Juicy, garlic flavored beef tacos topped with a fresh tomato salsa and cilantro lime sauce. These Garlic Beef Tacos are an easy, flavorful weeknight meal!

A Plethora of Garlic
I started experimenting with the garlic beef for this recipe a month or two ago. The first night I tried making it, I had no sense of smell. As I sauted the beef and added clove after clove of garlic, I didn’t smell any of it. I tasted the beef as I was cooking, and thought it tasted pretty good, but did have some concerns in the back of my mind that my sense of taste might be off.
When my husband came home for dinner that night, he looked at the beef, which couldn’t have had more visible garlic, and said “I think it’s safe to say your sense of taste is off.” I agreed … the garlic looked to be a bit much.

We had a friend and his daughters coming over for dinner that evening, so I apologized profusely to everyone for the amount of garlic, making the obvious vampire jokes, before they even tasted the tacos. But then something great happened … everyone ate the tacos and said, “this beef is actually really good!” It was a fantastic surprise!


Garlic Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce
Over the next month I experimented with the tacos and nailed down a tasty, weeknight-friendly recipe. Here are a few tips to help ensure success when you make these Garlic Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce:
- I prefer shaved beef for this recipe. I believe it cooks to be more tender than stir fry beef.
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt work for the sauce, but remember, it’s a sauce – so keep in mind it will be much thinner than sour cream.
- Let the salsa sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. This allows the flavor to develop.


Garlic Beef Tacos
Ingredients
Garlic Beef
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 1 lb shaved beef
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Salsa
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes ~3 Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Cilantro Lime Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 lime (juice and zest of the lime)
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped and packed
Serving
- ~10 flour taco shells
Instructions
Garlic Beef
- Season beef with salt and pepper to taste, making sure all of the beef is evenly coated.
- Melt butter in sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and beef, stirring occasionally, until beef is just cooked through, roughly 5 minutes. Do not overcook the beef.
Salsa
- Stir together cilantro, red onion Roma tomatoes, salt, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Place sour cream, salt, juice of 1 lime, zest of 1 lime, and cilantro in a small food processor. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Place sauce in container with lid with refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serving
- Divide beef among taco shells. Top with salsa and cilantro lime sauce.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.
If you enjoyed these Garlic Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce, you might enjoy these other SugarSpicesLIife recipe:
Hint of Lime Crockpot Chicken Chili
Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Casserole
Korean Beef Bowl
Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Chicken Andouille Sausage Burritos
Links to items used to make this recipe:
