Fajitas de Pollo
Looking for a family-friendly chicken dish that you can have on the table quickly? Chicken fajitas are the answer. Follow a few easy steps and you will have prepared a restaurant-quality meal in about 30 minutes.
Fun Fact
Did you know that the direct translation of fajitas is “little strips”? The name of the dish refers to the way the meat is cut.
To prepare, you thinly slice some chicken breast and season it with homemade fajita seasoning which has a hint of guajillo and arból chile, and paprika then slice some onions and bell peppers.
To cook, you toss all the ingredients into a large frying pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve on warm flour or corn tortillas and top with Mexican cream or sour cream and your favorite salsa.
Depending on the salsa you choose your fajitas can be as hot or mild as you like. If you want them with just a hint of heat from the seasoning you don’t need to add any salsa just top your fajitas with a spoonful of Mexican cream or sour cream.
Enjoy our favorite chicken fajita recipe! A perfect family meal.
How to Make Chicken Fajitas
Follow the steps for great results. Double up the recipe to serve a crowd.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
- 3 tbsp. chicken fajita seasoning
- 1 large white onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp. salt + to taste
- 12-18 flour tortillas or corn tortillas
- 1 cup of Mexican cream or sour cream (optional)
- 2 cups of your favorite salsa, red or green
- 6 limes (optional)
Substitutions: If you are unable to find all four colors of the peppers you can use any combination of peppers and you will still get great results.
Equipment:
Gather all your tools before you begin. You will need the following:
- large cutting board
- kitchen knife
- kitchen tongs or spatula
- heavy-bottomed pan or skillet (a cast-iron skillet works great)
- a serving platter
- a serving spoon or tongs
First, Prep the Chicken
Start by butterflying the chicken breasts so that the meat is even in thickness.
Then slice into ½ inch strips.
Season well with our fajita seasoning and 1 tsp. of salt. You will add more salt at the end of cooking if needed. Our taco seasoning is also a tasty choice for seasoning the chicken. Your preference.
The spice mix is a blend of the following: guajillo peppers, arból peppers, coriander seeds, paprika, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, and Mexican oregano.
Next, Prep the Vegetables
Slice the onion into very thin strips.
Remove the stems and seeds from the bell peppers then slice into ¼″ wide strips. Discard the stems and seeds.
Cook the Fajitas
Heat a heavy bottom pan to medium-hot then add the seasoned chicken. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Turn the chicken and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the onions.
Stir the onion into the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
Add all of the bell peppers to your pan.
Cook for 5 to 7 minutes turning regularly until the chicken is fully cooked and the peppers are cooked but still have just a bit of a crunch to them.
Check the chicken for doneness then adjust the salt as needed. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?
Serving
While the chicken is cooking, warm the tortillas on a comal or griddle set aside and cover with a kitchen towel to keep them warm.
On each tortilla, place a portion of the cooked fajitas then top with Mexican cream or sour cream and salsa roja or salsa verde and a squirt of lime juice if you would like.
Fajitas are great with an ice-cold Mexican beer. We have been enjoying Carta Blanca recently.
A Great Dish for a Crowd
This is a great dish for a for a big get-together, think birthday parties, Super Bowl Party, club meetings, etc. Making a double or triple batch takes very little extra time to prepare. Set up a fajita buffet and everyone gets to serve themselves.
Self Serve Fajita Station
Set up your fajita station by placing the following from left to right on your serving table.
- serving plates
- warm tortillas
- the fajitas on a platter
- Mexican cream or sour cream
- the salsas
- quartered limes
- a big stack of paper napkins
Storage: Chicken fajitas is a great make-ahead dish because it will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. They are easy to reheat and serve. We prefer not to freeze them because the bell peppers get mushy when frozen but if you do want to freeze them they will still be delicious when served.
Chicken Fajita Recipe
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- kitchen tongs or spatula
- heavy bottomed pan or skillet
- a serving platter
- a serving spoon or tongs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
- 3 tbsp. fajita seasoning
- 1 white onion large
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp. salt + to taste
- 12 flour tortillas corn tortillas if you prefer
- 1 cup Mexican cream
- 2 cups salsa choose your favorite, red or green
- 6 limes Key limes
Instructions
Prep the Chicken
- Butterfly the chicken breasts then slice into ½ inch strips.
- Season chicken well with fajita seasoning and 1 tsp. of salt.
- Set chicken aside while cutting the onion and bell peppers.
Prep the Vegetables
- Slice the onion into very thin strips.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the bell peppers then slice into ¼" wide strips.
Cook the Fajitas
- Heat a heavy bottom pan to medium hot then add the seasoned chicken. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Turn the chicken and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add all of the bell peppers and mix well.
- Cook for 5 to 7 minutes more turning regularly until the chicken is fully cooked and the peppers are cooked but still have just a bit of a crunch to them.
- Warm the tortillas while the fajitas are cooking.
Serving
- Place 2 or 3 warm tortillas on each plate. Fill each tortilla with a portion of the fajitas then top with Mexican cream, a good salsa, and a squirt of lime juice if you'd like.
Notes
- If you are unable to find all four colors of the peppers you can use any combination of peppers.
- Chicken fajitas keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. We prefer not to freeze them because the bell peppers get mushy when frozen but if you do want to freeze them they will still be delicious.
Brad says
I gathered up my ingredients and am ready to make this, but noticed there wasnt any oil used in the recipe for cooking the chicken. I’m suppose to use oil, right?
Eric Ochoa says
So , i’ll be using the same dry ingredients as for the steak fajitas , but , I’ll add lime zest in the mix ……also some lime juice including some cilantro to the marinade . stay tuned …..