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Learn how to make really flavorful chicken fajitas as home! This is my take on the Tex-Mex chicken fajitas and the flavors are incredible!
I can’t believe it took been two years since I last shared a fajita recipe with you.
I first shared my steak fajitas recipe over two years ago, and now I’m happy to say I’m bringing a version to you today that’s been tweaked a bit so that the flavors work better with chicken.
Chicken fajitas were my favorite thing my mom made growing up. I take that back. They were one of my favorites. That’s more accurate. Mainly because it was chicken, peppers, and onions stuffed into warm tortillas and the topping possibilities were endless! My mom made them the way most people do, with a simple seasoning packet and for years, I made homemade chicken fajitas the same way, but that’s certainly not the case anymore!
When you make your own homemade chicken fajitas marinade, the chicken is a billion times more flavorful, and you get to control the heat level too. If you’ve made and loved my steak fajitas (the way sooo many people have,) you’re going to love today’s chicken version!
How to make the best chicken fajitas:
My recipe for homemade chicken fajitas starts with the chicken marinade. Unlike the seasonings packets which you just pretty much dump onto chicken breasts, and toss it into a pan, we’ll be allowing the marinade to really soak into the chicken so that it’s flavors everything perfectly. Trust me! These are some of the best chicken fajitas you’ll ever have and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it.
This recipe makes a ton of chicken fajitas! Enough to feed 6-8 people and you can certainly cut the recipe ingredients in half if you don’t want to have so much around. I always like to marinade a ton of chicken for my fajitas because we turn the leftovers into Chipotle-style burrito bowls for lunch the next day. This also works well for meal prepping because unlike a lot of meal prep recipes, chicken fajitas actually taste better as they sit. You can serve the fajitas over a salad or on top of quinoa if you decide to meal prep them for the week.
The ingredients for my chicken fajitas are very similar to the ones I use for the steak version. I’ve just added a couple of additional components that pair well with chicken.
What you’ll need for the chicken fajitas marinade:
- Lime juice
- Pineapple juice
- Garlic
- Mexican oregano
- Spices
- Oil
- Worcestershire
You might be wondering why I use pineapple juice to flavor the fajitas. Pineapple juice, the good stuff that has no added sugars is what you’re looking for here. Store-bought fajitas seasonings usually contain enzymes that help tenderize and break down the chicken, so you’re left with tender chicken in every bite. Pineapple juice goes the same thing here, and it’s a natural ingredient. I’m not too comfortable with some of the stuff that’s labeled as ‘meat or poultry tenderizer.’ Not sure what’s in it because they almost never label those kinds of things.
If you aren’t a fan of pineapple and are wondering if you can taste it in the chicken once it’s cooked, the answer is no. Not at all. It just does it’s thing and doesn’t even leave a trace.
Other ingredients you’ll need to make chicken fajitas:
Let’s talk about the chicken here for a second. I used chicken breasts, but I could see this recipe working well with boneless, skinless chicken thighs too. You guys know that’s not my thing, but for someone who prefers dark meat chicken, this would be the ideal thing to use.
We’re going with pretty standard stuff here – sliced peppers and sliced onions. Use an array of pepper colors here; it only makes the meal look that much more appetizing! I like to use red onions with chicken fajitas and white or yellow onions when I’m making beef fajitas, however, whatever kind of onion you have will work here. If you’re familiar with my steak fajitas recipe, you know I like to use sliced poblano peppers along with bell peppers. I opted to go the full bell pepper route here, however, you could also substitute green bell peppers for a poblano if you’d like.
How to cook chicken fajitas:
You’ve got a few different options here.
- grill them outdoors. You can simply toss the chicken onto a preheated outdoor grill and let it cook through on both sides. The sliced peppers and onions can go into a grill basket.
- grill them indoors. Here’s the grill pan I use when I want the chicken to get those beautiful grill marks on it. You can also cook the veggies in the same pan.
- use a cast-iron skillet. This is my favorite way to cook fajitas. I use my regular old cast iron skillet, and it never does me wrong! Once I remove the chicken, I add about half of the veggies to the skillet and cook them with a drizzle of the chicken marinade until they sear and brighten a little bit further in color.
How to serve chicken fajitas:
For serving you’ll want to grab flour/corn tortillas, guacamole, guacamole salsa, salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
When I make burrito bowls, I start with homemade cilantro lime rice, top it with the cooked fajitas, and then comes the fire-roasted corn, guacamole, this amazing salsa, a dollop of sour cream, and a generous sprinkle of shredded cheese. Fully loaded is how I like my chicken fajita bowls.
And there you have it! Don’t think twice here, marinate that chicken and make this. Hope you love my homemade chicken fajitas recipe as much as we do!
Best Ever Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons pineapple juice no sugar added
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 5 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder mild or hot
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeño sliced, optional
Fajitas:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 3 bell peppers any color
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- Homemade tortillas
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- to serve: homemade guacamole, guacamole salsa, salsa, sour cream, cilantro-lime rice, sautéed corn, shredded lettuce, and the list can go on and on
Instructions
- MARINADE: combine the ingredients for the marinade along with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Use a whisk to combine before adding the jalapeño slices and the chicken breast. Let marinate covered in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.
- Remove from the refrigerator and allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
- COOK: Set a large cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over high heat and let heat up for a couple of minutes. Drizzle in a teaspoon of oil and add half the chicken to the pan and cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes or longer depending on the thickness of the chicken. If the pan becomes too hot, reduce the heat to medium-high.
