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!
I’ve made this several times I love it! We shred the chicken instead of cutting into strips. I’ve found that the oil is not necessary. I used it the first time I made this, forgot it the second, and haven’t used it since! Oh and sometimes I quarter a lime and throw that in towards the end. Sooooo good!
I doubled it and used frozen pepper slices and it was perfect! Baking time is the same, only use a bigger pan
what size was your pan? I’m hoping to double this recipe as well. Did you double everything?
I don’t know if anyone has tried this, but it’s soooooo good and went way too quickly in our house. Has anyone doubled the recipe? What is the cooking time?
Awesome and easy weeknight meal! We plan to add it to our rotation. I love how it makes so few dishes and it comes out fantastic.
Just wondering if anyone has mixed this up and frozen it before cooking? It looks like it would freeze well, I would like to make a double batch and freeze one for later use.
Freezing might cause it to get too “juicy”. When you freeze vegetables the ice crystals poke holes in the cell walls, which is why they get limp and seep water when they thaw. That might mess up the texture of this dish (but I’ve never tried it).
Oh. My. Gosh. The Easy Oven Fajitas is absolutely delicious, not to mention, healthy. I used red onions, one green and one red bell pepper. To stretch out leftovers, I used two chicken breasts. I served the chicken fajitas with Spanish rice, shredded cheddar cheese and taco sauce. I will definitely make this recipe again next time. Thank you, Beth!!!
We loved this. And it was so easy. I was able to prepare it the night before and have my oldest put it in the oven when he got home from school so that we could eat when I get home from work. Made a crazy night so much easier.
Awesome recipe! Thanks for this site :)
Best chicken fajitas I have ever had and so easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe Beth!!!!
I can’t wait to try this! Hopefully, my husband won’t notice the veggie to chicken ratio.
Sue
Mmmm these look so good! I’m fajita crazy, so will definitely be trying this soon. If you haven’t seen this recipe for stove top fajitas, I highly recommend it. I just use my regular cast iron skillet and they’re perfect!
http://iowagirleats.com/2016/01/15/the-best-chicken-fajitas/
This looks delicious! I’m thinking of making it for a family friend that is dealing with some health issues. The problem is she can’t have salt. Do you think it would make a big difference if I left out the salt?
This is excellent! I also have used a pound of shrimp and added sliced zucchini for extra dose of veggies in the mix. It is an easy, no fail dinr. Love it!
I’ll have to try the fajitas with shrimp next time. I LOVE shrimp!!
Can you make this with beef strips?
Hmm, I haven’t tried that. I’m not sure if they’ll get tough in the oven with this method.
Yes you can! I’ve made this recipe countless times over the years and I alternate between beef and chicken! I just get a cheap cut of beef, like round steaks (and then cut them into strips) or beef already cut into strips for stir fry. I follow the recipe exactly as written and my beef has never been tough. It may help that I cut the strips very thin to stretch out the meat since I don’t use much.
This is soooo much easier than stir frying it in a pan and it leaves me time to make the guacamole and Mexican rice while it cooks. Thank you.