Mexican Street Tacos
Updated Jun 20, 2025
Street taco recipe made with marinated skirt steak seared at high heat, served inside a warm corn tortilla with fresh cilantro and diced onions.
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My street tacos are so good!
Whether it’s Taco Tuesday or any other day of the week, there’s nothing quite like a classic Mexican street taco. But, for days when you don’t have time to chase down your local taco truck, I have a great homemade street taco recipe filled with citrus-y skirt steak. These street tacos are made with marinated skirt steak, inside a corn tortilla, and topped with cilantro and diced onions, and they’re super simple to make. They even come together in under 10 minutes!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Street Tacos Ingredients
- Corn tortillas: Small, taco size corn tortillas are best for street tacos, but you can use small flour tortillas if you prefer.
- Skirt steak: I love skirt steak, it’s delicious and affordable! Just be sure to cut your meat into 1/4-inch chunks.
- Orange juice: You only need ¼ cup of juice, so one medium-sized orange should do the trick!
- Seasoning: I like to use garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, & salt to season my marinade but if you’re low on time, taco seasoning will work, too.
- Avocado oil: I think avocado oil is best for searing stovetop steak but any cooking oil will do.
- Toppings: My favorite taco toppings are onion, cilantro, salsa, and fresh lime juice, but feel free to use anything you like! Sliced radishes, cucumbers, avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, queso fresco, or cabbage will all be delicious, too.
How to Make Street Tacos
To assemble: Fill your tortillas with skirt steak and top with cilantro and onion. Serve with salsa and lime wedges for squeezing over the top.
Street Taco Recipe
Ingredients
For the Steak Tacos
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 pound skirt steak cut into ¼-inch chunks
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
For the Toppings
- ¼ cup onion minced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- Salsa
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, place the steak, orange juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and dried oregano, and toss to combine. Set in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, put one tortilla in the pan at a time and warm for 30 seconds per side, until the tortilla is pliable and begins to brown slightly. To keep the tortillas warm while you are heating the remaining ones, you can wrap them in a kitchen towel.
- Add avocado oil to the cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil is sizzling, add the steak and marinade to the hot pan and cook, stirring often, until the steak is deeply browned, about 4 to 5 minutes, and the marinade has reduced.
- To assemble, add a generous portion of steak to the middle of each warm tortilla. Top with onion and cilantro. Serve with salsa and lime wedges, squeezing the juice on top right before serving.
Notes
Original Recipe
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Make the slaw: In a small bowl, whisk together the avocado oil mayo, lime juice, and chipotle chili powder, then toss the kale with the chipotle lime dressing until it is fully coated.
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Make the chicken filling: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the chicken and corn and cook for 2 minutes to warm through.
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Add the lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt and toss to coat the chicken. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until the chicken is slightly browned.
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Place a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, put one tortilla in the pan at a time and warm for 30 seconds per side, until the tortilla is pliable and begins to brown slightly. To keep the tortillas warm while you are heating the remaining ones, you can wrap them in a kitchen towel.
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To assemble the tacos, add the chicken and kale slaw to a warmed tortilla and garnish with Cotija cheese. Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Keep your tortillas warm. I wrap my tortillas in a kitchen towel after heating them so that they stay flexible and don’t rip or break when it’s time to fold them.
- Double up on tortillas! I’m big on toppings, which can sometimes cause my tortillas to break quickly! By doubling up, I get a sturdier taco.
- Marinate your steak for at least 1 hour. A longer marinade will give your beef time to soak up lots of flavor (and the orange juice will tenderize it). Just don’t marinate your meat for too long (24 hours or less) because the acid in the orange juicy will make it mushy.
Serving Ideas
- Serve with corn. It’s hard to go wrong with corn, but I especially love Mexican street corn. So, what could be a better complement to Mexican street tacos than my Mexican street corn salad?
- Make taco salad. If you have leftover taco fillings, fry up your tortillas to make them crunchy, then crumble them over lettuce along with your fillings for a tasty, summery taco salad.
- Add rice. When I need a little extra grain to round out a taco meal, I love to make Cilantro Lime Rice. It pairs perfectly with all the Mexican flavors (with a little extra padding), and it tastes great folded up in a taco!
FAQs
I recommend storing your cooked ingredients separately! Store your beef in one airtight container, the veggies in another, and the tortillas in a separate bag for 3-4 days in the fridge. Then, to reheat, warm your tortillas in the oven at 350F for 5 minutes, and your steak in a skillet over medium heat until heated through.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing fully assembled tacos! But you CAN freeze your marinated and cooked meat. Just let it cool, then transfer it to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months. To eat, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight then reheat in a skillet over medium heat (adding a splash of water if needed) before reassembling your tacos!
Tortillas that are too cold can be prone to cracking or ripping! Warm them in a pan and wrap them in a towel to keep them warm.
Skirt steak needs an acid like orange juice to help break it down. If you skipped or didn’t let your steak marinate long enough, that’s likely the problem!
