This Carne Asada Salad is a flavorful way to enjoy the bold fiesta flavors of the grill and the cool crisp, refreshing crunch of a chopped salad.

If there is anything Mr. Hungry loves to grill, it’s carne asada steak. It’s his absolute favorite! So, since we’re heading into Father’s Day weekend, I thought I’d share one of my favorite ways to eat his most beloved grill food! This is an old 2017 recipe getting a major revamp today, and I’m so excited to breathe some life back into this post/recipe because it deserves it!

How to Make Carne Asada Salad

This recipe is bursting with flavorful ingredients like orange juice, garlic, jalapeno, and fresh herbs that make carne asada one of the most beloved and versatile steak marinades ever. I’m sharing a salad recipe today, but this steak can also be used for burritos, tacos, and more!

In this recipe, we will start by making the carne asada marinade, and while the steak marinates in the fridge, you’ll build your salad and make the dressing, which is essentially another batch of the marinade with a little tweak. You could also make it all at once and then divide it in half, using half for the marinade and half for the dressing. I made them separate because I slightly altered the dressing to have just a bit more orange juice.

Grill your steak to your desired doneness. In our house, we mostly like medium to medium well, so we don’t hear complaints from the kids. But we also like making a few different steaks at varying levels of doneness to appease everyone.

While the steak grills, you can assemble your salads. You have a ton of flexibility here, but this flavorful steak and dressing stand up really well to a hardy mix of dark green veggies like spinach, kale, and even collard greens. Cherry tomatoes, avocados, and red cabbage add flavor, color, and crunch! But, again, you can change the veggies because the star players here are the dressing and the carne asada meat.

The marinade/dressing is also freezer friendly, so make sure to make a double batch to have on hand!

Swaps And Substitutions

Orange Juice – orange juice is key to carne asada. I wouldn’t switch it out if I could help it. But, if you are really in a pinch, you could try something like mango or pear juice.
Fresh Herbs (Cilantro and Green Onions) – Do not omit or substitute.
Lemon Juice – you can substitute lime juice in a pinch, but this will change the flavor.
Avocado Oil – can sub any other neutral-tasting oil such as EVOO or canola oil. I happen to have a blood orange EVOO on hand that I use for this that gives a little extra flavor punch, but I often make it with regular avocado oil as well, and it’s delicious either way!
Garlic – can sub garlic powder in a pinch, but I recommend trying to have it fresh on hand if possible!
Jalapeno – serrano peppers are good alternatives if you can’t get your hands on jalapenos, but again, I wouldn’t omit or substitute them.
Apple cider vinegar – can sub-white distilled vinegar.
Flank Steak – in my opinion, flank steak is the best choice for salads and carne asada in general. It absorbs marinade flavors, cooks quickly, and slices thinly for salads, tacos, burritos, etc. You could substitute other cuts of steak, such as a ranch steak. The grilling time will change.
Veggies (bell pepper, tomato, greens, avocado) – feel free to swap salad ingredients with other veggies to build a salad you love! I love the bell pepper, tomato, hardy dark green leafy veggies, and avocado combo, but you may want to add or omit as you see fit!

How to Freeze and Store:

Storing: Store this carne asada steak in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days. For best results, plate salad veggies and steak individually. That way, any leftover veggies won’t get soggy in the dressing in the fridge. I suggest storing dressing, veggie mix, and steak all separately in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 3 days (for meat.) The dressing is good for up to a week.

Freezing: There are two ways to freeze this recipe.

Freeze raw meat (as long as it has not been previously frozen) and marinade together in a freezer-safe container like a large freezer bag for up to 3 months. Then, defrost under refrigeration and grill once thawed! Then make your salad.
After the meat is cooked, freeze meat and dressing separately for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Then, defrost under refrigeration and reheat meat to 165F. Do not freeze salad ingredients. You can combine fresh veggies with reheated meat and defrosted dressing. You may need to give the dressing a quick blend to emulsify again.