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You're going to love my Flank Steak Marinade! Using cilantro, lime, guajillo chiles, and garlic, this amazing marinade for flank steak creates tender, flavorful steaks perfect for serving in tacos, rice bowls, burritos, steak salads, and more.
Jump to:
- Where Can I Get Guajillo Chiles?
- Flank Steak Marinade Ingredients
- Making Flank Steak Marinade
- Marinating Flank Steak
- Cooking Marinated Flank Steak
- Grilling Marinated Flank Steak
- What to Serve with Marinated Flank Steak
- Tips for Marinating Flank Steak
- Steak Temperature Chart
- How to Store Leftover Marinated Flank Steak
- FAQ
- Marinated Flank Steak
- Flank Steak Marinade
- Reviews
Where Can I Get Guajillo Chiles?
If you don't live next to an international market, you might not be certain where to look for guajillo peppers. These dried peppers tend to come either in bulk, serve-yourself bins, or in large bags.
They're a common ingredient in TexMex and Mexican cuisine, so they're often stocked in local stores. I searched high and low to find them in international stores, only to realize that they were right in the produce section of my local supermarket! You can also try looking in world food isles.
Flank Steak Marinade Ingredients
- Flank Steak: I prefer flank steak for this dish, but you can use other cuts too such as top sirloin, New York strip, or flat iron steak.
- Guajillo Peppers: Usually found in the produce or world food isles, these dried chiles are packed with warm, earthy flavor without adding too much heat to the dish. Substitution: Guajillo powder
- Garlic: Make sure to use fresh, plump garlic cloves, not powdered! You want the spicy, sharp flavor of fresh garlic in this marinade.
- Cilantro: You'll want fresh cilantro for this marinade, and don't discard the stems! They have the most flavor of the whole plant. If you're cooking for someone who doesn't like cilantro, you can swap it out for parsley.
- Lime Juice: I highly recommend fresh-squeezed lime juice! Fresh lime has a much sharper, fruitier flavor than bottled, and using fresh limes means you can cut some wedges for sprinkling on extra juice later. Substitution: Lemon juice
- Sea Salt: A good quality salt like sea salt or kosher salt is important when marinating meat. Don't use table salt; it leaves a strange after-taste!
- Avocado Oil: I like using avocado oil when I'm cooking on cast iron pans, as it has a very high smoking point that resists the high heat without burning. Substitution: Olive oil
Making Flank Steak Marinade
Step 1
Wearing gloves, use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the stems off of the dried guajillo chiles. Remove the seeds. Place the seedless chiles in a bowl. Pour boiling water over them, then let them soak for 20 minutes. You can do this in a saucepan, too, but be very careful because the steam will be spicy.
Step 2
After allowing the chiles to soak, pour them into a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Reserve the liquid. Rinse the chiles well to remove any grit, then place them and the reserved liquid, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt into a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
Marinating Flank Steak
Step 3
Add steak to a large zip-top plastic bag (I recommend these marinade bags). Pour in the marinade. Squeeze it around, then make sure the bag is tightly sealed before placing it in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours, but preferably overnight.
Cooking Marinated Flank Steak
Step 4
Remove the steak from the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature on the counter, about 20 minutes. Heat avocado oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Once hot, sear the steak for 3 minutes per side until browned.
Step 5
Continue cooking the steak until the internal temp reads 130°F (or your preferred doneness for steak) on a meat thermometer. Remove to rest on a cutting board and tent in foil. Let rest for 10 minutes to complete cooking.
Step 6
Slice the steak against the grain. Serve with your favorite tacos, rice bowls, salads, and more!
Grilling Marinated Flank Steak
You can grill this steak too! Just marinate it as directed, then heat up the grill to high heat and sear the steak on both sides. Take it off the heat once it hits 130°F as read by a meat thermometer, let it rest, and soak up all those delicious charred bits and grill lines! Flank steak on the grill is just incredible!
What to Serve with Marinated Flank Steak
I love serving marinated flank steak just about any way, but my favorite is in a burrito bowl! You can also serve it up on tacos, in quesadillas, or use them to top a main-course salad. Here are my favorite steak accessories:
- Warm Tortillas (Corn tortillas are my favorite!)
- Sauteed Peppers and Onions - just like Chipotle's fajita veggies!
- Lime Crema - my favorite sauce for Mexican steak dishes!
- Fresh Tomato Salsa - homemade salsa is so good, you'll never want to buy it jarred again!
- Pickled Onions for Tacos
- Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
- Spanish Rice and Beans
- Homemade Guacamole
Tips for Marinating Flank Steak
- Use a nice heavy skillet - cast iron, if possible! Cast iron pans create the best crust and cook steak beautifully. Plus, it's safe to heat them to very high heats without threatening to ruin nonstick coatings.
