Carne Asada Bowls
These Carne Asada Bowls are packed with juicy, marinated grilled steak, fresh toppings, and bold, zesty flavors in every bite. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or meal prep, they’re customizable, satisfying, and unbelievably delicious!
Carne Asada Bowls
Carne asada is a Mexican dish of thinly sliced beef—most often skirt or flank steak—marinated in a mixture of citrus, garlic, and seasonings, then grilled over high heat. It’s typically chopped or sliced after cooking and served in tacos, burritos, or alongside sides like rice, beans, and grilled vegetables.
Carne asada is traditionally part of northern Mexican cuisine, especially from regions like Sonora. While it’s often used in Tex-Mex dishes (like bowls, tacos, and burritos in Texas), the preparation itself is rooted in authentic Mexican cooking rather than Tex-Mex.
It’s probably obvious how much I enjoy Tex-Mex cuisine as seen from my large collection on here. So using carne asada in many of my recipes is easy to do. We love it in salads, tacos, quesadillas, and in these bowls.
Why We Love This Recipe:
- Big, bold flavor – Marinated, grilled steak brings smoky, citrusy, savory goodness to every bite.
- Totally customizable – Load them up with rice, beans, veggies, salsas, or keep them lower-carb. Your call.
- Great for meal prep – Components store well, making easy lunches or dinners throughout the week.
- Balanced and satisfying – You get protein, fresh produce, and hearty grains all in one bowl.
Ingredients Used:
- Flank Steak – or use skirt steak
- Marinade – a simple mixture of citrus juice, olive oil, soy sauce, chopped cilantro (optional), and seasonings
- Mexican Street Corn Salad – this is one of our favorite ways to enjoy bowl recipes
- White Rice – or use our Green Chile Rice, Stovetop Cilantro Lime Rice, or Mexican Rice and Beans
- Fresh Veggies – tomatoes, salad greens, and sliced avocado (or add any of your favorites)
- Dressing – use a simple combo of sour cream and salsa or make one of our dressings (like Chipotle Ranch Dressing or Cilantro Lime Crema)
How to make Carne Asada Bowls:
Step 1
Make marinade. In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients – the olive oil, soy sauce, freshly squeezed orange juice and lime juice, chopped cilantro (optional but tasty), ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper. Whisk well.
Step 2
Refrigerate. Place meat in a plastic freezer bag and pour marinade over the top. Use your hands to massage well and then place meat in refrigerator for a couple of hours (or longer) to marinate.
Step 3
Set meat out. Letting meat sit out briefly before grilling helps it cook more evenly. When meat goes on the grill ice-cold from the fridge, the outside can overcook before the inside has a chance to come up to temperature—taking the chill off promotes a more consistent doneness.
Step 4
Grill steak. Preheat your outdoor grill to high heat (about 450 degrees) so it’s nice and hot before the steak goes on. Grill the marinated carne asada for about 5-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until it’s nicely charred on the outside and cooked to your desired doneness.
We use a digital thermometer to test for doneness. Medium for flank steak is generally our preference.
- 130–135°F = medium-rare (most traditional and tender for carne asada)
- 140–145°F = medium
- 150°F+ = more well done (can start to get tougher)
Step 5
Grill corn. When steak comes off the grill, immediately add corn cobs. Grill until slightly charred on all sides. Remove to cool.
Step 6
Rest and slice. Let it rest for a 7-8 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain for the most tender bite.
Step 7
Make Mexican street corn salad. Meanwhile, make the street corn salad. Combine the grilled corn kernels, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, mayo, and seasonings (salt, pepper, and grlic powder). Stir to combine.
Step 8
Prep remaining ingredients:
- Rice – If you love cilantro, try our Cilantro Lime Rice. Otherwise, plain white rice is great.
- Veggies – Lettuce, tomato, avocado slices
- Other Toppings – Use a combo of sour cream and salsa or make one of our favorite toppings – Chipotle Ranch Dressing. or Cilantro Lime Crema!
