These leftover prime rib tacos are one of the best ways to use up extra holiday prime rib roast from Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. These quick and easy carne asada style tacos are loaded with tasty chunks of beef and topped with pico de gallo and queso fresco for the perfect street taco!
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If you're like me, you'll agree that re-heated leftover prime rib beef roast on its own just isn't the same succulent roast as it was when just cooked. So I like to get creative and use up all of our leftover prime rib in a fantastic variety of ways!
These prime rib tacos are one of the easiest, and most delicious, ways to repurpose roasted beef. They take just minutes to prepare and can easily be customized with all of your favorite street taco toppings!
🥘 Ingredients
Combine your sliced leftover roast meat with your favorite taco seasoning, some fresh lime juice, and cilantro to make these super tasty prime rib carne asada street-style tacos.
I prefer to let the prime rib beef flavor shine through in this dinner meal, so I keep the taco seasoning and extras down to a minimum.
- Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil for searing the meat.
- Prime Rib Roast - 1 pound of prime rib (or other roasted meat) leftovers, chopped into bite-size chunks or strips.
- Limes - 2 limes sliced into wedges. Use 1 ½ lime for squeezing into the cooking meat, and ½ lime sliced into 6 smaller wedges for serving.
- Taco Seasoning - 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning. Try my easy recipe, or use your favorite brand.
- Flour Tortillas - 6 flour tortillas. They can be homemade, like my recipe, or storebought.
- Shredded Cheese - ½ cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese.
- Pico de Gallo - ½ cup of fresh pico de gallo (see recipe, or use your favorite brand).
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Prime Rib Tacos
The meat is already cooked so this recipe should be a breeze. You will need measuring spoons, a skillet, and a wooden spoon to get started.
This recipe is for 6 tacos, but you can easily scale it up or down as needed.
- Sear and season. Bring a large skillet or frying pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil to medium-high heat. Pan-sear 1 pound of chunked pieces of leftover prime rib with freshly squeezed juice from 1 ½ limes and 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning, stirring occasionally for about 4-5 minutes or until all of the prime rib meat is heated through.
- Add water if needed. *You may need to add a bit of water to keep the meat moist after adding the taco seasoning (slowly add water in tablespoon amounts).
- Assemble tacos. Heat 6 tortillas (if desired) and add ½ cup of shredded cheese mix, then top with pan-seared prime rib taco meat and ½ cup (divideD) pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges and creamy guacamole on the side.
My family loves to top off pan-seared chunked pieces of leftover prime rib beef with some fresh pico de gallo, a side of creamy guacamole, and served on top some of my soft and warm homemade flour tortillas! Of course, you can use whatever tortillas you have on hand to make this even easier! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- These tacos would also be delicious with corn tortillas if you prefer.
- To warm your tortillas, simply stack them and wrap them tightly with foil. Pop them in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 10 minutes.
- Some other tasty taco toppings would include sour cream, salsa roja, salsa verde, roasted corn, jalapenos, or fresh cilantro!
🥡 Storing
If using leftovers, particularly leftovers that have been in the fridge for a few days, it is best to enjoy your tacos immediately. Otherwise, roasted beef will last for 3-4 days in the fridge when kept in an airtight container.
For more information on storing prime rib, check out my page 'how long will leftover prime rib last'.
Check out my other leftover prime rib recipes for more ideas on using up extra prime rib roast!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Definitely not! Leftovers from steak, pot roast leftovers, or leftovers from a roast beef dinner can all be used interchangeably in this recipe and all of my wonderful prime rib leftover recipes!
Leftover prime rib can be repurposed in a number of different ways! It makes delicious soups, sandwiches, and salads. You can use it in almost any recipe that calls for sliced or chopped roasted beef.
For the best flavor and texture, I recommend only reheating leftover meat one time. Each time the meat is chilled and reheated allows bacteria time to grow and will increase your odds of food poisoning. To ensure the meat is safe to eat after already reheating and chilling it once, you would have to overcook it.
😋 More Leftover Prime Rib Recipes
- Leftover Prime Rib Hash - Enjoy a delicious breakfast the next morning after a prime rib dinner.
- Leftover Prime Rib Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms - Turn your holiday leftovers into a rich and hearty soup.
- Leftover Prime Rib Dip Sandwich - Leftover prime rib roast makes an even better sandwich with au jus on the side.
- Prime Rib Chili - Prime rib makes a thick and hearty chili that is perfect for cold weather.
- Prime Rib Pasta - Save your leftover prime rib and au jus to make this rich mushroom pasta the next day.
- Leftover Prime Rib Beef Stroganoff - This prime rib beef stroganoff is the ultimate after-holiday comfort food.
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📖 Recipe Card
Leftover Prime Rib Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 lbs prime rib roast (leftovers, chopped into bite size chunks or strips)
- 2 limes (sliced into wedges, 1 ½ limes for squeezing into the cooking meat - ½ lime sliced into smaller wedges for serving)
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (see recipe, or use your favorite brand)
- 6 flour tortillas (see recipe, or use your favorite brand)
- ½ cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
- ½ cup pico de gallo (see recipe, or use your favorite brand)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Bring a large skillet or frying pan with olive oil to medium high heat.
- Pan sear the chunked pieces of leftover prime rib roast with fresh squeezed lime juice and taco seasoning, stirring occasionally for about 4-5 minutes or until all of the prime rib meat is heated through.
- *You may need to add a bit of water to keep the meat moist after adding the taco seasoning (slowly add water in tablespoon amounts).
- Heat your tortillas (if desired) and add shredded cheese mix, then top with pan seared prime rib taco meat and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges and creamy guacamole on the side.
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does regular salsa taste ok too?
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great way to use up leftovers & enjoy a new taste of taco!
Layton says
This recipe was amazing!!! Great use for the leftover prime rib last night. I served the with beans on the side and I made homemade pico and jalapeño lime crema. Delicious!!! Thanks for sharing
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You read my mind Layton! That's the one thing that I meant to include when we make this again, a jalapeno lime crema!! Unfortunately for us this year, we had an unexpected puppy mishap with the leftovers so it was just sandwiches for the human portion of the family 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping in to let us know how your tacos turned out!!