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.
🌟Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe
👩🍳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).
⭐️ 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.
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.
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.
🌮 More tacos!
If you love this recipe, check out these other kosher meat-eater recipes here or try some of these favorite tacos:
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Ridiculously Good Steak Tacos
Print Recipe SaveIngredients
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.
My family’s new favorite tacos! We love it so much! Thank you! We’re going to marinate everything in this marinade!
Yay! We do the same over here… thanks for sharing, Tracy!
Oh you had me at tacos!! I couldn’t wait to try these. I never marinate my skirt steak long enough probably why I tend to avoid it. So I took your advice and marinate this overnight. YUM!! So good!
I’m so glad to hear you found it worth it, Heather!
These tacos are fantastic! I love all your ingredients, great combinations. Can’t wait to make them again. What a lovely recipe. Thanks so much!
So glad to hear it, Jenny!
These are seriously amazing tacos, Candice! We did add in the avocado and cilantro, which kicked it up even more. Can’t wait to make them again. Can we get some more taco recipes please?
That makes me so happy to hear… glad you enjoyed them, Justin! I’m working on a few more, but for now be sure to check out my favorite fish tacos.
My sister’s birthday is coming up next week, and she has had a really hard year so far ever since she got diagnosed with a chronic illness. I want to make her birthday party super special, and I know that she loves tacos, so that’s what I want to serve at the party. You make a great point that it’s a good idea to add a squeeze of lime on top of the tacos when making them. These look delicious and I will have to find a food truck that can bring tacos like this to the party.
The recipe is fairly simple if you want to give it a try yourself! Let me know if you have any questions. And happy birthday to your sister. Sending love your and her way <3
Just started making this for cinco de mayo and taco tuesday combo tomorrow! This marinade has me all in my feels already ahaha I cannot wait!!
I’m so happy to hear it! And I know what you mean… the smell and taste of that marinade are just wonderful! Thank you, Aline 🙂
I usually buy carne asada at the Mexican meat market but it was so fun to make at home, great tips for making a sauce, it really took the tacos to the next level. Delicious and definitely worth repeating, thanks!
So glad to hear it, Mikayla… thanks for sharing!
What a fantastic recipe with lip smacking devourable combination. Thank you for sharing this.
So glad to hear you loved it, Gunjan!
These really are the best steak tacos!! No need to go out for Mexican food when we can make it so much better at home!
Yay! So happy to hear it, Pam!
Mmm… I think I just heard my tummy growl again. lol. Thank you for satisfying my hunger!
So glad to hear it, Maggie!
I love making easy recipe and this taco recipe is perfect for me. I will be making this for everyone.Yum!
I’m so glad you found it so easy and delicious, Amy!
YUM! These tacos look delicious! Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Let me know how it goes, Amanda!
Marinating overnight is the best way to go with these. We loved this recipe and will make it again. Thanks for all the tips!
So glad to hear it, Analida!
I crave tacos weekly so I was excited to switch it up and give these steak tacos a try. They’re great!
I’m the same way, Kelly. So glad to hear you liked them!
The marinade is great. So simple and easy to make, yet it was packed with flavor. The pico was great too.
Thank you so much, Jen. I’m so glad you liked it!
Tacos are my weakness! I am really enjoying the marinade flavors in this recipe! I am a big fan of citrus and they came out great. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear it, Dana!