These steak tacos are seared steak (not marinated), sliced and cubed, piled into warm tortillas with quick pickled red onions, charred corn and a creamy avocado sauce. The whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes for 12 tacos and is always a crowd-pleaser!
While I love carne asada tacos as much as the next person, sometimes I just don't have the time to marinate. And it can also be hard forming a good crust on a wet steak. So my recipe skips this step, swapping the marinade for the simplicity of salt and pepper, a hot pan, and two minutes a side. The one thing I will not skip is cooking the corn in the pan the steak came out of, because all that browned fond in the bottom gets picked up by the corn and it tastes like far more work than it was.
If you're in a Mexican-inspired mood, my high protein breakfast burrito is a brilliant way to use up any leftover taco fillings, and my Venezuelan arepas reina pepiada scratch a very similar itch. My Mexican-inspired sandwiches are also super popular, like my Mexican Pambazo sandwich and my Mexican Cemita.
Jump to:
- Why this steak taco recipe works
- Ingredients for steak tacos
- How to make steak tacos
- Steak taco substitutions and variations
- Tips for the best steak tacos
- Make your steak tacos ahead
- How to Build a steak taco bar
- Steak taco FAQs
- More Mexican-inspired recipes to try
- More Taco Recipes To Try
- Steak Tacos with Avocado Sauce
Why this steak taco recipe works
The steak is thick and chunky. Most recipes reach for skirt or flank and slice it into ribbons, which is lovely but gives you a uniform texture all the way through. A thicker steak, seared and cubed after resting, gives you a browned crust on the outside and a pink center in the same bite. It's a chunkier, meatier taco and in my opinion is just a little easier to eat.
The rest of the taco is built with contrast and simplicity in mind. Sharp pickled onion against rich steak. Sweet charred corn against cool avocado sauce. Just four elements, but their sum is so much greater than their individual parts!
Ingredients for steak tacos
A quick note on the ingredients I use in my steak tacos.
- Steak: I use two sirloin steaks, about an inch thick each, which comes to roughly 12 oz total. Ribeye works just as well. Skirt or flank will also work but they want thin slicing against the grain rather than cubing.
- Small soft taco tortillas: 6-inch street taco size. Corn is more traditional and holds char better. Flour is softer and less likely to crack.
- Red onion: slice it as thin as you can. This is a cold quick pickle with no boiling, so thinness is what lets it soften in 20 minutes instead of overnight.
- White vinegar: plain distilled is what I'm using here. Apple cider vinegar works and gives a slightly sweeter, fruitier pickle.
- Avocado: properly ripe, giving to a gentle press. An underripe one blends to something grainy and pale rather than silky and green.
- Pickled jalapeños: the jarred ones, not fresh. If you've only got fresh though, use 1 jalapeño.
- Yogurt: plain, full fat. This helps create a creamier sauce. You can alternatively use sour cream or Mexican crema.
- Canned corn: I just love canned corn. Make sure to drain it so there's no excess liquid.
For the full ingredient list with measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
How to make steak tacos
Step 1. Season the steak
Take the steaks out of the packaging, put them on a plate and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Leave them out while you make the pickled onions. Leaving them to come up to room temperature means they cook more evenly.
Step 2. Start the pickled onions
Combine the thinly sliced red onion, white vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir. Leave it while you cook everything else. The onions will turn bright pink in about 20 minutes.
Step 3. Sear the steak
Get a skillet over high heat with a tablespoon of oil. When it's hot, lay in the steaks and fry them for 2 minutes on each side for medium rare. Remove and rest. Note: this cooking time works for steaks that are around 1 inch thick, if they’re thicker, cook for slightly longer on each side, and vice versa.
Step 4. Char the corn
Same pan, still on high heat. Tip in the drained corn and leave it for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the kernels blister and pick up dark spots.
Step 5. Blend the avocado sauce
Into a blender or a large jug if using a hand blender: avocado, garlic, pickled jalapeños, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, yogurt and ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust to your preferences!
Step 6. Slice and cube the steak
Once the steak has rested, slice it against the grain, then cut those slices into rough cubes. You're looking for a pink center with a dark edge. Resting first is what keeps the juices in the meat rather than on the board.
Step 7. Build the tacos
Warm the tortillas, 30 seconds in the microwave does it. Spread a spoonful of avocado sauce on each one, then the cubed steak, then pickled onion, charred corn, fresh cilantro and a lime wedge. Three steak tacos per person. Enjoy!
Steak taco substitutions and variations
- The steak: Skirt and flank are the classic taco cuts and both work here, but slice them thin against the grain rather than cubing. Chicken thighs, seasoned the same way and seared, are excellent. For a vegetarian version, thick slices of portobello or tofu get a similar crust.
- The sauce: No yogurt? Sour cream, Mexican crema or even mayonnaise all work. If you want it thinner for drizzling, add water a tablespoon at a time. For more heat, use the brine from the jalapeño jar rather than adding more chilies, since it keeps the sauce loose.