- Use tongs to flip the steaks, as the high heat means they're going to spatter like crazy. Be careful and wear an apron and oven mitts!
- Cook to your desired level of doneness - I've included a temperature chart below! Cooking time matters far less than internal temperature, so make sure to use an instant-read thermometer. This one is my favorite!
- If you're short on time, poke a few holes in the steak and marinade it for 30 minutes. It won't be as deeply flavored, but it'll still taste great!
Steak Temperature Chart
This recipe calls for taking the steak off the heat at 130°F, so it'll be medium-rare after it rests. But feel free to cook for more or less time depending on your desired degree of doneness and meat tenderness!
How to Store Leftover Marinated Flank Steak
- Refrigerator: Slice the steak, then place the slices in a airtight container or plastic bag and store for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Slice the steak, then place in a freezer-safe bag and press out the air. Freeze, flat, for up to 3 months.
- Thawing and Reheating: Thaw frozen steak in the fridge overnight. To reheat, place in a pan with a little butter or oil and heat over medium heat until hot.
- Make-Ahead: Garlic guajillo steak is one of my favorite make-ahead meals! Make the marinade and pour it on the steak in a freezer-safe bag, then place in the freezer and freeze for 4-5 months. Remove from the freezer and thaw in the fridge the night before you want to cook and serve it!
FAQ
Yes, and I highly recommend it! The marinade is the most time-consuming part of this easy recipe, so making it ahead makes it even easier! Just make the marinade and pour it over the steak in a freezer-safe bag, then freeze the bag until the night before you're ready to cook. Pop it in the fridge to thaw, then cook and serve!
You can skip this step, but in my experience, chiles can often have sand and grit in them that can at times make the marinade gritty and unpleasant. I found after a few too many gritty bites of steak that rinsing the chiles in a strainer cleaned them beautifully and resolved the problem.
I would recommend marinating flank steak for no longer than 24 hours, as it can start to break down too much if left to marinate for too long.
Marinated Flank Steak
In my opinion, a bag of dried guajillo chiles is a must-have pantry staple. Seriously, trust me on this! They're budget-friendly, last forever, and once you start cooking with chiles, you will never want to stop. I add them to just about everything, and constantly use them for marinades - just like in this marinated flank steak recipe!
But, I had no idea just how amazing these peppers are to have on hand until I tried Chipotle's garlic guajillo steak. I knew right away I could make it at home, and that I had to! If I may be so bold, my version is even better! Using only fresh ingredients and cooked just the way you like it, this flavorful flank steak marinade recipe will be a new family favorite.
Flank Steak Marinade
Equipment
- Marinating bag
- Small bowl or saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 lb Flank steak - about 1" thick
- 3 Guajillo chiles - dried
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 4 sprigs Cilantro - rinsed and chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Lime juice - freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado oil
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles using gloves and kitchen scissors.3 Guajillo chiles
- Place the dried chiles in a bowl, and pour enough boiling water over them to cover them completely. Let soak for 20-30 minutes, until soft.
- Pour the chiles through a strainer with a cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Then remove the cheesecloth and rinse the chiles thoroughly.
- Add the chiles, 1 cup of the liquid, the lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and salt to a blender and blend until smooth.4 cloves Garlic,4 sprigs Cilantro,3 Tablespoons Lime juice,1 teaspoon Sea salt
- Place the steak in a sturdy plastic bag, then pour in the marinade. Squeeze until it's well covered, then place in the fridge to marinate for 5 hours, or preferably overnight.1 lb Flank steak
- Remove the steak from the fridge and let come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Add the oil to a cast iron pan, and heat over high heat until very hot. Then add the steak to the pan and sear, 3 minutes per side or until well browned.2 Tablespoons Avocado oil
- Continue cooking until the internal temperature reads 130°F, or 5 degrees below your target temperature. Remove, then place on a cutting board covered in foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice thinly against the grain, then serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!
Notes
-
- Use a nice heavy skillet - cast iron, if possible! Cast iron pans create the best crust and cook steak beautifully. Plus, it's safe to heat them to very high heats without threatening to ruin nonstick coatings.
-
- Use tongs to flip the steaks, as the high heat means they're going to spatter like crazy. Be careful and wear an apron and oven mitts!
-
- Cook to your desired level of doneness - I've included a temperature chart below! Cooking time matters far less than internal temperature, so make sure to use an instant-read thermometer.
-
- If you're short on time, poke a few holes in the steak and marinade it for 30 minutes. It won't be as deeply flavored, but it'll still taste great!
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