Instant Pot Carne Asada Tacos
What’s inside: An easy Instant Pot recipe for tender and flavorful Carne Asada Tacos with a unique Asian-meets-American Southwest flavor that just works.
Instant Pot Beef Tacos Recipe
Now, I’m assuming you’ve already purchased an Instant Pot – but if not, what are you waiting for?! I’ll admit I didn’t get the hype at first – I thought it sounded like a high-maintenance slow cooker. But it is so low-maintenance and turns out consistently perfect food time after time, plus I can start supper literally 20 minutes before we need to eat and it still turns out delicious.
PLUS I can now keep my meat frozen until I need to use it, because it can cook frozen chicken breasts to perfection in 10 minutes. (Which means less food waste from pulling out too much frozen food at the beginning of the week… and no rushing to defrost meat in the microwave – yuck! – because I forgot to pull something out.)
Related: Try our Easy Chicken Quesadillas Recipe too!
How to Make Fall-Apart Beef Tacos
Normally, to make fall-apart carne asada like this, you would need to roast and baste your beef roast for hours, low and slow. Cutting down the roast into strips and using the instant pot takes that down to just 6 minutes! (A total of about 15 minutes including the pressure building and releasing.)
This recipe makes delicious, juicy beef tacos that taste like they came straight from an authentic Mom & Pop joint with a bit of an experimental side! (Or maybe an amazing Asian-inspired Taco Truck?)
Feel free to simplify this recipe a bit depending on the ingredients you have on hand. I have friends who like their Carne Asada with just a bit of salt, pepper and garlic – just make sure that your recipe contains the same amount of liquid as ours does (about 1 1/4 cups) to ensure that the Instant Pot can build up to pressure.
Plan to allow time to let the beef marinate – at least 3 hours or overnight. (I whipped up the marinade at nap time and popped it in the Instant Pot 20 minutes before suppertime.) You can still make this recipe without marinading the beef, but just know that the final flavor will be less developed/strong.
— Jennifer
Ingredients for Instant Pot Carne Asada Tacos
- 2 lbs of beef bottom round roast, sliced into 1/4″ pieces
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Pico De Gallo, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chile powder, to taste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Cilantro, chopped
- Corn tortillas
Don’t be intimidated by the seemingly long ingredient list! Most are basic spices or kitchen essentials you might already have on hand.
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Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, chopped garlic, salt, chile powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
Place steak into bowl and let marinate for 3 hours in the fridge, or overnight.
Once marinated, cut the steak into 1/4 in pieces.
Turn on your IP to the sauté setting, add the oil and the majority of the chopped onions (save about 1/4 cup for garnish) and saute for 2 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
Add the meat and at least 1/2 cup of the marinade (you can add it all if you’d like).
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn off to switch to the Meat/Stew setting. Seal and adjust the time to 6 minutes.
Allow the pressure to naturally release after the cooking time (at least for 2 minutes) and then shred the beef with two forks.
Combine the reserved onions and chopped cilantro and mix in some pico de gallo for your garnish.
Portion 1/2 cup of shredded beef into each taco and top with a sprinkle of the pico-cilantro-onion mixture.
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs of beef bottom round roast, sliced into 1/4 pieces
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Pico De Gallo
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chile powder, to taste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Cilantro, chopped
- Corn tortillas
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, chopped garlic, salt, chile powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Place steak into bowl and let marinate for 3 hours in the fridge, or overnight.
- Once marinated, cut the steak into 1/4 in pieces.
- Turn on your IP to the sauté setting, add the oil and the majority of the chopped onions (save about 1/4 cup for garnish) and saute for 2 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Add the meat and at least 1/2 cup of the marinade (you can add it all if you'd like).
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn off to switch to the Meat/Stew setting. Seal and adjust the time to 6 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release after the cooking time (at least for 2 minutes) and then shred the beef with two forks.
- Combine the reserved onions and chopped cilantro and mix in some pico de gallo for your garnish.
- Portion 1/2 cup of shredded beef into each taco and top with a sprinkle of the pico-cilantro-onion mixture.
Do you love Latin American classics like this Carne Asada recipe? What’s your go-to for a quick and easy family meal? These Carne Asada Tacos are a favorite for parties or low-key weeknight suppers.
More easy family meals on In The Kids Kitchen:
I am confused, Am I supposed to slice the beef in 1/4 inch slices or am I supposed to cut the roast into 4 pieces (quarters)? Thanks. The marinade ingredients look delicious btw, I can’t wait to try this recipe.
1/4″ strips – sorry for the confusion.