If you are looking for a dish that spells out “no time to waste”, this is the one! As a mother of 2 minors, I am always looking for the next snappy meal option for dinner. Last Friday, I had a hectic day and just knew it was not an evening for long cooking. I was craving chicken tacos but with a balance of spicy and sweet, and that is the flavour of Chicken Fajitas.
What are Fajitas?
The word fajita is derived from the Mexican word faja meaning strip. Hence, a fajita is a Tex-Mex term that refers to any stripped grilled meat tossed with stripped peppers. These meats and peppers are then heaped on a tortilla and eaten as a taco. Fajitas were usually consumed among Texan-Mexican Americans, but has now transcended those borders to other parts of America and the world.
The vast embrace of fajitas owes to the simple composition of its recipe. The ingredients are easy to find, quick to make.
More 30-minute recipes for quick weeknight dinners:
- How to Make THE AUTHENTIC FILIPINO ADOBO (Chicken Adobo)
- Mongolian Beef
- Homemade Peri-Peri Chicken Wings (Mozambican Style)
What ingredients are needed to make Chicken Fajitas?
Since fajitas are generally referred to grilled and stripped meat, our choice of meat in today’s recipe is chicken. Here are the ingredients you need to whip up chicken fajitas, with no nonsense added!
Chicken Breasts
Asides how meaty the chicken breasts are, they absorb flavour fairly quickly than other parts of the chicken. If you plan on having your fajitas in the form of a taco, you’ll be happy that you opted for a boneless part of the chicken.
Onions
I used white onions because of how much they hold up during cooking. These will be cut up in thick slices.
Bell Peppers
These are the signature ingredient of chicken fajitas, they are responsible for the sweetness and colour of this tasty dish. You will need a combination of red, green, orange and yellow bell peppers.
Fajita seasoning
You have the option of buying the packaged fajita seasoning, but before you do, check out the simple ingredients that make up this highly flavorful, all-purpose seasoning. In a bowl, combine one tablespoon each of garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, and a teaspoon of salt. I also added in a teaspoon of chicken bouillon but this totally optional.
The seasoning is used to marinate both the chicken and peppers.
Lime
Lime juice is used alongside the seasoning to marinate the chicken, and then later added to add a flavor kick when the chicken fajitas are ready.
Cilantro & Avocado
These are used for garnishing.
Chicken Fajitas are usually had in the form of tacos, so don’t miss having your best choice of tortillas ready. We had ours with some lightly toasted flour tortillas.
Here are some other quick recipes for you to try:
Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pan
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken breasts cut into strips
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 1 large yellow bell pepper
- 1 large orange bell pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ lime
- 1 large white onion cut into thick slices
Fajita Seasoning
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon optional
Extras
- 10-12 corn/flour tortillas
- freshly chopped cilantro for garnish
- sliced avocados for garnish
- ½ lime
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings together to make up the fajita seasoning.
- Pat all the chicken strips dry, pour in half of the fajita seasoning, squeeze in the half lemon juice, combine and set aside.
- Cut all the bell peppers into thin strips, pour in the other half of the fajita seasoning, mix well until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat up your pan or skillet, when hot, grease with the oil.
- Toss in the seasoned chicken strips, sear till golden brown and lightly toasted, this should be done on high heat for 10 mins. Take them out when done and set aside.
- While the pan is still hot, pour in the bell pepper slices, andsaute for not more than 5-7 minutes on medium heat. The juice from the peppers will help deglaze the pan.
- Add in the chicken strips and combine till well distributed. Squeeze in some lime juice. Let it all cook together for 5 mins and then turn off the heat.
- Serve with some hot, toasted tortillas and garnish with cilantro, avocados, sour cream, salsa or even guacamole.
Notes
- Don’t overcrowd the pan when sauteing the chicken strips as the moisture released will cause the chicken to steam rather than sear.
Lovely and easy to follow recipe!!!!
Absolutely appreciate your feedback Shay, thanks for not just reading but engaging too!