Carne Asada Fries

Carne Asada Fries are a SoCal restaurant favorite, but they’re incredibly easy to make at home. Here’s how to make the best Carne Asada Fries you’ve ever eaten.

These fries make an irresistible appetizer for company or a decadent (and delicious) dinner for a night in.

With all that gooey cheese, gorgeous carne asada, and mountain of toppings, it’s the sort of dish that has major WOW factor when you put it on the table.

Overhead photo of Carne Asada Fries in a skillet. - 1

Overhead photo of Carne Asada Fries in a skillet. - 2

What are carne asada fries?

Carne asada fries are a Mexican-American dish that originated in the taco shops of San Diego in the ’90s. And the dish is exactly what it sounds like, crispy fries loaded with chunks of carne asada and then topped with cheese and usually sour cream and guacamole.

Ingredient Overview

Steak: You can use leftover carne asada here if you have it, but I prefer to make the carne asada from scratch. The best cuts of meat for carne asada are flank steak, flap meat, and skirt steak. All cook up beautifully over quick, high heat and have fantastic beefy flavor. I like flap meat best of the three, but go with whatever is available and cheapest in your area.
Marinade: We’re using my favorite Carne Asada Marinade for this recipe. It’s citrus-based, so it’s packed with flavor and the acids from the lemon, lime, and orange juices help tenderize the steak as it marinates.
Fries: I call for a 28-ounce bag of frozen fries in the recipe. Big hearty fries like steak-cut fries stand up well to the weight of the toppings but any fries will work. If you’d like to make homemade fries, try the fry recipe from my Cheese Fries (but double or triple it).
Cheese: Use your favorite melty cheese here. Cheddar works beautifully as do Mexican-style blends. Feel free to use pre-shredded bagged cheese to cut down on grating time.
Pico de Gallo and Guacamole : Make your own or grab pre-made containers at the grocery store.
Sour cream, lime juice, and chopped cilantro: A big dollop of sour cream, squeeze of lime juice and handful of chopped cilantro complement and help balance the rest of the flavors in your skillet. They’re optional but highly recommended.

More Topping Ideas

There’s really no limit on the types of toppings you can add to your fries. Go forth and make the carne asada nacho fries of your dreams. For more topping ideas, start with:

Refried beans
Black or pinto beans
Corn
Nacho Cheese Sauce or Cheese Sauce
Olives

How to Make The Best Carne Asada Fries (Tips & Tricks)

Give your meat a nice long marinade. You can marinate your carne asada for as little as 4 hours, but it really benefits from 12+ hours, up to 24 to really soak up all the flavor from the marinade.
Cook the carne asada over quick, high heat. In this recipe, I call for cooking it under the broiler because it cooks up quick and beautifully with little charred bits that you’ll be stealing off the cutting board.
Bake your fries until just done. Since you’ll be topping your cooked fries with cheese and returning them to the oven, you don’t want them too soft/crispy to start with or they’ll be overcooked by the time your cheese melts.
Heat any ingredients that should be served warm. If adding extra ingredients like beans or corn to your fries (or if your carne asada has cooled significantly), heat them before layering them over the cooked fries because they might not warm all the way through in the short time it takes for the cheese to melt.

How can I make my steak tender?

The key to tender carne asada is starting with the right cut of meat (flap meat, flank steak, or skirt steak), cooking it no higher than medium doneness 140-150°F, and cutting your steak against the grain when slicing it into pieces.

Here’s an excellent article on what happens when you cut meat across the grain, but basically, you are cutting the muscle fibers into shorter pieces which leads to a less chewy, more tender bite of meat.

Can I make these carne asada fries in advance?

Any dish involving fries is best eaten immediately, so I don’t recommend cooking this dish in advance, but you can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time. Carne asada can be cooked the day before and the rest of the ingredients bought or chopped 24 to 48 hours in advance.

Then all you have to do when it’s time to serve the carne asada fries is reheat the carne asada, cook the fries, and assemble everything.

How to reheat carne asada fries?

As mentioned above, fries are best eaten immediately, but it you have leftovers, there are some things you can do to make them the best leftovers they can be. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or greased foil. Scrape any sour cream and guacamole left on your fries onto a small plate and set aside to add back to the fries later (you don’t want those going in the oven).

Then spread the carne asada fries out on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer and bake until everything is heated through. Reheating time will vary depending on the number of fries you have, but start checking on them at 7 minutes.

