Chicken fajitas is a popular meal in our household. It is super quick, delicious, and full of nutrients. Even my picky eaters love this dish. Strips of chicken stir-fried with the traditional Mexican seasonings, green and red peppers, onions, and garlic. You can serve it over rice or in a tortilla with some salsa and avocado slices. Yum!
Jump to RecipeIngredients For Chicken Fajitas
- 1 large onion, julienned
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or (1 ½ pounds)
- 1 large red pepper, julienned
- 1 large green pepper, julienned
- Gluten free tortilla bread, or my Flat Rice Bread which is truly, the perfect bread to serve it with. Forget the store bought tortillas. Even if you are not on a gluten free diet, this bread makes this chicken fajitas dish shine.
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 jalapeno (fresh or pickled) thinly sliced
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Utensils
- Large Skillet (well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, or stainless steel pan)
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring spoons
- Scale
- Medium bowl
- Cling wrap
- Large sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Large clean plate
Watch the Video on YouTube
Why You Should Make Chicken Fajitas
Did I mention how much we LOVE this dish?! When I first started making this dish, I would make it with 2 chicken breasts, and in a few minutes, the whole pan would be gone.
We were all left a little hungry, and wanting more chicken fajitas. Sad face. I couldn’t give my husband lunch for work, and we didn’t have any leftovers for the next day.
So, I decided to double it. I still don’t get any leftovers for the next day, and I am not able to give my husband lunch to his work. Haha! All I can say is that I am grateful that my kids are eating well!
If this wasn’t convincing enough for you on why you should make this dish, try making it once, and you’ll soon see how hooked you’ll be on it.
How to Double or Triple the Recipe
You are going to need about 4 chicken breasts or one and a half pounds for a family of four. If you do not want any leftovers that is!
Or, you can double the recipe if you wish or add a couple more chicken breasts and a few more vegetables, but you do have to adjust the seasoning if you chose to do so.
I like to measure my chicken on a scale. I find that this helps me get an accurate measurement for my seasoning so that my chicken fajitas will taste the same every time I make them.
If you want your chicken fajitas to taste wonderfully awesome every single time you make them, I advise you to do the same.
Preparing the Chicken to Make Chicken Fajitas
Now that you have measured your chicken, you can move on to chopping.
I rarely rinse my chicken breasts, but if you feel like you have to, go ahead and do that, pat it dry, and now it’s time to chop.
Thinly slice the chicken into about an eighth or a quarter-inch thick strips.
Sometimes the chicken breasts are too thick. So what I like to do is slice them the long way in half first to make them thinner. I then cut them into about two-inch by the length of the chicken breast, and then I begin to chop them into small strips.
It is ok if the strips are not exactly the same measurements as I have mentioned. Believe me, when I say, I don’t get my ruler out when I do this step. Just make sure that they are not too thick so that they can easily absorb all the good flavors from the marinade that they will soon be in.
Chicken Fajitas Marinade
Place the chicken strips into a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt (we will need the rest for the vegetables), paprika, black pepper, 1/2 a tablespoon minced garlic (we will also need the rest of the garlic to stir fry with the vegetables), and 2 tablespoon olive oil.
Using a spoon, or your hands ( Just make sure to wash your hands really well with soap and water after you do this step.) mix the chicken with the seasonings that we have added in until it is well coated and all the ingredients are well incorporated together.
Cover using a plastic wrap, and let it marinate for 20 minutes or overnight.
Chicken Fajitas Make Ahead Freezer Meal
You could also prepare the chicken separately, marinate it, store it in a freezer bag, and freeze it for the next time you are ready to make chicken fajitas.
This makes your job for the next time you want to make this dish much easier!
When I get my chicken from the store, I like to divide it according to how I am going to use it.
If I have made a well-planned menu plan for the month, I prepare the chicken, marinate what I need to marinate, chop what I need to chop, store them in freezer bags, label them, throw them in the freezer, and they are ready for me to take out and cook whenever I am ready to make those dishes for the month.
This makes my life so much easier, and the food tastes even better because everything has been marinating for a long time.
I usually take them out the night before and let them thaw in the fridge. As they thaw, they continue to marinate which is the secret to having intense delicious flavor.
The Cooking Process
Cooking The Vegetables for Chicken Fajitas
Place a large skillet on high heat. I like to use cast iron. I put my skillet on medium heat because cast iron is so good at absorbing the heat.
add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan and preheat a little until the oil is glistening, NOT smoking.
If you are using cast iron, this step can happen pretty quickly. Make sure you preheat your pan before adding the oil as olive oil tends to burn at a much lower temperature than other oils.
