Tropical Steak Tacos

Tacos! It doesn’t have to be Taco Tuesday to eat tacos! Tropical Steak Tacos are nice little mix up from the traditional beef, cheese, and mango salsa.

 

Ingredients

You can easily find all of these tropical steak tacos ingredients at your local grocery store.

• Tortillas – There’s nothing better than warm tortillas wrapped around juicy steak and seasoned veggies. I like flour tortillas, but you can use corn tortillas if you’d like. 
• Vegetable oil – Any neutral oil will work here. Olive oil or avocado oil also work.
• Turmeric – This spice is earthy, a little spicy, pungent and with hints of citrus. Perfect for pairing with our tropical salsa.
• Cumin – Cumin is the base of most taco seasonings. It’s rich, earthy and warm with a hint of citrus. 
• Flank steak – I guess you could really use any type of steak you’d like to, but flank steak is the traditional cut used to make tender steak tacos. Cut it into thin strips.
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper – Besides the spices above, we just need a simple blend of salt and pepper to season this steak.
• Bibb lettuce – Instead of using shredded lettuce on top of the tacos, I like to use a leaf of bibb lettuce right on top of the tortilla! You get crisp lettuce in every bite.
• Mango salsa – This is where the tropical part comes in! It’s made with mango, onion, cilantro, lime and more, for the perfect Caribbean flavor.
• Red cabbage – Not only do I love the crunch of cabbage on tacos, but the color of red cabbage is so fun too!
• Queso fresco – You can top your tacos with any type of cheese that you’d like, but this is my personal favorite.

Variations

There are plenty of ways you can make these beefy tacos your own. Here are a few suggestions.

• Steak – You can step up the flavor of this steak however you’d like! Try using a steak marinade for even more flavor. Instead of flank steak tacos, try a skirt steak instead. You can even use browned ground beef if you’d like.
• Salsa – Instead of or in addition to the mango, try some pineapple! Sweet pineapple and fresh mango can come together to make an incredible pineapple mango salsa.
• Toppings – Top these best steak tacos with your favorite toppings. Red onion, sour cream, creamy avocado, yellow onion, fresh lime juice, pico de gallo or chunky salsa would all be great options.
• Make it spicy – If you need some spice in your life, try adding things like scotch bonnet peppers, extra black pepper, hot sauce, chili powder or even jalapeno pepper into your salsa.

How to Make Tropical Beef Tacos

Full of tropical flavors, you are going to love how easy these tacos are to make.

1. Prepare oven and tortillas. Preheat oven and wrap tortillas in aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. Prepare spice mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, turmeric and cumin. Set aside.
3. Prepare steak. Trim the steak of any large pieces of fat. Season well with fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper. 
4. Cook steak. You can either grill your steak or cook it on the stovetop. For stove top, heat a large, seasoned cast iron skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Place in pan, searing on each side for a few minutes for medium rare. For grilling, preheat grill to medium-high and grill on direct heat for a few minutes on each side.
5. Let steak rest, then slice. Remove and allow to rest for a few minutes. Thinly slice against the grain.
6. Heat tortillas. Meanwhile, heat tortillas in the oven for a few minutes. Remove and baste each on just one side with vegetable oil and spice mixture.
7. Assemble. Pace a leaf of Bibb lettuce over the side of tortilla that was basted. Top with 2-3 thin slices of beef, 1 tablespoon of mango salsa, a generous pinch of red cabbage and sprinkle of queso fresco.

What to Serve with Tropical Beef Tacos

You can serve these flavorful steak tacos with just about anything you would serve with regular tacos. If you want to keep up with the tropical twist, try serving them with some fresh pineapple salsa and homemade tortilla chips.

I like to serve my tacos with lots of dips. Homemade guacamole, queso dip and homemade salsa are some favorites- just to name a few. Serve with some lime wedges on the side for extra flavor.

Storage and Freezing

How to Store

If you have any leftovers, it’s best to store each component separately. Store the steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Can I Freeze Tropical Beef Tacos?

You sure can! Cooked steak can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. However, I do no recommend freezing the other elements of these tropical tacos.

More Tacos Recipes

If you like tacos as much as we do, check out some of our other delicious taco recipes.