Carne Asada Seasoning (San Diego-Style)

Our San Diego-Style Carne Asada Seasoning is the PERFECT blend of spices to replicate the authentic Carne Asada Recipes and Mexican recipes found in San Diego.

Through 15 years of testing(!!!), we’ve come up with this unique blend of traditional Mexican spices.

Carne Asada Recipes

All our 5-star rated San Diego-Style carne asada recipes utilize this spice mix as the basis: 

Carne Asada Marinade (Read The Reviews From SD Locals!)
Carne Asada Tacos
Street Tacos
Carne Asada Fries
Carne Asada Nachos
Carne Asada Quesadilla
Carne Asada Platter
Mulita

Check out our “What To Serve With Tacos” or “what to serve with carne asada” guides for side dish ideas!

Carne Asada Seasoning Recipe

This Mexican steak seasoning mix requires 8 different spices, however many you probably already have in your pantry. Each plays an essential part in the flavor, so try not to omit any, if possible: 

• Garlic Powder
• Garlic Salt
• White Pepper
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Mexican Oregano
• Coriander
• Ground Cloves

Low Sodium Version

Looking for a low sodium carne asada rub? Just omit the salt altogether and add, to personal preference, after the meat is cooked.

Carne Asada Marinade

Prefer a marinade over a dry rub?  This spice rub can easily turn into a marinade. Visit our Carne Asada Marinade post for details!

How To Season Steak

Season your big slab o’ beef as you would steak. Pat dry with a paper towel, coat in olive oil followed by a healthy dose of spice mix. The recipe below is for two 1 lb pieces of meat. Double or half as needed.

Marinate the meat for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours, to ensure flavor absorption. The longer it marinates in that time frame the better.

Storage

Store the spice mix in an airtight container, for up to 6 months.

Variations

This dry rub can easily be adjusted to your taste buds and spice cabinet components. Here are a few common variations:

• If you can’t find Mexican Oregano, traditional Mediterranean Oregano is just fine.
• Don’t have white pepper? Just use regular black pepper.
• If you’re into an earthy and smoky flavor, replace the Chili Powder with equal parts Ancho Chili Powder.

Best Carne Asada Seasoning

Carne asada seasoning is an essential part of Mexican cuisine, transforming ordinary steak into a flavorful and unparalleled mouthwatering dish.

All seasoning mixes aren’t the same, however. While our spice mix ingredient list is longer than other recipes, the payoff is worth it. We know carne asada.