Chicken Fajitas

Chicken breasts marinated in lime and spices, seared in a cast-iron skillet with bell peppers and onion, ready to tuck into warm flour tortillas.

The chicken hits the cast iron and sizzles right away, and the smell of cumin, garlic and lime fills the kitchen. The red and green peppers follow in the same skillet, browning at the edges and keeping a little crunch.

The skillet goes in the middle of the table with a stack of warm tortillas and a few small bowls around it. Everyone fills their own the way they like it, and the skillet empties faster than it filled up.

What Are Chicken Fajitas?

Chicken fajitas are chicken breasts marinated in lime and spices, seared in a skillet, cut into strips, then tossed with sautéed peppers and onion. They’re served with warm flour tortillas and toppings in small bowls: pico de gallo, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, lime and cilantro. Everyone builds their own tortilla at the table, as with beef tacos.

The word comes from faja, Spanish for belt, because of skirt steak, a long, flat cut of beef. Today, “fajitas” mostly refers to a way of cooking and serving, whatever the meat.

From South Texas Ranches to Tex-Mex Restaurants

Fajitas come from the ranches of South Texas, near the Mexican border. The vaqueros, Mexican cowboys, were given the least prized cuts of beef, such as skirt steak, or arrachera. They marinated it in lime, grilled it over the fire and ate it in flour tortillas.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the dish made its way into Tex-Mex restaurants, served on a cast-iron platter still sizzling as it reached the table. Skirt steak soon couldn’t keep up with demand, and restaurants switched to chicken. Chicken fajitas became the everyday version, the one you make at home in a regular skillet.

The Main Ingredients in Chicken Fajitas

The chicken breasts marinate and cook whole, then get cut into strips: a golden crust forms all over and the meat stays juicy. Boneless chicken thighs give you more tender meat, as in lemongrass chicken. The green and red peppers and the onion then cook in the same skillet and pick up the flavor of the browned bits left by the chicken.

The marinade brings together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, onion powder, granulated garlic and paprika. American chili powder is a mild spice blend for chili.

The ground chili pepper sold in Europe is pure chili, much hotter, and shouldn’t be used in the same amount. Chipotle pepper, a smoked, dried jalapeño, brings the smoky note, and smoked paprika makes a very good substitute.

Fajita-size flour tortillas are 15 cm, but the 20 cm ones you find at the supermarket work too. At the table, pico de gallo brings acidity, guacamole creaminess, sour cream freshness, and lime and cilantro a final bright finish. There’s no cheese in this recipe.

Technique Tips for Well-Seared Fajitas

Heat the dry cast-iron skillet for a few minutes before adding the oil: it needs to stay very hot when the cold chicken goes in. Drain the breasts well, because excess marinade makes the meat boil instead of sear. If your skillet is small, cook the chicken in batches.

Keep the marinating time short, 20 to 30 minutes. Beyond 2 hours, the lime turns the meat mushy. The chicken is done at 74 °C in the center; let it rest a few minutes before slicing, while the vegetables brown.

If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, a heavy-bottomed one will do the job. The grill and a 200 °C oven are two other ways to cook them, detailed in the recipe notes: the oven is easier, but the crust is less pronounced.

Chicken Fajitas

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5/5 (13)

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Course: Main course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4 servings

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Mode cuisineEmpêche ton écran de se mettre en veille

Author: Marc Winer

Ingredients

Marinade

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 0.25 teaspoon black pepper ground
• 1 teaspoon cumin ground
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (mild American spice blend, see notes)
• 0.5 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 0.25 teaspoon chipotle chile ground
• 0.5 teaspoon paprika

Chicken

• 3 chicken breasts skinless (about 450 g total), or boneless, skinless thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking

Bell Peppers and Onion

• 2-3 large bell peppers, preferably a mix of green and red
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
• Salt, optional

To Serve

• 8 flour tortillas 15 cm (fajita size)
• Pico de gallo
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Lime wedges
• Fresh cilantro

Add to meal plan

Instructions

Marinade

• Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels.
  3 chicken breasts
• Place the chicken breasts in a container or a freezer bag.
• In a bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.
  4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 cloves garlic,, 1 teaspoon salt, 0.25 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 0.5 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 0.25 teaspoon chipotle chile, 0.5 teaspoon paprika
  
• Pour the marinade over the chicken.
  
