Easy flavorful Steak Tacos are a tasty Mexican dish with marinated grilled steak strips in soft tortillas loaded with your favorite toppings.
Tacos are a favorite easy, family-friendly Mexican Food, and there are so many different versions of the dish. This grilled steak version feels so much more extravagant than typical Ground Beef Tacos, but it only takes a little extra time to prepare. For more delicious tacos, try making Shrimp Tacos, Tacos Al Pastor, and Carne Asada Tacos.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Steak Tacos Recipe
Taco Tuesday just got a whole lot tastier with my flavorful Steak Tacos. The only way to make juicy, flavorful steak even better is by serving it up in a warm tortilla with delicious taco toppings. The flank steak gets a simple marinade that tenderizes the meat and enhances the beefy flavor. After an hour, the meat is grilled until medium-rare perfection. The grilled steak pieces are served in warm corn tortillas and topped with chopped onion, fresh cilantro, and Pico de Gallo.
Ingredients
- Steak: This recipe uses 2 pounds of flank steak, but you can use other cuts of steak including skirt steak. Flank steak has a strong beefy flavor and it cooks fast for the quickest steak tacos full of flavor.
- Oil: Add ¼ cup vegetable oil to your marinade ingredients. The fat in the oil helps tenderize the meat and keeps the steak seasonings on the meat for flavorful steak tacos. You can also brush the grill grates with a tablespoon oil so the meat doesn’t stick.
- Steak Seasonings: The spice blend for the steak seasonings is made with chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and black pepper. These spices are common in classic Mexican recipes.
- Garlic: The minced garlic adds a burst of flavor to the flavorful marinade, and goes perfectly with the beefy flavor of the steak. You can substitute a tablespoon of garlic powder.
- Pico De Gallo: Pico de Gallo is a fresh Mexican salsa using diced tomatoes, peppers, and lime juice. You can buy pre-made Pico de Gallo or make the recipe fresh while cooking the meat.
- Onions and Cilantro: Diced white onion and fresh chopped cilantro are classic toppings for all your favorite street tacos like these steak street tacos. Instead of white onion you can use yellow onion or red onion.
- Corn Tortillas: You use two soft tortillas per taco to hold the chunky steak pieces and all your favorite taco toppings without breaking. Use quality corn tortillas and warm in a hot skillet or on the grill. You can also use taco-sized Flour Tortillas.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Grill: For a tasty, smoky charred flavor, I like to use an outdoor grill. However, you can also use an indoor grill, cast iron skillet or grill pan.
- Baking Pan: I used a baking pan wrapped in plastic wrap to marinate the meat in the flavorful marinade. You could also use a large shallow bowl or gallon size Ziploc bag.
- Skillet: It’s easiest to brown corn tortillas in a hot skillet, but you can also throw them on the grill for some extra smoky flavor.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 25 minutes.
- Prep the Marinade
Add vegetable oil, minced garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and black pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk the marinade ingredients well.
- Marinate the Meat
Add the flank steak and the flavorful marinade to a baking pan and turn to cover the meat on all sides. Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap. Place the dish in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour.
- Cook the Meat
Turn the grill to medium-high heat. Once the grill is heated, shake off the excess marinade and place steak on grill. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side for medium-rare perfection.
- Rest then Slice
Remove the cooked steak from the grill and let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Slice the steak into strips or 1/2-inch pieces of meat.
- Assemble the Tacos
Warm the corn tortillas in the oven. Layer two of the tortillas on top of each other. Add some pieces of meat, onions, fresh cilantro, Pico de Gallo, and any other favorite taco toppings you’d like.
Can this be made ahead of time?
The steak is juiciest and best when you grill it fresh. However the quick seasoning blend can double as an overnight marinade. The steak can be marinated for up to 48 hours, but the peak texture and flavor will be in the first 24 hours. Bring the steak to room temperature before grilling it and discard any excess marinade.
