Ingredients Meat & Poultry Chicken Chicken Breast Recipes Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas 5.0 (1) Add your rating & review This one-pan chicken dish is a favorite quick weeknight dinner. By Shira Bocar Shira Bocar Shira is food editor at large for Martha Stewart Living. Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 16, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Prep Time: 25 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 4 There is something fun about watching a pan of sizzling hot fajitas come out of a restaurant kitchen, followed by a trail of smoke. What if we told you you could achieve a similar effect in your home kitchen? All you need is a few ingredients and a rimmed baking sheet to make these sheet-pan chicken fajitas that the whole family will love. The flavors of this chicken dinner are simple yet bold and flavorful. The bell peppers and onions become tender and caramelized, releasing their natural sweetness. The moist and tender chicken breasts are seasoned with salt and chili powder, which adds just the right amount of spice. Everything is piled into warm tortillas and topped with all the fixings. Sheet-Pan Meals Are the Easiest Way to Cook—Follow These Pro Tips to Ace the Technique Jake Sternquist Why Use a Sheet Pan for Fajitas? Sheet pan meals have endless benefits. They’re a quick and effortless way to get dinner on the table. Usually, fajitas are made by searing meat and sautéing vegetables in batches in a skillet on the stovetop. By making them on a sheet pan instead, you can cut your time and effort in half. Here’s why we love this sheet pan recipe: Quick cooking: The broiler is your best friend. Most sheet pan meals are designed to cook fast in the oven, but by using the broiler, this one is even quicker. The vegetables (onions and bell peppers) start cooking first, followed by the seasoned chicken breasts. While the rest of the ingredients broil up top, the tortillas are warmed on the lower rack of the oven. One-pan: To get this done on the stovetop in the same amount of time, you’d need to work with multiple skillets. With our recipe, the meat and vegetables broil on one baking sheet. Even cooking: Sheet pans have a much larger surface area than skillets, so everything from the vegetables to the chicken has plenty of room to cook. There’s no need to overcrowd the pan, so the vegetables and chicken will all be evenly cooked through by the end. Easy cleanup: Sheet pans are super easy to clean (and that’s the only thing you’ll need to clean up, besides plates and silverware, no other pans or mixing bowls are needed). Fajitas vs. Tacos Technically, fajitas are fillings and tacos are the whole dish. Fajita fillings can vary widely–meat, vegetables, beans, and rice all qualify. Usually, fajita fillings are piled into tortillas (flour or corn) and served with the same fixings you use to top tacos. For this dinner recipe, we serve the fajitas with sour cream, salsa, avocado slices, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro. You can also use other toppings such as fresh tomatoes, diced onions, pickled onions and jalapeños, shredded cheese, thinly sliced scallions, and hot sauce. 23 Delicious Taco Bar Toppings That Offer Something for Everyone Ingredient Substitutes This recipe is versatile; once you get it down pat, try swapping in other ingredients. Start with these ideas: Swap the Chicken Breasts: You can use pretty much any protein you like for fajitas. Try chicken thighs, pork chops, flank steak, or tofu planks instead (the tofu will take a bit less time to warm through than the animal proteins). Swap the Bell Peppers: Bell peppers are a traditional fajita component, but sometimes, we like to substitute half of the sweet peppers for something a little more spicy, like poblano chiles. Swap the Flour Tortillas: If you prefer corn tortillas, go for it! Also, play with the size: This recipe calls for 6-inch tortillas, but you can use smaller street-style tortillas if you prefer. Ingredients 8 flour tortillas (each 6 inches) 3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green, and 1 yellow), cut into ½-inch strips 1 large white onion, cut into ½-inch rounds ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded ½ inch thick 1 lime, halved, plus wedges for serving Sliced avocado, sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro leaves Directions Jake Sternquist Preheat broiler and wrap tortillas: Preheat broiler, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Stack tortillas and wrap in parchment-lined foil; place on lower rack. Jake Sternquist Broil vegetables: On a rimmed baking sheet, toss vegetables with 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder. Arrange in a single layer and broil on upper rack, flipping once, until just charred and softened, about 8 minutes. Jake Sternquist Season chicken: Drizzle chicken with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, season with salt, and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder. Jake Sternquist Add chicken to sheet and broil: Push vegetables to edges of sheet; arrange chicken in a single layer in center. Broil, flipping once, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Jake Sternquist Remove tortillas and sheet from oven; slice chicken: Remove tortillas and sheet from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; slice into strips. Jake Sternquist Squeeze lime and serve: Return to sheet; squeeze lime halves over vegetables and chicken. Serve with tortillas and accompaniments. Jake Sternquist Storage If you find yourself with leftover fajitas, store the fillings, tortillas, and toppings separately. Let the meat and vegetables cool to room temperature, then place them in airtight containers. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Whole pieces of meat will reheat more evenly than slices, so if possible, store leftover chicken breasts whole or in halves. Reheating To reheat, spread the leftover meat and vegetables onto a sheet pan and pop them under the broiler for a few minutes, just until warmed through. To reheat the tortillas, you can blister them over a gas flame for a few seconds, give them a spin in the microwave, or wrap them in foil and warm them under the broiler again. Frequently Asked Questions Should I cut the chicken for fajitas before cooking? No, don't cut the chicken for fajitas before cooking. Since chicken (especially white meat like chicken breasts) is prone to drying out more easily, cooking the breasts whole will help keep the meat moist and tender. It's better to slice the meat for serving. Do you cook the meat or vegetables first? Whether you should cook the meat or the vegetables first depends on the type of meat you're using. For this recipe, we start the onions and peppers first. Once they begin to soften, you can add the quick-cooking protein. Can I use other seasonings? Yes, absolutely you can use other seasonings. We keep it simple with this recipe, using some salt and chili powder, but you can use any seasonings you like. Try your favorite store-bought taco seasoning, or incorporate dried spices like cumin and coriander or dried herbs like Mexican oregano. Should I use white or yellow onions? You can use white or yellow onions but we prefer to use white onions which are traditional for Tex-Mex dishes like this one. They are a bit sweeter and milder than yellow onions, and you can use them raw as a topping. Other Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes to Try: Sheet Pan Vegetable Hash With Eggs Pan-Roasted Chicken With Za’atar, Potatoes, and Greens Shrimp-Scampi Pan Bake Broiled Salmon With Vegetables and Scallion Rice Crispy Lemon-Parmesan Eggplant Roasted Sausages With Cabbage and Squash Roasted-Vegetable Couscous Bowl Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, July/August 2019 Rate It PRINT Updated by Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley is an associate food editor for Martha Stewart Living.