These Tri-Tip Tacos are bold, juicy, and packed with smoky, grilled flavor that takes taco night to the next level. Juicy tri-tip steak, paired with fresh toppings and warm tortillas, makes for an easy, crowd-pleasing meal that’s perfect for summer grilling or weeknight dinners.
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Recently I shared my favorite tri tip sandwich recipe and I couldn’t wait to bring this tasty dish to you! Tacos are such a family favorite for us and we eat tri tip tacos all the time!
Whether you are using up leftovers from a smoked tri-tip or making a big tri-tip taco Tuesday dinner, these tacos are sure to be a hit!
Why This Recipe Works:
- Rich, Smoky Flavor: Tri tip is marbled and flavorful, making it ideal for grilling and slicing into tender, juicy taco meat.
- Quick-Cooking and Versatile: Once grilled, tri tip slices quickly and works beautifully with a variety of toppings and tortillas.
- Perfect for Entertaining: Great for serving a crowd—just slice, set out toppings, and let everyone build their own tacos.
- Balanced and Satisfying: The combination of savory beef, fresh toppings, and warm tortillas creates a perfect bite every time.
What You Need for This Recipe:
- Tri Tip- Check out my delicious marinated tri-tip recipe here, or use up any leftover tri-tip you have.
- Toppings- These tacos are great with some freshly chopped jalapenos, onion, fresh-squeezed limes, mango, and chopped cilantro.
- Salsa- I love topping this with some roasted tomatillo salsa, mango pineapple salsa!
If you like these tacos, make sure to check out my carnitas tacos, fajita tacos, chicken street tacos and my tacos al carbon!
How to Make Tri Tip Tacos?
- Step 1: Cook your tri-tip.
- Step 2: Cube the tri-tip meat and fry up the tortillas.
- Step 3: Assemble tacos with all the toppings and salsa!
Variations
- Cilantro Lime Sauce- add some tasty cilantro lime sauce for a more flavorful sour cream addition
- Homemade Pico- a tasty addition to any taco!
- Green Chile- you can never go wrong with adding green chile to most things! Canned or freshly roasted- any way you add it, it will be delicious!
- Pickled or Candied Jalapenos would be a tasty addition!
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Serve these tacos along side a mint julep with some chips and queso for a fun time!
Frequently Asked Questions
If I have leftover taco fixings, store each ingredient separately in an air-tight container for up to 4-5 days in the fridge. Taco shells don’t hold up well to being reheated, so use fresh ones when you make tacos the next time.
We have no problem eating tri tip tacos cold since they are so flavorful and we don’t want to recook/over cook the meat, but if I do want to reheat the tri tip I will throw the cubed tri tip in a pan right before serving and then have everyone assemble their tacos with the warmed meat.
I recommend checking out my oven-baked Santa Maria tri-tip, brown sugar dry rub smoked tri-tip, or my marinated tri-tip for tasty tri-tip roast recipes!
You can use tri-tip steaks too, but just make sure to keep an eye on the internal temperature so you don’t overcook them!
If cooking tri-tip steaks, you can bake or smoke according to my instructions on my roast recipes, but the amount of time to cook will be shorter since they are smaller pieces.
If baking, bake steaks in an oven-safe dish at 350°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached, and if smoking, cook in a smoker at 225°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached. Grilling will be the fastest, but you will want to watch the steaks closely so you don’t overcook them.
More Related Recipes
If you like this recipe, check out all my easy taco recipes, like delicious potato tacos and breakfast tacos! Or check out my chile relleno burrito and this tasty bacon breakfast burrito.
If you like this recipe make sure to give it a 5-star review and leave a comment down below!
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Video
Tri Tip Tacos
Ingredients
- 1-2 lb Tri Tip
- ½ cup white onion, diced
- 2-3 mangos, diced
- 2-3 Peppers, diced I like to use jalapeno and red fresno peppers
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- Limes
- Salsa- your preference
- 6-12 Corn Tortillas
Instructions
- Cook Tri Tip or Tri Tip Steaks*. You can smoke, grill, or bake tri-tip. If baking, bake tri-tip in an oven-safe dish at 350°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached, and if smoking, cook in a smoker at 225°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached. Grilling will be the fastest, but you will want to watch the meat closely so you don’t overcook it. Check out my tri-tip marinade or dry rub recipes linked in the notes below.1-2 lb Tri Tip
- Cube your cooked tri-tip.
- Cut up the mango, peppers, onion, and cilantro.½ cup white onion, diced, 2-3 mangos, diced, 2-3 Peppers, diced, 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped, Limes, Salsa- your preference
- Lightly brown your tortillas. Sometimes I use a little oil in a hot pan, or you can use no oil.6-12 Corn Tortillas
- Assemble tacos with tri-tip, mango, peppers, onion, cilantro, a spoonful of salsa, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Notes
- *Tri Tip Roasts: Check out my Santa Maria baked tri tip recipe, brown sugar dry rub smoked tri tip recipe, and this tasty marinated tri tip recipe to learn how to cook the perfect tri tip!
- *Tri Tip Steaks- If cooking tri-tip steaks, you can bake or smoke according to my instructions on my roast recipes, but the amount of time to cook will be shorter since they are smaller pieces. If baking, cook at 350°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached, and if smoking, cook in smoker at 225°F until an internal temperature of 135°F is reached.
*An internal temperature of 135°F is considered medium rare and provides a tender, juicy cooked tri-tip. Overcooking the tri-tip will make it chewy, tough, and dry.
*1-2 lbs is usually what I have as leftovers from a tri-tip roast, so your quantities may vary!
Krystal Alcorta says
I don't understand what happened. There must be some kind of glitch on your website. This recipe used to be differenr. No mango. Spiced with paprika and garlic. Now the same link I've used a dozen times takes me to a different recipe. What happened?,
Lisa says
Hey Krystal,
I updated the recipe a little while ago with new pics and better instructions, and made tweaks to the recipe that I thought improved it. The original recipe rub was 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, 1 tbs paprika, and 1 tbs garlic powder. Hope that helps and I am so glad you enjoyed it!