- June 26, 2019
- 30 Minute Meals
Carne Asada Fire Roasted Stuffed Peppers
An easy, Carne Asada flank steak recipe made low carb and keto friendly with fire roasted red peppers. A delicious take on classic stuffed peppers with a Mexican twist.
This recipe was created in partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. All opinions are my own.
Where are my steak taco fans at? I love a good keto corn tortilla filled with delicious steak for a healthy weeknight recipe, but I wanted to switch things up over here. Because tacos (or even stuffed peppers inspired by steak tacos) can be eaten on more than just Tuesday’s. Don’t you agree?
I was inspired to make this dish when I teamed up with my friends over at Sprouts Farmers Market . I was tasked to bring you a killer low carb creation that can tango with your taste buds and fulfill those much needed taco cravings (with way fewer carbs). I think I absolutely succeeded!
Today’s recipe features Sprouts brand pre-marinated flank steak in the carne asada style. If you want to make this dish and don’t have a Sprouts store by you, you can follow directions for making Adobo Marinated Flank Steak here instead with similar results.
The benefits from purchasing the pre-marinated meat, is that I can easily cut down on the amount of work to cook a healthy meal on a busy weeknight. The recipe below shows instructions for grilling your steak and peppers and I’ll also provide notes for indoor cooking (using the stove and your oven).
Check out how easy this weeknight carne asada inspired stuffed pepper recipe is below and read on for a few helpful tips and important cooking techniques for working with flank steak and impressing your friends and family with another dinner winner.
“School” Supplies:
- Knife & Cutting Board
- Tongs
- Cast Iron Pan
“Class” Notes:
What is carne asada?
The star of the show for this dish is the obviously the carne asada. Carne asada is typically made from flank steak or skirt steak. These are very thin cuts of meat (like Philly cheesesteak thin), that are usually marinated in lime juice and other spices before cooking it over very high heat.
Buy Pre-Marinated Meat VS. Making Your Own:
I opted to purchase the pre-marinated carne asada that is made in house here at my local Kansas City area Sprouts store to make this a quick and easy for a summer weeknight family friendly meal. I typically am not one to purchase semi-prepared items but knowing that Sprouts has very high standards in what they put in their products (in this case the marinade), I know I can trust not only the quality of the food but that the ingredients are clean as well.
I do know however, not everyone will have this option. If you came across this recipe and need to make a carne asada marinade from scratch here are some tips for making your own marinade:
- Use fresh squeezed juices of lemon, lime and orange
- Always add some olive oil or other fat to your marinade
- Add garlic cloves, crushed or minced to the mixture
- Spices include: salt, pepper, cumin, and fresh cilantro
- If you want it to pack some heat, then add in some jalapeno too
Cooking your carne asada and your peppers:
The Peppers:
Prep the peppers and other veggies before cooking your carne asada. To prep the peppers, start by taking 3-4 nice size red bell peppers and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and lightly oil them front and back and season with a little salt.
Place them on indirect heat on the grill to allow the meat of the pepper to start to pre-cook and become tender. This is essentially like baking the peppers and takes around 10-15 minutes with the lid of the grill closed. The peppers need to pre-cook a bit because the meat will be added to them and assembled and served right away. The act more like a taco shell replacement that a baked stuffed pepper.
You could alternatively bake these on a baking sheet at 400 F. for about 15 minutes. Again, the peppers should be tender but not soft.
The Carne Asada:
Get the grill fired up nice and hot (usually over 500 F is best for steak) and preheat a griddle or cast iron pan for your steak. The pan or griddle is necessary if you have your steak pre-sliced (this is the traditional method). If you left it whole, you can just grill or sear the steak on the grates or indoors in a cast iron pan as well.
I like to cook my sliced onions with the steak, but you can do this separately too. Flank steak and skirt steak is very thin and can easily get over cooked. Ideally, you only want to cook for a few minutes per side total and then remove it from the heat to rest.
Assembling the stuffed peppers:
The peppers should have partially cooked on indirect heat (in the grill or in the oven). To fire roast on the grill you can let them cook on direct medium heat (around 400 F.) and turn them every 30-60 seconds just to add a little char and allow them to become tender. The trick is not letting them cook too much before adding your meat.
If you are baking the peppers you can add some char on both sides by using your broiler or on a gas stove top directly on the burner as well. Do what works best!
Once the peppers are done, run a knife through the pieces of carne asada if you prefer smaller more manageable bite sized pieces to fit inside the peppers. Stuff each one with the steak and onion mixture and garnish with diced avocado or my favorite guacamole recipe, cilantro, and sour cream.
I love serving my peppers up with a side of my Loaded Cheesy Mexican Cauliflower Rice and a good Blackberry Jalapeno Margarita or Smoky Mezcal Mule.
Carne Asada Fire Roasted Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Pre- Marinated Carne Asada
- 4 Large Red peppers halved and seeded
- 1 Small Yellow Onion sliced thin
- 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
- Sea Salt
- Optional Toppings- Avocado cilantro, and sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat your grill or oven to 400 F.
- Half the red peppers, lengthwise and remove the seeds. Drizzle a little olive oil over the front and back of the peppers and season with sea salt and set aside. Place your peppers on indirect heat on your grill or bake for about 15 minutes to partially cook them.
- While the peppers cook, slice the onion into thin strips and set aside.
- Remove the peppers from the grill or oven and set them aside. Preheat your cast iron pan over direct heat on the grill or on a stove. If grilling, place on high heat (over 500 F.).
- Pour a little olive oil into the cast iron and sear the carne asada and onions together, only a minute and a half or so per side. It will cook very quickly!
- Place the peppers skin side down on the grill over the flame and cook for about 2 minutes and flip them and repeat. You want just a slight char and for the pepper to be heated through and al dente. If cooking indoors, your can broil them in the oven.
- Remove the meat and peppers from the grill. Chop the meat into smaller pieces and stuff the peppers. Add avocado, sour cream, and cilantro if desired!