A flavorful marinade and quick sear make for easy homemade chicken fajitas. Onions and peppers make it a meal. This is a classic you can make yourself!
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Yay, chicken fajitas! So easy to make and so quick. In this method, the meat is seared quickly on a griddle or grill and then sliced and served with seared peppers and onions. And of course flour tortillas.
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How to make chicken fajitas
What does “Fajita” mean?
A bit of backstory. The word “fajita” means “small belt” from “faja” for stripe or belt and the diminutive “ita”. It describes a skirt steak, and fajitas have traditionally been made with grilled skirt steak, although they can now be made with chicken, shrimp, etc.
The best chicken for fajitas
Now, with a skirt steak (when making steak fajitas), it makes a lot of sense to quickly sear the meat and slice it across the grain to serve. You want the steak to be thin in the middle.
But with chicken? Not as much. Rare is not good for chicken. One way to get around this is to either cut the chicken into strips first or start with thinner chicken pieces.
Instead of thinning out the meat with a meat tenderizer, which doesn’t result in the right texture and consistency for fajitas, I slice the chicken breasts horizontally.
You can also use chicken drumsticks if you like. Just keep in mind that they may need a few extra minutes to cook.
How to season and cook chicken fajitas
The chops are marinated for at least 30 minutes (an hour or more is best) in a flavorful marinade made with chili powder, coriander, and jalapeño. You can marinate up to 24 hours in advance, but any longer than this will cause the lime juice in the marinade to “cook” the chicken.
Cook, sear the chops in a hot cast-iron skillet (you can also use a hot grill without any problems) and after a few minutes of resting, cut them across the grain of the meat. Sauté the peppers and onions in the same pan while the meat rests.
Do you like mexican food? Check out these:
- Pan-fried shrimp fajitas
- Beef Steak Fajitas
- Mexican tostadas
- Sheet pan chicken fajitas with peppers and onions
- Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Fajitas
Save time by marinating the chicken while you prep the onions and peppers.
ingredients
- For the chicken:
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1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
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Salt
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2 tablespoons canola, safflower, peanut or extra virgin olive oil
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1 large onion, sliced lengthwise (root to tip) into 1/4-inch strips
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3 different colored bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch strips
- For the marinade:
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2 tablespoons lime juice
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3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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1 garlic clove, chopped
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
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1/2 teaspoon chili powder
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1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
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1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- To serve:
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8 to 12 flour tortillas
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salsa
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Sliced Avocado
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sour cream
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Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce lightly dressed with salt and apple cider vinegar
method
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Halve thick chicken breasts horizontally:
Chicken breasts come in different sizes. If you have chicken breasts that weigh about half a pound or more each, you should slice them in half horizontally so the center is about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick.
(We do not recommend beating the chicken breasts as this will not result in the right texture/consistency for fajitas.)
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Marinate Chicken:
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a glass or plastic container. Add the chicken, mix well, cover and allow to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
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Remove the chicken from the marinade:
Wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt.
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Sear the chicken over high heat:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat for about a minute.
Once the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken breasts to the pan. Depending on the size of the pan and if you cut the chicken breasts, you may have to work in batches.
Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, until nicely browned. Once well-sealed on one side, flip the pieces and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until well-sealed on the second side.
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Stack fried breasts, cover with foil and let rest:
Once seared, place on the second side on a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
If you want to test the doneness, use the tip of a sharp knife to cut it in half. It should be just done, if not you can return it to the hot pan for a minute or two.
Here’s a tip: Stack the seared chicken breasts, then cover with foil. Together, they hold heat better when you’re cooking peppers and onions.
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Sweat the peppers and onions:
While the chicken is resting, cook the onions and peppers. Add another tablespoon of oil to the frying pan. Heat high. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers to the pan.
Using a metal spatula, scrape some of the browned bits off the chicken and stir to coat the onions and peppers with the oil and brown bits. Spread the onions and peppers in an even layer in the pan.
Let cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. You want them to burn with some blackening. Stir the vegetables and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
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Carving and Serving the Chicken:
Cut the chicken into strips across the grain. Serve immediately with peppers and onions, some warm tortillas, and sides of shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and/or thinly sliced iceberg lettuce with vinegar and salt.
