Tacos have never been tastier than with these easy crispy Pork Carnitas Street Tacos made with creamy queso fresco, crunchy corn salsa, and fresh-made guacamole. This recipe takes leftover carnitas and levels up to a totally fresh new meal that is loaded with flavor and just may disappear as quickly as you make it!
Pork Carnitas Street Tacos – The EASY Way!
The family is going to love this easy street taco recipe that’s oozing with delicious Mexican flavors. It comes together quickly and will have everyone craving more. Be sure to keep this quick and easy family dinner on hand!
Carnitas Tacos
While we love Mexican cuisine, you may wonder what are carnitas tacos? Firstly, carnitas is traditionally made with pork and cooked with citrus and spices. It is also standard for carnitas to have a crispy exterior while being juicy and tender on the inside.
Why I LOVE this Carnitas Taco recipe!
- Easy! – The prep is super simple and cooking these tacos is just as simple.
- Texture – There’s alot going on with these tacos carnitas. You have a crisp corn tortilla, crispy but tender and juicy pork carnitas meat, a crunchy corn salsa, and then creamy guacomole and queso fresco. I’m drooling, already!
- Kid-Friendly – If you’re family is like mine, they absolutely LOVE Mexican cuisine. This carnitas tacos recipe has the flavors they’ll love and allow you to have a variety of toppings for even the pickiest of eaters!
- Leftover recipe – This street taco recipe with pork carnitas is packed full of flavor and uses leftovers from this Crock Pot Pork Carnitas recipe. Be sure to check out this recipe for tips and the best pork carnitas to build many meals off of, such as these leftover recipes:
- Pork Carnitas Quesadillas
- Pork Carnitas Nachos
- Pork Carnitas Bowl
- Pork Carnitas Enchiladas
What to Serve with Carnitas Tacos
Since this dish has the classic flavors of Mexican Street food, it will pair well with many of your favorite Mexican side dishes. There are both classic options and some healthy options to keep it light.
Side Dish Ideas
- Mexican Rice
- Black Beans made from scratch, or use our short cut recipe using canned black beans
- Mexican Style Crock Pot Refried Beans
- Mexican Roasted Vegetables
- Mexican Street Corn Casserole-quick, easy and one of our most popular recipes
You can choose one or add a few sides to make a wholesome, well rounded dinner.
Toppings for Carnitas Street Tacos
Don’t forget the toppings! This versatile dish has many topping options that will work for everyone in the family. This recipe is already super flavorful and offers a lot of texture with the corn salsa, guacamole, queso fresco, and of course, the crispy pork carnitas. You can however adapt it to whatever toppings your family likes. Here are some suggestions:
- Sour cream
- Lettuce
- Jalepenos
- Pico de Gallo
- Black bean and corn salsa
- Jalepeno Ranch – a MUST try is this delicious spicy ranch that is a perfect sauce for carnitas tacos!
- Sautéed Peppers and Onions
- Shredded cheese
- Chopped cilantro
Recipe Notes
This Pork Carnitas recipe is as simple as promised! Just 15 minutes for a family friendly meal.
In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks I use when making this recipe to get the absolute best and most delicious results.
Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Pork carnitas – Easily the best part of these tacos is the crispy carnitas. We make this with leftovers from our easy Slow Cooker Carnitas, but you can make it with any leftover carnitas- from a restaurant or even just make up a batch fresh.
- Corn tortillas – For these Street tacos, the street style taco shells are the best size for a handheld taco. You can also swap for flour shells, or even larger tortillas.
- Corn salsa – Packed with flavor, this salsa has a lot to offer. If you like Chipotle’s salsa, then this will win you over! Corn, cilantro, red onion, jalapenos all marinating in lime and lemon juice for a punch of flavor.
For other variations, try our black bean corn salsa, mango salsa, or jalapeno pineapple salsa. So many great combinations. - Guacamole – Fresh made tableside guac adds just the right amount of earthiness with your favorite taste of avocado, onion, and tomatoes. Yum!
- Queso fresco – Creamy, cheesy, mild, and delicious. With all the crispy, crunch, and bright bold flavors these pork carnitas tacos offer, this cheese sauce is the best accompaniment and traditional Cali-style addition for street tacos. You can also use a mexican blend cheese, or monterrey jack instead.
