Oooh, these Easy Oven Fajitas are my new favorite thing!!
I love fajitas, but have had a hard time replicating their smoky goodness at home. I don’t have a grill or a cast iron griddle, so it’s been difficult to achieve that authentic fajita flavor. I’ve seen this oven method around the internet a lot lately, so I thought I’d give it a shot. SO glad I did!!!
Roasting the meat and vegetables in the oven gives them a slightly charred edge and a hard to replicate sweetness that you just can’t get in a plain old skillet. Even better yet, you don’t have to stand over the stove and babysit it while it cooks. Set it and forget it! YES. (can you tell how excited I am about this?)
Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are usually significantly more expensive than green bell peppers, but you can use any mix that fits your budget. Despite using a couple of more expensive colored peppers, I used more vegetables than meat to keep costs low. The meat to veggie ratio ended up being perfect once everything had cooked down. If you want to make this vegetarian, try this Chipotle Portobello Oven Fajita recipe.
Oh, and although the ingredient list may look long, most of that is the fajita seasoning mix. If you want, you can just buy a packet of fajita seasoning instead, although they’re charging you a great deal for the simple act of stirring spices together.
Goes great with: Warm Corn and Avocado Salad, Flour Tortillas, Southwest Spiced Corn, (not) Refried Beans, Pico de Gallo, Cilantro Lime Rice
Post updated 2-27-17
Easy Oven Fajitas
- 1 Tbsp chili powder $0.30
- ½ Tbsp paprika $0.15
- ½ tsp onion powder $0.05
- ¼ tsp garlic powder $0.03
- ¼ tsp cumin $0.03
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper $0.02
- 1 tsp sugar $0.02
- ½ tsp salt $0.02
- 2 small (or 1 lg.) onion $0.37
- 3 bell peppers (any color) $3.98
- 1 lb. chicken breast* $1.99
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.08
- 1 medium lime $0.33
- 8 (6-inch) tortillas $0.57
- ½ cup sour cream (optional) $0.50
- ¼ bunch cilantro (optional) $0.23
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all of the spices for the fajita seasoning in a small bowl and set aside (chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, sugar, and salt).
- Cut the onion and bell peppers into ¼-inch wide strips. Place them in a large 13x15-inch casserole dish or a large baking sheet. Slice the chicken breast into very thin strips and add it to the casserole dish with the vegetables.
- Drizzle the vegetable oil over the chicken and vegetables, then sprinkle the fajita seasoning mix over top. Use your hands to toss the ingredients until everything is well coated in oil and seasoning. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring once half way through. Squeeze the juice from half of the lime over top of the meat and vegetables after they come out of the oven.
- While the fajita mix bakes, toast each tortilla in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, until lightly browned on each side. Scoop a small amount of meat and vegetables into the center of each tortilla. Top with a few sprigs of cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, and an extra squeeze of lime if desired.
**The original version of this recipe included ½ Tbsp cornstarch in the seasoning mix.
See This Recipe in Action:
Step By Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, stir together 1 Tbsp chili powder (this is a mild blend, not hot red chiles), 1/2 Tbsp paprika, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp sugar. The sugar helps the vegetables caramelize and gives the dish a very subtle sweetness.
Slice three bell peppers and two small onions (or one large onion) into thin, 1/4-inch wide strips. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are usually more expensive than green, so use a mix of peppers that fits your budget.
Slice 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast into thin strips as well. Place the sliced bell peppers, onion, and chicken in an extra-large 13×15 casserole dish, or a large baking sheet. You want to avoid piling the ingredients in so deep that they begin to stew in their juices in the oven, instead of browning, so you’ll need the largest dish available. Sheet pans work well if you don’t have an extra-large casserole dish.
Drizzle 2 Tbsp cooking oil over the meat and vegetables, then toss the ingredients until everything is well coated in oil and spices.
Now it’s ready to go into the oven.
Roast the chicken and vegetables for 35-40 minutes, stirring once half way through, or until the vegetables have softened slightly and are a bit brown on the edges.
Squeeze the juice from a fresh lime over the dish.
