Marinated quick & easy steak tacos with the right amount of kick, sweetness, and tang. Ready in as little as 35 minutes! Plus, although I prefer them cooked on the grill, I’m showing you how to grill them, pan fry them, AND broil them.

Three steak tacos on a cutting board with sliced limes.

🌟Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • There are three things that make a great taco: marinating the meat overnight, cooking down the marinade to use it as a sauce, and heating up the tortillas. This recipe does all three.
  • By combining citrus juice with oil, garlic, oregano, and chili powder, it infuses the steak with a rich flavor ready to grill and slice for the perfect juicy steak slices. Then, the rich steak is balanced by a light, fresh pico de gallo and a squeeze of sharp lime.
  • The base ingredients for the taco filling can be paired with whatever kind of tortilla you like, or even with a lettuce wrap. My choice is a white corn tortilla heated up over direct flame.

🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe

Ingredients for marinated skirt steak on a countertop.
  • skirt steak – I use skirt steak in this recipe because it is thin, which means it has more surface area to absorb all the marinade. It also cooks quickly. You can substitute with other cuts of meat, but either pound it with a tenderizer or slice it long and thin to replicate skirt steak.
  • orange & limes – I use fresh but you can use bottled, too. You will need approximately 1/2 cup of orange juice and 1/4 cup of lime juice.
  • chili powder – if you are looking for more of a kick, cayenne pepper tastes great in this recipe.
  • agave – you can substitute with honey or brown sugar.
  • Oil – Olive oil or a flavorless oil like canola or vegetable oil is ideal.

👩‍🍳How to Make This Recipe

Before you even get to the tacos, take some time to prepare the delicious Pico de Gallo salsa! Mix the salsa ingredients in a bowl, and set aside. This can be made a day in advance.

The key step to great tasting steak taco is the marinade. Marinate your skirt steak in the refrigerator overnight in the mixture of orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, agave, minced garlic, oregano, chili powder, and salt (photo 1). Mix up the ingredients with a whisk (or your hand, see photo 2) and then add the steak (photo 3).

Mixing marinade or steak tacos in a glass bowl next to limes.

⭐️ How long to marinade ⭐️

For maximum flavor, marinate your meat overnight if you can, If not, try to marinate for at least 2 hours minimum. When you remove the steak from the marinade to cook it, reserve the leftover marinade. It makes a delicious sauce to drizzle over your finished tacos!

There are a few different methods you can use: grilling, broiling, or stovetop cooking in a pan. Try to take the steak out twenty to thirty minutes before you intend to cook it. This gets the steak to room temperature so it can cook more evenly.

  • Best method, GRILL: Grill for 3-5 minutes per side. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes.
  • Second best method, BROIL: Turn your broiler on high. Let it heat for one minute after the flame comes on. Next, put your skirt steak in the oven and cook it for five minutes. Then, remove steak from the oven. Leave the oven on, and the oven door open. Flip the steak over. Put back into the oven. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes.
  • Third best method, PAN: Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes. (See photo 1 below.) I use a cast-iron pan.

Whichever method you choose to cook the steak, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and set the steak aside and let it rest for five to ten minutes. Cook until the thermometer reads 135F in the thickest part of the meat for medium-rare.

Cooked skirt steak on a black cutting board.

In the meantime, pour the juices from the marinade into a saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower to a simmer. This process will reduce the amount of marinade by half. It should take ten to fifteen minutes. See photo 2 below.

Cooking steak and marinade for steak tacos.

Once the sauce is ready, slice the steak into even pieces, slicing against the grain (the long muscle fibers in the meat). See photo 3 above.

Assemble your tacos for serving with the cabbage on the bottom, then the steak, then top with the salsa. You can also add avocado, cilantro, cheese, and whatever topics you like.

For the final touch, add a squeeze of lime and drizzle the reduced sauce on top.

Open faced steak taco with tomatoes and cabbage.

🌮 More tacos!

If you love this recipe, check out these other kosher meat-eater recipes here or try some of these favorite tacos:

I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m up to.

