Are you ready to completely elevate your taco night to a whole new level of deliciousness? Forget the ground beef and the seasoning packets! This incredible, from-scratch Cilantro Beef Taco recipe features tender, juicy, and perfectly seared flank steak, all tossed in a fresh and zesty, one-pan cilantro-lime sauce. This is a true restaurant-quality meal that is shockingly easy to make at home and is on the table in under 30 minutes.
This isn’t just another taco recipe; it’s your new secret weapon for the best taco night ever. We’ll show you the simple but crucial secrets to cooking a flank steak so that it’s always perfectly tender and never chewy, and how to build a vibrant, fresh pan sauce in the same skillet. Get ready for a wholesome, satisfying, and unbelievably flavorful meal that will become a new family favorite.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Weeknight Taco Night
What makes these Steak Tacos so spectacularly delicious is their incredible, fresh flavor and their foolproof, quick-cooking method. The star of the show is a beautiful flank steak, which is simply seasoned and seared to a perfect medium-rare. The magic happens right after, when we use the same skillet to build a quick and vibrant pan sauce with sautéed onions, jalapeños, salsa, and a generous amount of fresh cilantro and lime juice. The tender, rested steak is then thinly sliced against the grain and tossed in this amazing sauce, creating the perfect, juicy filling for warm flour tortillas.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 30 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 4 |
The Essential Ingredients for The Best Steak Tacos
This recipe uses a handful of fresh, high-impact ingredients to create its signature vibrant and savory flavor.
- The Steak (Flank Steak 101):
- The Cut: A flank steak is the perfect choice for tacos. It is a lean, relatively inexpensive cut of beef that is absolutely packed with a deep, rich, beefy flavor. It does best when it is cooked quickly over a high heat and, most importantly, is sliced correctly.
- The Slicing Technique: The number one, non-negotiable secret to a tender, not chewy, flank steak is to slice it very thinly, against the grain. We will show you exactly how to do this in the tutorial below.
- The Fresh Pan Sauce:
- The Aromatics: A simple but flavorful base of sautéed yellow onion and finely chopped jalapeño pepper builds a wonderful, savory and slightly spicy foundation in the delicious beef drippings.
- The Shortcut & Fresh Finish: Using your favorite store-bought salsa is a fantastic shortcut that adds a complex tomato and pepper base with zero extra effort. The sauce is then finished with a huge burst of freshness from a generous amount of minced fresh cilantro and bright, tangy, fresh lime juice.
- The Tortillas: Soft, 6-inch flour tortillas are a great choice for this recipe, as they are pliable and perfect for holding the juicy filling.
Pro Tutorial: How to Slice Flank Steak for Tender Tacos
This is the most important step for perfect steak tacos!
- Identify the Grain: Look closely at your cooked flank steak. You will see long muscle fibers running in one direction across the meat. This is the “grain.”
- Slice Against It: Using a very sharp chef’s knife, you want to slice the steak perpendicular (or against) those lines of muscle fibers.
- Keep it Thin: For the most tender result, slice the steak as thinly as you possibly can.
- Pro Tip: For even easier slicing, you can place your raw flank steak in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes before you cook it. This will firm up the meat and make it much easier to get those paper-thin slices.
Step-by-Step to the Perfect Steak Tacos
This delicious meal comes together in one skillet and just a few simple stages.
Step 1: Sear the Perfect Flank Steak
Step 1: Pat your 1-pound flank steak completely dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle it generously on both sides with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
Pro Tip: Patting the meat dry is the secret to getting a beautiful, deep golden-brown crust!
Step 2: In a large skillet (a cast-iron skillet is perfect here!), heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Step 3: Carefully add the seasoned steak to the hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side for a perfect medium-rare (a thermometer should read 135°F).
Step 4: Transfer the seared steak to a clean cutting board and let it rest while you make the sauce. Do not wipe out the pan!
Part 2: Build the Fresh Cilantro-Lime Pan Sauce
Step 1: In the same skillet with all the delicious beef drippings, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat.
Step 2: Add the 1 sliced medium onion and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onion is tender.
Step 3: Add the 1 finely chopped jalapeño and the 1 minced garlic clove and cook for 2 more minutes, until they are very fragrant.
Step 4: Stir in the 1/2 cup of salsa, the 1/4 cup of minced fresh cilantro, the 2 teaspoons of lime juice, and the dash of hot pepper sauce. Let the sauce heat through.
Part 3: Slice the Steak and Finish the Dish
Thinly slice your rested steak against the grain, as described in the tutorial above.
Stir the sliced steak and any of its accumulated juices from the cutting board into the warm onion mixture in the skillet.
To serve, warm your 8 flour tortillas. Fill each tortilla with the cilantro beef mixture and top with your favorite optional toppings, like extra salsa, cilantro, shredded lettuce, and sour cream.
The Best Easy & Juicy Steak Tacos (30-Minute Recipe!)
