Chicken fajitas are a popular Tex-Mex meal of juicy chicken with sauteed bell peppers and onion. This one-pan recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
Are chicken fajitas healthy?
Traditionally, fajitas are made with beef skirt steak. Substituting chicken for beef significantly reduces the fat in this dish.
Also, because the ingredients are lean protein and vegetables, the calories are much lower than popular deep-fried Mexican dinners with high-fat ingredients, such as chimichangas or taquitos.
If you really want to keep the chicken fajitas healthy, use portion control with the toppings. Fajita toppings like cheese, sour cream, and guacamole can be very high in fat and calories.
You can also avoid serving them with starchy flour tortillas. Instead, make a low carb chicken fajita salad, or serve the fajitas in lettuce cups or on low carb tortillas.
How do I make chicken fajitas?
It is incredibly easy to make this dinner! Technically, it’s a Mexican stir-fry, or if you make them on a barbecue, then it is grilled chicken and vegetables.
The basic ingredients that I call for in this chicken fajitas recipe are:
- boneless skinless chicken thighs
- red onion
- red, yellow, and green bell peppers
Making these easy chicken fajitas takes just a few simple steps. The full recipe is at the bottom of this post, but here are the basic steps.
- Heat the skillet and a bit of oil over medium-high heat. I like to use cast iron because it conducts heat really well. Avocado oil is my recommendation because it has a high smoke point and is a heart-healthy oil.
- Sear the chicken on both sides, then cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. / 73 C.
- Remove the chicken from the pan temporarily while you saute the onion and peppers.
- Slice the chicken, add it back to the skillet to warm through.
Ingredient substitutions
If you want or need to substitute ingredients in the chicken fajitas recipe, it is not a problem. Just use what you have available.
- Chicken – I use chicken thighs because they tend to be juicier than breast meat. However, you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer them.
- Bell peppers – I like to use a variety of colored peppers. If you only have one color on hand, that’s perfectly fine – it is not necessary to make a special trip to the store!
- Onion – Same situation for the onions. I prefer red onion, but yellow or white will also work.
Time-saving tips
If you want to save time and meal prep chicken fajitas, it’s easy to do. I like to clean and slice the onions and bell peppers ahead of time.
Or make the entire chicken fajitas recipe and then portion it into meal prep containers to serve for lunches or dinners later in the week. Chicken fajitas will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Other easy chicken dinners to try:
Easy Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
- 3 small bell peppers - preferably of different colors
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lbs chicken thighs
- sea salt
- pepper
- cumin
- red pepper flakes
- 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 limes
- cilantro
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice red onion and peel and finely chop garlic cloves. Set aside.
- Wash, deseed, and thinly slice bell peppers.
- Season chicken thighs on both sides with sea salt, pepper, cumin, and red pepper flakes to taste.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, once hot ad a drizzle of avocado oil and then pan-fry chicken thighs for approx 8 minutes per side or until golden brown. Once browned and cooked through remove from the skillet and let rest on a plate.
- Add a splash of soy sauce to deglaze the pan, then add onion and garlic and sautee until slightly soft.
- Add sliced bell peppers to the skillet and stir-fry until desired softness.
- Season bell peppers with another splash of soy sauce and juice of half a lime, then move everything to the side and return chicken thighs to the skillet to reheat about 1 minute.
- Sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro and more lime juice if desired. Enjoy!
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Nancy says
Very easy, quick, good flavor. I will make it again. I added mushrooms,just because I had them. I will make this again.
Petra says
This looks really good. Look forward to giving it a go
Thank you
Gurkirat says
It looks yummy.. My mouth is already so watery looking at the recipe. I don’t know what will happen when i will cook for myself… Thanks so much for sharing…..