These Chicken Fajitas have a terrific flavour hit from a really great Fajita marinade. Served alongside charred capsicum and onion, stuff them inside warm tortillas for a tasty Mexican Fajita fiesta for dinner tonight!
Chicken Fajitas
Whenever I see rainbow coloured capsicum on sale at the stores, I immediately think of Fajitas.
I know, I know, full points for (un)originality.
Though to be fair, when I see just redcapsicum on sale, my first thought is the not so well known Spanish Romesco Sauce. The magic chargrilled capsicum-almond sauce that I use as a dip / sauce / marinade that I am abnormally addicted to.
So don’t crucify me for choosing the obvious when multi coloured capsicums are on sale!?
Fajita Chicken deserves a great marinade!
The secret ingredient in this marinade is orange juice. No, it doesn’t taste of oranges once cooked. When mixed with other savoury ingredients (lime, garlic, cumin, olive oil) then cooked, you end up with an incredibly flavourful chicken that’s savoury, fragrant and balanced with a hint of sweet.
Fruit juice is used in a wide range of marinades, from Cuban Mojo marinades to Mexican Pork Carnitas, to Korean Marinades to Hawaiian. It injects with subtle flavour and also the sugar brines like salt so proteins retain juiciness when cooked. Did you know that? There’s your cooking trivia for the day!
PS Don’t worry if you don’t have fresh or bottled OJ on hand. See recipe notes for alternatives.
Fajita Vegetables – a big hit of greens!
One of the reasons I enjoy Fajitas so much is that you get a good serve of veggies without even realising. To serve 4 people, I like to use 3 large capsicums (that’s bell peppers to some of you) and a large onion.
This way, I can stuff the warm tortillas with tons of veggies, then top with a sensible serving of chicken. A slice of avocado, a quick drizzle of sour cream and you’ll be clutching an overstuffed tortilla of Fajita goodness, ready to be devoured.
Go forth and fulfil your Fajita cravings!!! – Nagi x
Chicken Fajitas
Watch how to make it
Chicken Fajitas recipe video!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml lime juice
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml orange juice (Note 1 for subs)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Fajitas:
- 700g / 1.2 lb skinless chicken thighs or 2 large chicken breasts , halved horizontally (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 capsicums / bell peppers , deseeded and sliced (red, yellow or green)
- 1 large onion , halved and sliced thickly (brown, yellow, white or red)
To Serve:
- 8– 12 small tortillas
- 1 large avocado , halved and sliced
- Sour cream
- Fresh lime wedges
Instructions
- Place Marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add chicken, toss well to coat. Marinade for 1 hour to 24 hours (or freeze immediately then defrost overnight).
- Use 2 skillets to cook the chicken and vegetables at the same time, if you can.
Vegetables:
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy based skillet over high heat until smoking. Add vegetables to cover the base of the pan in a single layer without too much overlapping (I cook in 3 batches). Spread out, leave for 45 seconds (to char it).
- Toss quickly then spread out. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Leave 45 seconds, toss then spread out, then leave 45 seconds. Remove onto platter and repeat with remaining Vegetables.
Chicken:
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until caramelised. Turn and cook the other side for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Remove onto a plate, cover loosely with foil. Rest for 3 minutes then slice.
To Serve:
- Warm tortillas using chosen method.
- Pile peppers and onion onto tortilla. Top with chicken, drizzle with sour cream, squeeze over lime juice. Fold, devour and be happy.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published in April 2017 using a rather generic Mexican seasoning / marinade which I no longer use – original recipe here. It’s unusual for me to republish a recipe so soon after the original publish date, but the marinade in this new recipe is so much better. It’s based on either a Rick Bayless or Bobby Flay recipe, I cannot recall. Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
You can hear the wheels turning in his head as he assesses the distance between him, the Fajitas and the door, versus me behind the camera.
Calculated risk assessment result: No go. Better chance of getting a treat for good behaviour.
Super quick and easy to make, so tasty. The chicken was so tender and delicious. Will definitely make again.
Oh my gawd, these are soooo good and so easy. Made them for dinner tonight. Everyone devoured theirs. I love your recipes. Thanks for so many dinners.
I’ve done this countless times and today I’ll use triple sec (instead of orange juice) and lime juice cordial (instead of fresh limes cause these are what I have and I’m too lazy to go to the store.
I used to live in New Mexico.. this recipe is authentic and delicious! Thank you
Delicious and quick, chicken was really juicy with great flavour and a lovely aromatic crust. Added a little ground coriander, smoked sweet paprika and chipotle chilli powder to the marinade. Delicious! Thanks Nagi love your recipes ❤️
One of the easiest, tastiest recipes I have made from you Nagi. Absolutely divine. Had all the ingredients in the fridge as well. What a great dinner that I’ll be reheating all week as there is just one of me but catered for at least 4 ha. YUM!
Hi Nagi, this was delicious! It was such an easy meal to prepare. I just marinated the chicken early in the morning, stuck it in the fridge and then at supper, my husband quickly barbecued the chicken, while I cooked the veggies. Everything turned out great! I will definitely be making this again!
This is the ultimate not-boring busy-weeknight so-delicious dinner recipe.
Loving your recipes, have for years. Got your book!!♥️
Question: wha is the name of that small grill you used for the chicken faritas?
Thank you for you great work💕
Family favorite! So delish!
This recipe is excellent! The problem I have to picky about is that 700g is more like 1.5 lb , not 1.2 lb (for the default 4 servings). Not a big deal, but I usually have to make more so the scaling up using the slider can affect the amount the chicken by quite a bit.
What kind of pan was that second one for thighs Nagi?
As someone who doesn’t have room for a bbq atm this looks like an ideal solution?
This was delicious! We included two zucchinis (sliced into strips) for the non-canivores, and marinated/cooked the vegies and chicken separately.
A tablespoon of paprika & a teaspoon each of smoked paprika & chilli powder was included for extra flavour-pow.
Wow, delicious. We are doing a world food tour and this was amazing. Made the flatbreads instead of buying tortillas. Thank you.
Hello Nagi
I’ve made this meal so many times and the family love it . I.want to make a large portion for a dinner party and I wondered if I baked chicken in the oven would it still retain its lovely flavour. Thank you so much
I would also like to know the answer to this, and/or can the peppers be roasted instead so we don’t have to cook them in batches?
Living in Texas, chicken fajitas are my absolute fav thing and I’ve looked for years for the perfect marinade and this is it! I made these last night and the fam ate them all up. (I was hoping for some leftovers for my lunch, but oh well)
Nagi, the marinade was juicy and tasty. My family, except me loves chicken. I tried your recipe. They ate every bite and cleaned out. Very tasty and easy recipe.
Every so often I go looking elsewhere for recipes… I found a recipe for fajitas… which I have zero experience with, but I decided to come back and check here, and I will stay here!
Also, I like how you don’t choose cringe-worthy music for your videos!!
The kids loved the chicken. For our adult Indian palates, unfortunately it lacked flavour. But the peppers were amazing!! Will always cook it like this!!
Another 5 star recipe Nagi. Thumbs up from all the family tonight.
Loved this recipe! We had leftover cooked chicken and I just simply marinated that for most of the day then sautéed my veggies. When the veggies were done I tossed in the marinated chicken for a few mins to warm through. authentic flavours and so yummy!