Healthy Chicken Fajitas

Good morning! Today I have a delicious restaurant-worthy recipe to share with you.

It’s not uncommon for me to order chicken fajitas as an entrée (and have plenty for leftovers) or even split them with friends any time I visit a Mexican restaurant. I love chicken fajitas, and I have to give my husband credit where credit is due.

He made a batch of fajitas for lunch the other day, and I went ahead and had more for dinner and then another serving again for lunch the next day. What can I say? I’m officially hooked.

The good news is this recipe is both tasty and healthy. Marinating the chicken takes the majority of the prep time, but once that is done (you could even prepare that in the morning!), it only takes about twenty minutes to whip together.

Keep things simple by serving the fajitas as is, or dress them up in a tortilla with all the fixings. It’s completely up to you!

I can already tell this is going to be one we will turn to time and time again.

So easy, and so good!

 

Ingredients

1 – 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

1 large onion, sliced lengthwise into strips

3 bell peppers of choice (we used green, red, and yellow), sliced into strips

2 Tbsp. grape seed oil

salt to taste

 

Marinade

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. grape seed oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced

1/3 cup cilantro

 

Toppings – if desired

tortillas (I prefer to use corn, wheat, or carb smart)

sliced avocado

thinly sliced lettuce

shredded cheese

fresh cilantro

salsa

guacamole

 

servings: about 4-6 large fajitas

 

 

Directions

1. Prepare your chicken by trimming the fat (if desired).

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for your marinade. Put marinade and chicken in a sealable bag.

3. Set chicken aside for at least one hour.

4. On a clean cutting board, slice the onions and peppers. If you’re trying to kill time while the chicken is marinating, get your toppings together.

5. In a large non-stick skillet (a large cast iron frying pan would work best!), add a Tbsp. of grape seed, canola, or other type of oil. As soon as it begins to smoke, lay the chicken breasts in the pan. You might have to cook the chicken in batches if they are large. Cook chicken over medium heat for about 3 minutes until it has a good sear. Flip to sear on the other side for another 3 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked all the way through!

6. Once chicken is done, pull them off of the heat and cook the vegetables in the same pan.

7. Add another Tbsp. of oil to the pan and spread the onions and peppers into an even layer. Let them cook for about two minutes, or until onions turn translucent and peppers get tender.

8. While vegetables are cooking, slice chicken. Add chicken back into the pan to stir everything together.

9. Serve fajitas as is, in tortillas, and/or with the toppings mentioned above!

 

Since the chicken requires marinating for flavor, it’s important to let it sit in the marinade mixture for at least an hour. If you want dinner to come together quickly after a long day’s work, try prepping it in the morning.

You’ll want to store it in the refrigerator (for up to 8 hours), but be sure to take it out about an hour before you want to cook it to get it closer to room temperature.

You could even get really prep-happy and pre-slice the vegetables.

(I love how colorful they are!)

Once the chicken is marinated and the veggies are sliced into thin 1/4 inch pieces, this recipe comes together in a pinch!

Enjoy the fajitas inside a tortilla, or cut down on carbs by serving them over thinly sliced lettuce.

I like to use smaller corn tortillas or carb smart tortillas like these. You can usually find them in the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store!

Top in shredded cheese, cilantro (I can’t get enough of it), salsa, guacamole, or whatever you’d like.

Enjoy!

 

Questions of the Morning

• How do you prefer to eat fajitas?

• Do you like order veggie, chicken, steak, shrimp or a combo?

 

I like to switch between chicken and shrimp fajitas. Scott loves steak, so we’ll often order a combination if it’s an option and we are splitting. I usually ask for corn tortillas (they’re thin, so sometimes you have to double up) and always have leftovers to eat in tortillas or even to put over rice or a salad the next day. They’re one of my very favorite meals!