A FLAVORFUL marinade yields the juciest chicken. Of course, no fajita night is complete without serving alongside sauteed vegetables!
I love sizzling hot cast iron full of delicious peppers, onions, and chicken. You get exactly that with this recipe, and it is simply done with a great marinade that you can let do its thing for 1 hour or all day if you choose.
The marinade is packed with spices, garlic, fresh cilantro, and my secret ingredient which is chipotle mayo. Just a little but if you have not used mayo on your chicken before I highly recommend! Mayo is a great binder to hold marinades and makes a juicy bite.
Fajita’s best friend is bell peppers and onions. I like to keep it simple and saute with a few shakes of Tajin and get a good char on the vegetables. Of course, no platter is complete without some sides, and I love rice and beans with mine. Here are some other suggestions.
- Cheese- Cojita, Oaxaca, or cheddar
- Guacamole
- Fresh avocados
- Jalapeno slices
- Salsa
- Pico
- Sour cream
- Hot sauce
If you are a seafood lover, shrimp is a popular one for fajitas too. You can certainly use this marinade, just toss the shrimp in for 20 minutes before cooking. These work great in a cast iron or cooked on a grill. That is completely up to you.
Look at those charred vegetables, YUM!
Okay let’s get started!
Chicken Fajitas
Equipment
- Cast iron pan 10-12 inch
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise.
- 2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips. Any color is fine. I like red and yellow.
- 1 large yellow or red onion, cut into thin slices
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil plus more for cooking
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp tajin plus 1 tsp for the bell peppers
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. chipotle mayo I love Boar's Head Goourmaise
- fajita size flour tortillas
- 3 limes
- 1 tbsp. cilantro, minced
- Favorite sides and toppings see list suggestions above
Instructions
- Let's start with the marinade.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, 2 tsp tajin, garlic, salt, pepper, chipotle mayo, cilantro, and vegetable oil. Whisk together until smooth.
- Coat the chicken breasts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook - Grill on 400° until cooked through. Cast iron - Heat on med-high, add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 10 minutes on one side then flip and cook for 10 minutes more or until they and golden and cooked through. Temperature needs to read 165°
- Remove from the pan and set aside to rest.
- Wipe out the pan and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. Keeping it on med-high heat, add the bell peppers and onions. Sprinkle on 2 tsp. of Tajin.Sautee for 10 minutes or until they are tender and charred.
- While the vegetables are cooking, slice the chicken. You can lay the chicken on top of the peppers in the pan and serve or lay it all out on a platter. Of course, if you have a fancy fajita pan that is the ultimate presentation.
- Heat tortillas and prep sides/garnishes. ENJOY!
