This will be the best carne asada torta recipe of your life! Juicy skirt steak soaking up garlicky, smoky, citrusy marinade and piled onto a toasted roll with veggies, cilantro lime mayo, refried beans, pickled onions, and creamy avocado slices. It's perfect for leftover carne asada and is one of our favorite sandwiches!
Loving grilling season? Try this reader-favorite churrasco grilled skirt steak, these beef fajitas, spicy chicken adobo tacos, or stuffed and grilled branzino!
Delicious Mexican Torta de Carne Asada!
After grilling a huge carne asada over the weekend's festivities, we made do with the leftovers for days. Stuffed into tacos and made into burrito bowls, and made into decadent, overstuffed sandwiches.
If you're someone who doesn't like eating the same leftovers over and over, may I present my family's favorite torta: a sandwich filled with juicy Mexican carne asada, a schmear of refried beans, piled high with creamy avocados, ripe tomatoes, pickled red onions, and crumbly cotija cheese.
It's an obsession, I swear.
These sandwiches are often called lonche, or lunch, and they are perfect for your child's school lunch or your own lunch for work, as well as great to pack on a picnic.
Not only are tortas incredibly delicious, they're versatile, too. There's no right or wrong way to fill them, no meat is off limits, any cheese and veggie you like.
Just make sure to pile it sky high and enjoy with gusto.
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What is a Torta?
Short story? A torta is a Mexican sandwich.
Long story, it's one of the best sandwiches you'll ever eat. Many different veg, meats, cheeses, sauces, spreads all piled high on dense bread, either the baguette-like bolillo or round telera rolls.
You'll find some 'drowned' in red salsas, piled high with at least five different meats, packed with ham or eggs, spread with refried beans and guacamole, served as easily portable street food at concerts, parades, and from food trucks despite their massive size.
Ingredients
- Bolillo Rolls or Telera Roll - these are buns that are traditionally used to make tortas.
- Cotija Cheese - any type of Mexican cheese works, I like queso fresco or even Oaxaca! You could also swap in pepper jack for a bit of kick.
- Pickled Red Onions - this brings crunch, acidity, and plenty of flavor! I have a fabulous recipe that makes red onion 'quickles' if you need them on hand ASAP.
- Skirt Steak - while I tend to make tortas with leftovers, my recipe goes through making your own carne asada just in case you need it. Skirt steak is a perfect cut for carne asada, as is flap steak. They have loose muscles that soak up marinades quickly and easily.
- Tomato Slices
- Avocados - you can slice them or mash them into a simple guac
- Mayonnaise - I blend this up with cilantro and lime juice + zest, it makes to an amazing sauce.
- Refried Beans
- Lettuce - I used green leaf lettuce, but use your favorite. The classic is chopped iceberg.
Marinade Ingredients
- Lime Juice + Orange Juice - this makes for a sour orange juice flavor that makes for a delicious, vibrant marinade.
- Garlic - whole, smashed garlic gives it's flavor without having little garlic pieces ending up burning on your steak.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - the high acidity in this marinade helps break down the protein bonds quickly, making for a tender and juicy steak.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo - I like these smoked jalapeños more than the fresh or pickled ones. That spicy, smoky flavor is just so good! But feel free to replace them with the regular ole green ones.
- Spices - Cumin, coriander, chili powder, dried oregano, and some pepper!
- Kosher Salt
- High Heat Oil
Let's Make Carne Asada Tortas
Carne Asada Marinade
Step 1 | Whisk together all the ingredients to marinate the steak. Pour it over the skirt steak in a sealable plastic bag, massaging the marinade into the steak thoroughly before marinating it. I find the sweet spot to be 2-4 hours for the best flavor.
Grill the Marinated Steak
- Step 1 | Oil your clean grill grates generously. Preheat your grill to a medium high heat, around 400-450 degrees.
- Step 2 | Place the marinated steak on the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. We want a little char and a lot of color, so give it that direct heat.
- Step 3 | Remove the steak from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Make Tortas!
Step 1 | Toast one side of each roll in a hot pan. I spread some of the mayonnaise onto the cut sides of the halves and toasted over medium heat until golden brown.
Step 2 | Make the cilantro lime mayonnaise in a small bowl with an immersion blender to quickly blend everything together.