Recipe Tips
- Hot pan – for best results on how to warm up corn tortillas for these carnitas tacos and for quicker cooking to get that authentic crisp tortilla shell you’ll want to make sure that the pan and oil are very hot. If you add a tortilla to cold oil it will make it greasy instead of just perfectly crisp on the outside and still just a bit soft on the inside.
- Also note you only need a very SMALL amount of oil in the pan. You can also do this without oil, but it does give it a nice crusty outside to the corn shell.
- Also note you only need a very SMALL amount of oil in the pan. You can also do this without oil, but it does give it a nice crusty outside to the corn shell.
- Don’t stir the pork! – Because we are using leftover pork carnitas, we lose a little bit of that authentic crispy texture the pork has when first made.
That’s where the pan-frying comes in. When adding the pork carnitas in the hot oil let it sit and heat without stirring as it will crisp up and caramelize the pork to its former glory of deliciousness.- This step should not be skipped. You’re going to want the BEST flavor and BEST TEXTURE when making pork carnitas tacos!
- This step should not be skipped. You’re going to want the BEST flavor and BEST TEXTURE when making pork carnitas tacos!
- Cheese – The queso fresco is the most delicious in contrast with the crispy carnitas pork and corn tortilla. You can substitute for your favortite cheese such as shredded Mexican blend cheese, cheddar, or Monterary Jack cheese.
- Change up the meat – I love using base recipes and making small changes to make them your own. Or if you have a picky eater in the family, versatile recipes are wonderful to have!
With this pork carnitas taco recipe you can switch out the pork for a different protein. Ground beef, carne asada, chicken, or al pastor (pork).- Make it vegan by using seasoned shredded jackfruit, crispy chili lime tofu, or black beans.
Recipe Short Cuts
If you need to make this recipe, but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!
- Make salsa ahead of time – You can make this salsa a day or two ahead of time which makes it a great topping for street tacos carnitas. Make a larger batch of this corn salsa to snack on throughout the week with tortilla chips.
- Guacamole, in the freezer? – If you find a good deal on avocados, don’t pass them up! Make a few different recipes, such as fresh guacamole, and freeze for quick and easy use. Pull from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator over night.
- Use premade toppings – Skip making everything from scratch to make this taco recipe with pork carnitas even simpler. Use your favorite store bought salsa and guacamole.
Recipe Variations
If you love this recipe as much as we do and want some quick ways to change it up for variety, these little tips will do the trick!
- Carnitas Breakfast Tacos – for some super yummy breakfast tacos, crisp up the carnitas pork in a skillet with a little oil. Add in diced peppers and onions and cook for another 2 minutes. Then, add in eggs and scramble with the pork and veggies. Add to pan-fried corn tortillas and serve with salsa and sour cream.
- Carnitas Taco Salad – Use the same recipe for these pork carnitas tacos, but instead of serving as a taco add the carnitas, corn salsa, guacamole, and queso fresco to a bed of freshly shredded lettuce. To make it more hearty, add black beans.
- Crispy Carnitas Tacos – This is an easy change up! Use crispy hard taco shells instead of the street taco style corn tortillas.
More EASY Mexican Style Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!
You can check out all of my Easy recipes here, or see a few of our readers favorite recipes below.
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken
- Mexican Shredded Beef
- Queso Chicken Bake
- Baked Crispy Ground Beef Tacos
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Pork Carnitas Street Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 cups pork carnitas
- 12 street taco sized corn tortillas
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup corn salsa
- 1/2 cup guacamole
- 1 ounce queso fresco
Instructions
- Heat half the oil in a large skillet over high. Once hot, toast the tortillas 30-60 seconds per side. You should be able to do 2-3 tortillas at a time in the skillet. Once done, set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the carnitas and cook for 3-5 minutes without stirring. Then stir and cook 2-3 more minutes or until heated through.
- Lay the tortillas out flat. Place a scoop of carnitas in each one, then top with corn salsa, a dollop of guacamole, and a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco.
Leave a Reply