Ridiculously Good Steak Tacos

4.92 from 59 votes
Print Recipe Save
Marinated quick & easy steak tacos with the right amount of kick, sweetness, and tang. Ready in as little as 35 minutes!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Diet: Gluten Free, Kosher
Servings: 4
Calories: 740kcal

Ingredients

Steak Marinade

  • 2 lb. skirt steak or chuck
  • 1 orange juiced, ~1/2 cup
  • 2 limes juiced, ~1/4 cup
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup agave honey, or brown sugar
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste

Pico de Gallo Salsa

  • 1 large tomato diced
  • 1/2 red onion diced
  • 1 jalapeño finely diced, seeds removed for a milder salsa
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Tacos

  • flour or corn tortillas heated just before serving
  • 2 avocados sliced (or smashed if fancy looks don’t matter to you)
  • 1/4 purple cabbage shredded or very thinly sliced
  • limes cut in wedges, for serving

Instructions

  • Salsa: Mix ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. Can be made a day in advance.
  • Marinade the steak in the refrigerator 20 minutes to overnight in the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, agave, minced garlic, oregano, chili powder, and salt. Take it out of the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before you cook it.
  • Pour the juices from the marinade in a sauce pan. Bring to boil, lower to a simmer, and reduce the marinade by half. Takes 10-15 minutes. You can cook your steak in the meantime.

BROIL

  • Turn your broiler on high. Let it heat for one minute after the flame comes on. Next, put your skirt steak in the oven and cook it for five minutes. Then, remove steak from the oven. Leave the oven on, and the oven door open. Flip the steak over. Put back into the oven. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes.

GRILL

  • Grill for 3-5 minutes per side. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes.

PAN (Stovetop)

  • Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side. Cook the steak until the internal temperature reads ~135 for medium-rare. This should take another four or five minutes. (See photo 1 below.) I use a cast-iron pan.
  • Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing against the grain and serving.
  • Assemble your tacos with the cabbage on the bottom, then the steak, and top with the salsa. A squeeze of lime makes it just right. Drizzle the reduced sauce on top.

Video

Notes

Marinade overnight if you can, 2 hours minimum. I like to take the leftover marinade, bring it to a boil, and simmer it for 20-30 minutes. It reduces down into a delicious sauce.
Take the steak out twenty to thirty minutes before you intend to cook it. This gets the steak to room temperature so it can cook more evenly.
Whichever cooking method you choose, set the steak aside and let it rest for five to ten minutes to rest before cutting.
Recipe inspired by Giada de Laurentis’s fajitas.

Nutrition

Calories: 740kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 1696mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1855IU | Vitamin C: 84.6mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 5.8mg
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

54 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made these for my husband and me this week. I don’t cook often with steak, so I was grateful to find the recipe easy to follow… the steak came out so juicy and with tons of flavor. My husband actually said these were “magic” and couldn’t believe these weren’t restaurant tacos! 100% making them again next week

  2. 5 stars
    My husband picked up some chuck steak at our butcher and we marinated it overnight. He grilled it up and wow! So much flavor from the marinade and we loved the salsa. Would love to try making our own tortillas for these tacos.

    1. Homemade tortillas are amazing and perfect to take these tacos to the next level. So glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for taking the time to share!

  3. 5 stars
    These cooked so fast. Loved the tip about preparing the marinade the day before, it made throwing these together the day of so easy. Will definitely be making this recipe again!

  4. 1 star
    Sorry to give a bad review but waaay too sweet and not at all vinegary or spicy. We were adding seasoning at the table to try to make it better 🤔 needs garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, more salt, something spicy (Cayenne?)….

    1. Hi Es, I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t to your liking. I’m surprised to hear you say it doesn’t have enough garlic with the 6 cloves… that’s quite a bit! This recipe is described as “sweet and tangy” with the sweetness coming from the agave/orange and the tanginess from the lime in the marinade. This recipe isn’t intended to be spicy or peppery, so I hope you find something you like better for next time!

    1. I’ve never used an instant pot to make this since I usually make it using skirt steak which cooks up so fast.
      I can say that chuck usually takes 20 minutes per pound on high pressure in an instant pot, and I recommend browning the outside on the saute setting if you plan to do that, and cooking it in beef broth or similar.
      I wish I could help more, but haven’t tested that particular version so can’t say.

      1. 4 stars
        Little too much Oregano for my taste but definitely a good solid recipe to adapt to your personal liking. Fyi to the publisher, maybe clarify what rack in oven for the broil method. Newbies could get confused.

4.92 from 59 votes (34 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.