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!
Love, love, love this recipe! I make it at least twice a month. The seasoning is spot-on and the only substitution I make is using smoked paprika instead of regular. It really takes these to the next level, but is a bit more expensive than regular paprika. I also use corn starch to soak up some of the liquid so the sauce isn’t quite so runny. I have substituted steak for chicken when I was feeling particularly bougie and it tasted great too!
This recipe has become our go-to fajita recipe, and we make it at least once a month in our house! The spice combination in the homemade fajita seasoning is so delicious. We’ve even used it for making pan-sauteed fajitas if we don’t plan ahead to do the oven version. The oven-baked version is so simple, though, and makes a great meal prep meal. I even printed the recipe off to put in my go-to recipes binder!
Delicious and easy! My daughter and I enjoyed it. We haven’t had fajitas in forever. Roasted veggies and chicken are so good anyway. Sometime we should make the veggies for a burrito bowl. That would be delicious. Qdoba at home.
super easy to make and tasty along with bonus of an easy clean up!
Great recipe; easy to make. Thanks Beth and Budget Bytes team!
Love, love, love this recipe!!! No need to change anything it is delicious as is!
I have been making this recipe for 5+ years and love it every time. It can be healthy (if you omit all the yummy toppings…), doubled for a crowd and prepped ahead of time!
These are delicious! The spices are good, the amount of peppers and onions are good. I will absolutely make this again. I added ‘Mexican cheese’ and sour cream on top. So simple and tasty.
Your recipe was delicious! My daughter swears by your site. She gave me this recipe and it was out of this world. I didn’t use tortillas. I just made rice and put this on top. I put Mexican cheese as a topping and sour cream. Boy, it was just so delicious! Thank you. !
Been making this recipe since it was originally posted and it’s a staple in our house. We use as fajitas, or chop up for burritos/burrito bowls. The seasoning is so easy to whip up and tastes great.
Yum, yum, yum. I used chicken tights ( for me the breast always dry out to much ) and I also marinaded the chicken with lemon and and orange. This is a keeper. Really easy to make and taste very good.
This was a keeper!
I used boneless chicken thighs instead of breast meat. And I used frozen peppers. Next time I will use fresh or thaw the frozen ones to get rid of liquid. Using a sheet pan will be my pan of choice. I think it will carmelize better than the casserole dish.
All that being said , it was really good. Next time will be even better.
Can I sub the chicken for beef? Would I need to change the spices or cook time?
Hi. Loved this recipe. So easy and tasty. My husband insisted that it needed cheese and salsa but after having it with and without he admitted that the cheese and salsa took away from the flavor. The squeezed lime and cilantro made this dish! Tasted so fresh.
I doubled the recipe. Kept part for us and the bulked it went to a Mealtrain. They loved it as well. Will definitely add to my “make again” list.
Thank you for sharing.
One thing I did different was mixed all the ingredients in a very large bowl. For me it was easier to mix in a deep bowl vice a low sheer pan.
Had a sheet pan warming in the oven. Plus, when I added poured the mix onto the pan it sizzled.
~joyce
We didn’t feel like shredding cheese. Didn’t have any salsa in the house. Just the sour cream and lime. So good.
I made these for dinner last night. The only thing I did differently was that instead of the chicken, I used shredded Thanksgiving turkey from the freezer that I really wanted to use up. I added it and an extra drizzle of oil when I tossed the veggies halfway through. So easy and SO GOOD. I’m eating leftovers tonight (a benefit of being single?) and I’m already planning to make it again soon, next time with chicken! Thank you for the recipe, Beth!
Made just the veggies tonight for a burrito bowl. PERFECT! The seasoning blend went so well with the dish. I will cook with the chicken next time. 😁