- REST: Remove the chicken from the panand allow to rest for several minutes. Cooke the remaining chicken the same way. Slice the chicken into thin slices.
- FAJITA VEGGIES: Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan over high heat, add half the onions and bell peppers. Let the veggies begin to sizzle and toss as necessary. You can drizzle in some of that chicken marinade if you want to flavor the veggies but be sure to cook them well. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove the veggies to a plate and cook the remaining veggies the same way.
- ASSEMBLY: Serve the chicken fajitas in tortillas or on rice bowls topped with your favorite toppings!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Think it would be ok to mix the marinade and chicken and then freeze it? We’re going camping and trying to keep things longer!
Hi Kelly! Yes, I think you could prepare the marinade, toss in the chicken, and freeze it immediately. I do suggest letting the chicken defrost in the refrigerator for ~8 hours so that it marinates the chicken as it comes down to fridge temp! Hope you enjoy the fajitas!
Hi! what would be the best way to re- heat the chicken fajitas before serving without getting them dry or chewy? I wish to pre- make before guests arrive so that I can sit and enjoy talking rather than grilling. Thx
Very good. I followed the recipe and added 5 hot dried chiles diced up. Added a little zing that made it even better
AUTHENTIC…Look no further! I am a self-proclaimed “good cook” who has struggled to master the perfect, Tex Mex restaurant style chicken fajitas. When I make a recipe, I am looking for it to be a crowd pleaser. Time after time, I tried other blogs, YouTube videos, and Pinterest recipes claiming to replicate the flavor and texture of fajitas you’d order out. All of them failed… until I made this recipe from Little Spice Jar. Followed it to the letter, no deviations in the marinade. I used boneless thighs and let it marinate for 3.5 hours. Grilled outside on HIGH heat (450-500) for about 12 min per side. As soon as I finished eating, I came here to leave this much-deserved review. Nailed it. I plan to stock up on the ingredients for this and make it over and over.
I used half chile powder and half chipolte chile powder for a nice medium heat. marinated for two hours. Cooked the chicken and veggies in hot cast iron fry pan. Turned out amazing and tender.
Made this tonight and enjoyed having chicken fajitas at home! The marinade gives a savory flavor reminiscent of restaurant style fajitas. I grilled my chicken and it came out so tender and tasty. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I will be adding it to my rotation.
Hi I’m wondering if you have the nutrition breakdown for this meal. I make it once a week and we snack on the leftovers This is one of the few pages I regularly check because the meals are all such big hits in our household! I see it’s under 500 calories but I was wondering if you had carbs, sodium, total fat grams
Hi Melanie! I don’t have the nutritional information calculated on hand but if you pop the URL of this page into myfitnesspalit will automatically calculate it for you!
Made this for dinner last night. The best chicken fajitas is an accurate description. My family devoured the whole recipe. No leftovers. My daughter thinks it is the best chicken fajitas she has ever eaten. Thank you! 5 ⭐️
Yay – always a good sign when there aren’t any leftovers! Thanks for commenting, Allison!
Quick question. In your recipe you cal for 1.5 – 2 lbs. of chicken and say to put half the chicken in but don’t mention the rest of the chicken. You do the sam thing with the veggies. Am I missing something?
This is my recipe to go for chicken fajitas. My family loves it.
So happy to hear that, Ambreen! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment! 🙂
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! I also tried freezing the chicken in the marinade for a later use and it turned out just as good. Thank you for sharing
So happy to hear you enjoyed the fajitas, Melissa! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Would orange juice and Lemon juice works a substitute for pineapple and lime?
It’ll change the flavor a bit, but it will work.
How could this recipe be done in a crockpot? I am at a vacation rental, and there are limited cooking items, but there is a crockpot…….would I put the marinade into the crockpot along with the chicken and vegetables? Cook all at once? Help!
I’m sure this is too late for you at your vacation rental, but for the future, just google crockpot fajitas and I am sure with that info you can make any necessary adjustments . You could also bake on a cookie sheet if one is available. If you are still there , enjoy
Finally, a way to prepare chicken that my entire family agreed on!!! Fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing it!!
I’m planning on making these tomorrow for dinner! Are you able to marinate the chicken over night? Or is it best just to marinate for 4-6 hours? Thank you in advance!
Because of the high acid content, I don’t suggest marinating the chicken longer than 4-6 hours as it’ll get tough and rubbery. I hope you enjoy the fajitas thoroughly! ?
Hi, the recipe looks great, will be trying it out soon. Please let me know how you prepare the corns to go with this recipe. Thanks!
I made these chicken fajitas for dinner for my husband and I last week. We’re lover of great fajitas and WOW these were amazing! We are definitely having these again this week. Love all your recipes and can’t wait to try others. Thanks!
I love all the spices and flavors here. Chicken fajitas are the best, truly. I like to simmer mine in a bit of beer as well. Love these!
This may be a strange question, but why do you only add half the veggies to the pan to cook? Do you use the additional raw veggies as toppings or in the bowls for leftovers?
Not a strange question at all. You would cook all the veggies, just in batches so that they don’t steam. I’ll clarify it a bit more in the directions 🙂
These look better than anything you’d order in a restaurant!! Can’t wait to try 🙂