Have you ever wondered why homemade chicken fajitas don't taste the same as a restaurant's? It's because you're using an ingredient they don't! This simple recipe will become a mouthwatering go-to of yours - it truly taste like a restaurant's!
“Amazingly delicious! My new go-to fajita recipe! The family LOVED it!”
For years I didn’t “get” fajitas. Go all the way to a restaurant so I can assemble my own food? Nah. Furthermore, they’re filled with bell peppers which, up until my 30s, I couldn’t even look at in the grocery store.
Thankfully, I’ve seen the light (and the fact that you can order your own fajita skillets on Amazon — can you even?) and my restaurant-style, homemade Chicken Fajitas recipe has become one of my favorite things to cook at home.
Impressive yet easy, and just like hearing then smelling those sizzling platters before they hit your table at a restaurant – this easy recipe will make your mouth water!
Watch How to Make Them
Top Tip = Skip the Marinade
The first time I attempted to make Chicken Fajitas at home was a disaster. After mixing up a chili powder-based marinade then searing everything over high heat, the marinade burned and the resulting dish tasted nothing like the fajitas we order from our favorite Mexican restaurant.
Fajitas are simply grilled meat and vegetables, and a marinade covers up the craveable, smoky flavor of seared chicken and caramelized veggies. It’s complicating something that’s inherently simple.
Easy Fajita Seasoning Mix
That said, all you need to achieve chicken fajitas that taste like a restaurant’s is a basic seasoning mix including everyday spices and ingredients:
- Homemade seasoned salt (i.e. salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika)
- Cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Fresh lemon juice
This simple seasoning mix lets you taste the fajita ingredients — chicken, peppers, onions, and mushrooms — and not the marinade. So easy, and so good!
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Pin ItTips for The Best Chicken Fajitas
Fajitas are quick-cooking and straight forward. That said there are a few things to keep in mind when whipping them up:
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. The key to really good, flavorful fajitas is searing the meat and vegetables over high heat so they get a smoky, charred flavor. That said, be certain to not overcrowd the pan so the ingredients sear vs steam. Work in batches and make sure the oil is smoking hot before searing each batch of chicken and vegetables.
- Cast iron is best. A large, 12″+ cast iron pan is preferred for optimal searing and browning. Here’s my favorite enameled cast iron skillet, and a budget-friendly non-enameled cast iron skillet.
- Prep ahead. Because this recipe is so quick-cooking, it’s important to have all the meat and vegetables sliced and ready to go before turning on the heat. Both the chicken and vegetables can be prepped up to 3 days ahead of time.
How to Make Chicken Fajitas
Step 1: Prep the vegetables
Start by thinly slicing bell peppers, a large onion, and mushrooms. My favorite restaurant’s fajitas contain tomatoes, but I swapped them for mushrooms since tomatoes can easily turn to mush when seared over high heat.
Step 2: Slice and season the chicken breasts
Next, thinly slice chicken breasts. The best way to cut chicken breasts for fajitas is to slice each breast in half widthwise to create cutlets, then thinly slice each cutlet into strips. This way, the chicken is the same width and size as the bell peppers and onions which makes for a nice eating experience.
Season the chicken strips with homemade seasoned salt, and a dash each of cumin and smoked paprika then mix to coat.
Step 3: Sear the vegetables
In a large, 12+ cast iron skillet, heat vegetable oil until it begins to smoke — turn on the hood vent!
Add 1/3 of the vegetables then season with homemade seasoned salt, a dash of cumin, and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Let the vegetables sit undisturbed in the skillet until the bottoms have seared, then mix with tongs and continue to saute until they’re crisp-tender.
Remove the veggies to a plate then sear the remaining vegetables in two batches, heating the oil first before adding then seasoning with seasoned salt, cumin, and lemon juice.
Step 4: Sear the chicken
Last step is to heat more oil in the skillet then add the seasoned chicken. Add a drizzle of lemon juice then saute until the chicken is cooked through, 3-4 minutes.
Step 5: Mix then serve
Lastly, add the seared vegetables back into the skillet then toss to heat through. That’s all she wrote — so easy, right?
What to Serve With Chicken Fajitas
Like most Tex-Mex meals, what makes fajitas even more satisfying is that they’re surrounded on a platter with goodies. Here are some ideas for garnishes and sides.
- Toppings: Sour cream, shredded lettuce, Pico de Gallo
- Creamy Pinto Beans
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Mexican Rice
- Cuban-Style Black Beans
- Cilantro-Lime Rice
- Quick Guacamole
Serve the chicken fajitas + fixins with warmed corn tortillas, gluten free flatbreads, or your favorite flour-style tortillas. I like Mission Gluten Free Tortillas.
However you serve them, I hope you love every last drop of this easy chicken fajitas recipe — enjoy!
More Tex-Mex Favorites
- Beef Enchiladas
- Gluten Free Enchilada Sauce
- Steak Fajitas
- Cheese Enchiladas with Red Sauce
- Large Batch Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Crock Pot Salsa Chicken
- How to Cook Ground Beef Like a Restaurant
- Cheesy Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, sliced into cutlets then into thin strips
- 2 bell peppers, any color, seeded then thinly sliced
- 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 lemon, sliced in half
- homemade seasoned salt, see notes
- cumin
- smoked paprika, optional
- Toppings: sour cream, shredded lettuce, Pico de Gallo, guacamole
Directions
- Season the chicken strips with seasoned salt and a pinch of both cumin and smoked paprika then mix to coat and set aside. Add the vegetables to a large bowl then toss with your hands to combine.
