Want to have Tex Mex night at home with this simple and easy to make Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas recipe?

It’s such a great meal to have because its packed with nutritious ingredients, lean protein and fiber. This Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas recipe is made with chicken (obviously) plus onions and peppers. Those simple three ingredients pack a punch because they’re not only good for your body, but it will keep you satisfied longer thanks to the winning combination of protein, healthy fats and fiber.

What Are Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas?

Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas come from Tex Mex cuisine. Tex Mex food is different from authentic Mexican food as it uses some specific ingredients that you won’t find anywhere south of the Rio Grande. Ingredients like yellow cheese is a dead giveaway that you’re having Tex Mex and not Mexican food. Did you know that in Mexico, only white cheese is used, such as Cotija cheese, made from cow’s milk? Then you know you’re having real Mexican tacos or fajitas.

Originally, the term “fajita” was just a grilled piece of meat served in a tortilla, but now, you can find many different types of fajitas. Steak, chicken, seafood, and even vegetarian options. The minimal prep and quick cooking time makes this dish a must have for the dining table. Add your sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo, and there you have it. An easy week night dinner menu to keep on your regular rotation and kitchen repertoire.

What Are Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas Made Of?

Grilled strips of skirt steak with onions and bell peppers are what are generally used to make classic Tex Mex fajitas. Then served with fresh, warm tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. A simplified, but still delicious way to make fajitas are with steak and chicken, or even absolutely vegetarian. In this blog post and recipe, I am we’ll be using chicken.

What Meat Is Best For Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas?

When you do your grocery shopping, try to find skirt steak. It is the traditional cut used for fajitas. The price of this steak has risen to be not so cheap. However flank steak costs less, both will be a good option. 

As for us, we’re using chicken so find a skinless, boneless chicken breast.

What’s The Difference Between Chicken Fajitas And Chicken Tacos?

In tacos, the vegetables are often chopped or sliced, and kept raw as a topping. While for fajitas the meat usually mixes with grilled or sautéed peppers and onions, mostly which are cut into similarly sized strips. 

How Do I Get My Chicken Fajita Meat To Tender?

Cut the chicken breast in 1/4″ inch slices and make sure it is marinated for full flavor. Chicken breast is already tender so just be sure not to overcook it. Overcooking causes any type of meat to dry out and therefore lose its tenderness.

How To Assemble Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas

You put them all together, by piling the veggies on a platter beside the sliced chicken and beef. The tortillas will be warmed through the grill, and kept wrapped in foil. Set out the chicken, beef and all the veggies with the warm tortillas, beans, grated cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, and pico de gallo.

How To Properly Serve Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas 

To ensure that your fajitas are the most authentic they can be, the way you present them makes a difference. And you may guess, we’re very big on this, and so are my students. I love how they get creative and excited to plate their dishes. It’s like art! They can express themselves.

To start, spread the soft fillings, which are the beans, guacamole, sour cream, or melted cheese, onto the tortilla. After that, add the strips of beef, chicken, or seafood and coat it with any garnishes. Roll up the tortilla and eat it from one end.

Only use your fork to eat any of the fillings that may have fallen on the plate.

How To Make Tex Mex Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas From Your Own Kitchen

• First, combine chili powder, cumin, salt & black pepper in a large bowl.
• Then, add spice mix to slice chicken and coat evenly.
• Now, in a 12 inch pan on medium high heat add 3 tbsp of oil until it becomes very hot then slowly add chicken. Cook the chicken well on both sides for about 5 minutes.

• Transfer the chicken to a large platter.
• Then in the same pan, add some oil. Add the onions, bell peppers, and a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. You want to cook them fully until it has a golden color.
• After you get that color, remove from the heat and then add lime juice and cilantro. Then take the chicken that you set aside and mix it all together.
• Finally, you can serve it with sour cream, grated cheese, pico de gallo and avocado. We like it with rice and refried beans.

If needed and wanted, you can substitute chicken with steak, shrimp, fish or vegetables only (for my plant-based friends, you can use mushrooms, squash, cauliflower). You can use this same recipe and switch up the protein for a completely different fajita on a different night.

Wrapping It Up

The chicken fajita is a must have dish in Tex Mex cuisine. Traditionally, your fajitas should be packed with peppers and onions, then served on a corn or flour tortilla. From the assembling, (piling veggies, slicing chicken) to the presentation, (spreading the beans and adding garnishes), hopefully after you have tried and enjoyed this dish at home, chicken fajitas becomes an essential meal for your weekly meal lineup.

Have We Met?

Are we friends on social media yet? Come follow along for more kitchen tips and inspiration. You can find me on Instagram @chef.rafael.gonzalez and on Facebook, Chef Rafael Gonzalez. 

Send a DM if you tried this recipe and feel free to tag me!

Want More Weeknight Recipes?

If you would like to try more of my easy meals, why not try these:

Arugula Pasta

Caprese Salad

Arugula Flatbread With Goat Cheese, Mushrooms and Prosciutto 

Simplified Spaghetti Bolognese

My FREE Recipe Booklet For Kids

If you want to try more recipes, snag my FREE mini recipe e-book with 5 of the most popular dishes my students cooked with me on the Outschool platform during the height of the pandemic. These recipes have found a cozy spot in the kitchens of many kids and parents and they continue to cook the same meals, 2 years after. 

You can get your FREE copy right HERE.

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