• Turn the chicken to coat it well.
• Let marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preparing the Vegetables

• While the chicken marinates, remove the stems, seeds, and white membranes from the bell peppers.
  2-3 large bell peppers,
• Thinly slice the peppers into strips.
  
• Peel the onion.
  1 large onion
• Thinly slice the onion.
  

Cooking the Chicken

• Heat the cast-iron skillet dry over medium-high heat for a few minutes, so that it gets very hot.
• Pour the olive oil for cooking the chicken into the hot skillet.
  2 tablespoons olive oil,
• Lift the chicken breasts out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off.
• Place the chicken breasts in the skillet: they should sizzle loudly as soon as they touch the bottom.
  
• Don’t overcrowd the skillet: if yours is small, cook the chicken in batches, otherwise it will steam instead of browning.
• Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the underside is nicely browned.
• Flip the chicken breasts.
  
• Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is golden and reaches 74°C in the center.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet.
• Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, so that it stays juicy.

Cooking the Peppers and Onion

• Pour the olive oil for cooking the vegetables into the same skillet.
  1 tablespoon olive oil,
• Add the sliced peppers and onion.
  
• Season lightly with salt, if desired.
  Salt,
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and softened.
  
• While the vegetables cook, cut the chicken into strips 1 cm thick.
  

Assembling and Serving

• Return the chicken strips to the skillet with the vegetables.
  
• Toss together, if desired.
• Let everything heat for a moment to warm the chicken back up.
• Warm the tortillas.
  8 flour tortillas
• Serve right away with the warm tortillas and the toppings in small bowls: pico de gallo, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro.
  Pico de gallo, Guacamole, Salsa, Sour cream, Lime wedges, Fresh cilantro
  

Notes

Marinade: 20 to 30 minutes is enough. Don’t go beyond 2 hours, as the lime juice eventually changes the texture of the chicken, which turns mushy. For a longer marinade (up to 2 hours), keep the chicken in the refrigerator and take it out 30 minutes before cooking.

Chili powder: American “chili powder” is a mild blend of dried chiles, cumin, garlic, and oregano. The ground chile sold in Europe (cayenne pepper, “chili” or “chilli”) is pure chile and much hotter: don’t use it in the same amount. If you can’t get American chili powder, use sweet paprika instead, with no more than a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat.

Chipotle chile: this is smoked, dried jalapeño. If you can’t find it, smoked paprika (pimentón) gives the smoky note, with a pinch of cayenne pepper if you want a little heat.

Skillet: a cast-iron skillet holds its heat when you add the cold chicken, and that is what gives it the golden crust. Otherwise, a skillet with a thick base (3 to 5 mm) will do. The chicken must be well drained: too much marinade in the skillet makes the meat boil instead of searing.

Chicken: boneless, skinless thighs make an excellent substitute for the breasts, and they stay juicier. You can cut the strips against the grain for more tender meat.

Vegetables: there is no set cooking time for the peppers and onion in a skillet on the stovetop. Go by how they look: they are ready when they are lightly browned and softened. For the grilled version, allow 6 to 10 minutes in a skillet set on the grill grate.

Tortillas: this recipe uses 15 cm flour tortillas, the “fajita” size. In supermarkets, you’ll mostly find 20 cm flour tortillas, which work too. Sour cream: if you don’t have sour cream, use thick crème fraîche or Greek yogurt.

Grilled version: grill the whole chicken breasts over high heat until they are golden on both sides and reach 74°C in the center. Toss the peppers and onion with a little olive oil and salt, put them in a skillet set on the grill grate, and cook for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until tender.

Sheet-pan version: you can also spread the marinated chicken, peppers, and onion on a large sheet pan and roast them in the oven at 200°C for 20 to 30 minutes. You lose the well-seared crust from the cast-iron skillet, but it’s simpler. Use a sheet pan large enough that nothing overlaps, otherwise everything steams.

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