Carne Asada Fries With Sliced Steak and Chile Butter Sauce

I recently spent a few days in San Diego, where I maintained a nearly all-taco diet. As I hopped from taqueria to taqueria, I was tempted by carne asada fries, which were on nearly every menu. The dish is believed to have originated in San Diego in the 1990s, when taquerias began loading french fries with the taco fillings they already had on hand—grilled carne asada, cheese, guacamole, crema, and salsa.

I finally gave in on the last day of my trip, ordering asada fries from Tacos El Gordo, a Tijuana-based taco chain with a big following on both sides of the Mexico-US border. My favorite souvenir from San Diego isn’t something I brought home in my suitcase—it’s the memory of digging into a mountain of crispy fries buried under shredded cheese, guacamole, and crema, all slicked with beefy juices.

When I got home and started thinking about how to recreate the dish, I had an idea: What if carne asada fries met another beef-and-fry classic—steak frites? Instead of chopped carne asada scattered over fries, this version serves a sliced steak alongside a mountain of cheesy, loaded fries, with a carne asada–inspired butter sauce bridging the two. It’s indulgent, unapologetically beefy, and designed for maximum fry-dipping.

The Carne Asada–Inspired Sauce

This recipe takes inspiration from Serious Eats senior culinary editorLeah's steak frites, particularly the classic pairing of steak with a peppery, butter-based sauce. Here, the traditional au poivre framework is reworked with flavors borrowed from carne asada marinades, including oregano and cumin.

In addition to black peppercorns, I use chiltepin chiles—tiny, peppercorn-shaped dried chiles with a smoky, earthy heat. They’re toasted and ground into the sauce, and also cracked fresh over the steak at the table for an extra punch. You can also experiment with different dried chiles in the sauce: Chipotles will add smokiness, while habaneros bring fruitier heat. The sauce is rich and savory, so a squeeze of lime just before serving helps brighten and balance the dish.

Topping the Fries

To keep the focus on the steak and sauce, I opt for frozen, store-bought fries rather than making them from scratch. I prefer thin, shoestring-style fries here—their high surface area means more crisp edges, better cheese coverage, and more opportunities for sauce-dipping in every bite. If you’d rather make them yourself, you can follow former Serious Eats senior editor Sho's shoestring fries recipe for equally crisp results.

Once cooked, the fries are topped with a layer of cheese and briefly warmed in the oven, allowing the cheese to melt and bind everything together. Fresh tomato, red onion, and cilantro add crunch, acidity, and herbal brightness, cutting through the richness of the butter sauce and steak. You could easily lean harder into carne asada–fries territory by adding pickled chiles, beans, crema, or avocado salsa. 

The recipe makes enough sauce for it to pool generously around the sliced steak—and for plenty of fry-dipping. It's a fun dish that feels like a special occasion dinner, yet it's also easy enough to assemble on a busy weeknight.