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. 😄
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
Nutrition
Video
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 an absolutely awesome recipe. Made it for my husband and me and made the fajita seasoning. The only change was that I cut the salt in half and didn’t miss it. This is a quick, easy and delicious way to make fajitas. Also a great dish to fix when you need that dish to take to someone sick, etc. We actually served the meat mixture over a bed of lettuce, added some chopped fresh tomatoes and some salsa. We also made with some low carb tortillas. No more sautéing on the stove….this is easy and great.
Totally awesome, just like all your recipes!!!! So glad I found your blog. I need your cookbook.
We love this recipe, thanks! I sometimes make it with pork tenderloin cut in strips instead of the chicken. And throw in any veggies we have. Tonight will be peppers, onions, zucchini and summer squash,and mushrooms. It’s always tasty and easy, thank you!
Hi! Thanks for all the great recipes! Would this one work with fish? I’m thinking of swai fillets?
I don’t know if fish could hold up to such a long cooking time in the oven. It *might* get dry. I’d have to experiment with it to know for sure.
I love this recipe, I make it at home at and it helps when I need to make something quick to make.
I do, however, run into the problem where I feel my chicken does not have the taste of the spices I added in and tastes bland sometimes. I make sure to follow the instructions, but I get upset when this happens.
Tasty and easy to make–chicken was a mix of breasts/thighs, we used red onions, and we topped ours with pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese, and avocado slices.
We made this tonight and loved it! I was wondering would you roughly know the nutrition info to this as a meal? I have all the info individually and can try and figure it out but thought I’d ask first 😊
I’m sorry, I don’t. :(
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! I have a few poblano peppers to use up…do you think I could use those in this recipe and not burn my face off? :)
Apparently poblanos vary in heat quite a bit! All the poblanos I’ve used have been completely mild, but I’ve heard from other readers that they can be quite spicy. So, I guess it just depends on the strength of the pepper and your tolerance for heat. :)
Hey love this recipe! I have some leftover homemade tortillas and will try this recipe this week. The recipe I use is “best ever homemade flour tortillas” from thesucrecafe.com. this recipe is easy to follow, cheaper than store bought and they freeze beautifully.
Sorry it’s thecafesucrefarine.com
How do you feel about pre-mixing the fajita seasoning? I have this meal about once a month (it’s wonderful!), and while it is pretty quick, I find measuring spices frustrating. If I pre-mix seasoning for a a few batches, then next time I have this I could just measure ~3 tablespoons. Would that work?
Absolutely! :)
YUM!! I loved the fajita seasoning mix!! We used to buy the pre-packaged mix but never again! So good! I’ve lost count of the recipes I’ve made from your site but I’ve never been dissapointed!
Made it for dinner last night since I had all of the ingredients in the house and it was a hit! VERY easy to assemble earlier in the day (I made one container of the veggies, 2/3 of the seasoning and 1 Tbsp. of oil and the other container had the chicken with the rest of the seasoning and the oil) and then just dump it into the pan and toss it in the oven. Dinner was on the table in 45 minutes from me coming home and everyone from the 12 year old to the 55 year old raved. Thanks so much for a new family favorite!
Doubled the recipe and it is fantastic! All 5 of us loved it. Quick and easy for a week night meal. Great flavor and moist chicken.
Going to try this tomorrow, do you thimk roasting on lg baking sheet would work? I want it to get a little charred.
Yes, I do think that would work… as long as it’s a rimmed baking sheet. :)
Made this in the morning before work so when my husband got home he could put it on the oven to cook. Turned out so delicious – him and I both enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.