Mouth-Watering Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Chimichurri
These grilled skirt steak tacos are everything. Juicy, tender marinated skirt steak gets layered into a warm tortilla with mashed avocado, quick-pickled radishes, and a cilantro chimichurri. The steak is smoky, savory and perfectly charred, while the toppings make every bite tangy, herby, creamy and fresh. Whether you’re making them for a summer dinner, casual entertaining or a very excellent Taco Tuesday, these beef skirt steak tacos are absolutely worth adding to the rotation.
Ah yes, the glorious taco.
My all-time favorite food! Fish tacos, chicken tacos, vegetable tacos, I LOVE them all. But a taco with thin strips of perfectly marinated steak, a scrappy avocado mash, herby cilantro chimichurri, and dollop of sour cream? Wowowowow. Truly a taco of my dreams.
This taco is inspired by the retreat I attended a few weeks ago, where the chef made marinated and grilled skirt steak drizzled with an incredible chimichurri. Such a classic combo. So we’re doing that. But wrapped in a tortilla hug.
Guess what? This recipe made my girls steak converts! I made this recipe several times throughout the recipe testing process and was shocked when they devoured the meat. They were a little more wary of the chimichurri, but loaded up their tacos with smashed avocado, steak strips and cheese. Hey, that’s a win in my book.
This recipe has a few more components going on than most of my other recipes – the quick-pickled radishes, chimichurri sauce, marinated steak, etc. but pretty much all of them can be prepped ahead of time, making this a contender for ‘easy weeknight dinner’ status. But it’s also most definitely in the running for ‘company over for dinner’ status because it is that good.
However and whenever you make these steak tacos, I’m pretty confident you’re gonna love them.
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need for this Skirt Steak Taco Recipe:
- You’ll start with one batch of my marinated skirt steak. Skirt steak can be a tough cut of meat, but use an incredible marinade, cook for a short time at high heat, and slice it thinly against the grain, and it is absolutely perfect for tacos.
- 5 to 6-inch corn tortillas are classic and keep these gluten-free if needed, but small flour tortillas are also delicious. Use whatever you prefer.
- Avocado acts like a creamy base layer and helps hold everything together. I like to mash it with lime juice and a big pinch of salt.
- Quick-pickled radishes add a bright, tangy crunch. They’re made with a simple mixture of red wine vinegar, hot water, sugar and salt.
- The herby chimichurri is so good with the smoky grilled steak. It’s made with cilantro, parsley, garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a little red pepper flakes.
- Queso fresco adds a creamy, salty finish. You can usually find it in the refrigerated cheese section or sometimes by the specialty cheeses near the deli. Feta or cotija cheese are great substitutes if that’s what you already have.
How to Make this Skirt Steak Tacos Recipe:
Prepare the marinated skirt steak according to the full skirt steak marinade recipe. Trim away the excess fat, pound a few times with a meat mallet and whisk together the marinade. You’ll want to let the steak marinate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours for the best flavor.
Once it’s grilled, let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
In a small food processor, combine the cilantro, parsley, garlic, dried oregano, kosher salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pulse until everything is very finely chopped (about 15 seconds).
Transfer the herb mixture to a bowl, then stir in the red wine vinegar and olive oil. I like doing it this way instead of fully blending everything together because you get more of that classic chimichurri texture instead of a completely smooth sauce.
Thinly slice the radishes and place them in a small bowl or jar. I like using a mandoline slicer for this because it makes them super thin and even. Whisk together red wine vinegar, very hot water, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the mixture over the radishes and press them down with a spoon so they’re fully covered. Let them sit while you prep the rest of the taco ingredients.
Warm the tortillas however you like. If you have a gas stovetop, you can char them quickly over the flame. If not, you can use a skillet or wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave until warm and bendy.
Mash avocado with lime juice and salt, then spread it onto the warm tortillas. Add thin slices of skirt steak, quick-pickled radishes, a generous drizzle of chimichurri and any other favorite toppings, like sour cream, queso fresco, green onions, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
Dang, I’m jealous. Invite me over for dinner plz.
