These easy marinated steak and avocado tacos are made with flavorful marinated flank easy steak, smashed avocado, pickled red onions, sliced jalepeño, cilantro, and thinly sliced radishes. So full of big flavors, and perfect for taco Tuesday (or any night of the week)!
Easy to make and crazy delicious tacos are one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Count me in on any dinner that is this good and does not require a fork and a knife. Handheld dinners FTW!
Especially as we approach the warmer months we’re getting more and more into tacos for dinner, and this one has been one of our absolute faaavorites recently.
In my last post for these delicious Mexican Roasted Cauliflower Tacos I mentioned that we’re starting a little family tradition of having taco Tuesday every week without repeating one single taco recipe for the whole year!
I’m getting very excited about this idea. Some other favorites we’ve enjoyed are these Sheet Pan Shredded Chicken Tacos, and Ground Pork Tacos with Creamy Slaw.
How to make these easy marinated steak tacos
To make these tacos you just need a few simple ingredients and a couple of hours to marinate the steak before you start cooking.
The steak marinade is SO flavorful and delicious, but also made with the simplest of ingredients! It’s just the perfect combo of salty, sour, and sweet for a bold yet balanced flavor.
The marinade ingredients are:
- grated garlic
- fresh lime juice
- red wine vinegar
- a little honey
- chili powder
- salt and pepper
- avocado oil
The perfect amount of time to marinade the steak is between 1 and 4 hours. Any more than that and it’s possible that your cut of steak will start to “cook” from the acid in the marinade and the texture could noticeably change.
While the steak is marinating you can quickly prep the other ingredients for the tacos
- pickle the red onions
- slice the radishes – use your mandoline if you have one for super thin radishes! If you slice them ahead of time they will stay nice and crisp stored in water in the refrigerator
- chop a little cilantro
- slice some jalepeños
- cut a lime
- cut and smash some avocado
When the steak is done marinating and you’re ready to eat, cook in a skillet on the stove top for about 4 minutes per side. The exact amount of time will depend on how well done you like your steak, and the thickness of the cut that you’re cooking.
Don’t make the mistake that I did when I made these the first time and cook them over too high of heat. Even though it’s only a small amount, because there is honey in the marinade it will caramelize quickly and your steak could burn before it’s done cooking. Medium heat is the sweet spot to get some crispy caramelized bits that don’t get overly charred.
After the steak is done cooking let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing it so some of the juices can settle back into the meat.
Just before serving warm your tortillas in a small skillet or over your gas burner, and layer them with smashed avocado, sliced steak, radishes, cilantro, and pickled red onions.
what kind of steak is the best for steak tacos?
I have made these tacos with both flank steak and skirt steak. Both have been excellent. Those cuts of meat cook quickly and are easily sliced thin to serve with the tacos.
In order to make sure your steak is tender I recommend cooking it to medium, and then slicing it as thin as you can against the grain. If you don’t cut the steak against the grain it will be a lot more chewy.
Cutting steak against the grain is actually really easy to do. Basically you want to find which way the muscle fibers go, and then cut perpendicular to them, instead of parallel.
Serving suggestions
These easy marinated steak tacos would be great with any Mexican themed meal! Taco Tuesday I’m looking at you 😉
To make them a complete meal you could serve them with:
- rice or cauliflower rice
- black beans or pinto beans
- a big green salad with this yummy roasted red pepper dressing
- chips and salsa
A few notes on this recipe
I give instructions below for cooking the steak in a skillet on the stove top, but you could also easily grill the steak instead.
Flank steak and skirt steak are the two recommended cuts of meat I prefer for these tacos. They’re less expensive than other cuts and can be made tender by marinating and cutting the meat thinly and against the grain.
To meal prep some of this recipe you can make the pickled red onions in advance and store them in the refrigerator. You could also prep the other toppings and store them in a covered container in the refrigerator. The marinade can be made in advance and stored separately from the steak until you’re ready to marinate.
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Easy Marinated Steak and Avocado Tacos – Gluten Free!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These easy marinated steak and avocado tacos are made with flavorful marinated flank easy steak, smashed avocado, pickled red onions, sliced jalepeño, cilantro, and thinly sliced radishes. So full of big flavors, and perfect for taco Tuesday (or any night of the week)!
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb flank or skirt steak
for the marinade:
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated or pressed
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey (omit for Whole30)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
To cook steak:
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
For pickled red onions:
- 1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
For serving:
- tortillas or lettuce cups
- avocado
- radishes
- jalapeno
- pickled red onion
- cilantro
- lime wedges
Instructions
- In a shallow dish or bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients and add the steak. Turn to coat and move to the refrigerator to marinate for at least an hour, up to four. You probably shouldn’t marinate for longer than that, or the acid in the marinade will start to break down the fiber of the meat.
- While steak is marinating, prep the toppings and make the pickled red onions.
- Mix the red wine vinegar, water and salt together together in a small bowl until salt is fully dissolved. Add thinly sliced red onions, making sure they’re mostly submerged, and set aside. If they’re not fully submerged – don’t worry, just toss them in the pickling liquid every five minutes or so.
- Thinly slice radishes and put in a small bowl of cold water to keep them crunchy.
- Once steak is done marinating, heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Remove steak from marinade and allow any excess marinade to drip off. Add to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes each side – depending on how well done you would like your steak and also how thick your cut is. Keep a close eye on the steak since the marinade has honey in it, which can burn easily. You can always turn the temperature down a little bit if needed.
- Once done cooking, remove steak to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- While the steak is resting warm tortillas and smash a little avocado on each one using a fork.
- Thinly slice the steak against the grain.
- Divide steak evenly between the tortillas. Top with sliced radishes, pickled red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime wedges on the side.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
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