This taco marinade is a great choice for weeknight dinners, offering a mild yet flavorful option that’s suitable for the whole family. With tangy lime juice and subtle smoky spices, it comes together in just 4 minutes and is versatile enough for chicken, steak, or pork. Whether you use it for grilling, baking, or stir frying you can make an easy and delicious protein your entire family will enjoy.
Let’s talk about this taco marinade.
It’s easy. It’s quick to make. And it’s going to make your proteins so, so tasty.
I make A LOT of marinades – in fact, there are over a dozen gluten free marinades on this site.
That is to say, I’ve got creating marinades down pat.
This marinade is a really good balance of flavors with the spices from my homemade taco seasoning and the brightness of the lime juice. Blend it all together with the oil and you’ve got a super simple marinade that is going to give you flavorful protein for your next meal.
I like to use this marinade when grilling, but you can absolutely use it for baked or stir fried proteins too.
It’s also great because you can use it as a steak taco marinade, a marinade for chicken tacos, or a pork taco marinade.
And you don’t even have to make tacos with it! You can just marinate the meat and eat it as is.
Read on to see simple it is, as well as to get tips and good-to-know info when making this taco marinade.
Grab these ingredients!
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
- Lime juice – fresh lime juice is key here as it typically has a brighter, tangier flavor than bottled lime juice. You can absolutely use bottled lime juice in a pinch, just know that the flavor will be more subdued.
- Oil – a mild oil is best. I like to use avocado oil.
- Spices – this recipe uses my homemade taco seasoning blend, which includes chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper, and kosher salt.
What makes a great marinade?
All marinades should have the following 4 elements:
- salt to season the meat,
- fat to coat the meat,
- acid to help break down the protein fibers, and
- spices, herbs, or other flavors.
In this marinade, the oil is the fat, the lime juice is the acid, there’s kosher salt, and the other spices and the one herb provide additional flavor.
How to make taco marinade
(Note: please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the complete written instructions.)
This marinade is so easy – you’re basically just combining everything in one cup. I like to use a liquid measuring cup to make clean up even easier.
RECOMMENDED MARINATING TIMES
You’ll want a different marinating time for different types of proteins. Here are my recommendations.
- For steak: 8 to 10 hours for tougher and/or thicker cuts like flank steak, 1 hour for thinner cuts like skirt steak.
- For chicken: 1 hour for boneless or bone-in cuts.
- For pork: 1 hour for thinner or smaller cuts of pork (like thin-cut chops or tenderloin), and 2 hours for thicker cuts (like boneless pork chops).
Cooking with taco marinade
You can either bake, stir fry, or grill proteins with this marinade. The cooking time and temperature is going to depend on the cut of meat you’re cooking.
In all cases, you want to cook the meat until it reaches the right internal temperature. I’ve listed them out below, but be sure and check out this guide on internal temperatures for meat – it’s written for grilling but is applicable for all cooking methods.
- Chicken: cook to 165 degrees F
- Pork: cook to 165 degrees F
- Steak: varies depending on your preference, between 115 degrees F for rare and 150 degrees F for well done.
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Quick Taco Marinade for Chicken, Steak, & Pork
Ingredients
- 1.5-3 tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand. If you like less salty protein in your tacos, use 1.5 tsp of kosher salt; for saltier protein, use 3 tsp. See reference under Notes.
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 oz fresh lime juice from 1 small-medium lime
- 2.5 oz mild oil like avocado oil
Instructions
- First combine the spices to make the taco seasoning. Use measuring spoons to measure out each spice and place it in a small bowl. Use a small whisk to stir them all together until well combined. Set aside.
- Measure out the lime juice (or juice a lime if not already done) and oil into a liquid measuring cup. Add the spices to the cup and stir everything together until thoroughly mixed.
- Use right away or keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Makes roughly 4 oz of marinade, enough for about 1.5 pounds of meat.
- The amount of kosher salt in the marinade can be between 1.5 and 3 teaspoons depending on how salty you like your protein. My family prefers using 3 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon) but we also tend to eat this marinade on protein that’s in a taco with other unsalted food. If you are watching your salt, or just prefer less salty food, start out with 1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt in the marinade and add a little extra salt onto your food after it’s cooked, if needed.
Gina
Made this tonight and it’s good but way, way, way too salty. I’m wondering if it was supposed to be 1 tsp of salt and not 1 tbsp.
Taryn Solie
Hi Gina – Thanks so much for your feedback! I must admit to liking things on the saltier side, which I realize is not everyone’s preference. I’ve edited the recipe card to include a range of kosher salt to use given different people’s preferences, so that should help clarify.