Toppings for Burrito Bowls:
While not required, we like to add some sort of dressing or sauce to these bowls when serving.
Recipe FAQs:
We prefer flank steak, but you could use other types like skirt steak, sirloin, tenderloin, etc.
At least 30 minutes, but 2–8 hours is ideal for the best flavor. Avoid going too long (over 24 hours), as the acid can break down the texture too much.
A mix of citrus juice (like lime or orange), garlic, olive oil, and seasonings such as cumin, chili powder, and salt. You can also add cilantro (like I did here) and/or jalapeño.
Swap rice for cauliflower rice or lettuce, and load up on veggies, salsa, and lean protein.
We love to meal prep these bowls for lunches. I often add chicken to the grill (double the marinade) and rotate between chicken and steak bowls.
Leftovers are good for up to four days.
Absolutely. Use a hot cast-iron skillet or grill pan on the stovetop to get a similar seared finish.
Other Delicious Tex-Mex Recipes:
Tex-Mex is on constant rotation here, including some of the following.
Kitchen Items Used: (affiliate links)
- We used our Big Green Egg with some Mesquite wood chips.
- Instant Pot – for the rice.
- Global 7-inch Knife
- Non-Slip Cutting Board
xoxo ~Sue
Carne Asada Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
For the carne asada:
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the remaining bowl ingredients:
- 1 batch Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe
- 4-6 cups prepared white rice – or any rice
- avocado slices, tomatoes, lettuce greens
- Tex-Mex dressing or combo of salsa and sour cream
Instructions
- Make marinade. In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients – the olive oil, soy sauce, freshly squeezed orange juice and lime juice, chopped cilantro (optional but tasty), ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper. Whisk well.1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Refrigerate. Place meat in a plastic freezer bag and pour marinade over the top. Use your hands to massage well and then place meat in refrigerator for a couple of hours (or longer) to marinate.1 ½ pounds flank steak
- Set meat out. Letting meat sit out briefly before grilling helps it cook more evenly. When meat goes on the grill ice-cold from the fridge, the outside can overcook before the inside has a chance to come up to temperature—taking the chill off promotes a more consistent doneness.
- Grill steak. Preheat your outdoor grill to high heat (about 450 degrees) so it’s nice and hot before the steak goes on. Grill the marinated carne asada for about 5-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until it’s nicely charred on the outside and cooked to your desired doneness.We use a digital thermometer to test for doneness. Medium for flank steak is generally our preference.130–135°F = medium-rare (most traditional and tender for carne asada)140–145°F = medium150°F+ = more well done (can start to get tougher)
- Grill corn. When steak comes off the grill, immediately add corn cobs. Grill until slightly charred on all sides. Remove to cool.
- Rest and slice. Let it rest for a 7-8 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain for the most tender bite.
- Make Mexican street corn salad. Meanwhile, make the street corn salad. Combine the grilled corn kernels, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, mayo, and seasonings (salt, pepper, and grlic powder). Stir to combine.1 batch Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe
- Prep remaining ingredients:Rice – If you love cilantro, try our Cilantro Lime Rice. Otherwise, plain white rice is great.Veggies – Lettuce, tomato, avocado slicesOther Toppings – Use a combo of sour cream and salsa or make one of our favorite toppings – Chipotle Ranch Dressing. or Cilantro Lime Crema!4-6 cups prepared white rice, avocado slices, tomatoes, lettuce greens, Tex-Mex dressing or combo of salsa and sour cream
Notes
- add grilled onions and peppers
- skip the condiments for some chunky guacamole and pico de gallo
- use plain rice or green Chile rice
- add a dollop of the best refried beans
- use a different protein (like chicken or shrimp)
Yes sir!
We are big fans of Suebee Homemaker TexMex. The combination of ingredients in this recipe is a tasty Texas treat. 😁
Yes it is! So glad you’re a fan of Tex-Mex like we are, Jackie!
Talk about the ultimate steak bowl!