Carne Asada Fries Recipe (A San Diego Original)

Name: Carne Asada Fries Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces flank steak; ¼ tsp salt; ⅛ tsp black pepper; ⅛ tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp vegetable oil; 1 Roma tomato ((chopped)); 2 tbsp red onion ((diced)); 1 tbsp cilantro ((chopped)); 1 clove garlic ((minced)); 1 Serrano pepper ((sliced)); pinch salt; ½ small lime; ½ avocado; 1 tbsp sour cream; ½ small lime; pinch salt; 1 clove garlic ((minced)); non-stick cooking spray; 8 ounces frozen French fries; pinch Tajin seasoning; ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese; 2 tbsp cotija cheese ((crumbled)); 2 tbsp sour cream; ¼ cup sliced pickled jalapenos

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This Carne Asada Fries recipe is so good, it should be outlawed. If you've never tried Carne Asada fries before, let me assure you that they are just as amazing as they sound. Crispy fries are smothered in melted shredded cheese and topped with creamy guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and diced Carne Asada, yum! Or top with shredded Carnitas instead!

Why This Recipe Works

Carne Asada Fries are a San Diego original. If you don't have any plans to visit San Diego anytime soon, that's ok. I'll show you how to make this sinfully tasty dish at home.

If you do live in San Diego, stop buying Carne Asada fries from your local taco shop. That's right, save your money, and make homemade Carne Asada Fries instead. Not only are they easy to make, but you can customize them exactly how you like and reduce the amount of calories!

What makes this recipe lower in calories than the ones you can purchase at Mexican taco shops is the portion size. One restaurant-sized serving is big enough to feed two or three people. However, when you make them at home, you get to control the portion size.

What Goes Into This Recipe

This recipe is enough for two people to share, especially as an appetizer. However, if you're really hungry, or if you're serving it as a main meal, you may want to double the recipe to serve two people.

Carne Asada fries on a hot pan with fixings

Recipe Ingredient And Substitutions

4 oz diced flank or sirloin steak — I recommend either using flank steak or sirloin steak to make carne asada fries. However, sirloin is a lot more economical.
Fries — If you're in a rush, you can use frozen fries, but if you want the real deal, you can use fresh potatoes and make your own fries (fried, not baked).
Pico De Gallo — When serving kids , you may want to leave off the pico de gallo since it contains onions and serrano peppers.
Creamy Guacamole — Creamy guacamole should be perfectly smooth and have plenty of sour cream mixed into it.

How to Make This Recipe

Dice Meat

Dice the beef and season with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside to allow the flavors to develop while you work on the pico de gallo and creamy guacamole.

Tip: If you have the time, marinate the beef using my Carne Asada marinade which contains orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, and spices.

Prepare Pico De Gallo

Chop tomato, onion, garlic, and cilantro and add to a small bowl. Add sliced serrano pepper. Season with salt and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Set aside until needed. Another option is to use salsa.

diced onion, cilantro, and peppers, with lime and tomato

pico de Gallo in a white bowl with sliced lime

Make Creamy Guacamole

Mash avocado in a bowl. Add lime juice, sour cream, salt, and garlic. Mix until creamy, then set aside.

Prepare French Fries

Preheat oven to the temperature specified on the fries bag.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add frozen fries and sprinkle with Tajin seasoning. Bake according to instructions on the bag.

Cook Carne Asada

Meanwhile, heat one teaspoon of oil in a cast-iron skillet. When the pan is very hot, add the seasoned meat and cook until charred. Set aside.

Assemble Carne Asada Fries

When the fries are ready, add to an oven-safe serving dish. I love my cast-iron fajita pan. It's the perfect size for this recipe.

Top fries with shredded cheese and pop back into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Tip: If the meat has cooled off add it on top of the cheese before popping the fries back into the oven.

fries in a pan, covered in cheese and diced Carne Asada meat

Carne Asada fries with lime, sour cream, and sliced pickled jalapeños on the side

Layer the hot fries with Pico de Gallo, cotija cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and jalapeno slices.

Drizzle with your favorite hot sauce and serve while sizzling hot!

Recipe FAQ's and Expert Tips

What cut of meat is used to make Carne Asada?

The two cuts of meat most often used to make Carne Asada are flank steak and skirt steak. Although I'm using flank steak for this recipe, you can just as easily use some sirloin stead instead.

Although I wouldn't advise using sirloin when making Carne Asada as a main dish, you can definitely use sirloin in this recipe, as well as in my California burrito recipe.

What Comes on Carne Asada Fries?

Most Carne Asada fries come with the same ingredients, no matter where you buy them:

fries
cheese
diced Carne Asada
pico de gallo
guacamole (either chunky or creamy)
sour cream

Some restaurants include the following:

refried beans
nacho cheese
cotija cheese
sliced jalapenos (fresh or pickled)

Of course, no Carne Asada fries are complete without hot sauce drizzled all over them. If you don't have restaurant-style hot sauce, just use your favorite hot sauce. Tapatio or Tabasco are both great options.

How Many Calories do Carne Asada Fries Have?

Carne Asada fries are known to be "over the top" when it comes to flavor and calories. But when you make them at home, you can reduce some of the calories, without sacrificing any of the flavors.

According to myfitnesspal, one serving of carne asada fries is over 1500 calories. Yikes, that's a whole day's worth of calories for most of us! But honestly, I think that is a very conservative estimate.

My recipe, on the other hand, has roughly 879 calories. I was able to almost cut the calories by half by using smaller portions, baking instead of frying the fries, and going easy on the guacamole, and sour cream.

If you plan on sharing this dish with someone, you can slice those calories by half. Or even better serve this recipe as an appetizer for the big game.

Where Can I find Carne Asada Fries Near Me?

You might be wondering where you can get your hands on some Carne Asada fries, I can't say that I blame you! Unfortunately, unless you live in Southern California, or more specifically, San Diego, you may have a hard time finding them. This is why I recommend making your own!

Who was the first to make Carne Asada Fries?

According to the internet and more specifically Wikipedia,
Lolita's Mexican Food in San Diego claims to have created the first Carne Asada Fries in the late 1990s, inspired by a suggestion from their tortilla distributor.

If you are not worried about calories or fat content, you can fry the potatoes for an even tastier dish. Either use frozen fries or make some with russet potatoes.
Another delicious option is to use tater tots instead of fries.
If you like chunkier guacamole, you can mix some of the pico de gallo in the creamy guacamole to get a chunkier texture.
Besides cooking the meat in a pan, you can grill the carne asada instead.
If you don't have cotija cheese, you can use crumbled feta instead.

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Carne Asada Fries Recipe (A San Diego Original)

Why This Recipe Works

What Goes Into This Recipe

Recipe Ingredient And Substitutions