Chicken fajitas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes to make. They are incredibly flavorful, not too spicy, healthy and pretty easy to make. Cook up the chicken and then add the spices, crunchy bell peppers and sweet red onions and enjoy over a heated soft flour tortilla with your favorite toppings. Keep this recipe where you can find it because I promise you that it will delight your taste buds making you want to come back for more!
But, before we learn how to make the best chicken fajitas…a few notes about choosing your ingredients
Fajita Seasoning
To me fajitas are defined by just the right seasoning. It is simple to mix your own spices together, but it does require having a lot of different spices stocked in your pantry. You can find many good recipes out there like this one:
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
I’m sure after you have been cooking for awhile you will most like have all the spices needed…
But… if you are fairly new to cooking or don’t have quite the right spices on-hand, a great option is to buy a fajita seasoning packet.
Now, I have a lot of spices that I’ve collected over time, but my most favorite fajita seasoning is the Simply Organic Fajita Seasoning Packet. It truly adds such a good, classic fajita flavor and is very simple to use as you will see in the recipe below.
Best Veggies For Fajitas
I keep my fajitas very simple by just adding bell peppers and onions. This way I can easily cook this meal on any given night because it isn’t complicated. Also, I usually have these vegetables stocked as they are great staples that can be used in a variety of recipes.
You can use any type of bell peppers and it makes your dish colorful when you add two or more types. But different bell peppers also have their own unique flavor so pick ones that you like. Onions come in different varieties and flavors too! What you choose to use is up to you and the flavor you like the best. Don’t worry if you aren’t sure, you can use any variety of bell pepper or onion in fajitas. But if you need it, here is a little guide. Choose your own adventure!
Bell Peppers – Color and Taste Differences:
- Green – Bell peppers that are green are actually not ripe and therefore have a bitter taste but are also crispier. They are less expensive than other bell peppers and have a longer shelf life.
- Red, Yellow, or Orange – All of these bell peppers start out as unripe green bell peppers. Then they will change color (only once) to the color of their varietal. So an orange bell pepper, for example, is green to begin with and when it ripens on the vine, it will become orange. Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are sweeter tasting and are more nutrient rich than green bell peppers since they are more ripe. Though it is interesting to note that nutrients vary slightly depending on the color of the bell pepper; red bell peppers have more vitamin A than yellow bell peppers and yellow ones have more vitamin C.
Differences of Red and Yellow Onions:
- Red – My favorite onion! It has the most mild taste and it is also the sweetest so it’s great to eat raw especially in salads. However, when cooked it doesn’t’t yield as much flavor as the yellow onions.
- Yellow – Yellow onions have a much stronger flavor and smell. Watch out because they will make you cry when you chop them! (I always thought actors must use them to help them produce tears!) They are great for soups and commonly used in Mexican dishes.
Seasoning, bell peppers and onion are the basics for this recipe. So once you have that figured out, it’s time to get in the kitchen and cook up some delicious food!
How To Make The Best Chicken Fajitas
Chicken Fajitas
This is a super delicious and very easy recipe for fajitas cooked with juicy tender chicken thighs, a perfect blend of spices, crisp sweet bell peppers and red onion. Serve with warm flour tortillas and add your favorite toppings for a hearty meal.
- 12" frying pan or skillet
- knife
- kitchen shears
- cutting board
- small mixing bowl
- 1-1½ pound chicken thighs (4-5)
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 small onion
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 packet Simply Organic Fajita Seasoning (or make your own fajita seasoning with the recipe below)
- flour tortillas
Fajita Seasoning Recipe
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or black pepper)
- 1 tbsp corn starch or potato starch
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 350° F (to warm tortillas)
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Place chicken thighs in 12" frying pan and fill pan about halfway with water. Stir in about ¼ of seasoning packet to the pan and cook on medium until chicken is cooked mostly through. (About 10 minutes)
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While chicken is cooking, slice bell pepper and onion into long, thin strips.
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Mix remaining seasoning from packet with ¼ cup of olive oil in a small bowl.
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After chicken is cooked, remove from pan and cut into thin strips using a kitchen shears or knife. Set chicken aside.
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Add bell pepper, onion seasoning/oil mix to frying pan. Saute on medium low until veggies are slighty cooked but still crispy. About 3 minutes.
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Add chicken strips to the frying pan and cook with veggies for about 3-5 more minutes.
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While veggies are cooking, place flour tortillas in foil and warm for about 10 minutes in the oven (350° F).
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Serve fajitas on tortillas and enjoy!
Tortillas – You can use corn or flour tortillas. I prefer flour tortillas for fajitas.
If you are using an oven to heat your tortillas, make sure you preheat oven before you start cooking. Tortillas will need about 10 minutes to heat. Alternately, use a microwave to warm tortillas.
Chicken – You can use chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe or substitute another meat such as steak or shrimp.
Veggies – I like red, orange or yellow bell peppers because of their sweet flavor. You can use more than one type if you like and have a more colorful dish.
Some people like adding mushrooms, fresh garlic or sliced jalapeños to their veggie mix.
Serves Well With:
Add your favorite toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, olives, shredded cheese or salsa. You can serve fajitas with rice and beans or a fresh green salad.
Conclusion
Fajitas are super tasty and great when you want a healthy and simple meal to cook. You can serve them with your favorite Mexican toppings and sides or just enjoy them by themselves. They are filling!
As always, I want to hear what you think! Have you cooked fajitas? How did it go? What are your favorite veggies to add? What about sides?
Leave me comments and questions below and I will get back to you soon!
Can’t wait to see you In The Kitchen With Me!
