A delicious, easy, budget friendly Carne Asada in a savory homemade marinade, grilled to perfection!

Post updated 5-14-2020

It’s time for my 2nd favorite holiday of the year! Cinco de Mayo! The day we celebrate one of THE most important food groups on the food pyramid… Mexican food! Huh? You heard me!

Carne Asada on a black skillet with sliced avocado, roasted peppers, and lime wedges

In our little nest we realize how extremely important it is to make sure we adhere to the major food groups! Okay, all joking aside, because our daughter and son are both Hispanic we always celebrate the holiday by serving our favorite Mexican foods.

Usually I make taquitos, chili rellenos and fresh homemade salsa. They’re great! However, lately we have all developed a love for Carne Asada! So, I decided to come up with my own recipe. I’m just super brave like that! Or, crazy?!

In my humble opinion you have three important elements to great carne asada. The steak, the marinade, and the person doing the grilling! (Never underestimate the importance of a good grill master! I happen to be in love with mine!)

How To Make Grilled Carne Asada

The marinade should be loaded with flavor! This marinade is LOADED with flavor! (My hands tend to go nuts in the spice cupboard!) In a blender or food processor add Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil, Orange Juice, Lime Juice, seasonings, and cilantro.

I like to add one Chipotle Pepper, canned in adobe sauce. Mix until well blended. Place the skirt steak in a large zip lock bag and pour marinade over the steak.

Toss the steak and marinade in the refrigerator, and walk away till dinner time!

What is Skirt Steak or Flank Steak?

The steak can be skirt steak or flank steak. I like to use skirt steak. Skirt steak is a cut of meat from under the rib cage. While not necessarily the most tender cut, it is loaded with flavor. If the skirt steak is too large to fit into a large zip lock bag for marinating, cut it in half.

Grilling Carne Asada

As for the “grill master” they need to be on their game! The skirt steak will take 30–40 minutes to cook on a hot grill. Do NOT overcook this meat! I’m pretty sure that’s an eleventh commandment! (You’ll learn we have a lot of eleventh commandments in this Nest!)

It should be medium well, with a little pink in the center. Allow the skirt steak to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Once the steak is cooked, slice the skirt steak against the grain and chop it into bite size pieces after it has been grilled.

I love to toss a few sweet peppers on the grill while I’m grilling the Carne Asada and baste them with the leftover marinade. They’re amazing served with this Skirt Steak.

Grilled whole skirt steak on a plate with roasted peppers

What to serve with Carne Asada?

Doesn’t this look amazing?! This meat is packed with flavor! Your mouth is watering right now, isn’t it? I know mine is!

I serve it with roasted flour or corn tortilla’s, fresh sliced avocado, grated cheddar cheese, roasted peppers, and chopped cilantro! Make sure you have some fresh lime wedges on the side. Fresh lime kicks it up a notch!

Chopped Carne Asada on a plate with roasted peppers and avocado.

Side Dish Recipes that go with Carne Asada

The printable recipe is below. Let me know how you like the recipe. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, or any day! It’s a great summertime meal. Enjoy!

Thanks again for stopping by and… Happy Nesting!

Yield: 4 servings

Carne Asada

Name: Carne Asada
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Main Course
Ingredients: 1.5 to 2 pounds of skirt steak, flank steak or top round, sliced thin; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 cup olive oil; 3/4 cup red wine vinegar; 1/4 cup orange juice; 1/8 cup fresh squeezed lime juice; 2 cups water; 2 Tbsp minced garlic; 1 tsp coarse black pepper; 1 1/2 tsp salt; 1 Tbsp cumin; 1 Tbsp chili powder; 2 tsp oregano; 4 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro; 1/8 tsp chipotle pepper

This is a wonderful marinade for carne asada that is packed full of flavor. It is best cooked on an open grill and served with tortillas, grated cheese, quacamole and fresh lime wedges. Enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 pounds of skirt steak, flank steak or top round, sliced thin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
2 cups water
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano
4 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1/8 tsp chipotle pepper

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl for the marinade.
In a large zip lock bag, or a large storage container with lid,separate your sliced meat. Pour the marinade over the beef making sure that all the meat is covered.
Place meat in the refrigerator until time to grill.
Preheat your grill. BBQ meat on medium high heat turning quickly until done.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 451Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 576mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 35g

Norine’s Nest in no way provides any warranty, express or implied, towards the content of recipes in this website. It is the reader’s responsibility to determine the value and quality of any recipe or instructions provided for food preparation and to determine the nutritional value, if any, and safety of the preparation instructions.

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Cinco de Mayo Round-Up | Norine's Nest

Wednesday 3rd of May 2017

[…] my delicious recipe right HERE! (I’m trying to make this super easy for ya’ll…like when you don’t want to […]

Alicia Baldwin

Saturday 18th of June 2016

I've been meaning to comment since trying this. All I can say is.....WOW!! The flavor, texture and moistness was amazing!! Since making it I've had carne asada at a couple of restaurants......not even close to how yummy this recipe was. No lie!! I keep craving it! It's sooooo good!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

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Monday 20th of June 2016

Alicia thank you so much for your rave review! I REALLY appreciate it! I'm so happy you guys love the Carna Asada recipe! I just love Mexican food. It's the best! Thanks again. :)

Joe Wilson

Thursday 9th of June 2016

Thank you, thank you and thank you for your Carne Asada recipe. Do you know how difficult to get authentic Mexican food in Idaho?

Your recipe is a good balance of seasonings.

Hi Joe! You are so welcome! I imagine it is just as hard in Idaho as it is in Utah! lol Hope you really enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by!

Friday 29th of April 2016

Question......do you slice your meat thin or do you have the butcher do it at the store? Never done this......excited to try!! LOVE carne asada!

Hi Alicia! I actually buy mine precut at Wal-Mart in their meat department. It's cut just perfect! I think you will really enjoy this recipe!

Teresa

Thursday 28th of April 2016

Ok this looks amazing!! And carne asada is my favorite at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I will definitely have to try this. And I'm sure since it's your recipe that it will be delicious!!

Thanks Teresa! I LOVE Mexican food. It's the best! Let me know how you like this recipe. I think you'll really enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by and visiting!