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Grilled flank steak tacos are flavorful and easy to make! This unique marinade contains tart cherry or pomegranate juice with garlic and smoked paprika for a delicious flank steak marinade.
The flank steak is then grilled for less than 15 minutes and sliced thin for tacos. Perfect in crispy corn or soft flour tortillas, this recipe pairs perfectly with salsa verde, cilantro, and queso fresco.
Serve these grilled flank steak tacos with Spanish brown rice, queso or roasted corn for a delicious dinner recipe. Don’t have a grill? Try these instant pot steak tacos.
Table of Contents
Grilled Flank Steak Tacos
As a Texan, I take my taco recipes very seriously. And starting a migraine diet was challenging to do with the elimination of citrus. I quickly discovered one of my favorite steak marinades is a tart cherry marinade with garlic. If you haven’t tried this yet, you’ll love it!
It compliments the spices here perfectly and gives a great balance of acidity and a little sweetness to bring down any heat. You’ll love these grilled flank steak tacos because:
- Quick – Once the marinade is finished, it’s just 15 minutes to grill them!
- Easy clean up – Grilled recipes make for minimal dishes.
- Healthy – Flank steak is a leaner cut of beef and a wonderful way to add iron to your diet, and this tart cherry marinade can be a brain health boost.
Flank Steak Marinade for Tacos
These grilled flank steak tacos are marinated for at least an hour, although I usually like to do about 6-8 hours. The more time you give it, the more flavor that will infuse, but I do find that 2-8 hours does give great results if you can’t do it all day. I’ve found both tart cherry juice and pomegranate juice works great for this recipe.
Be careful to not marinate the flank steak much longer than 24 hours as the fibers will begin to break down and the steak texture could change.
Ingredients
For the flank steak marinade:
- Flank steak – skirt steak can also be substituted. I recommend about 2 pounds for 4 people to have 2 tacos each.
- Tart cherry or pomegranate juice – provides a tart and slightly sweet base to the marinade. Can either be found in the juice aisle or where the refrigerated juices are.
- Olive oil – avocado oil will also work.
- Spices – fresh garlic, smoked paprika, and chili powder.
- White vinegar – adds a little acidity.
- Honey – Since pomegranate juice and tart cherry juice are lower in sugar, this balances the flavors and also the heat of the chili powder.
For the flank steak tacos:
- Corn or flour tortillas – Either can be used! I’ll teach you the best ways to reheat them below. Corn tortillas are naturally gluten free. My favorite ones are the homemade ones from Central Market/HEB.
- Green onion, cilantro, queso fresco, shredded cabbage, salsa verde – These all make great extras!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the marinade
Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a plastic bag or glass dish and mixed till fully combined. Then place the steak in the marinade, flipping to coat on all sides. Marinate for 2-8 hours, or overnight.
Step 2: Grill the flank steak
Preheat a gas grill to about 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Wipe the grill grates with a paper towel dipped into a little bit of vegetable oil, being careful to not add too much to prevent flairs.
Grill on the first side for about 8 minutes with the grill lid closed. Flip the flank steak and grill for another 6 minutes, or until desired internal temperature has been reached. Cover and let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes
Step 3: Slice the steak
Cut the flank steak against the grain into thin slices, then place into pre-cooked tortillas. Use any toppings you’d like.
How to Cook Flank Steak without a Grill?
If you want to make these flank steak tacos but don’t have a grill – no worries! There are a few ways you can do this. You can follow my instant pot directions (with an even easier recipe!) or make air fryer flank steak.
A grill pan will also work for this recipe. I recommend a cast iron grill pan.
How to Warm Tortillas for Tacos
Flour tortillas – My favorite way to warm these is over a gas grill or stove. Simply place the tortilla on the grill or over a gas stove flame for about 15-20 seconds, and flip. There should be a nice char in small spots! This allows the tortillas to get soft and also crisp up a bit in spots.
Corn tortillas – Older corn tortillas can be prone to cracking and breaking. To prevent this, place the corn tortilla in a shallow dish with water for about 5 seconds per side. Then place in a clean, dry cast iron pan that has been warmed. Warm over medium heat for about 20 seconds per side, or until soft and flexible. Stack the tortillas on top of each other so they stay warm.
Recipe Substitutions
- Flank steak – Can be substituted with skirt steak, or this marinade also works well with chicken!
- Vinegar – White vinegar can be substituted with lime juice (if tolerated).
- Honey – Can be omitted or substituted with a pinch of sugar.
Serving Suggestions
These grilled flank steak tacos are perfect as a whole meal, but for some easy sides, here are my favorite recommendations.
- Chips and queso or salsa
- Mexican rice
- Pear mojito mocktails
- Slaw*
- Santa Fe rice salad*
- Homemade guacamole*
The last 3 are not migraine diet recipes so please review for any personal triggers.
Storage and Reheating
Storage – Flank steak will keep for 3 days in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer. It is an amazing recipe to meal prep or freeze!
Reheating – Reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments till warmed through. You can also pan-sear over medium heat. To reheat from frozen, place in the fridge overnight to defrost, then reheat with the previous recommendations.
Taco Recipes
For more delicious taco recipes like these grilled flank steak tacos, don’t miss these posts!
Beef
Instant Pot Steak Tacos
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Grilled Flank Steak Tacos
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup tart cherry juice, pomegranate juice can also be subbed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2-3 tsp smoked paprika, can also use regular paprika
- 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Tacos
- 1 1/2-2 lbs flank steak
- 4-6 tortillas
- queso fresco, optional
- tomatoes and cilantro, optional
- 2 green onions chopped, optional
Instructions
- Whisk all the marinade ingredients together and place in a large ziplock bag or roasting pan.
- Add the flank steak to the marinade and let sit in the fridge for 2-8 hours.
- Heat charcoal or gas grill to about 425-450 and add steaks 8 min on first side. Flip and grill about 6 min on other side for medium/well. Remove and place on cutting board.
- Cover steak and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing across the grain of the steak (rather than with the grain).
- Add toppings and enjoy!
Tortillas can be covered in tin foil and heated in the oven for 5 minutes or, if you have a gas grill, you can toast them over the open flame about 1 minute per side to get a nice char.
Notes
- If you can’t find tart cherry juice, I’ve also used cranberry pomegranate juice with good results.
- For gluten free, use your favorite tortillas like corn or cassava flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe sounds delicious! Have you tried making this in the instant pot, similar to your other flank steak taco recipe (with the tomatillo marinade)?
I haven’t but I imagine it would work. You’d just have to add some broth for liquid!
I made this last night and it was delicious! Of course, I did not have the proper juice (I used apple) but it was tasty, flavorful and awesome. I can’t wait to try it with cherry juice.
Oh!! I’ll have to try that! Thanks for sharing that with me.
This salsa is the BEST! We make it twice a week as it never lasts long.
Thank you, Meghan!
Perfect marinade keeps this meat juicy and tender. So yummy!
Thank you for another great recipe
Delicious!!
OK, not long ago we got a call from Alicia offering to trade food for TP and paper towels (welcome to the age of CV-19). As these items were until recently “somewhat” easier to get away from the big city. It was a good trade, since she brought this over (while maintaining social distancing). I think we got the better end of the deal as they were so good, it was hard not to eat it all in one sitting. Since then, I’ve been trying to get her to trade again, but alas, the paper products have become “easier” to get. Guess we are just going to have to make our own. This is a CAN’T MISS recipe.