These Paleo Carne Asada Tacos are the literal best. They are gluten-free, dairy-free and damn delicious. You don't need to be paleo to enjoy all the goodness these tacos have to offer: flavorful marinated and seared meat, crunchy veggies, creamy avocado, wrapped up in a perfect grain-free tortilla. Perfection.
Who doesn't love a good taco? Tacos are literally a vessel to shovel all sorts of tasty toppings in to your mouth. Is there anything better? I think not.
These paleo carne asada tacos combine the best of all worlds. They are simple, full of flavor and still incredible healthy!
What Is Carne Asada?
Carne asada literally means grilled meat. It is sliced thin or cubed, and served on tortillas or used as an ingredient in a wide range of dishes.
Flank steak, skirt steak, flat iron, sirloin, or even trimmed brisket can be used to make carne asada. These cuts of beef are marinated in a lime-based marinade (although orange juice is also fairly common) and then grilled to perfection. The meat is grilled over a hot fire, commonly charcoal.
While this recipe would not be considered traditional because it is pan seared, it still has all that carne asada flavor. For a more traditional preparation try this Paleo Carne Asada.
How To Make Paleo Carne Asada
Making carne asada paleo-friendly is fairly simple. As long as you watch out for vegetable oils and added sugars, most carne asada recipes should be easily converted to paleo-complaint.
Common ingredients in carne asada include things like spices, lime juice, vinegar, cilantro, oil, salt, garlic and spicy peppers. These ingredients are all considered paleo if you opt for avocado or olive oil, and swap white vinegar for something like ACV.
How To Prepare The Marinade
Combine the following ingredients in the base of a food processor:
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup orange juice
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tsp salt, black pepper, chili powder, dried oregano
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 chopped jalapeño
Process on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all large chunks disappear.
How To Prepare The Meat
To prepare the meat, start by cutting the meat in to ½ inch cubes. Begin the cuts by slicing against the grain.
Place the cut steak in a resealable gallon sized bag. Cover it completely with the marinade, reserving ⅓ of the marinade for use when serving. Seal the bag and marinate for at least 2 hours, but up to overnight.
Once the meat has marinated, heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little bit of avocado oil.
Remove the steak from the marinade, discarding as much of the marinade as possible.
Once the pan is hot, add the steak and cook for about 6-9 minutes or until lightly seared and browned on all sides. Serve while the meat is hot.
Where To Find Paleo-Friendly Tortillas?
The freezer section at most grocery stores carry paleo-friendly tortillas now. Which is pretty freaking fantastic.
Paleo tortillas are usually made with coconut flour, cassava flour, almond flour, or a combination of grain-free flours.
I have always been a fan Siete Foods Cassava Flour Tortillas, but for this recipe I used their Almond Flour Tortillas and LOVED them! I would highly recommend using them for this recipe!
Recipe Tips
Allow Proper Time To Marinate
Marinating the meat is very important, both for tenderness and flavor. These cuts of meat tend to be more tough, so proper marinating can be the difference between meh and amazing meat. Two hours is the minimum you want to wait, but it doesn't hurt to marinate longer, even overnight! Be patient!
Remove The Moisture
When cooking the carne asada, try to drain as much of the marinade as possible. This will help your get a better sear on the meat. You can spoon out additional moisture as the meat begins to cook.
Related Recipes
Did you try these Paleo Carne Asada Tacos? I would love to see your creations! Take a photo and tag me on Instagram or leave a photo comment on Pinterest.
Feel free to leave a comment and a rating below. Feedback is always appreciated! 🌮
📖 Recipe
Paleo Carne Asada Tacos
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Frying pan
- Spatula
- Resealable gallon-sized bag
Ingredients
- 1 lb Flank steak, skirt steak or flat iron steak
Marinade
- 1 cup Chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup Avocado oil
- ½ cup Orange juice
- 1 Lime Juiced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 1 Jalapeño
Tacos
- 8 Siete foods tortillas
- 1 cup Shredded cabbage
- 1 Avocado Ripe
- 1 Jalapeño
- ½ Red onion Diced
- 4 Radishes
- Reserved marinade
Instructions
Marinade
- While the cilantro is bundled, chop the end with the stems about 2 inches up. Add the cilantro to a food processor.
- Remove the seeds and stem from the jalapeno. Add to the food processor along with the cilantro.
- Remove the skin from the garlic cloves, halve and add to the food processor.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the marinade in the food processor and process on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all large chunks disappear.
- Cut the meat in strips against the grain of the muscle fibers and then dice cutting in the other direction. Meat should be cut in about ½ inch cubes.
- Put the steak in a resealable gallon sized bag. Cover it completely with the marinade, reserving ⅓ of the marinade in the basin of the food processor to be used when serving. Seal the bag and store the marinating steak in the fridge along with the reserved marinade. Marinate the steak for at least 2 hours, but up to overnight.
Carne Asada
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little bit of avocado oil.
- Remove the steak from the marinade, discarding any leftover marinade. It is important for the searing of the meat to remove as much of the marinade as possible. If you are having trouble removing the steak from the marinade you can spoon it from the pan as the meat cooks.
- Once the pan is hot, brown the steak searing all sides. The meat will take about 6-9 minutes to fully cook.
Tacos
- Prepare the tacos by heating the tortillas in a skillet with a bit of oil for about 30 seconds per side. Shred cabbage, slice jalapeño removing seeds and veins, remove pit and skin and slice avocado, slice the radishes removing the ends and stem and peel and dice the onion.
- Fill each tortilla with cabbage, carne asada, onion, radish, avocado, jalapeno and top with the reserved marinade.
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