This chicken fajita recipe is so easy to make full of delicious flavors, great for a tasty mid week meal that you will have on a regular rotation. I used a homemade spice blend to season chicken and the sweet peppers and onions before placing everything evenly on a sheet pan to roast for under 20 minutes. Heat up your tortillas and you have yourself one delicious meal the whole family will love. This recipe can easy be made with shrimp or even steak. I like to serve mine with all the fixings and especially with a fresh made salsa /Salsa Roja that is easy to make and so flavourful!
What is Salsa Roja?
Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce so to many Spanish-speaking cultures, salsa could refer to any sauce. Here in the North America, we associate the word salsa with a dip made primarily from chopped tomatoes, chiles, and onions. Salsa Roja (meaning red) is a red sauce or blended red salsa made with tomatoes. Salsa roja can be made from raw ingredients, cooked ingredients, or a combination of both. It can be pureed until it’s completely smooth or blended slightly for a chunky consistency. It is usually made with Tomato, onion, serrano or jalapeno peppers, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt. Its simple to make and you won’t be able to get enough of it. My dear friend in Mexico City showed me how easy it is to make and its the perfect salsa for the fajitas or tacos and so so good with tortilla chips.
Ingredients
- Chicken: I use skinless boneless chicken breast, you can also make these with steak or shrimp or skinless boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders (for steak use sirloin steak or flank steak sliced into ½ inch strips)
- Bell Peppers: red bell pepper or any colour bell peppers will work – feel free to throw in a poblano pepper for more flavour or a jalepeno for some heat
- Onion & Garlic: I like to use red onion but yellow onion is just fine too. Use as little or as much garlic as you want. I used 1 large clove
- Spices: I used a combination of chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, a pinch of brown sugar for a hint of sweetness and caramelization and some salt. I was conservative with the spices but feel free to double up or adjust amounts according to taste
- Olive Oil: to toss the veggies, chicken and spices with
- Limes: I like to squeeze fresh lime juice over the chicken and veggies when they come out of the oven and serve the fajitas with extra lime wedges on the side
- Additional Add Ins: for extra heat feel free to add a pinch of cayenne to your spice blend, use chopped garlic instead of garlic powder
How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- SEASON the meat and the veggies by tossing them with olive oil and the spice blend
- SPREAD chicken and veggies onto a very large prepared sheet pan evenly without too much overlapping or any if possible (if the sheet pan is too small and everything is overlapping the chicken will take longer to cook and the veggies will steam and become soggy so ensure you use a large sheet pan)
- BAKE/ROAST chicken and veggies 12 -20 minutes
- SQUEEZE lime juice over them after they come out of the oven
- SERVE with warm tortillas and salsa roja and all of your favourite toppings
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas Make Ahead, Storage & Freezing
- MAKE AHEAD: the chicken and veggies can be tossed with the spice blend and olive oil and stored in an air tight container and left to marinate for ½ an hour to overnight in the fridge. Remove from fridge when preheating oven and place on a sheet pan to come to room temperature before roasting. The salsa can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days
- STORAGE: Leftover Chicken Fajitas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days – reheat stove top or in the microwave
- FREEZING: you can season meat and veggies with spice blend and olive oil and place in a freezer safe bag sealed tight and freeze for 1-3 months, thaw over night in the fridge and then remove from fridge when preheating oven and place on a Sheet pan to come to room temperature before roasting.
More Tasty Mexican Inspired or Tex/Mex Recipe You Will Love:
For the Homemade Fajita Seasoning (or use approx ¼ cup of your favourite taco seasoning)
Serve Roasted chicken and veggies with the warm tortillas or serve in butter lettuce in place of the tortillas. Another alternative is to serve the chicken and veggies with rice to make fajita burrito bowls. Top with the homemade salsa and whatever toppings you like