Once everything is hot, scoop it all back on a plate, add the sour cream and guacamole, and enjoy!

More Carne Asada Recipes

Carne Asada Salad
Carne Asada Burrito Bowls
Carne Asada Sandwiches
Carne Asada Tacos

Ingredients

Special Equipment

▢ Instant-read thermometer optional, but nice to have
▢ Foil

Marinade

▢ 1/2 cup orange juice bottled is fine
▢ 1/2 cup soy sauce low-sodium is fine
▢ 1/4 cup lemon juice bottled is fine
▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice bottled is fine
▢ 2 cloves garlic pressed or diced
▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper OR 1 teaspoon finely chopped, canned chipotle pepper optional
▢ 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped, about 3/4-1 cup very loosely packed

Meat

▢ 1 1/2 to 2 pounds skirt, flank, or flap steak

Carne Asada Fries

▢ 1 28-ounce bag frozen fries
▢ 1 to 2 cups shredded cheese
▢ 1 cup pico de gallo
▢ 1/2 cup sour cream
▢ 1/2 cup guacamole
▢ Chopped cilantro optional for topping
▢ 1 jalapeno sliced, optional for topping

Instructions

Carne Asada Marinade

Combine and stir together all marinade ingredients. Transfer meat into a large plastic bag or container and pour marinade over the top. Marinate for at least 4 hours, up to about 24, flipping the meat once halfway through.

Carne Asada

Adjust top rack of your oven to about 4 inches below the broiler. Heat broiler on high. Place meat on a foil-lined heavy-duty baking sheet or broiling pan and broil 4 to 6 minutes per side. Pull at 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium.
Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing across the grain into strips or chunks. Tent with foil to keep warm while your fries cook.

Fries

While your meat rests, bake fries according to package instructions, until just done.
Set oven temperature to 350°F. If desired, pile cooked fries into a cast iron skillet or assemble fries on the baking sheet.
Top cooked fries with chopped carne asada and cheese. Return fries to the oven until cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Sprinkle with cilantro and add sliced jalapenos if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This cheesy Baked Parmesan Zucchini is quick, easy, and an incredibly satisfying veggie side.

If you’re looking for an easy, crowd-pleasing veggie side dish, you won’t find better than this.

Even if you’re not usually a fan of zucchini, roasting it in olive oil with toasty parmesan over the top makes it feel like a treat and just might change your mind.

Photo of roasted parmesan zucchini on a baking tray. - 8

Ingredients

You need just a handful of ingredients for this dish:

Zucchini: You’ll want about a pound to a pound-and-a-half of zucchini, which is 3 or 4 small zucchinis or about 2 medium-to-large zucchinis. Olive oil: A good-quality olive oil not only helps keep the zucchini from sticking to the baking tray but adds flavor and richness. This is olive oil is generally considered the gold standard for affordable but excellent. Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is preferred here because it melts and browns extremely nicely, but the bagged pre-shredded stuff works just fine. Salt & pepper: You don’t really need more seasoning than a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, but if you’d like to experiment with flavors, try adding a little garlic powder or Italian seasoning.

Parmesan being sprinkled on zucchini slices before baking. - 9

Parmesan being sprinkled on zucchini slices before baking. - 10

How to Make the Best Baked Parmesan Zucchini (Tips and Tricks)

Be strategic about how you slice your zucchini: Prefer softer zucchini? Slice it into thinner rounds, around 1/4-inch thick. Like your baked zucchini on the firmer side? Cut it thicker, closer to 1/2-inch. Don’t skip the broiler: The final step in this recipe after roasting your zucchini is to switch on the broiler and broil the rounds for just a couple minutes. This makes the cheese extra toasty and delicious. But keep a close eye on your zucchini while the broiler is going. Food under the broiler can burn very quickly, so you never want to leave your broiler unattended.

Collage photo of parmesan zucchini before and after baking. - 11

Collage photo of parmesan zucchini before and after baking. - 12

What to Serve With Cheesy Roasted Zucchini?

These bites are great alongside almost anything, particularly simple lunch sandwiches or:

Tomato Soup
Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Sausage Pasta
Buttered Noodles

Bonus Tip: If you have leftover Pizza Sauce or marinara sauce in your fridge, serve these as a snack and use them for dipping. You can even add chopped pepperoni if you have it (layer it under the parmesan before baking).

Overhead photo of baked parmesan zucchini on a plate. - 13

Overhead photo of baked parmesan zucchini on a plate. - 14