Step 3 | Place down the toasted bottom half and spread a generous amount of refried beans on it. Top with the sliced carne asada, sliced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, cotija cheese, and avocado. Season with a little lime juice and salt and pepper. Then smear the cilantro lime mayo onto the top half of the toasted roll. Top the sandwich and wrap for stability.
Variations and Pro Tips
- Don't have a grill? A cast iron skillet or grill pan works perfectly when it's too cold to grill or you just don't have one.
- Always discard your marinade. This marinade is not to be used as an extra sauce.
- Swap the proteins! Stuff your Mexican torta with pork carnitas, chicken adobada, or sliced chorizo.
- Swap the pickled onions for diced white onions, or add in fajita veggies, or even caramelized onions!
Storage and Reheating
The sandwich itself should be eaten once you make it, otherwise the bread gets all soggy. But if you have extra carne asada and other ingredients, keep the sliced tomatoes, avocados, steak, refried beans, lettuce in separate airtight containers for up to two days.
Rewarm the steak and refried beans in microwave-safe dishes until warmed through (about a minute or two), or rewarm in a wide pan over medium heat on the stove top.
Equipment
- Frying Pan- for toasting the bread
- Sharp Knife + Cutting Board
- Immersion Blender - for the cilantro lime mayo
FAQs
Sandwiches tend to just be on sliced bread, while tortas are made with bolillo or telera rolls and are filled with many regional ingredients.
Use a small baguette for your torta instead.
More Mexican Recipes
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Mexican Carne Asada Torta
Equipment
- grill
- Frying pan
Ingredients
Carne Asada Marinade
- 3 chipotles, from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
- 3 fresh limes, juice and zest
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin seeds
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, or other high heat oil
Torta de Carne Asada Ingredients
- 2 lbs skirt steak
- 4 bolillo rolls, or telera bread
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup refried beans
- head of lettuce, iceberg is classic, I used leafy green lettuce
- 3 ripe tomatoes, romas or heirloom are best
- pickled onions, as much as you like
- 3 hass avocados, ripe and sliced thinly
- 1 cotija cheese
Cilantro Lime Mayo
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped from stem
- 1 tablespoon lime juice, about 2 limes' worth
Instructions
Make the Carne Asada
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Pour it into a gallon sized zip top bag with the skirt steak and close the bag with as little air in it as possible.½ cup orange juice, 3 fresh limes, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 5 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds, ½ teaspoon ground cumin seeds, ½ tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ tablespoon kosher salt, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 lbs skirt steak, 3 chipotles
- Massage the marinade into the skirt steak and marinate for at least 30 minutes but up to overnight in the fridge. I find 2-4 hours to be the sweet spot for great flavor and tenderness.
- Oil your grill grates with cooking spray, then preheat your grill to medium-high 400-450℉.
- Using long tongs, carefully place the skirt steak on the oiled grill grate. Close the lid and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. When done, remove the steak from the grill and place it on a large plate to rest for five minutes.
Make the Tortas
- In a small bowl, blend together the cilantro, lime juice and zest, and mayonnaise to create the cilantro lime mayo.½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup cilantro leaves, 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Get a frying pan on the stove top over medium heat. Slice the bread rolls in half and smear mayonnaise over the cut side of each half. Once the pan is preheated, toast the bread cut side down in the pan until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Remove the toasted rolls and set aside.4 bolillo rolls, ¼ cup mayonnaise
- Slice the carne asada against the grain once rested.
- On the bottom half of the toasted rolls, give a generous smear of warm refried beans. Put a layer of sliced steak, then lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onion, your avocado, and crumble on some cotija cheese. Repeat for each roll, and remember: these are meant to be huge sandwiches!1 cup refried beans, head of lettuce, 3 ripe tomatoes, pickled onions, 3 hass avocados, 1 cotija cheese
- Smear the cilantro lime mayo onto the top halves of the rolls and top the sandwiches. Wrap with parchment paper or stick in toothpicks for stability. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Variations and Pro Tips
- Don't have a grill? A cast iron skillet or grill pan works perfectly when it's too cold to grill or you just don't have one.
- Always discard your marinade. This marinade is not to be used as an extra sauce.
- Swap the proteins! Stuff your Mexican torta with pork carnitas, chicken adobada, or sliced chorizo.
- Make it saucy with an avocado lime crema, salsa verde, or your favorite hot salsa.
- Swap the pickled onions for diced white onions, or add in fajita veggies, or even caramelized onions!
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