Expert Tips for Perfect Beef Skirt Steak Tacos
- Slice the steak against the grain. Skirt steak has long, visible muscle fibers, and if you slice with those fibers, the steak can taste chewy. Slicing against the grain means slicing perpendicular to those fibers, which makes the pieces shorter, thinner and much easier to eat in taco form.
- Don’t overcook the steak. Skirt steak is thin and cooks very quickly, so it only needs a few minutes on a super hot grill. Medium-rare is ideal here, and I don’t recommend taking it much past medium.
- Don’t skip the bright stuff. The chimichurri, pickled radishes and lime are what balance the richness of the steak and avocado.
Variations
- If you don’t love radishes, try quick-pickled red onion instead.
- If you want more heat, add sliced jalapeños, extra red pepper flakes to the chimichurri or your favorite hot sauce.
- If you don’t have skirt steak, this recipe also works with flank steak, flat iron steak or hanger steak, but you’ll need to adjust the cook time since those cuts are usually thicker.
FAQs
Yep! My recommendations would be flank, hanger or flat iron steak.
I include instructions for stovetop cooking in the recipe card! Basically, a flaming-hot cast-iron skillet or grill pan and a few minutes per side.
Store them in a sealed jar or container in the fridge for up to three weeks!
To make these steak tacos dairy-free, simply omit the sour cream and queso fresco (which are optional anyway). To make them gluten-free, use 100% corn tortillas and use coconut aminos in the steak marinade.
Mouth-Watering Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Chimichurri
- Prep Time: 30 minutes + 2+ hours to marinate
- Cook Time: 4-5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes (includes marinating time)
- Yield: 4 servings (2 tacos each) 1x
- Category: Dinner, Tacos
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
These skirt steak tacos are loaded with juicy marinated skirt steak, mashed avocado, quick-pickled radishes, and a bright cilantro chimichurri. An easy, flavor-packed weeknight dinner that feels anything but ordinary.
Ingredients
Skirt Steak Tacos
- marinated and grilled skirt steak, thinly sliced
- corn or flour tortillas (5-6-inch)
- avocado(s), mashed
- quick-pickled radishes (recipe follows)
- cilantro chimichurri (recipe follows)
- limes
- sour cream
- queso fresco
- green onions
- lettuce or shredded cabbage
Quick-Pickled Radishes
- 6 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Cilantro Chimichurri
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Steak: Prepare marinated and grilled skirt steak.
- Radishes: Thinly slice radishes (I use a mandolin) and place in a jar. Whisk together ¼ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup very hot water, 1 teaspoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour vinegar mixture over the radishes, using a spoon to press them down to make sure they are fully covered. Let sit while you prepare the remaining elements.
- Chimichurri: In a small food processor, combine 1 cup cilantro leaves, ½ cup parsley, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Process for about 15 seconds, until everything is very finely chopped. Move the mixture to a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar and ½ cup olive oil and stir until combined.
- Assembly: Mash avocado with a squeeze of lime and big pinch of salt. Warm tortillas over the gas flame of your oven (if you have a gas stovetop) or in the microwave. Slice steak as thinly as possible against the grain and drizzle with any extra juices. Layer in this order: mashed avocado, steak, pickled radishes, chimichurri and any other extras you love, like sour cream, queso fresco, green onions, lettuce and a big squeeze of lime.
Dang I’m jealous. Invite me over for dinner plz.
Notes
Cheese: I don’t often have queso fresco lying around, but I do always have feta, so I sub that in sometimes! You can use any cheese you like.
Refer to above blog post for step-by-step photos, ingredient information and answers to frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tacos (nutrition info calculated using corn tortillas + one tablespoon each chimichurri and sour cream)
- Calories: 565
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 365.6 mg
- Fat: 35.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.9 g
- Fiber: 5.7 g
- Protein: 32.5 g
- Cholesterol: 107.3 mg
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