I really like to toast my tortillas in a dry skillet until they’re a little speckled with brown on each side before building my fajitas (I do this while the filling is in the oven). Top your fajitas with a little fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
This was perfect! My husband and I enjoyed it immensely! Thanks, Beth!
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Making this tonight with steak! Thanks Beth!! :)
How was it w/ the steak?
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I’m glad you’re giving a shout out to fajitas! They’re a great way to get rid of left over veggies (musrooms, a few brocoli florets, peppers, anything really). Fajitas are my version of a Sunday “leftover” stew. They usually translate well into different types of meals. I’ll have it in the fajita wrap for dinner and then throw the veggies and chicken over a salad for lunch! Then I can use left over beans to make a frozen burrito (thanks to your recipe) to eat another day. Last time I made it, I had an orange that was about to go bad, so I used that instead of a lime. Yummy flavor.
Usually I marinate the chicken, cook it in a pain with all of the spices/juices. Once cooked, then I remove the chicken and then cook the veggies in the same pan. But why do two steps when I can just throw it all in the casserole dish? GREAT idea!
Just made these tonight. Everyone loved them! Making them was quick and easy. Thanks!!! I will be trying your black bean quesadillas later this week. Can’t wait.
Anon – I’m actually very inexperienced with tofu, so I’m not sure what type would be best with this. Instead, I’d just add more vegetables like mushrooms and carrots (cut into matchsticks). You could also add a few beans for more protein.
Beth – I love your blog and thank you for continuing to put up recipes. What kind of tofu would you substitute for the chicken (as a vegetarian)? Would you recommend something other than tofu?
Ella – Ha! Yes, I did mean lime… Thanks for catching that!! (fixing now)
When you say to squeeze lemon juice over it (in the picture captions), do you mean lime?
Add another person to the ‘going to make tonight’ list … this looks super easy and yummy. I need some more easy dishes to add to my list!
I am making these tonight- went to the store yesterday after seeing your post. Also grabbed white mushrooms as that is always my favorite in fajitas. Will report back but wanted to say a quick thanks for the great idea and post making dinner tonight easy for me.
@Beth M – ooh good idea! I wonder if something like very thinly sliced acorn or butternut squash would work for winter months, and maybe zucchini or asparagus for warmer months? mmm.
Devora – Sometimes I like mushrooms and carrots in my fajitas :D
I’m going to make these tomorrow. Aldi’s has three packs of assorted peppers for 1.29 this week. Gonna skip the chicken and make refried beans with the canned beans I have on hand. Gonna try your refried bean recipe next week!
I LOVE oven fajitas. Yum. Sometimes, if I’m short on something, I’ll add a can of diced tomatos. Makes them a bit juicier, but still super delicious.
This looks awesome! Unfortunately I super dislike green bell peppers (one of the very very few things I can’t stand). What would you suggest to substitute? Besides “more red bell peppers” :)
I just made these tonight and didn’t have bell peppers, but I did have a whole bag of fresh green beans. The green beans have a nice, mild sweetness and held up well in the oven. I like green bell peppers but I don’t like when they get too soft from cooking.
Sub Mushrooms for the peppers,
Substitute zucchini if you don’t like bell pepper – I add it in anyway.
These are soooooo good!! And, they’re super cheap and easy! Thank you :)
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Hummm, merci du partage !!
Oh yum. Now I want fajitas. :D
Wheresssss the cheese? Just kidding :)
I love it, no stress oven fajitas!
Toni – I only used 2 tablespoons for the whole recipe, most of which gets left behind in the casserole dish!
2 tablespoons of seasoning for the whole dish you mean? And then you saved the rest? Not a big cook. Easy for me to mess something like that up! lol
I meant 2 Tbsp of oil (Toni asked how much oil I used). :) The seasoning mix in the ingredient list does make approximately 2 Tbsp of seasoning, though, all of which is used in the recipe.
How much oil would you say that you used? Love this idea, probably much faster than doing it in cast iron, anyway, since you can fit much more at once in a casserole dish. Trying this out next week!
This looks so yummy! I definitely will be making it this week.
Such a great idea doing this in the oven – what a time saver! Going to try this out at the weekend!