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Carne Asada Street Tacos

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Mini corn tortillas are filled with delicious marinated carne asada topped off with cilantro and onion pico are why these Carne Asada Street Tacos are so yummy!

A couple of weeks ago I was out grocery shopping with the hubs when he walked up with this darling little package of Mission corn tortilla’s.

They were teeny tiny and specifically said “Street Taco Size”! I had to have them! They were cute for crying out loud. (I’m every marketer’s dream!) I also had to have them because…Hellooooo…. I love street tacos! Bonus… Gluten Free!

The simplicity of a street taco is awesome. It has to speak for its self! It doesn’t have a lot of “dressing” to cover its flaws.

The meat needs to be jammed packed with flavor because the toppings are pretty simple…onion, cilantro and lime. It’s a grab and go kind of meal. Thus, the name street tacos.

Street Tacos are generally smaller and easier to handle and generally come 2-3 to a plate. The shell is “soft fried” and doubled. All of this… to allow you to handle them with one hand while walking around.

mini street carne asada tacos

These little gems are seriously some of the BEST tacos I’ve had in a LONG time! The family went NUTS for them! Yours will too and you are going to love how simple this dish is.

How To Make Carne Asada Street Tacos

First, you will need one pound of thinly sliced flank steak. I usually find mine at Walmart. This meat will need to marinade a couple of hours. The marinade is simple!

Carne Asada Marinade

In a blender place 1/2 cup orange juice, juice of one lime, 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 3–4 stems of cilantro, 1 canned Chipotle pepper (not one can…ONE pepper out of the can), salt and pepper to taste. Blend it all together on high for 1 minute until pepper and cilantro is all chopped. If you want heat you can add some jalapeño pepper. (I was making this dish for my grand baby, so no heat was added here at our Nest.)

Place meat and marinade in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours. You can marinade it longer…but at least a minimum of 2–3 hours.

Fresh Carne Asada Taco Toppings

For the “toppings” chop 1/2 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup of sweet white onion. Squeeze the juice of half a lime…salt and pepper to taste and stir. Chill till ready to serve.

onion and cilantro pico

How To Grill Carne Asada

When ready to eat dinner…stoke up that grill! Set your temp to medium. Let the grill preheat, and be prepared to STAY by the grill while cooking this paper-thin meat!

It only takes about 2–3 minutes per side. So don’t wander off! Unless you LOVE shoe leather! Then by all means go on a hike or check your Facebook!

Cook on onside for 2–3 minutes and then flip and grill the other side till done. It’s important that the meat is still tender and juicy. A little tiny bit of pink is okay. The meat will continue to cook once you remove it from the grill.

grilling the carne asada

Remove the Carne Asada from the grill and stack it on a cutting board. Chop the meat into small bite size pieces. Place it in a bowl and cover to keep it warm while you cook the tortillas.

carne asada after grilling

Preparing Tortillas for Tacos

In a large cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, place 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil.  If you don’t own a cast iron skillet…no worries. Just use the largest skillet you have with the vegetable oil. Lay two tortillas down at a time. As they begin to bubble turn them over and gently heat the other side.

These are not crunchy tacos, and they aren’t your typical “soft” tacos. The shells should be soft, easy to bend, and lightly flavored from the quick roasting they are getting. About 20 seconds per side should do it.

mini taco shells on the grill

Layer the mini tortillas on top of each other. Place all the ingredients out on the island, if you have older kids, let everyone fend for themselves…they don’t need their Momma doing that anymore!

I’m so proud of myself… I taught my kids to feed themselves. A major mothering accomplishment! (I’m pretty much a ROCK STAR!) 

Fill the tortillas with the chopped grilled Carne Asada, top it off with the cilantro and onion mixture. Lastly give them a little squeeze of lime! YUM!!!

lime wedges

I will admit that I have Guacamole and Cheese HOGS at my house! I made a big bowl of Guacamole and had a big bowl of grated cheese sitting out for the piggies at my Nest!

However, you like to garnish your Street Tacos…I promise this recipe won’t disappoint! The thing I love about these little tacos…besides all the amazing flavor? Their size. Talk about Guiltless tacos! These are it. Somehow you just don’t feel bad eating four of these little guys! They are meant to be eaten in 3 bites…and they are!

street tacos with guacamole and cheese with carne asada

Favorite Mexican Dish Recipes

A truly easy and delicious meal. One the whole family will enjoy! I sincerely hope the “chicks” at your Nest love these little Street Tacos as much as the “chicks” at my Nest did. I’ve already bought another package of the tortillas for another round!

Remember to follow Norine’s Nest on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’m always there hanging out and sharing fun food and laughs!

Norine's Nest Signature
Yield: 12 tacos

Carne Asada Street Tacos

Carne asada street tacos

Street Tacos are mini tacos jammed packed full of flavor with simple toppings and can be eaten in 3-4 bites. This recipe is so easy and SO good!

Prep Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 package 24 count, Mission Corn Tortilla Street Tacos
  • 1 pound flank steak
  • Oil for quick "roasting" taco shells.
  • 4 limes

Marinade

  • 1/2 cup Orange Juice
  • Juice of one lime
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3-4 Stems of Cilantro
  • 1 Chipotle Canned Pepper
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste
  • 1/8 tsp. Garlic powder

Garnish

  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup chopped mild white onion
  • Juice of 1/2 a lime
  • Lime wedges

Instructions

Marinade

  1. In a blender place 1/2 cup orange juice, juice of one lime, Olive Oil, 3-4 Cilantro stems, 1 canned Chipotle pepper, garlic powder, and Salt & Pepper to tastes. Blend well until pepper and cilantro are finely chopped.
  2. Place Flank Steak in a gallon zip lock bag. Pour marinade over Flank Steak and marinade for a minimum of 2-3 hours.

Garnish

  1. Place chopped cilantro and onion in a small bowl. Add the juice of half a lime, salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Cover and chill till time to serve.

Carne Asada

  1. Preheat your grill to medium. Place your meat flat on the hot grill. Grill each side for 2 minutes, flip and cook the other side. Meat will cook quickly so watch it carefully.
  2. Stack meat and chop into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl and cover to keep warm.

Taco Shells

  1. In a large cast iron skillet, or regular skillet, place 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil. Place tortillas, two at a time, flat on the skillet surface. Cook for 20 seconds per side and flip and cook the other side. Shells should be soft "roasted". Stack the shells two per taco. You made need to continue to add small amounts of oil as you are "roasting" your taco shells.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

2

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 270Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 133mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 15g

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Haleigh

Thursday 18th of April 2024

Very talented writer! Love this! And going to have to try this recipe I can tell it's amazing as well!

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Wednesday 24th of April 2024

Hi Haleigh! You just made my day!!! In the age of "AI" writing everything, for everyone...I sincerely appreciate that you recognize and complimented my writing! It's something that is really important to me here at my Nest! Thank You! Oh...and I hope you'll try the tacos! They are like a love letter for your tummy! Norine

Tom Murphy

Saturday 29th of August 2020

When making any taco/tostada using corn tortilla's. Always fry in Corn Oil

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Thursday 3rd of September 2020

Hi Tom, Thanks for the suggestion. ~Norine

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