- Add 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil to a large, 12"+ heavy-bottomed skillet — preferably cast iron — over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add 1/3 of the vegetables in an even layer in the bottom. Season with seasoned salt, a pinch of cumin, and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice (~1/2 teaspoon — not too much!) then let the vegetables sit undisturbed until seared on the bottom. Toss with tongs then continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes, turning the heat down slightly if they begin to burn. Remove the vegetables to a plate then repeat the process of heating 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil then searing and seasoning the vegetables with seasoned salt, cumin, and lemon juice in two more batches.
- Heat the remaining 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil in the skillet then add the chicken, drizzle over a little lemon juice, and then saute until the chicken is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Add the seared vegetables back into the skillet then toss to heat everything through. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Click here for my Homemade Seasoned Salt recipe >
- Meal prep: feel free to slice the chicken and vegetables up to 3 days ahead of time. Store the vegetables and chicken separately.
- What to serve with Chicken Fajitas:
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Wow… I love Mexican food. I really like this post. Thank you so much for sharing the useful post.
This meal has become a welcome house staple for our family. For how quickly it can be thrown together, the flavors are flat out impressive. Everyone in our house is happy when it’s fajita night, even our picky 3-year-old!
LOVE when you can find something the whole family, including little ones, will eat! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This is the BEST fajita recipe I’ve ever made. Hands down, so much better than any of the mixes or marinades. The only thing that would make it better would be a recipe for the fajita seasoning so I can have that on hand as well as the seasoned salt. Which I do keep on hand and need to make a new batch of as it is. I have made these before and loved them, and tonight, I made them and made burrito bowls. Which my husband about died over. Thanks so much!!!!!
I’m SO glad you love this recipe as much as I do, Jennifer! Thank you so much for the recipe and star rating!!
Made these last night for my fam and they thought they were delicious! The fresh lemon made them so yummy! I did my own spice mix of cumin, paprika, pepper and cajun seasoning and was smoky and spicy. Definitely going into the dinner rotation and I’m excited to prep my veggies next time for a quicker dinner.
So glad you loved it, Cassie! Thank you so much for your feedback and star rating!
I have never had fajitas at a restaurant. I have made some from other recipes in the past. I adore bell peppers and onions. And chicken. And properly cooked mushrooms. So… These are, hands down, the best fajitas I’ve personally stuffed in my face. Oh. Man. I am drooling just thinking about the container I have in the fridge right now… I’ve had a spate of recipes come out weak in flavor recently, and this broke the spell for sure! Is there supposed to be a lot of oil left on the fajitas? I don’t know if that’s normal… But regardless, this reminds me, texturally and mouth feel-wise, of takeout chicken lo mein. lol The onions are very noodle-like, and I guess the feel, smell, and taste of the vegetable oil is highly reminiscent of Chinese for me. I’ve been eating my fajitas over a mix of black and brown rice, and it is amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe! Maybe I will just live off this from now on…
I am soooo glad these worked out for you!!! The fajitas I get at my favorite Mexican restaurant go heavy on the oil which I appreciate and use as a little “sauce” so feel free to reduce next time if it was too much for you. Again, so glad you loved the recipe though!
That extra oil does serve very well as a sauce to lightly coat the rice I had this on, really infusing my whole dinner with deliciousness. I made this for a second week before moving on. This is certainly something I could see myself coming back to, and it’s really made me crave rich and powerful flavors. So I’m embarking on a bit of a chili kick now.
Your recipe is my go to when we want fajitas. It’s simple, easy and so delicious and fresh tasting. I also make the rice you show. Thank you for posting this great chicken fajita recipe.
So glad to hear it, Jane! Thanks so much for your feedback!
So simple, so awesome, and even my pickiest child would eat the chicken part. (He’s a raw veggie only kid, but I figure if all I have to do is set aside a few peppers for him, I can do that.) This is a total win for the whole family. Thank you!
Made these for dinner tonight…..absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!
Absolutely delicious!
We made these and I’m pretty sure my husband came close to dying in ecstasy. These fajitas are beyond good! They were also quick to make which is so nice when you’re trying to get a family fed, bathed, and in bed on a week night! I’m pretty sure the husband was a little bitter that I finished off the last of the left overs on these but I’m pregnant so I told him I was feeding his unborn child. Hard to argue that point.
Bahahaha – for 9 months, you get anything you want, Mama!! So glad you guys loved it!!
Made these this week for dinner. FANTASTIC! Even my 2.5 year old ate every last bite. Making this a staple dish at my house. Thank you for sharing!
That is amazing!! Thanks so much for the great feedback, Jessica!
This were amazing! I think it will be a weekend meal so my husband is here to help like tonight. Our fav fajitas for years were the grilled ones on Annie’s eats and we think these are better. Thank you!
So glad you loved them, Amy!! :)
8 years later we are making these on the Blackstone tonight! Going to try with lime juice tonight. I hadn’t made these in a long time and was reading the comments and am pretty sure I was Amy that made the comment in 2017, ha!
This is the *perfect* recipe to make on the Blackstone, Amy!! Such a great idea! So glad you are still making and loving them!!
I love the simplicity of this recipe. Exactly what I was looking for. I’ve seen your page before and as a fellow Iowa girl (go Hawks!) who loves cooking, I’m going to check out this blog more often from now on. I received a fajita pan randomly for Christmas so we’re going to test her out TONIGHT!
Perfect! I hope you loved it, Danielle!