Nutritional Facts
Tips & Tricks for Steak Tacos
Warm and Brown Tortillas
Cold tortillas are more fragile and break easily so it’s best to warm the corn tortillas. Use a hot cast iron skillet with a little oil to brown the tortillas and add a bit of flavor.
Overnight Marinade
Inexpensive cuts of steak including flank steak tend to be a little tougher. So if you want extra tender steak pieces, marinate the meat overnight.
Safe Temperatures for Steak
You can go a few minutes longer for well-done meat or shorter for rare steak. Use a meat thermometer to check for your preferred temperature. The meat will reach a safe temperature as it rests.
- Rare: 125-130 Degrees
- Medium Rare: 140-150 degrees
- Well-Done: 160-165 degrees
What to Pair With Grilled Steak Tacos
Toppings: Sour cream, hot sauce, lime wedges, Refried Beans, avocados, and salsa would all make amazing toppings on this Steak Taco recipe.
Sides: Along with extra toppings, you can serve the Steak Tacos with your favorite Mexican side dishes. Chips and Salsa, Corn Salad, and Mexican Rice all make great sides for these delicious tacos.
How to Store
Store: You can keep the leftover steak in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. It’s best to keep the tortillas and toppings separately so they stay fresh.
Reheat: So the leftover steak doesn’t dry out, reheat it in a medium-large skillet with a splash of broth or oil and a lid over medium heat.
Freeze: After it cools completely, store the leftover steak in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. Defrost it in the fridge before reheating the meat and serving it with fresh taco ingredients.
Ideas to Serve Steak Tacos
Instead of assembling the tacos yourself, you can set up a DIY Taco Bar with assorted toppings, warm tortillas, and cooked meat. This lets people choose their own toppings.
You can also use the meat as a filling or topping for other dishes like:
- Steak Taco Pizza
- Steak Taco Salad
- Steak Taco Bowls
- Steak Burritos
- Steak Quesadillas
- Steak Frittata
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Air Fryer Steak Tacos
- Marinade: To prep the steak for the air fryer, start by combining all the marinade ingredients and adding the flank steak as usual. Let the meat marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Cooking time: Set the air fryer temperature to 400 degrees F. Then place the marinated steak in the air fryer basket. Set the timer to 6 minutes, then flip the steak and air fry for an additional 5 minutes.
- Slice: Carefully remove the steak from the air fryer, and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing it into cubes.
- Serve: Serve the air-fried steak in warm flour tortillas with chopped onions, cilantro, and pico de Gallo.
Frequent Questions
This recipe calls for 2 pounds of flank steak. Flank steak is a very versatile cut of meat that’s great for fajitas, tacos, and sauteed dishes. Alternatively, you could make your Steak Tacos with skirt steak or sirloin steak. All of these cuts of steak work very well for this recipe.
For medium-done steak, you’ll cook the meat for around 5-6 minutes on each side to get 145 degrees. It’s best to use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal safe temperature is reached.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 24 small corn tortillas
- 1 white onion , chopped finely
- 1/4 cup cilantro , chopped
- 1 cup fresh pico de gallo
Instructions
- Add the oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, black pepper and chili powder to a bowl and whisk well.
- Add steak to the marinade, cover and marinate for 1 hour.
- Grill on medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side for medium doneness, let sit for 10 minutes then chop into ½ inch cubes.
- Serve in two layered warmed corn tortillas with onions, cilantro and pico de gallo.
Nutrition
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Variations
Seasonings: You can flavor the steak marinade with a variety of different herbs and spices based on your taste. Try adding onion powder, red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, allspice, or cloves.
Hard shell tacos: If you prefer, you can swap out corn tortillas for hard shell tacos for a crunchy Steak Taco dinner.
Favorite taco fillings: You can add a variety of different filling ingredients along with the steak, like jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, red onion, chimichurri sauce, guacamole, or salsa. Dress up the Steak Tacos with as many filling ingredients as you want, just be careful not to overstuff the tortillas too much, or they’ll fall apart before you can enjoy them.
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