Baked Potatoes with Carne Asada + Recipes for Guacamole and Pico de Gallo

Last weekend I stumbled across a recipe on the Homesick Texan for baked potatoes stuffed with carne asada and topped with melted cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo. The hubs saw it on my computer screen and we both agreed to recreate it asap. The Homesick Texan explained that this was her interpretation of a Mexi-Cali dish where carne asada and all the toppings are served over a pile of french fries. I look forward to sampling that version in California in the hopefully not too distant future. But in the meantime, carne asada over baked potatoes was a genius winter meal for our Sunday dinner.

homemade pico de gallo and guacamole top carne asada stuffed baked potatoes

This marinated meat is incredible-- tastes just like *real* carne asada in a restaurant! We used just over a kilo of skirt steak (about 2.5 lbs). This made plenty for three big dinner servings of carne asada over baked potatoes, with enough meat leftover to go into some hearty kale and roasted bell pepper quesadillas the next night (so 2.5 lbs of steak would probably serve 5 people if you're just making the stuffed baked potatoes). I found half of a baked potato generous enough for me, the hubs used a whole baked potato for his portion.

I made a pico de gallo (sans tomatoes due to allergies, used finely diced red bell peppers instead), and we served our carne asada-stuffed baked potatoes with a little shredded cheddar cheese, greek yogurt, homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, and hot sauce on top. They were delicious, filling, and totally worth throwing the meat marinade together in the morning so that the skirt steaks could soak up the flavor all day.

baked potatoes stuffed with delicious marinated skirt steak (carne asada)

Rather than sear the meat then broil it in the oven as the Homesick Texan suggests, we simply cooked the steaks on a hot griddle on the stovetop. This took a bit longer (5-6 mins per side), but cooking time will depend on the thickness of your steaks and your preference for doneness. As suggested, let the steaks rest for a good 10-15 minutes (we just set ours on a plate and covered them with a large bowl), as this really makes a difference in the tenderness of the meat.

Highly recommend this recipe for baked potatoes with carne asada, which you can find here at the Homesick Texan. Below I include simple recipes for a homemade guacamole and a tomato-free pico de gallo. Perfect toppings for this recipe and many more Tex-Mexi-Cali dishes.

Guacamole
yields about 1 cup

1 large, ripe avocado
1-2 tablespoons finely diced purple onion (to taste)
2 tablespoons finely diced bell pepper (any color, red is pretty)
2-4 teaspoons fresh lime juice (to taste)
pinch of freshly ground sea salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
1-2 teaspoons mild hot sauce (such as Cholula), optional
1-2 teaspoons water

In a non-reactive bowl, mash the avocado meat with a fork until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients, adjusting onion, lime juice, salt* and pepper, and (if desired) hot sauce to taste. Stir to combine. If you prefer a smoother guacamole, add 1-2 teaspoons water and mix well.

Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 24 hours (the lime juice will prevent it from turning brown).

* If you'll be serving the guacamole with salted tortilla chips, taste the guacamole with a chip before adding additional salt so as not to over-salt.

Pico de Gallo (without tomatoes)
yields about 1 1/4 cups

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (sub chopped tomatoes if desired
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped hot chili pepper (such as jalapeño or birds eye chili pepper)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or fresh lime juice)
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl (glass rather than metal).

Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 2 days.