Carne Asada Fries Are a Tex Mex spin on loaded french fries. Marinated, grilled carne asada is sliced and served on top of seasoned fries with a cheesy sauce and tons of toppings of your choice! The ULTIMATE party food!
If loaded fries are your thing make sure to try out my Skillet Frachos! Very similar vibes with ground beef!
What Are Carne Asada Fries?
Today you’re in for a real treat…Carne Asada fries are a cross between cheesy fries and nachos. Pure Text Mex comfort food.
Carne Asada is a grilled and sliced steak. You can really use any type of steak to make carne asada, but you will most commonly see it made with skirt, flank, or sirloin. It marinated and then grilled, giving it a nice charred exterior. It can be served on its own of course, but today we’re putting it on loaded cheesy fries. I know you’re ready!
Ingredients:
There are a few parts to this recipe that can all be done ahead of time which is fantastic! And I’ve included a recipe for the carne asada marinade, but you can absolutely buy a pre-made marinade like a Mojo marinade that will work great too!
Marinade:
- lime juice
- orange juice
- olive oil
- minced garlic
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- ground cumin
- dried oregano
- 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
What Kind of Steak Do You Use For Carne Asada?
I like to use skirt steak, but have noticed that the price of skirt steak has gone WAY up lately. So feel free to use another kind if you prefer. Here are a few great options:
- Skirt Steak
- Flank Steak
- Sirloin Steak
- Tenderloin
- Ribeye
What Kind of French Fries Do You Need?
I just use frozen seasoned fries for this recipe for extra flavor, but here are some other options that will work great!
- Crinkle Cut Fries
- Waffle Fries
- Tater Tots
- Curly Fries
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Wedge Fries
- Seasoned Fries
Cheese Sauce:
- butter
- all purpose flour
- milk
- garlic salt
- cheddar cheese – always use fresh grated cheese for homemade cheese sauces, as they will turn out creamier!
How To Make Carne Asada Fries:
There are a few essential steps to prepping your fries. Luckily a lot of these steps can be done in advance! The only step that I recommend doing right before serving is baking your french fries. We all know that fresh french fries are the best!
- Marinate the meat
- Grill the meat
- Make the cheese sauce
- Prep the toppings
- Bake the fries
- Assemble!
Topping Ideas:
Here are a few ideas for topping your carne asada fries to get you started. Get creative!
- Avocado
- Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Sliced Jalapeno
Serving Suggestions…
You can make a large tray of these fries to serve to a crowd easily. Just bake the fries according to the package directions and top them right on the baking sheet!
Or they can easily be made as individual portions. Set out all the toppings and let everyone assemble their own! Serve them on small plates or bowls.
How To Store And/Or Reheat:
If you have assembled the fries with the cheese sauce and toppings, this isn’t a great recipe to reheat, although you can do it in the microwave in a pinch.
BUT if you haven’t assembled the fries you can reheat each element on it’s own! Bake the fries in the oven to get crisp again, heat the cheese sauce on the stove top adding in a splash of milk to make it creamy, and heat you steak on a hot skillet for a minute or two!
Print
Carne Asada Fries
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 6
- Category: Steak
- Method: Oven/Grill/Stove Top
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Description
Carne Asada Fries are the perfect game day or party food! Prep ahead for easy assembly!
Ingredients
Marinade and Steak:
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
Fries and Cheese Sauce:
- 1 (16 – 20- ounce) bag frozen seasoned fries, baked according to package directions
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (not pre-grated)
Serving:
- Avocado
- Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Sliced Jalapeno
Instructions
- Marinade and steak: Combine the lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, and oregano in a small mixing bowl. Place the steak in a zip-top bag or a shallow container and pour the marinade over top. Allow the steak to marinate 6 hours or overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook the meat, preheat your grill to medium-hight heat and grill the steak for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the steak reaches 125°F – 130°F for medium rare. Cook longer if you prefer it more well done. Alternately you can cook the steak in a cast iron skillet. Preheat skillet to medium-high. Add the steak to the skillet and cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until desired doneness.
- Transfer the meat to a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
- Fries and Cheese: Cook the fries in the oven according the directions on the package.
- While the fries are cooking, melt the butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add in the flour and whisk constantly for 2 minutes, cooking the flour. Slowly add in the milk and garlic salt, whisking constantly for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.
- Add in the cheese in two portions, whisking constantly until melted and smooth. Remove the sauce from the heat, and cover until you’re ready to assemble the fries. If the cheese sauce gets too thick as it cools, simply place it back on medium-low heat, and stir until warm and smooth.
- Serving and Assembly: Slice the steak into bite size pieces, making sure to slice against the grain. When the fries are done remove them from the oven. You can make individual servings or serve on the sheet pan.
- Drizzle the some of the cheese sauce on top of the fries, top with steak, and more cheese sauce.
- Add avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, cilantro, and jalapeño as desired.
Notes
You can prep this recipe ahead for the most part, except the french fries.
The cheese sauce can be made up to 4 days in advance, stored in the refrigerator. Reheat over low heat on the stove top stirring frequently until warm, adding a splash or two of heavy cream if necessary. For the creamiest cheese sauce, always use fresh grated cheese!
Keywords: cookies and cups, carne asada, french fries, tex mex recipe, game day recipe, carne asada fries
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This was outstanding! This is what I heard as people were eating it; “this is insane” , “wow”, “this is incredible”. I just found your site on Friday, made this and your ridiculous vanilla cake. 2 for 2 = huge hits!
★★★★★
YAY!!! I mean what’s better than cheesy fries, right?? And so glad you enjoyed the Vanilla Cake as well!