A quick and flavorful recipe for cilantro beef tacos made in a single skillet. A whole flank steak is seasoned and pan-seared to the desired doneness. In the same skillet, a simple and warm salsa is created by sautéing sliced onions, jalapeño, and garlic, then stirring in jarred salsa, fresh cilantro, and lime juice. The rested steak is thinly sliced against the grain and tossed with the warm onion and pepper mixture before being served in warm flour tortillas with optional toppings.
Ingredients
- 1 beef flank steak (1 pound)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- Dash of hot pepper sauce
- 8 flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed
- Optional toppings: additional salsa, cilantro, shredded lettuce, sour cream
Instructions
- Season the flank steak with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the steak and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side for medium doneness (or until a thermometer reads 135°F for medium-rare).
- Remove the steak from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board.
- In the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes until tender.
- Add the jalapeno and garlic to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes longer.
- Stir in the salsa, cilantro, lime juice, and hot pepper sauce. Heat the mixture through.
- Thinly slice the rested steak across the grain.
- Stir the sliced steak into the onion and pepper mixture in the skillet.
- Serve the beef mixture in warm tortillas with your desired toppings.
Notes
- This is a one-pan meal (for the filling) where the sauce is made in the same skillet used to cook the steak, incorporating the flavorful pan drippings.
- Slicing the flank steak across the grain is a crucial step to ensure the meat is tender and not chewy.
- Letting the steak rest before slicing allows the juices to redistribute, resulting in a more flavorful and moist filling.
The Ultimate “Build Your Own” Taco Bar
This recipe is perfect for a fun, interactive “build your own” taco night! Simply place the skillet of warm, saucy steak on the table with a variety of toppings in small bowls:
- The Classics: The sour cream, salsa, and cilantro from the recipe.
- Cheesy Additions: A bowl of crumbled cotija or feta cheese, or some shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
- Creamy & Cooling: Some fresh, diced avocado or a simple guacamole.
- Extra Crunch: Some finely shredded cabbage or lettuce.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This is a fantastic meal-prep recipe for a week of delicious and healthy lunches or dinners.
- Make-Ahead: For a super-fast and impressive weeknight meal, you can get a head start by preparing all your components in advance. The sauce can be prepared, and the vegetables can be chopped and stored in separate, airtight containers in the refrigerator.
- Storage: Store any leftover steak and sauce mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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Creative Recipe Variations
- Use a Different Cut of Steak: If you can’t find flank steak, this recipe is also absolutely fantastic with a skirt steak or a sirloin steak.
- Make it a Burrito Bowl: For a wonderful, low-carb friendly meal, you can simply serve the delicious cilantro beef and sauce mixture over a bed of cauliflower rice or some crisp, chopped romaine lettuce. It’s also fantastic over classic cilantro-lime rice.
- Use a Different Tortilla: For a more traditional and naturally gluten-free taco, you can serve this filling in warm corn tortillas.
Enjoy Your New Favorite Taco Night!
You’ve just created a truly special dish that is a perfect harmony of wholesome, fresh ingredients and delicious, satisfying flavors. These Cilantro Beef Tacos are a testament to the power of a simple, from-scratch meal to be both incredibly fast and incredibly delicious. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying recipe that is sure to become a new staple in your weeknight dinner rotation.
We hope you enjoy every last, perfect, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves a good, easy, and impressive meal!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to tender, not chewy, flank steak for tacos?
The secret is all in how you slice it! You must, must, must slice your cooked and rested flank steak thinly, and against the grain. The “grain” refers to the direction that the muscle fibers are running in the meat. By slicing perpendicularly across these fibers, you are shortening them and creating incredibly tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of steak.
Q2: How do I know for sure when my flank steak is cooked to a perfect medium-rare?
The only 100% foolproof way to guarantee a perfectly cooked steak is to use an instant-read thermometer. For a perfect medium-rare, you want to pull the steak from the skillet when the internal temperature in the thickest part of the meat registers about 135°F (57°C). The temperature will continue to rise a few degrees as the steak rests.
Q3: Can I make the filling ahead of time for a party?
Yes, this is a perfect make-ahead party meal! You can prepare the entire cilantro beef and sauce mixture completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When your guests arrive, you can simply reheat the filling gently in a skillet or in the slow cooker on the “warm” setting, and set out all your fresh toppings for a beautiful and easy taco bar.
Q4: Can I grill the flank steak instead of pan-searing it?
Yes, absolutely! An outdoor grill is a fantastic way to cook the flank steak for this recipe, as it will give the meat a wonderful, smoky char. Simply get your grill very hot, and grill the seasoned steak for about 4-6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Then, let it rest and slice it as directed before you toss it with your prepared pan sauce.
Q5: Can I make this recipe with chicken?
Of course! This recipe would be fantastic with about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Simply cook them in the skillet for about 6-8 minutes per side, until they are cooked through, and then chop them into bite-sized pieces before you toss them with the sauce.