Marinated Chicken Fajitas w/ Chicken Breast

by Dana Sandonato // February 6, 2024

These delicious 6-ingredient marinated chicken fajitas are made with chicken breast meat for a lean and healthy dinner option everyone will love!

Chicken and peppers in a cast iron skillet with lime wedges.

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love These Chicken Fajitas

This recipe is quick, easy, and perfect for weeknights. Just pop your chicken, onions, and peppers into a gallon zip-top bag with the marinade and toss it in the fridge until dinner time!

When it’s time to cook, all you have to do it transfer the chicken and veggies to a skillet and sauté them until they’re ready. You can prep all of your extras in the meantime, which makes things super quick and easy.

Best of all, chicken fajitas make for an exciting dinner. Not only are they super flavorful and wonderfullt seasoned, but they’re fun because everyone can dress them up to their own taste.

What to Eat With Chicken Fajitas

These heavenly air fryer sweet potatoes slathered in honey lime glaze are a perfect pairing.
We love chicken fajitas with rice, so my Instant Pot Mexican Rice is another quick recipe that takes the fuss out of dinner, and without sacrificing flavor.
More veggies on ours plates is never a bad idea, so grilled asparagus or oven-roasted broccoli are great.
And as a bonus, here’s the recipe for my easy classic margarita! It’s a must for taco or fajita nights. But take note—she’s a potent one!

Skillet full of chicken and veggies with lime wedges.

Quick Tips

If you’re marinating the chicken fajita ingredients for longer than 4 hours, I recommend omitting the lime juice in the marinade; you can simply add it once everything is in the pan cooking. Marinating meats in acidic liquids like citrus for too long can break down the meat and result in a mushy texture.
If you’re making this on a whim and aren’t marinating, that’s fine! Toss the chicken and veggies into a bowl with the marinade ingredients until well combined, and move on with the instructions.
To ensure an even cook on everything, move most of the chicken strips to the bottom of the pan when cooking so they get most of the heat. This way, both the veggies and the chicken will be cooked to where you want them at the same time.
To minimize waste, I like to label my zip-top bags as I use them, wash them out, and use them again for the same type of meal. I have a “chicken fajita” zip-top bag tucked away in my drawer!

Are Chicken Fajitas Healthy?

Chicken fajitas, whether in a restaurant or at home, definitely make for a complete and nutritious meal. They’re high in protein and fiber, and they offer up various vitamins and minerals with the variety of vegetables included.

Check the bottom of the recipe card for full chicken fajita nutrition facts!

How Do You Eat Fajitas Without Tortillas

Whether you’re doing low-carb or simply can’t eat tortillas for any reason, fajitas are great served in a lettuce wrap! You can stuff ’em and dress ’em up all the same.

Ingredients

*Exact measurements included in the recipe card below.

Chicken breasts. Making chicken fajitas with chicken breasts is super simple. I like using chicken breasts because they’re lean and can easily be cut into strips. You could also use tenderloins or, if you really want to, dark meat from chicken thighs. Just go for boneless and skinless.
Olive oil. You’ll use enough in your marinade, so you won’t likely have to add more while cooking, but have it on hand just in case the pan gets a bit dry.
Onions. I always use red when I make fajitas—I love the pop of color! But you can use white or yellow onions if preferred.
Bell peppers. I opted for the sweeter red and yellow varieties. You could also use green, just note that they’re less sweet and have a subtle bitterness.
Seasoning. I use taco seasoning because I always have it on hand, and the difference between the two seasonings are negligible. Use either one!
Limes. It would be a crime to not include limes. They brighten things up beautifully!
Flour tortillas. Technically you can use any kind of tortilla you like, but I vote flour tortillas always. They’re soft and flexible, therefore they can handle the more hefty ingredients of a fajita.
Toppings. This is where you get to make the fajitas your own. Tomatoes, lettuce, jalapeño, sour cream, cheese…whatever makes the perfect fajita for you, include it.

How to Make Chicken Fajitas on the Stove

Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips—about 1/2-inch thick—and place them into a large gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag. Slice up your veggies and add them to the bag as well.

Chicken Fajitas Marinade

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and about 2 heaping TBSP of seasoning. Pour this mixture into the bag over the chicken and veggies, then seal the bag, pushing out any excess air.

Give the bag a good shaking and massage the bag lightly to ensure the seasoned oil coats everything. Then pop the bag into the fridge for up to 4 hours. (See the Quick Tips above if you’re marinating them for longer.)

Chicken breasts cut into strips on a cutting board.

Gallon zip-top bag full of marinated chicken fajita ingredients.

How to Cook Chicken Fajitas With Chicken Breasts

Remove the marinating bag from the fridge about 15 minutes prior to cook time. Letting the chicken come to room temp helps to get a more even cook.

Heat a skillet (I love using a good cast iron) to high-heat. When it’s hot, reduce the temperature to medium-high and dump the contents of the bag into the skillet and stir everything around, arranging the chicken to be touching the bottom of the pan so it gets the most heat.

Let them cook untouched for about 3 minutes, then give everything a good stir, flipping the chicken tenders over in the process to cook for another 3 minutes. Note: Chicken tenders typically take 6 minutes total to cook on the stovetop, but because they’re sharing the pan with so many veggies, it’s good to plan to give them an extra few minutes.

Once the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160-165º F (using a meat thermometer), they’ll be cooked through and still tender and juicy! Remove the skillet from the heat.

Skillet on stovetop with chicken strips, peppers, and onions.

Set your toppings and extras up in somewhat of an assembly line and start building your fajitas!

Baking Chicken Fajitas in the Oven

Here’s a quick rundown on how to bake these chicken fajitas instead.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Transfer the marinated chicken and veggies to the baking sheet, spreading everything out evenly so nothing is crowded.
Pop the pan in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160-165º F. Check in at the 15-minute mark.
When done, remove from the oven and serve!

Storage, Freezing, & Reheating

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
If you’d like to freeze these, you can freeze them prior to cooking. Once your chicken and veggies are all mixed up in the gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag with the seasoning, label the bag with dish name and date, and pop it in the freezer. Transfer it to the fridge the night before you plan on cooking it up for dinner, and cook as per the instructions.
To reheat, you can either pop them back into a skillet and reheat over medium-low heat until heated through, or microwave it in 25-second increments until you reach your desired temperature. They make for a super yummy next-day meal!

Chicken on tortilla prepared with toppings with bowls of cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo next to it.

Have You Made This Recipe?

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