Carne Asada Seasoning

This Carne Asada Seasoning is an easy, tasty seasoning packed with Mexican flavors and is perfect for seasoning your flank steak and making an authentic carne asada.

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I love making my seasoning recipes and marinades. You might have already tried my chicken taco seasoning, which is also packed with authentic Mexican flavors but a bit too spicy for beef. This is a new spice blend I have to share. The perfect carne asada seasoning adds punch to your meat.

Carne Asada is a Mexican dish that translates to roast meat. It’s typically a piece of steak like a flank steak, or skirt steak, grilled or seared after it has been seasoned or marinated. There are two ways to prepare the meat for a carne asada.

First, the meat can be marinated in Mexican spices and an acidic ingredient like orange juice or lime juice. Or, the meat is simply seasoned and rubbed with a spice mix with lemon notes like tajin and lemon pepper.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to deliver the best flavor to a carne asada recipe are:

• Mexican Chili Powder
• Tajin – It has a bright citrus flavor perfect for grilled meat or even dessert!
• Ground Cumin
• Celery Salt – This contains celery seeds that add a great celery aftertaste. if you can’t find it, use regular sea salt.
• Ground Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Lemon Pepper or black pepper
• Mexican Oregano – It has a more pungent taste than Greek oregano. However, if you can’t find this ingredient, use regular oregano.
• Cayenne Pepper

How To Make Carne Asada Seasoning

To make this blend you need to pack fresh ground spices to ensure the best flavors.

1. Stir all the spices together in a bowl: Mexican chili powder, tajin, salt, garlic, cumin, paprika, onion powder, lemon pepper, Mexican oregano, and cayenne pepper.
2. Pour the seasoning in a glass jar for saving it.

Storage Instructions

Store the spice blend in a cold, dark place like your pantry for up to one year. You can double or triple the batch if you like.

How To Use It

There are two ways to use this recipe.

First, you can use this spice blend as a dry rub. Stir 2 tablespoons of olive oil with one tablespoons of seasoning mix in a bowl. Rub one pound of flank steak with one tablespoon of seasoning. Then, grill the meat on the BBQ.

The second way of using it is to make a marinade. Place it in a bowl with:

• 2 tablespoons of lime juice or lemon juice
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• One tablespoon of carne asada seasoning per pound of flank steak.

Stir everything together, place the flank steak in a Ziploc bag, and pour the marinade. Close the bag with the marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Discard the marinade after use. It’s not safe to eat marinade where raw meat has been placed.

Dish Pairing

Carne Asada refers to grilled beef, which can be served with a very similar side to the one you have on a taco night. After the meat has been grilled, cut into strips to tender the meat and use it as filling tacos or burritos.

Use your favorite tortillas like corn tortillas or make my easy flour tortillas and add carne asada to it. Serve them with some fillings like:

• Homemade salsa
• Coleslaw
• Red onion
• Sour cream
• Cheddar cheese
• Lettuce
• Guacamole

Vegetarian Seasoning

In a taqueria-style recipe, you can find vegetarian options, where vegetables are oiled and then rubbed with a spice blend to bring out authentic Mexican flavors. The best vegetable to season with carne asada seasoning and then use as a filling to tacos.

• Mushroom slices and make mushroom fajita
• Red bell pepper stripes
• Jackfruit

Frequently Asked Questions

Here my answers to the most common questions about carne asada.

More Seasoning Recipes

If you like to season and marinate your meat or veggies, try some of the following options: