These Flank Steak Tacos are a flavor explosion thanks to strawberry mint salsa and gorgonzola cheese... They'll help you hold on to summer for as long as possible!
(This recipe for Flank Steak Tacos with Strawberry Mint Salsa was originally published in September 2011, but has been updated with new photos and content in 2019).
This is such a confusing time of year for me. On the one hand, it's very much still summer (for almost a whole entire month!). It's still nice and warm during the days here in New England and I'm still eating as much summer produce as I possibly can.
However, it was 56 degrees when I woke up yesterday morning and my husband tried to wear his winter coat to work (It's August!! To be fair, his winter coat is pretty lightweight, but still, no), kids are pretty much all back to school, and summer is unofficially ending this weekend.
Oh also, I'm over here behind the scenes working on lots of pumpkin and apple recipes, while still trying to soak up as many summer vibes as I can.
So, yes, I'm confused. But for the most part, I'm trying to live in the present and my present is filled with strawberries, fresh herbs, and easy weeknight dinners. Though I've had strawberries in dessert form so many times this summer, I'm also a fan of strawberries in savory entree form, especially when it comes to steak.
These Flank Steak Tacos with Strawberry Mint Salsa blew my mind when I first made them years ago and they've become a staple in my summer meal repertoire.
The tacos are super easy and quick to get on your dinner table, but packed with summer deliciousness!
Best Steak for Tacos?
While you can use any kind of steak you want for these tacos, I highly recommend flank steak for these because it's a lean cut of beef that's super flavorful and tender and easy to cook. If you can't find flank steak, you can substitute with skirt steak (it's a little bit fattier and thinner, but also delicious!). I've used skirt for these tacos before and it works well.
I haven't tried using it in this recipe, but flat iron steak is also similar to flank and skirt, so that can also be used as a substitute.
Tips for Cooking Flank Steak
- Marinate it! This taco recipe is very easy to make, but I do recommend marinating the steak or at least an hour. However, you can also let it marinate overnight if you want to whip everything up before bed and have the flank steak ready to go at dinner time.
- Take steak out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
- Don't overcook flank steak as it can dry out and get chewy if you do. I recommend cooking it to medium-rare (it should take about 3 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.
- Once you remove the steak from the pan, let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, otherwise, the juices will release when you slice it.
- Always slice flank steak against the grain for the most tender meat. If you slice with the grain, the meat will be tough.
How to Make Flank Steak Tacos
Star by making the flank steak marinade. I use:
- Lime juice
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Salt
- Pepper
It's a super simple marinade, but delicious.
You can either mix your marinade ingredients in a bowl and pour over steak in a dish or put everything into a bag.
Whatever you use, try to flip the steak or move it around in the marinade a couple times to ensure no parts of the steak are unexposed to the marinade.
When the steak is done marinating, remove from fridge, and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a grill pan (or regular pan or actual grill) to medium-high. Cook the steak for about 3 minutes on each side. For medium-rare, the steak should come in at 135 degrees on a meat thermometer.
Once you remove the steak from the pan, let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.
After letting it rest, slice the steak thinly against the grain.
How to Make Strawberry Mint Salsa
While the steak is marinating, you can whip up the strawberry mint salsa, which is also incredibly easy.
Here are the ingredients I used for the strawberry salsa:
- Strawberries
- Red onion
- Chopped mint
- Jalapeño
- Lime juice
Mix everything together in a medium bowl and pop the bowl in the fridge while you finish the steak, so the flavors can meld together. Yum.
Now, warm your tortillas, either by placing them on a the grill pan or in the microwave. Divide steak evenly between the tortillas and top with strawberry mint salsa and a little bit of gorgonzola cheese.
Yup. It definitely tastes like it's still summer out there! But guess what? These flank steak tacos aren't just for summer... You can make them any time of year!
While strawberries are definitely best in the spring/summer months, depending on where you life, they're likely readily available year-round, which means you can make the strawberry mint salsa any time.
We eat tacos quite often in our house (there are SO many varieties, you feel like you're having a completely different kind every time), but I'm pretty sure these flank steak tacos are my absolute favorite.
When I first made these, I was a little uncertain about how strawberries and gorgonzola would go together. But let me tell you, they're an incredible match.
You have the sweet flavor of the strawberries combined with the creamy aggressive sharpness of the gorgonzola and you're in heaven. Or at least I was.
But that also could have had something to do with the fact that there was flank steak involved.
What to Drink with Tacos
Another awesome thing about flank steak tacos? They go fabulously with all kinds of summer cocktails or even a simple glass of white wine or rosé. If you're looking for a cocktail pairing, I recommend:
- Spicy Vodka Blackberry Smash (the more berries, the better!)
- Jalapeño Parsley Sour Martini
- Tequila Thyme Lemonade
- Tropical Gin Sunrise
- North End Margarita
I also love the idea of these Beer Margaritas from Casa de Crews!
I also use a strawberry salsa (with avocado and mango!) on these shrimp tacos... Just one more way you can get your fill of summer fruit in savory form.
How are you trying to get the most out of the remaining summer fruits and veggies?
Flank Steak Tacos with Strawberry Mint Salsa
Ingredients
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 lb. flank steak (can also use skirt steak)
- 8 8-inch flour tortillas
- Strawberry Mint Salsa (recipe below)
- ⅓ cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese, for topping
Strawberry Mint Salsa
- 1 ¼ cup chopped strawberries (from 8-10 large strawberries)
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 2 Tbsp chopped mint
- 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeño
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix lime juice, red onion, garlic, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Set the flank steak in a baking dish (or other shallow dish) and pour the marinade over the top. Flip the steak over to make sure the marinade gets everywhere. Cover dish in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour (can also let marinate overnight). Try to flip steak in marinade a few times.
- When steak is done marinating, remove from fridge, brush off any onion or garlic stuck to steak, and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Heat a grill pan (you can also use a regular pan or a grill) to medium-high and brush with a little bit of olive oil. Cook steak for 3-4 minutes on each side, until desired degree of doneness (note that steak may continue cooking a bit when taken off heat). I recommend medium-rare, which should be about 135 degrees on a meat thermometer. Remove steak from pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice steak thinly, being sure to slice against the grain.
- Warm tortillas (either in grill pan you cooked steak in or in microwave) and divide slices of steak between them. Top each taco with strawberry mint salsa and a little bit of gorgonzola cheese.
Strawberry Mint Salsa
- Mix together strawberries, red onion, chopped mint, jalapeño, and lime juice. Let rest in the fridge until ready to use.
Blog is the New Black says
Loved reading your wedding website- what site did you use to make it?!
vanillasugarblog says
that's a good way to use up mint. i want anything that still tastes like summer. I'm NOT ready for our 9 months of winter that's right around the corner!! 🙁
Erica says
What a fun combo! Screams summer. Hope yall stayed warm at the concert. Unfortunately, the peanut gets an upset tummy when i eat fruit :(. I am enjoying lots of summer veggies though. My favs are corn and summer squash
Sues says
@Liz- Aww thanks! My fiance is a software engineer and hated all the wedding website templates, so he built his own. You might be able to find someone to do it for you inexpensively (or have someone you know build you one as a wedding gift!)
Jenn's Food Journey says
At first I was like... hhhmmmmm... but by the time I read through your post and saw the gorgeous pictures.. I was hooked! Can't wait to try this!
Erica @ In and Around Town says
Love the flavor combination here! Lime, mint and strawberries! So good!
Chris says
I know it's a bit early but I could really go for a couple of these right about now. Love the pictures.
brandi says
this is gorgeous! love the strawberry salsa.
Lele says
Fruit in salsa is the BEST. So refreshing for summer. I just invented watermelon-tomatillo salsa and it was fantastic.
Pam says
These tacos look fantastic! Love the strawberries on there.
Katie says
I love fruit salsas. I've never thought about putting strawberries in them, though! That looks so good (and pretty, too!)
Michelle says
I made a huge green bean side dish and fresh salsa this weekend to celebrate the end of summer with a few barbecues!
Kelly says
Registering sounds like the perfect kind of overwhelming and your website is adorable by the way. If it were me, I'd take stock these days of what you wish you had, what would make your life easier, and what you'll actually use.
Maybe I'm a dork but I've had a lot of those 'if I ever get married I'll register for x' moments, though admittedly I am one of those girls who puts a lot of those things on my birthday list.
Monique says
gadzukes! that steak is cooked PERFECTLY! i love it!
briarrose says
I definitely should not be looking at these photos when I'm hungry...ehehe. My tummy is grumbling away. Definitely my kind of salsa right there.
sweeter salt says
Just the salsa itself sounds delicious! I totally want to make that with some of the mint from my plant. Add steak and gorgonzola - yum.
Laura
NicoleD says
I love how summery it all looks! We're getting rain and cool weather here in Michigan, too. I'm trying to hang onto summer as long as possible!
Michelle Collins says
Although I don't eat steak, I can always appreciate a good-looking steak dish - and this looks fantastic. I'll definitely be making that salsa next spring/summer, too!
Juliana says
Wow, what a great combination...flank steak and strawberry salsa...love the flavors and the colors.
Hope you are having a great week Sues 🙂
Shannon says
ooh, loving the flavors here 🙂 need to get some more strawberries in me while i still can!
Jessica says
I can't wait to try this! It is such an intriguing flavor combination and I know all the Summer berries are going away soon...so I will be trying this asap! 😀
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says
I love flank steak but the only time I've made it was ... at a cooking class! 🙂 Ha. I need to branch out of my vegetarian ways (I'm not officially a veg, just like to cook a lot of meatless dishes) and make this while it's still nice outside for grilling!
Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine) says
Mmm I just LOVE interesting, out-of-the-box tacos!
Joanne says
I would never have thought to combine fruit with steak...but leave it to you to make it look so damn delicious!