This easy chicken fajita recipe is an easy $5 dinner recipe! It makes a tasty meal your family will love and is a great way to use leftover chicken, roast or steak. You can find this recipe in volume 1 of our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.
Fresh, hot beef or chicken fajitas are a wonderful Tex-Mex favorite, but they are so expensive to order at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Here is an easy chicken fajita recipe, which can also be used with beef so you can make tasty fajitas at home for a fraction of the price of eating out.
This easy fajita recipe is one of my family’s favorite recipes! My husband frequently requests it for special occasions and our kids love it. The younger kids are sometimes hesitant about eating the peppers and onions, so I might serve the smaller children mostly meat and cheese on a tortilla and then give them 1 or 2 pieces of onion or pepper to get them to try it. I wouldn’t force them to try it, but as they get older, they will usually get curious and test it out!
You can prepare this fajita recipe early in the day before dinner to give the meat time to marinate. You can prepare the meat, veggies in salsa in 5-10 minutes and then cook in a hot skillet just before serving.
We most often make this as a chicken fajita recipe, but you can also make it with round steak, skirt steak or roast. If you happen to have leftover chicken, roast or steak, you can use it to make this recipe. If you use leftover meat, only cook the meat long enough to get it warmed through so it doesn’t get tough.
Most restaurants serve fajitas with flour tortillas, and they are delicious this way, but you can also serve them with corn tortillas. Corn tortillas are great for a more authentic Mexican type flavor, but if you use corn tortillas, you will want to make sure they’re extra fresh so they don’t fall apart with the fajitas. If you’re very concerned about them falling apart, you can serve with 2 tortillas per fajita.
If you have to eat gluten-free, you can make this recipe gluten free by using corn tortillas.
For the richest flavor, and texture, I recommend making the fajitas with the optional onions and bell peppers. This gives them a more restaurant quality flavor, but it also can save you money on meat since the onions and peppers help bulk up the fajitas.
Recipes that go great with this easy chicken fajita recipe!
Easy Beef or Chicken Fajita Recipe
Ingredients
1 onion, to taste (optional)
1–2 bell peppers, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper (to taste)
Salsa Ingredients
1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Cut meat crosswise into 1/2 inch thick strips.
- Pound each piece to 1/4 inch thickness.
- Combine lime juice, jalapeños and garlic.
- Place meat in a plastic bag.
- Add the lime juice mixture, turning to coat the meat.
- Close the bag securely. Marinate in the refrigerator 4-6 hours, turning occasionally.
- Combine the tomato, onion and cilantro for salsa.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate.
- If using onions and bell peppers, cut into strips just before cooking. (If you prefer, you can cut them earlier and store in the fridge in a baggie or container.)
- Remove the meat from the marinade. Discard marinade.
- Pat the meat dry with paper towels (to prevent spitting when you add to the oil).
- Heat oil in a large skillet on high.
- Cook the meat pieces in hot oil for 2-3 minutes, turning once. Add the onions and bell peppers, if desired, about half way through. If you prefer the veggies more crispy, add them closer to the end and if you prefer them softer, you can add them when you add the meat.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve the fajita meat and veggie mixture in warm tortillas with salsa.
- Top with Cheddar or Mexican cheese if desired. If you like, you can also serve this fajitas recipe with sour cream, shredded lettuce and/or guacamole. Serves 6.
This easy chicken fajitas recipe is from volume 1 of our cookbook:
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Gretchen Tripp
Do u do any low fat recipes?
Jill
Gretchen most of our recipes are so simple that they are easy to adapt for low fat. For example use less oil when cooking, use low fat cheese or sour cream. The recipes can still be used by doing things like that.
Marla
We use the fajitas recipe all the time my guys like the leftovers to put in breakfast burritos I made philly cheese steak sandwiches with leftover fajita meat tonight I like to know what’s in my food and it’s so simple I put together in morning and Dinner takes no time at night
Judith Coe
I Love Fajitas, they are one of my favorite Mexican Foods. Thanks Ladies!
Stella
Delicious and very easy to cook! Thank you Michael for this recipe.
BR
Thanks for the great recipes. I have used pork chops cut in strips for the fajitas and that was good also.
Jill
You are so welcome. Glad you are enjoying them.