These Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas have been a Budget Bytes staple recipe since I first posted them eight years ago! I love fajitas, but they require a super hot griddle to get that nice smoky flavor, which also means a lot of smoky smell in my house and standing over a super hot stove. Not my favorite way to spend my evening. So I make baked fajitas instead. Is it exactly the same? No, BUT it’s almost completely hands-off (yay) and you get some nice caramelization on the edges of the peppers and onions, which gives you a similar char effect. I’ll save the real deal fajitas for when I’m at a restaurant and not doing the cooking. 😄
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What Kind of Sheet Pan to Use
You definitely want the largest sheet pan (or baking dish) you can find for this recipe. It’s imperative that the chicken and vegetables are not too crowded on the baking sheet otherwise the steam will get trapped as they bake and you won’t get that nice caramelization that only happens in a dry heat environment. I’m using a 13×16 inch baking sheet here and in the original version of this recipe I used a 13×15 inch glass baking dish.
Make it Fit in your Budget
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 been cooked down. If you want to make these Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas vegetarian, try this Chipotle Portobello Oven Fajita recipe.
Make Your Own Fajita Seasoning or Buy Pre-Made
The ingredient list below might look long, but most of that is the fajita seasoning mix. So if you’re looking for a short cut or your kitchen spice cabinet is not well-stocked, you can simply use a packet of store-bought fajita seasoning.
Toppings for Chicken Fajitas
I like to keep my chicken fajitas really simple with just a squeeze of lime, maybe some fresh cilantro, and a small dollop of sour cream, but there are so many other things you could use to top your chicken fajitas. Try these toppings
- Shredded cheese
- Cotija cheese
- Green onions
- Salsa
- Guacamole or sliced avocado
- Pickled red onion
- Pico de Gallo
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Servings 4 (2 fajitas each)Ingredients
FAJITA SEASONING
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 1/2 Tbsp paprika ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp cumin ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1 tsp sugar ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
FAJITAS
- 2 small yellow onions (or one large) ($0.57)
- 3 bell peppers, any color ($3.69)
- 1 lb. chicken breast ($6.24)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 lime ($0.30)
- 8 6-inch tortillas ($1.28)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (optional) ($0.90)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro (optional) ($0.22)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. 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 1/4-inch wide strips. Slice the chicken breast into thin strips. Add the chicken and vegetables to a large baking sheet or casserole dish.
- Drizzle the cooking 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. Spread the chicken and vegetables out over the baking sheet evenly.
- Bake the chicken and vegetables in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Squeeze the juice from half of the lime over top of the meat and vegetables after they come out of the oven.
- To serve, 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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Enamelware Sheet Pan
Nutrition
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What to serve with oven baked fajitas
Need a side dish to go with your Oven Fajitas? Try one of these awesome sides
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas – 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 on a large sheet pan (13×16-inch). 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. You can also use an extra large casserole dish, if you don’t have a large sheet pan.
Drizzle 2 Tbsp cooking oil over the meat and vegetables, followed by the fajita spice mix, then toss the ingredients until everything is well coated in oil and spices.
Now that everything is coated in oil and spices, it’s ready to go into the oven.
Roast the chicken and vegetables for 35-40 minutes at 400ºF, stirring once halfway through, or until the fajita veggies have softened slightly and are a bit brown on the edges.
Squeeze the fresh lime juice over the chicken and fajita veggies.
Serve hot with tortillas, extra lime wedges, sour cream, cilantro, or whatever other fajita toppings you like!
This is by far the best recipe that I have tried recently. My husband and I seriously loved the recipe and the idea of making them in the oven. Great idea…this will become a regular in our home :)
This was easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
I made this last night and let me just say that these were the easiest, most flavorful, least messiest fajitas I’ve ever made in my life! Beth, I actually started my own recipe review blog because of your wonderful blog! Granted, this past year has been overwhelmingly busy so it’s been about 9 months since I’ve been able to post a review, but I’m hoping that some big changes in my career will happen soon, giving me time to actually cook again! I scrolled through the comments before I made them and saw someone suggest liquid smoke–I added 2 tsp to the whole mix and it came out amazing! I was worried it would be too much, but it wasn’t. Thank you for keeping my belly satisfied :)
-Rachel
Delicious! I didn’t have enough peppers on hand but followed exactly otherwise. Next time I’ll make sure I have enough for better ratios of vegetables to chicken. We’re having the leftovers in quesadillas for lunch tomorrow.
Loved this recipe, such an easy delicious meal! I saw a lot of people asked about using flank steak, and I’m wondering the same thing. Have you tried it yet, and are any changes to the recipe necessary? Thanks!
I haven’t been able to try it yet, no. The one thing I know about flank steak, though, is that it can be tough if over cooked. So, this long cooking method might not be great for it. You could do the veggies in the oven and just do the steak very fast in a skillet, though. Flank steak should be cooked to “medium” at most, never “well done”.
Thanks for the tip! :)
Great Info…Great site !!!
Oh–and I have a question too! I usually double or triple this when I make it (and even then, nothing gets thrown away…we eat every last bit). But for some reason, I have this intuition that I shouldn’t pile up the chicken and vegetables too high, but rather use a second baking dish. Is that actually necessary? For reasons of airflow or surface area or whatever? Or could I bake this mixture three inches deep with no negative effects? Thanks!
Your intuitions are right! If it’s piled too high the moisture will get trapped and your meat and vegetables will actually “stew” in the juices instead of roasting. It definitely makes a difference in the taste and texture. :)
I LOVE this! I’ve made it thrice now, and the boyfriend is addicted, too. :c) He even offers to help slice the vegetables–but only when I make this…haha.
Yesterday, to try and stretch our grocery dollars even further, we made a pot of rice, black beans, and corn alongside this recipe, then combined everything in the tortillas. They weren’t technically fajitas anymore–more like burritos?–but they were still really tasty. I’d recommend that modification for anyone who is on a reeeeeally tight budget!
Made this tonight with portabello mushrooms instead of chicken a and it was divine! Impressed with the seasoning, even as I could not get ahold of cayenne pepper. This will be made soon again!!
OMG! This is a great recipe! Meat is very flavorful and so easy to prepare. I’ve made it twice for just the hubs and I and tonight I am making it for company along with tacos! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful mouthwatering recipe!
I’ve made these many times and we all love them. One question…do you think they’d be ok if I put them together in the evening and cooked them the next night for dinner? I usually prepare them the same day I cook them.
The only issue you might have with that method is that the salt may draw moisture out of the veggies as they sit, causing them to get soggy. That being said, I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure if that would actually end up being a big issue. :)
I didn’t let them sit raw overnight, but I cooked them one evening because my chicken was going to expire and reheated 2 days later and they were still delicious!
You could always keep everything separate until the next day, then combine everything and cook. Keep your veggies in a bag and the chicken in a separate bag, The next day, just toss together with the seasonings.
Ilene– we love this recipe! I often make it the night before, and then bake for Sunday lunch. I haven’t noticed a difference in taste or texture either way… in any case, it’s a great company meal! :)
made this meal last night and was amazed at how delicious it was! It was so easy and just a fun at home dish!
Delicious and so much better than the stovetop method. Thanks!
Yummy!
I made this for dinner and it was sooo yummy!
It was a big hit.