Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (2024)

Here at Our Best bites we specialize in practical, delicious ideas to help you get dinner on the table for your families. We share a LOT of different types of recipes and content around here, but we know you especially love family friendly dinners so I have a REALLY good one for you today. These Sheet Pan Fajitas are ridiculously easy to make. With just a few minutes prep time, you can pop them in the oven and have just enough time to set the table and gather all the fixings, and then they’re ready! Dinner in under 30 minutes. Thousands of you have made these and loved these and ranked them as our top recipe of the year!

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Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (1)

Types of Fajita Recipes

We’ve got a couple other fajita recipes here on Our Best Bites, and they all have their place. For the grill, you cannot beat our Classic Fajita recipe. It requires a long marinade and its tangy, smoky flavor profile is beloved by readers around the world as one of our all-time most popular recipes! For those times where you need to just dump everything in a slow cooker, we have my easySlow Cooker Steak Fajitas. Super tender steak and so easy and delicious. Set it and forget it.

These days the recipe I tend to make the most are these Sheet Pan Fajitas. You cannot beat the convenience of a one-pan meal and a simple yet flavorful dry rub gives these fajitas out0-of-this-world flavor without drowning everything on a pan like a marinade would.

Making the Dry Rub

I’m using seasonings that most of you probably have in your pantries already: Kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and if you have any- True Lime. I buy this crystallized fresh lime in a large shaker bottle on Amazon and use it on evvvverything. If you don’t have it, no worries. We’ll give these a squeeze of fresh lime.

As I mentioned before, we’re using all dry seasonings because there’s plenty of moisture in the chicken and vegetables and we want these to caramelize and roast (not simmer!)

Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (2)

Chicken Choice

You can certainly try this recipe with boneless skinless chicken breast, but I prefer thighs for some very specific reasons. Aside from the fact that chicken thighs are so much more flavorful in a recipe like this, they are also much easier to cook. Chicken breasts need to be cooked to a certain temperature and as soon as they pass that, they’re suddenly dry and chewy. It’s hard to mess up chicken thighs. You can overcook them and they’re still juicy and tender. On a sheet pan meal, you’re cooking several different things on the same pan and it’s really nice to have some flexibility in case everything isn’t done at the exact same time. Did I mention they taste so much better in this recipe? Buy boneless skinless ones and then use a sharp pair of clean scissors or kitchen shears to trim excess fat if you like.

Add the Seasoning Mix

I slice up my chicken and vegetables and then use plastic gloves so I can just toss everything together with my hands! Drizzle with a few tablespoons oil (our Lime Olive Oil is my personal favorite, here) and that seasoning mix. I use an extra large sheet pan (I get them here, they’re fantastic and so useful. I pretty much use this size for everything!) and this just gets tossed in the oven.

Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (3)

Cook the Sheet Pan Fajitas

If your oven has a convection setting, use it. Convection will circulate hot air and help get everything kind of toasty brown like a grill would. If not, you can always broil quickly at the end if you like.

Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (4)

I toss on a handful of chopped cilantro at the end and a big squeeze of fresh lime juice. These are DIVINE.

Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (5)

Now you can obviously serve these traditionally in tortillas with all the fixings.

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But some other ways we love eating these, depending on nutrition preferences, are:

-Over shredded iceberg or mixed greens
-Over a bed of cauliflower rice
-In a bowl of rice and beans (use the quick steam rice bags and canned beans for a fast meal!)
-Simply in a bowl with avocado and sour cream

Any way you do it, I think you’ll love this one! Let me know what you think!

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Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (7)

Sheet Pan Fajitas

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 27 reviews

  • Author: Sara Wells
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Description

Quick and easy sheet pan dinner featuring juicy flavorful chicken with roasted bell peppers and onions. Perfect week night meal! Served my family of 6 just perfectly.

Ingredients

1.52 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and sliced (see note)
1 large onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers (or 3 small/med ones), sliced
34 tablespoons olive oil (or other oil of your choice) I prefer ourLime Olive Oil
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
23 teaspoons True Lime, optional
handful of cilantro

1 lime
optional for serving: sour cream, guacamole/avocado, tortillas, rice and beans, etc.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Have a large sheet pan ready (cover with foil or parchment for easy clean-up).

Place sliced chicken, onions, and peppers in an extra large mixing bowl. Drizzle on oil and all seasonings. Toss to coat. (Tip: I keep Nitrile gloves in my kitchen and use them for things like this- tossing with your hands is much easier!)

Spread chicken and pepper mixture out evenly on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes (closer to 20 with convection) until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. If desired, place under broiler for a quick minute to brown.

Remove from oven and if desired, sprinkle cilantro over everything and give it a big squeeze of fresh lime juice (you might not need fresh lime if you used True Lime, but I say never enough lime.)

