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Carne asada is a GO-TO in our house – especially when we’re hosting and this carne asada marinade makes it even more delicious!
If you’re not familiar, carne asada is a Mexican-style grilled and sliced beef (usually skirt steak, or a flank steak). It is usually marinated, then grilled or seared to get a fantastic charred flavor.
This carne asada marinade is not only simple (just mix!) but makes your meat absolutely flavorful and delicious. With garlic, lime, cilantro, and a hint of chili it’s not hard to see why. It’s our FAVORITE – perfect for tacos, burritos, chimichangas, and anything your heart desires!
This is the exact marinade we use to make our wildly popular Carne Asada which is always a hit. Whatever leftover meat we have is then used for Carne Asada Tacos the next day – even better!
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Enjoy in a variety of recipes. Serve this tasty and tender meat on its own or as an ingredient in other main dishes. We love it on tacos with corn tortillas!
- Use on different meats. Carne asada marinade is perfect on any of your favorite meats but is best known for being paired with steak.
- Made in minutes. Today’s marinade recipe is not only simple with a quick prep time, but adds the perfect amount of flavor to your meat!
Carne Asada Marinade Ingredients and Substitutions
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice – squeeze 1-2 fresh limes or use bottled juice
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic – about 5 cloves of garlic, see How to Mince Garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- meat – We use about 1½ pounds of flank steak or skirt steak. Flank steak is more lean whereas skirt steak has more fat marbling, both work wonderfully.
How to Make Carne Asada Marinade
- MIX. Whisk olive oil, lime juice, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, cumin powder, and chili powder in a small bowl.
- MARINATE. Add steak to the bowl or to a baking dish (with marinade poured over) making sure meat is coated and marinate for 2-3 hours.
- TO COOK MEAT. Heat the grill (or stovetop grill pan) to medium-high heat and cook meat for 5-7 minutes on each side. Cook to medium-rare or internal temperature is 145°F (check with a meat thermometer). Let meat rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes before cutting against the grain. See our Carne Asada Recipe.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Don’t marinate at room temperature. Always place the marinating meat in the fridge.
- For the best flavor marinate for 3 hours, but it can be marinated for 1-8 hours.
- Do not marinate in metal containers as the acids, especially from the citrus juices, react to it and can cause an odd flavor.
- Never reuse marinade. Once it comes in contact with raw meat, it must be discarded after use.
- Ways to use Carne Asada. Wrap it in large tortillas with some Pico de Gallo. It also tastes great in a Burrito Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican rice, on top of salads, Loaded Nachos, or Carne Asada Fries.
Carne Asada Marinade
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, minced garlic, cumin, and chili powder in a small bowl.
- Add steak to the bowl or to a baking dish (with marinade poured over) making sure meat is coated and marinate for 2-3 hours.
To Cook the Meat
- Heat grill to medium-high heat and cook meat for 5-7 minutes on each side. Let meat rest on the cutting board for 5 minutes before cutting against the grain.
Video
Notes
- Don’t marinate at room temperature. Always place the marinating meat in the fridge.
- For the best flavor marinate for 3 hours, but it can be marinated for 1-8 hours.
- Do not marinate in metal containers as the acids, especially from the citrus juices, react to it and can cause an odd flavor.
- Never reuse marinade. Once it comes in contact with raw meat, it must be discarded after use.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Locate the direction of the muscle fibers (visible lines or “grain” running along its length). Place the steak on a cutting board so that the grain runs parallel to the longest side of the board. Use a very sharp knife to slice the steak perpendicular (at a 90-degree angle) to the grain. This means you’ll be cutting across the muscle fibers.
Mix up the marinade several days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until you add the meat.
Place the meat and marinade in a Freezer Ziploc. Store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and cook within 24 hours.
Complete The Meal
Sides
Homemade Spanish Rice Recipe
45 mins
Canned Refried Beans
10 mins
Mexican Corn on the Cob
14 mins
Flour Tortilla Recipe
45 mins
Desserts
Sopapilla Cheesecake
40 mins
Churro Funnel Cake
15 mins
Easy Tres Leches Cake
4 hrs 45 mins
Arroz con Leche
45 mins
Mexican Beef Recipes
Steak Taco Recipe
3 hrs 10 mins
Flautas
25 mins
Fajita Recipe
2 hrs 35 mins
Green Chile Burritos
4 hrs 5 mins
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This recipe was originally published April 2022.
We don’t have a barbeque. What would be better– oven or stove? Any idea how long to cook for those ways?
You could certainly broil it in the oven or sear it in a skillet on the stove. Either would probably be pretty delicious. I’m sure you could google how long to cook depending on which method you choose. You could still use this marinade and then just cook according to those directions.
I love Carne Asada burritos, and with this marinade I am able to make delicious ones at home. I just mix it with some pico de gallo and roll it up in a burrito Yum!
I think the marinade is what makes the difference. This is a great recipe and produces great tasting meat.
This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make carne asada marinade recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
This couldn’t be more tasty!! It adds so much flavor to the meat & is a cinch to make!!