This chicken fajitas recipe always makes the most tender, juicy, flavorful chicken fajitas that are loaded with flavor, and it is so easy to make!
Chicken Fajitas Recipe
We're cooking up one of our favorite weeknight meals in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen tonight, my friends. Would you believe me if I told you it's simply chicken and vegetables?
Healthy chicken and veggie dinners don't need to mean "boring and flavorless" when you bring in a powerhouse of seasonings to marinate the chicken and combine with them with sweet and spicy peppers.
We're talking Homemade Chicken Fajitas, and I already know you are going to love them. This might just be your new favorite recipe.
These easy chicken fajitas are huge on flavor. All you need are a simple yet powerful selection of seasonings, a bit of oil and lime juice for a chicken fajita marinade that results in tender, juicy chicken every single time.
Just sear them up in a pan along with your selection of sweet bell peppers and onions, some spicy jalapeno peppers if you'd like (I sure do!), and serve them up on warmed tortillas with your favorite fajita toppings.
Talk about delicious. And easy! This goes into my favorites collection because they're so easy to make. I hope you love them as much as we do.
Let's talk about how to make chicken fajitas, shall we?
Chicken Fajitas Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN FAJITA MARINADE
- Liquids. Olive oil, lime juice, water.
- Seasonings. Fresh garlic, paprika, ancho chili powder, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper, chili flakes.
FOR THE CHICKEN FAJITAS
- Chicken. I usually use chicken breast or chicken tenders for my chicken fajitas, though chicken thighs are good, too.
- Peppers. Use an assortment of colorful bell peppers for appearance and flavor, and some jalapeno peppers for spicy heat, if desired. Use only bell peppers for milder fajitas.
- Onion. For wonderful flavor and substance.
- Flour Tortillas. For serving. You can use corn tortillas, if you prefer.
- Fixings as Desired. Chopped tomatoes, pico de gallo, homemade guacamole or avocado slices, hot sauce, shredded cheese, spicy chili flakes, fresh chopped cilantro. Use your favorites.
How to Make Chicken Fajitas - the Recipe Method
Make the Fajita Marinade. Whisk all of the fajita marinade ingredients together in a large bowl until consistent.
Marinate the Chicken. Add the chicken and marinate at least 5 minutes. A minimum of 30 minutes is preferred. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, covered, for more developed flavor.
Cook the Chicken. Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Add the thin slices of chicken with the marinade and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Cook the Peppers and Onions. Add more oil to the pan if needed and add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring here and there, until the peppers and onions are caramelized and softened.
Serve the Chicken Fajitas. Return the chicken to the pan and heat through. Serve on warmed tortillas and top with your favorite toppings, like hot sauce, sour cream, cheese, you name it. Enjoy!
Boom! Done! Chicken fajitas are ready to serve! They look so good, don't they? The chicken is super tender from the wonderful fajita marinade and huge on flavor. Such a great recipe. So good.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Homemade Fajita Seasonings. As a time saver, use this fajita seasoning recipe to make your fajita seasonings ahead of time. This way, you can simply scoop out a couple tablespoons, mix with oil, water and lime juice, then marinate your chicken anytime. Or just use it as a dry rub and sear the chicken for even quicker fajitas.
- Fajita Marinade. I use this chicken fajita marinade all the time, but it's great for other proteins as well, like for steak fajitas or shrimp fajitas. It's also great for vegetables or even marinating tofu or veggie based meats for vegetarian fajitas. Try marinating the bell peppers with the marinade. Great stuff! Huge flavor builder, and the marinade also helps to tenderize the meats.
- Serving Chicken Fajitas. Fajitas are basically big chicken tacos, so you can pile on any and all of your favorite toppings. Toss on some of your favorite salsa, like pico de gallo, some spicy guacamole, diced tomatoes, fresh chopped herbs. I always go for a few dashes of hot sauce. Gotta spice things up, right?
Storage and Leftovers
Store any leftover chicken fajitas in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. To enjoy them again, warm them up in a pan with a bit of oil.
You can also freeze the leftovers in vacuum sealed containers for 3 months or longer.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my chicken fajitas recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy! Fajita night!
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
Try These Accompaniments for Your Fajitas
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN FAJITA MARINADE
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika or use sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon ancho powder also try guajillo powder - or more to taste - I often use 2 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and black pepper to taste I use 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Chili flakes to taste
FOR THE CHICKEN FAJITAS
- 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 large bell peppers sliced (use colorful bells - red, yellow, orange, or green)
- 2 jalapeno peppers sliced (optional, for spicier chicken fajitas - use green bell pepper for milder fajitas)
- 1 large onion sliced
- 12 flour tortillas warmed - you can use corn tortillas if you'd prefer
- Fixings as Desired. Chopped tomatoes, pico de gallo, homemade guacamole or avocado slices, hot sauce, shredded cheese, spicy chili flakes, fresh chopped cilantro. Use your favorites.
Instructions
- Whisk all of the fajita marinade ingredients together in a large bowl until consistent.
- Add sliced chicken and marinate at least 5 minutes. A minimum of 30 minutes is preferred. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, covered, for more developed flavor.
- Heat a large cast iron pan to medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add the chicken with the marinade and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add more oil to the pan if needed and add the peppers and onions. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring here and there, until the peppers and onions are caramelized and softened.
