recipes :
Check out these delicious Crispy Shrimp Rolled Tacos Recipe
Favorite BBQs & Tools:
Some tools, grills, and smokers make BBQ and grilling all the more enjoyable. Here’s some of the favorites:
The Ultimate BBQ Tongs –Avoid BBQ Tool Sets. We’ve yet to find a set where we love everything in it. Either the spatula or the tongs or the brush is wonky. Or there is stuff in there that is never needed. Do yourself a favor and just buy what you need a la carte. For grilling tongs, these bad boys are awesome.
Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling –Have a grilling or BBQ question, you’ll most likely find an answer here. The most comprehensive grilling & BBQ book we’ve ever found, by far. He breaks down the science and myths, the tools, solid recipes, perfecting techniques, what’s BBQ competition tricks aren’t worth the extra time at home, and much more. You will be grill & BBQ enlightened.
Oasity BBQ Light –Grilling should never be confined to the daylight. Love this BBQ light. Good brightness, solid magnets plus clamp option. We’ve gone through 1/2 dozen different grilling lights before falling in love with this one. Be ready to grill all night long.
Oklahoma Joe’s Reverse Flow Offset Smoker –Love this offset smoker. Solid construction. Isn’t perfect, but with a couple easy modifications it will smoke as well as the $1k + smokers. Can use the main chamber also as a regular charcoal grill. Love using it as a regular grill using lump charcoal or briquettes. Huge cooking surface.
Charbroil 4-burner Gas Grill –One of the best for the money. Solid gas grill! Nothing like the quick convenience of a good gas grill.
Grill Baskets –Some days we just need to keep the little things contained on the grill. Throw them all into a basket and grill from there. Easy-peasy.
This carne asada recipe was originally published in 2017 and re-published in 2018 with an updated video showing the meat cooked on the grill!
- 1 pound Beef Flank Flap or Skirt Steak, or other preferred steak (whole or pre-sliced 1/2-inch thick)
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 small Onion , diced
- 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
- 3 cloves Garlic , minced
- 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh Lime Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or Sea Salt , or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
- fresh cracked Black Pepper , to taste
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl (oil, onion, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and pepper). Add steak to the marinade, turning the beef to make sure it is completely coated.
- Marinate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
If cooking on a grill, pre-heat the grill on medium-high to high (depending on your grill's heat). Make sure to scrape the grill clean and smooth, it will help reduce chances of the meat sticking to the grill when cooking.
- Remove the steak from the marinade and cook over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until your preferred doneness (if you are comfortable cooking on high heat, go for it since it does helps create a nice char-just be careful, the beef can cook a bit too quickly if you aren't on top of it!) . The beef can be cooked in a skillet or on the grill - a skillet may be preferable if using slices rather than the whole steaks.
- After cooking, allow meat to rest for about 5 minutes. If using whole steaks, slice 1/2-inch thick and serve on rice, in tortillas, or in a tortas (sandwiches).
SERVING IDEAS:
- tortillas or tortilla chips
- rice and beans
- shaved cabbage, avocado and radish slices
- sour cream
- cheese
- salsas
- hot sauces
Recipe girl says
This recipe is awesome!!!!
The marinade is spot on. It tastes just like the pre marinated meat I buy from the Mexican market. I only waited the 1 hour, and then grilled the meat. It tastes great.
I recommend this recipe.
Best Recipe Box says
Yay! so glad you enjoyed the recipe. It’s definitely a favorite for us too.