Chicken Fajitas
Sizzling Chicken Fajitas are a winning dinner recipe that’s so easy to make. Marinated chicken, peppers and onions cook in a hot skillet, then serve them wrapped in warm tortillas with your favorite fajita toppings. Healthy, easy, delicious!
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If I had to make a list of my all-time favorite meals, these chicken fajitas would be right near the top. They’re easy to make, big on flavor, and fun to eat!
This recipe starts with the best Fajita Marinade. Made with fresh lime juice, jalapeño, garlic and cumin, it’s tangy and savory with a touch of spice and sweetness, basically everything you’d want in a chicken fajitas recipe. Just a quick soak in the marinade tenderizes the chicken and infuses it with incredible flavor.
Cooking the chicken and fajita veggies in a skillet is so fast and easy. The hot skillet combined with the marinade promotes delicious caramelization of the meat and veggies. And since everything cooks in one skillet, clean up is a breeze.
Chicken Fajitas Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy dinner recipe:
- Fajita Marinade: For the fajita seasoning we’re using a delicious marinade made with olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, cumin, fresh garlic, a jalapeño pepper, salt and pepper. I like to add red pepper flakes as well for additional spice.
- Chicken Breast: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are lean and make excellent fajitas. You’ll cut the chicken into strips before adding it to the marinade. If you prefer dark meat, you can use chicken thighs.
- Red Onion: Slice it thinly; it will soften and caramelize in the hot pan. I like to use red onion for its sweet-sharp flavor. You can substitute yellow onion if you prefer.
- Bell Peppers: I used one red bell pepper and one yellow bell pepper for color variation.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the chicken, peppers and onions.
- Tortillas: Small tortillas are traditionally used to wrap fajitas. Use corn tortillas or flour tortillas depending on your preference. I highly recommend this tortilla recipe.
- Toppings: This is the fun part! Everyone can top their fajitas the way they like them. I like to serve guacamole or sliced avocado, salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro, plus lime wedges for an extra squeeze of fresh lime juice.
How to Make Chicken Fajitas
- Start by combining the marinade ingredients. Then add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (I like to use a cast iron skillet). Add the chicken, discarding the used marinade. Cook for about 4 minutes. (The chicken won’t be fully cooked yet.)
- Then add the peppers and onions to the skillet and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables have softened.
- Serve in warmed tortillas, with your desired toppings.
Recipe Tips
- Watch the Time: Don’t marinate the chicken for much longer than an hour. Since it’s cut into thin strips it doesn’t need a long marinating time and too long can cause the meat to break down and have an unpleasant texture.
- Discard Used Marinade: For food safety, discard the used marinade after removing the chicken from it.
- Make it Ahead: You can prep some of the components ahead of time to make this recipe come together even faster. The marinade can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. If the olive oil solidifies in the fridge, just let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. You can also slice the chicken, bell peppers and onions ahead of time. Store the meat and veggies in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
- Other Cooking Options: Prefer grilled fajitas? Try this Grilled Chicken Fajitas recipe. Love using your slow cooker? Make Crockpot Chicken Fajitas. To make sheet pan fajitas, arrange the marinated chicken, peppers and onions in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a 425° F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
What to Serve with Chicken Fajitas
Here are some easy side dishes to round out the meal.
- Rice: We love both this Cilantro Lime Rice and Instant Pot Mexican Rice.
- Beans: Serve black beans, pinto beans or refried beans.
- Salad: This Corn Salad is full of zesty, fresh flavors.
- Chips and Dip: Tortilla chips with guacamole, salsa or pico de gallo are a must with any Tex-Mex or Mexican-inspired meal.
Storage and Reheating Tips
Leftover fajitas are just as good as the day you make them. Serve the chicken and veggies in tortillas, over lettuce, or in a burrito bowl.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They’re great for meal prep! Reheat in a skillet over medium heat, in a covered dish in a 350° F oven or in the microwave.
More Tex-Mex Recipes
Try one of these delicious recipes next:
Need an easy dinner idea for this week? Give this chicken fajitas recipe a try! Then let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
Chicken Fajitas {with the BEST marinade}
Ingredients
Fajita Marinade
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small jalapeño or ½ large jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed and discarded; finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- â…› teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional, for added spice; adjust amount to your tastes
Chicken Fajitas
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch thick strips
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
For Serving (choose your favorite toppings)
- 12 small flour tortillas
- sliced avocado or guacamole, optional
- pico de gallo or salsa, optional
- chopped fresh cilantro, optional
- sour cream, optional
- lime wedges, optional
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a large zip-top bag or dish. Squeeze the bag or whisk to mix.
- Add the sliced chicken strips to the bag or bowl and coat the chicken pieces with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to marinate.
- Once the chicken has marinated, heat the 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and discard the used marinade. Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes, flipping the pieces over once the underside browns (it won't be fully cooked at this point). Then add the sliced peppers and onions to the skillet. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the peppers and onions have softened, about 5-8 more minutes.
- Warm the tortillas. Serve chicken, peppers and onions in warmed tortillas with toppings as desired.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They’re great for meal prep! Reheat in a skillet over medium heat, in a covered dish in a 350° F oven or in the microwave.
- Nutrition estimate does not include tortillas or toppings, since those will vary. It assumes that all of the marinade will be consumed, which it likely will not be.
This one is a winner. Will be making it again! I didn’t add any crushed red pepper as heat has to be optional, and used a white onion instead of red.
I lost my usual fajita marinade recipe so I went with this one because it did not include tomatoes of any kind, which you rarely find in fajitas. I added 1/2T chili power for more spice. I used my crock pot per your Crock-Pot fajita instructions.
It’s a good marinade as the flavors really came through without over powering anything. We enjoyed them.