- Return the chicken to the pan and heat through.
- Serve on warmed tortillas and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Lu says
Hey Mike. I made these fajitas last night -- awesome, awesome recipe! They were so full of flavor, delicious marinade. I served with fresh tomatoes and Brown jalapenos from the garden. this is a keeper!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent, Lu! Glad you enjoyed them!
Patrick says
I just had a late dinner and these fajitas are fantastic, even with low carb tortillas. Ancho powder in the grocery store was more costly than a big bag of whole dried ancho peppers, so I got them instead. I mixed the marinade in my food processor with the chopping blade and tossed in 3/4 of one of the dried anchos.
I also used Mexican Oregano, even though you didn't specify it in this recipe. I acquired it at a Tienda Latina when I made your Chicken Tinga recipe last week. I've since learned that Mexican Oregano is a completely different plant than regular Greek or Italian Oregano and imparts a distinct flavor.
I'm on a low carb diet and your recipes that I've tried so far have been a lifesaver. It's hard to feel deprived when your food actually has flavor.
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful! Thanks, Patrick!
Chris Poole says
Just made this tonight. Epic!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Thanks, Chris!
Carrisa says
What if I don’t have enough lime juice, can I mix with lemon juice?
Mike Hultquist says
Yep, you can use lemon juice, Carrisa.
Yvonne says
I made this recipe, and it was great. But because of time didn't do it as a marinade. Just put all the spices in the pan with the onions and bell pepper and sautéed. Cooked the meat separately with salt and pepper and when the meat was done threw it in with pepper and onion pan.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Yvonne!
Peggy says
This recipe was amazing! I will make it again and again! Thank you!
Christine says
Neither my us and nor myself like onions or green peppers. This recipe gave me the idea to use orange, yellow and red peppers and a very thinly sliced jalapeño pepper. Delicious!
Arthur says
Our new favourite chicken fajitas. Thank you
Mike H. says
You are very welcome - enjoy!
Jeanette says
My husband couldn’t stop raving about how good this recipe is. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks!
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Jeanette! Very happy you both enjoyed it!
Bill says
Just made this tonight and it was awesome!
Will be saving this one Mike!!!
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Bill!
Mikaela says
Made this last night!! I used chicken broth instead of water. I also used regular chili powder cause that’s all I had! I added some cornstarch to thicken the sauce and holy smokes this was soooo delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Mike Hultquist says
Very nice! Super happy you enjoyed it, Mikaela! Awesome!
Paulette Salisbury says
Another outstanding recipe, Mike! I added a little chicken broth to make more sauce when the peppers and chicken were combined. So yummy. This was a winner for sure! Thanks for the inspiration.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much, Paulette! Glad you enjoyed it!
Jérémie says
It's been a while since I made fajitas. So I thought to myself: let's test Mike's recipe! I wasn't disappointed, it was excellent!! Many thanks, once again!
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed them, Jérémie! I appreciate it! YOU ROCK! =)
KB says
Wow, Such a great recipe. I made this tonight for taco Tuesday and used butter leaf lettuce in place of tortillas. The flavor was outstanding. Love it. Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, KB! Thanks for sharing!
Abbey says
Can I use regular chili powder?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You sure can, Abbey. As long as you enjoy the flavor.
Elisabeth Lipsman says
This was a delicious, easy recipe. I hope you can help me with one thing, though. -- I used a Le Cruset pan, enameled cast iron, and the blackened marinade stuck mercilessly to the bottom after cooking the chicken. I don't know if the peppers benefitted from being cooked in it because it all seemed to stay stuck to the pan. An overnight soak loosened it up a little, but it took determined, intermittent scrubbing over the next day to get it clean. Sometimes this kind of difficulty is enough to shelve an otherwise terrific recipe . . . Thoughts?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Elisabeth. I wonder if the pan was just TOO HOT, and there wasn't enough oil? Or did the marinade all burn off too quickly? Usually a simple deglaze can help to pull up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, so if this happens again, check the heat but add a bit of white wine or stock to the pan and scrape up the bits with a wooden spoon. It adds to the flavor. I hope this helps.
Belinda says
You can use baking soda paste to get it off but the best way to get it off is simply put inch of water in bottom of pot and heat to boil. Let it boil while scraping with spatula until particles are released. Do not walk away or your water will boil out.This will usually release the stick on particles readily. Scrape with spatula and then wash.
Dave Robertson says
Hey Mike:
Your recipe today, Chicken Fajitas, looks great and I will get to it soon.
I wanted to praise you on your addition in this recipe: Adding #of Fajitas is going to be wonderful. Input the number of people and ALL of the ingredient capacities automatically to give you the correct amount for each. This makes the cook appear to know what he is doing, I need this help!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Dave. Glad to be helpful!
Dave Robertson says
Mike,
Having been saving your posts and receipes for several months, I have finally gotten into making some of your dishes.
The Bourbon Chicken was wonderful. I did have to split the batch at the point of adding the hot stuff. 5 & 7 yo grandkid and their wimpy mother do not care for the HOT stuff.
The lightweights LOVED their dinners!!!
We heavyweights REALLY LOVED ours. Judged by sweat
volume on the foreheads!!!
Very simple to make and the kudo's were almost overwhelming. Thank you for your help, you will hear from me often.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Dave! I love to hear it! All the best.