Serve with tortillas and traditional fixings, or over a bed of salad or veggies or rice and beans, etc.

Notes

I like using extra large sheet pans for most of my cooking, and they’re the perfect size for this recipe. If you are using a standard sheet pan, you will have to let me know if it all fits- if you’re worried there’s too much, just split between 2 pans and pop both in the oven!

*I use a full 2lbs and it’s generously seasoned.

Easy Sheet Pan Fajita Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much meat do you need for fajitas per person? ›

Fajitas start with the meat: You'll need 1/4 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, chicken cutlets or skirt steak for each person. If you're using chicken breasts, pound them until they're about 1/2 inch thick; if you're using skirt steak, cut each steak in half so that it fits easily in your skillet.

When cooking fajitas do you cook meat or veggies first? ›

This recipe promises to be a one-pan dinner, but to ensure that the chicken's juices don't steam the vegetables — making them soggy — cook the vegetables first. Transfer them to a plate or cutting board, then cook the chicken in the same pan before bringing things together.

What kind of onion is good for fajitas? ›

Step 1: Choose the Right Onion

Red onions are known for their milder flavor and vibrant color, while yellow onions offer a natural sweetness that can pair well with spicier peppers. White onions have a more pungent flavor that can add intensity to your fajitas.

How many people does 1 pound of fajita feed? ›

I like to always say it's about one pound per three people...but let's be honest, I can almost eat a whole pound by myself lol.

How much meat do I need for 20 guests? ›

What weight of meat per person to order?
Boneless MeatNumber of PeopleBone in meat
8lb / 3.64kg16 – 1712lb / 5.44kg
9lb / 4.08kg18 – 1914lb / 6.35kg
10lb / 4.54kg20 – 2116lb / 7.25kg
11lb / 4.98kg22 – 2318lb / 8.16kg
8 more rows

How do you cook fajita meat so it's tender? ›

Tricks to Tender Fajita Meat
  1. Cut the Beef Against the Grain. Slicing meat against the grain helps tenderize it. By looking closely at the steak, you'll be able to see the direction the grain is running. ...
  2. Marinade with an Acid. Acids like citrus juice or vinegar tenderize meat by breaking down its fibers.
Feb 2, 2024

What is the best meat for fajitas? ›

Skirt steak is the traditional cut used for fajitas. It used to be inexpensive, but now it's not so cheap; oftentimes flank steak costs less. Either will be a good choice.

What is the most tender meat for fajitas? ›

What Is the Best Cut of Beef to Use for Steak Fajitas? You can use either skirt steak or flank steak for fajitas. Although the two cuts come from different parts of the cow, both skirt and flank steak soak up marinades well, cook quickly, and, when sliced thinly against the grain, taste tender and flavorful.

What do they squirt on fajitas? ›

After the meat was cooked, they would take the plates out with tongs, put them on top of the wood, squirt a little oil on the plate (which makes the sizzling noise) then add the veggies, and the meat on top of that. Hope that answers your question!

What do they spray on fajitas to make them sizzle? ›

Sorry, but fajita sizzle isn't real. TikTokers have discovered restaurants just add water or a sauce to make it appear like the dish is cooking. A viral TikTok showed a restaurant worker pouring water onto a dish to make it steam and sizzle.

Why is my fajita meat chewy? ›

if you don't hear that searing sound right away then it'll boil. Alton brown once said,"the difference between and sear and simmer is the heat". u don't want to simmer the beef that is why you are getting chewy beef. your stewing your beef in its juices.so be sure to have high heat.

Which bell peppers are best for fajitas? ›

Red Bell Pepper - These peppers are sweet and are great for adding color and texture to dishes like fajitas and stir fry recipes. Yellow Bell Pepper or Orange Bell Peppers - These peppers are ideal for adding extra flavor and vibrancy. White Onion - Red onions make an excellent substitution.

How many people does 2 pounds of fajitas feed? ›

I cook fajitas for my work (about 30 people) and I try to do 1/2 pound per person. I also do half pound per person. I do one pound of beans per eight people. Beans are cheap, so you can always throw in an extra pound to be safe.

How many pounds of fajita meat for 30 people? ›

For 30 people that means about 10-15 lbs of cooked meat. For flank steak and chicken breasts you can count on about 30% cooking shrinkage, so you are going to need about 14-21 lbs of raw meat to start with.

How many pounds of taco meat do I need for 20 people? ›

Most people will eat about 1 to 2 ounces of meat per taco. For 20 people figure at least 70 to 80 tacos. That's about 10 pounds of meat roughly. People tend to fill tacos with solid meats like not ground beef or chicken with less meat fillings than ground meats.

How many pounds of beef do you need for fajitas? ›

1 ½ - 2 pounds skirt or flank steak. 1 tablespoon oil (high heat) 2 medium white onions, sliced.

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