Add the onions, half a tablespoon minced garlic, the green pepper, red pepper, and salt. Stir fry the vegetables until slightly softened. You don’t want them to be mushy otherwise it wouldn’t be chicken fajitas, or at least not in my book. But if you like your vegetables to be mushy, then go right ahead and cook them a little longer. It is your chicken fajitas after all!
After the vegetables have reached the desired tenderness, transfer onto a plate.
Cooking the Chicken
Add some more oil into the pan, and add the chicken that has been marinating and getting soaked up with all those good flavors. Add the juices from the marinade too.
Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. About 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken strips and the heat of your stove.
The Finishing touches
Once the chicken is fully cooked, and you are well satisfied with it, add the cooked vegetables and sliced jalapeno (I like to use pre-sliced pickled jalapenos. If you have little ones you can skip the jalapenos altogether), and stir fry everything together for 1 to 2 minutes.
What will happen here is the vegetables will soak up all the good flavors from the juices and the seasonings that are left from the chicken marinade after stir-frying it. The flavors will mingle together giving you the best chicken fajitas that you’ve ever dreamt of.
Once this step is done, remove from heat, and transfer onto a serving platter.
If somehow you do end up with too much liquid in your chicken fajitas, which can happen (raising my hand here because that happened to me a few times), you could add a little corn starch to thicken it. Add 1 teaspoon at a time this way it will not end up way too thick.
How to Serve Chicken Fajitas
Serve with Tortilla bread or my Flat Rice Bread which I personally prefer and believe it to be better with this dish than any chemically produced tortilla bread.
Is it just me, or do all store bought tortilla bread taste as if they are loaded with chemicals?
I also feel like I am eating cardboard when I eat the corn tortilla bread no matter how much I warm it up, and no matter what type of oil I use to warm it up!
That is why I advise you to use my Flat Rice Bread with this dish if you really want to experience those delicious flavors.
You could also serve it with some salsa and sour cream if you would like. I like it just the way it is unless I make my homemade salsa or Pico de Gallo.
You could also serve it with warm jasmine rice, which is definitely awesome as well. I tend to serve it with Jasmine rice if I am too tired or do not have the time to make my Flat Rice Bread.
Add some salsa, sliced Avocadoes, a squeeze of lime, freshly chopped cilantro, and you are golden.
Don’t forget to comment below and let me know how you like your chicken fajitas served. Also don’t forget to follow us on social media to stay up to date on our latest adventures.
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well-seasoned cast-iron skillet
Chicken Fajitas
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Large plate
- Large skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- Large sharp knife
- Measuring scale
- Medium bowl
- Cling wrap
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
or 4 chicken breasts
- 1 large onion juliened
- 1 large red pepper julienned
- 1 large green pepper julienned
- Gluten free tortilla bread or my Flat Rice Bread
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Jalopinio fresh or pickled, thiny sliced
- fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- You don’t have to measure your chicken on the scale, but if you do, the seasoning will always be perfect, and you will not have to change a thing. So I advise you to measure your chicken before you begin any of the next steps.
- After you have measured your chicken, thinly slice your it into about an eighth or a quarter-inch thick strips. They should be about 2 inches long. It is ok if they are not exactly those measurements. Believe me, when I say, I don’t get my ruler out when I do this step.
- Place the chicken in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika, black pepper, ½ a tablespoon minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Using a spoon, mix all the ingredients together along with the chicken strips until everything is well combined and everything is well coated. Cover the chicken using a plastic wrap, and let it sit, or marinate for 20 minutes. You can also do this step the night before and allow your chicken to marinate overnight. This will definitely enhance the flavor.
- Place your large skillet on high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan, and preheat a little until the oil is glistening, NOT smoking. Add the onions, ½ a tablespoon minced garlic, green pepper, red pepper, and salt. Stir Fry the vegetables until slightly softened. You don’t want them to be mushy otherwise it wouldn’t be chicken fajitas, or at least not in my book.
- Remove the pan from heat, and transfer the vegetables onto a clean plate.
- After the chicken has finished marinating, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet, and preheat on high heat until the oil is glistening. Add the marinated chicken strips with all the juices, and stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. 5 to 10 minutes.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, add the cooked vegetables, and sliced jalopeno to it, and stir fry everything together for 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer onto a serving platter.
- Serve with Tortilla bread or my Flat Rice Bread which I personally prefer and believe it to be better with this dish than any chemically produced tortilla bread. Is it just me, or do all store bought tortilla bread taste as if they are loaded with chemicals? You could also serve this with some salsa and sour cream if you would like. I like it just the way it is unless I make my homemade salsa or Pico de Gallo. You could also serve it with warm jasmine rice, which is definitely awesome as well.
Video
Notes
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