The perfect weeknight meal, these Chicken Fajitas only take 30 minutes to cook! Perfectly seared chicken with bell peppers and onions all made in one pan!
1½poundsboneless skinless chicken breasts2 to 3 pieces
1onionsliced
3bell peppersseeded and sliced into strips
To serve
tortillas
sour cream
lime wedges
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of oil and the zest and juice of the limes. Add the cumin, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and black pepper. Stir to form a paste. Add the chicken breasts and toss to coat.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and let rest.
Add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently until starting to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
While peppers cook, slice the chicken breasts into thin strips. Stir the chicken into the vegetable mixture. (If your chicken was undercooked when sliced, cook for a few minutes.) Remove from the heat and serve immediately with tortillas and toppings.
Video
Notes
If the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them to even thickness, so they cook in the same amount of time. If the chicken breast is too thick in the middle, it leads to an overcooked exterior by the time the interior cooks through.
I like the sear that I get by using a cast-iron skillet. If you do not have one, you can use a stainless steel pan or a non-stick skillet.
If you have a smaller skillet, cook the fajitas in batches. You want to avoid overcrowding the skillet for the best sear.
When adding the chicken breasts to the pan, don’t move them around as the chicken will stick. Once the chicken’s seared, it will release from the pan, and you can flip the breast without it sticking to the pan and tearing.
If you’re unsure if the chicken’s cooked, use a meat thermometer. The chicken should be 165F.
Try to slice the bell peppers as evenly as possible so they’ll cook through at the same time.
If you’re not a fan of tortillas, you can serve the chicken fajitas as a lettuce wrap.