- The corn: Fresh corn cut off the cob chars faster. Frozen works too, but let it thaw and dry first.
Tips for the best steak tacos
- Get the pan hot. A medium pan gives you gray steak. You want it hot enough that the steak sizzles the second it lands.
- Rest the steak for at least 5 minutes. Cut into it straight away and the juice runs onto the board instead of staying in the meat. This is the easiest thing to get wrong.
- Dry the corn properly. Drain it, then pat it with a paper towel. Any water in the pan means it steams rather than chars, and you lose the whole point of using the steak pan.
- Slice the onions paper thin. Thick slices need hours in the brine. Thin ones are ready by the time everything else is.
- Season the avocado sauce twice. Once before blending, once after tasting. I often find that I either want more salt, ground black pepper, or lime juice!!
Make your steak tacos ahead
The pickled onions are better on day two and keep for two weeks in the fridge in their brine. I make a jar most weeks regardless.
The avocado sauce holds for two days in an airtight container. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface so no air touches it, and the lime juice will keep it green. It thickens in the fridge, so loosen with a splash of water before serving.
The steak and corn want to be cooked fresh. Leftover cooked steak reheats poorly, going from pink to gray in seconds, so if you have some left over I'd eat it cold on a salad rather than reheating it.
How to Build a steak taco bar
I love having friends over, and one of my favorite things to cook them are tacos. It's such an easy way to feed a big group, especially if people have different dietary requirements and portion sizes.
Put the steak, corn, onions and sauce in separate bowls, warm a stack of tortillas wrapped in a clean dish towel to keep them soft, and let people build their own. It takes the assembly work off you entirely too!
For a bigger spread, add crumbled cotija or queso fresco, a bowl of pico de gallo, and sliced radish for crunch. I went deep on this in my guide to taco toppings, including how much of each to make per person and what you can prep days in advance.
Rice and black beans on the side are also great!
Steak taco FAQs
Skirt and flank are the traditional choices and they're excellent, especially sliced thin against the grain. I use sirloin because it's thick enough to cube, which gives you crust and pink center in the same bite. Ribeye does the same job. Both approaches work, they just eat differently.
No, you don't. Although certain recipes call for it (and it's lovely), my recipe gives a great crust in less time and removes any problems with searing wet steaks.
Press the center with a finger. Medium rare feels soft with a little spring, like the fleshy pad below your thumb when your hand is relaxed. Two minutes a side works for a 1-inch steak. Thicker needs longer, thinner needs less.
Corn is traditional, holds char well and has more flavor of its own. Flour is softer and less likely to crack. Whichever you use, warm them properly, because cold tortillas split the moment you fold them.
Yes to both. Fresh corn cut straight off the cob is the best of the three and chars fastest. Frozen works if you thaw it fully and dry it well first. Canned is what I usually have in, and it's genuinely good here.
More Mexican-inspired recipes to try
If you enjoyed this steak taco recipe, why not have a got at making some more of my Mexican-inspired recipes.
- Taco toppings: 32 ideas for the ultimate taco bar: everything you could put out, and how much of each
- High protein breakfast burrito: brilliant for leftover taco fillings
- Mexican Cemita: a vibrant and flavourful sandwich filled with chicken and avocado
- Easy Nacho Fries: crispy seasoned French fries served with a warm nacho cheese sauce
More Taco Recipes To Try
Steak Tacos with Avocado Sauce
Ingredients
For the tacos
- 2 steaks about 1 inch thick (12 oz / 350g total)
- 12 corn or flour tortillas 6-inch (small)
- 1 tablespoon oil for searing
- Salt and black pepper
For the pickled red onions
- 1 red onion halved and very thinly sliced
- 1 cup white vinegar (240ml)
- 1 cup water (240ml)
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the avocado sauce
- 1 avocado ripe
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños
- 1 lime juiced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro (15g)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
For the charred corn
- 1 cup canned corn (200g) drained and patted dry
To garnish (optional)
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Pickled jalapeños
Instructions
- Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside at room temperature.
- Combine the sliced red onion, vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a bowl. Leave to pickle for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Sear the steaks for 2 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove and rest for at least 5 minutes.
- In the same pan over high heat, add the drained corn. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until charred. Remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, let's make the avocado sauce. Blend the avocado, garlic, pickled jalapeños, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, yogurt and cumin until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a touch of water to loosen the sauce if you'd like a runnier dressing.
- Slice the steak against the grain, then cut into rough cubes.
- Warm the tortillas. Spread each with avocado sauce, then top with steak, pickled onion, charred corn, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Pickled onions keep for 2 weeks in the fridge in their brine and improve after day one.
- Avocado sauce keeps for 2 days with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface. Loosen with water before serving.
- For skirt or flank steak, slice thin against the grain instead of cubing.
- Cook the corn in the steak pan. The browned bits left behind are most of the flavor.
Nutrition
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