In this chicken fajita recipe, chicken is infused with a flavorful marinade, then cooked with bell peppers, onions and garlic. Served with your favorite tortillas, guacamole, and homemade salsa, these chicken fajitas are an easy, healthy & delicious weeknight meal.
Whenever we go out for Mexican food, I almost always order chicken fajitas (or chicken enchiladas). Since going out with 6 young children isn't always easy, I decided it was past time for me to make the best chicken fajita recipe at home!
In this recipe, chicken is infused with a flavorful marinade, then cooked with bell peppers, onions and garlic.
Serve them with your favorite tortillas, guacamole, refried black beans, cilantro lime rice and homemade salsa for a Mexican feast that's easy, healthy & delicious.
Chicken Fajita Recipe: Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken breasts. use prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Lime juice. Fresh-squeezed or bottled both work well!
- Olive oil. Avocado oil is a great substitute for olive oil.
- Minced garlic. I use jarred, but freshly minced garlic is great too.
- Spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder & coriander). I have included our favorite fajita seasoning blend. You can adjust it to your tastes however you see fit.
- Bell peppers. I like to use a variety of colors for presentation, you can use your favorites (red, orange, yellow, red).
- Onion. Use a sweet yellow or white onion or red onion.
How to make Chicken Fajitas
This chicken fajita recipe is relatively easy, and if you follow my tips and suggestions they are certain to turn out perfectly every time!
Marinade the chicken
Begin this recipe by marinating the chicken. First, cut the chicken breasts into thin strips 1 to 1.5 inches long.
Then, whisk together lime juice, olive oil and minced garlic in a medium bowl. Next, add the chicken and stir to coat.
In a small bowl combine spices and stir to combine.
Next, add the fajita seasoning to the chicken and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator.
Make sure to remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before cooking so it is not too cold when cooked (this will help it brown quickly).
Cook the chicken fajitas
When you're ready to cook, drain excess liquid from the marinated chicken.
Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large cast iron skillet until shimmering
NOTE: you do not want to over-crowd the skillet. If you only have a smaller skillet (10” or less) then you will need to cook these chicken fajitas in two batches. Keep the first batch warm in the oven while making the second. It’s important the chicken is in a single layer and the pan is heated with the oil to brown the meat.
Next, add the chicken, onions and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is browned, stirring occasionally.
Then, add the peppers and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Cook over high heat until seared/browned (3-5 minutes). If necessary, add more olive oil to brown the fajitas.
Serving suggestions
Serve immediately! We love serving these with tortillas, or as a yummy Mexican bowl/salad with these recipes:
- The best Homemade guacamole is a must-have companion for this chicken fajita recipe.
- Also, homemade salsa - yum!
- Cilantro lime rice is a great side dish!
- These refried black beans are healthy and delicious.
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Recipe FAQs
I suggest cutting the chicken in thin, longer strips. Use a very sharp knife!
Yes, you can replace the fajita seasoning in this recipe with taco seasoning, if you prefer.
Yes, absolutely. You want to use thinly sliced chicken so it browns well!
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Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
Fajita chicken
- 2 pounds chicken breasts sliced into very thin 1 to 1.5” long strips
- 2 TBS lime juice
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS minced garlic
Fajita seasoning:
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Fajitas
- 2 TBS olive oil or more as needed
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1 green bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1 onion sliced into thin strips
Serving:
- Sour cream guacamole, a drizzle of extra lime juice, cheese, salsa, tortillas, etc.
Instructions
Marinade the chicken.
- Cut chicken breasts into thin strips 1 to 1.5 inches long.
- In a medium bowl whisk together lime juice, olive oil and minced garlic, add chicken and stir to coat.
- In a small bowl combine spices and stir to combine.
- Add the fajita seasoning to the chicken and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator. Make sure to remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before cooking so it is not too cold when cooked (this will help it brown quickly).
Cook the fajitas.
- Drain any excess liquid from the marinated chicken.
- Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large cast iron skillet until shimmering (NOTE: you do not want to over-crowd the skillet. If you only have a smaller skillet (10” or less) then you will need to cook these fajitas in two batches. Keep the first batch warm in the oven while making the second. It’s important the chicken is in a single layer and the pan is heated up with the oil to brown the meat).
- Add chicken, onions and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add peppers and remaining 1 TBS olive oil.
- Cook over high heat until seared/browned (3-5 minutes). If necessary, add more olive oil to brown the fajitas.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes/substitutions:
- Chicken breasts. use prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Lime juice. Fresh-squeezed or bottled both work well!
- Olive oil. Avocado oil is a great substitute for olive oil.
- Minced garlic. I use jarred, but freshly minced garlic is great too.
- Spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder & coriander). I have included our favorite fajita seasoning blend. You can adjust it to your tastes however you see fit.
- Bell peppers. I like to use a variety of colors for presentation, you can use your favorites (red, orange, yellow, red).
- Onion. Use a sweet yellow or white onion or red onion.
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine!
Mary
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. But you ought to make a correction that you can keep leftovers in the FREEZER for about a month (rather than storing in the refrigerator for up to 1 month)!
Laura
Yikes! I fixed that! Thank you!