This Easy Sheet Pan Fajita recipe makes my busy weeknight cooking dreams come true! I can bake a complete meal using just a single baking sheet? Yes, please! Feed your whole family delicious, wholesome fajitas with little prep and easy, breezy cleanup. Fewer dishes means more time to enjoy the other parts of life!
I know you are busy, so let’s get right to it!
Simple preparation
Sheet pan dinners save me my sanity. When schedules get tight on the weeknights and I’m pressed for time, I turn to these one and done recipes. I can prep the ingredients in a few minutes, throw it in the oven, and know that before we have to head off to practice/game/recital, I’ll have a full meal with all the healthy food groups ready for my family. And only one pan to wash.
These fajitas, which I made for my family this week, have 3 key ingredients: sliced bell peppers, red onions, and chicken tenderloins. Our weeknights are busy and I tend to keep it simple when I’m running children to 3 different sporting events. There are many other ingredients you could use in this recipe, so look at the “Variations” section at the end of the recipe for more ideas! I had some frozen corn that I sprinkled on the tray for a little more flavor, but you can make the recipe your own!
How to make sheet pan fajitas-simple preparation
The steps of this recipe are super streamlined for efficiency of time both during prep and cleanup to truly make this a one pan meal.
- Preheat oven to 400°F before you slice your vegetables: 1/2 red onion and two bell peppers.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. If doubling the recipe, line two pans.
- Drizzle olive oil over the pan before placing the sliced vegetables and 1 1/2 pounds of chicken upon it. I love using chicken tenderloins for fajitas because truth be told, I hate cutting raw meat, but also because they work beautifully as a single serving in fajitas.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over the veggies and chicken: 1 Tablespoon of Ancho chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, and a sprinkle of salt for seasoning. If you’d like extra spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper or slice up a jalapeño pepper with the peppers.
- Drizzle with another Tablespoon of olive oil.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While it bakes, slice a lime or avocado, warm your tortillas, and stem some cilantro if you like. If you’ve planned ahead and have shredded cabbage or pickled onions, you are my hero, and those would be awesome additions. My kids like to smother all fajitas and tacos in shredded cheese, so you can certainly rock that, too!
- Open a jar of your favorite salsa or hot sauce to serve on the side and dinner is served! We keep Cholula hot sauce on tap in our kitchen and it goes great with these chicken fajitas.
Can I make this recipe vegetarian?
YES. This recipe and method adapts very well to different ingredients. You can load up the sheet pan with additional veggies like diced sweet potatoes, cauliflower florets, or mushrooms, jalapeños or poblanos in place of the chicken. Or what I often do is substitute with beans. Drained/rinsed black beans or pinto beans work really well but I think a can of refried beans would be awesome, too! Just sprinkle the veggies or beans with the seasonings and cook as directed in the recipe.
Can I use a different meat?
Absolutely. Sliced beef, such as sirloin, works well, as do tilapia filets. Adjust the oven temp to 450°F and cook for 10 minutes to avoid overcooking both the beef or fish. One time saving hack I like is to use Trader Joe’s ready made Carnitas in this recipe. Our family loves Carnitas fajitas!
How should I reheat leftover fajitas?
In an ideal world, you would warm them up gently in a pan on the stovetop with a little salsa for extra moisture, covered for 5 minutes. More often, we warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute covered with a bowl/plate or paper towel. I often send the leftovers as a lunch for my children or eat it on a salad the next day.
Frequently Asked Questions about Oven Baked Fajitas
- Should I use corn or flour tortillas? For me, the answer is always corn! I’m a traditionalist and nothing quite compares to the corn tortilla! Also, we have a child in our family who has an anaphylactic food allergy to wheat, so we keep a wheat free home.
- What to serve with Easy Sheet Pan Fajitas? We like to serve this with warmed tortillas, lime, cilantro, hot sauce, and cheese. But if you are wanting more filling sides, try this Mexican Basics: Red Rice or this Garden Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa.
- What is the difference between tacos and fajitas? Fajitas traditionally feature grilled meats and vegetables that the diner assembles at the table. We usually serve this from the kitchen counter, but still counts it as a fajita:).
Variations
Vegetarian: Load up the sheet pan with additional veggies like diced sweet potatoes, diced red potatoes, cauliflower florets, poblanos, or mushrooms in place of the chicken. Or, what I often do is substitute with beans. Drained/rinsed black beans or pinto beans work really well and taste delicious when roasted like this, but I think a can of refried beans would be awesome, too! Just sprinkle the veggies or beans with the seasonings and cook as directed in the recipe.
Mix it Up: You can use kale, mushroom, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes all as options to mix up the veggies in this recipe.
Beef: Slice 1 1/2 pounds of sirloin or skirt steak into 1/2 slices. Turn oven temp up to 450° F and reduce cooking time to 10 minutes.
Fish or shrimp: Substitute 11/2 pounds of tilapia or mahi in this recipe. Turn oven temp up to 450° F and reduce cooking time to 10 minutes. Fish should be opaque when cooked through to 145°F.
Extra Spicy: Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the seasonings or slice up a few jalapeños to mix with the vegetables.
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Easy Sheet Pan Fajitas | Oven Baked Fajitas
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
This easy Sheet Pan Fajitas dinner makes busy weeknight cooking dreams come true! Bake a complete meal using just a single baking sheet? Feed your whole family delicious, wholesome fajitas with little prep and easy, breezy cleanup? Yep. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
Fajitas:
1/2 red onion, sliced;
2 bell peppers;
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins;
3 Tablespoons olive oil;
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder;
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin;
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander;
1 teaspoon kosher salt;
Optional toppings:
1 lime sliced;
cilantro;
salsa;
shredded cheese;
avocado
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F before you slice your vegetables: 1/2 red onion and two bell peppers.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. If doubling the recipe, line two pans.
- Drizzle olive oil over the pan before placing the sliced vegetables and 1 1/2 pounds of chicken upon it.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over the veggies and chicken: 1 Tablespoon of Ancho chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, and a sprinkle of salt for seasoning.
- Drizzle with another Tablespoon of olive oil.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While it bakes, slice a lime or avocado, warm your tortillas, and stem some cilantro if you like.
Notes
*This recipe can easily be doubled! Just use a second sheet pan.
Variations
Vegetarian: Load up the sheet pan with additional veggies like diced sweet potatoes, diced red potatoes, cauliflower florets, poblanos, or mushrooms in place of the chicken. Or, what I often do is substitute with beans. Drained/rinsed black beans or pinto beans work really well and taste delicious when roasted like this, but I think a can of refried beans would be awesome, too! Just sprinkle the veggies or beans with the seasonings and cook as directed in the recipe.
Mix it Up: You can use kale, mushroom, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes all as options to mix up the veggies in this recipe.
Beef: Slice 1 1/2 pounds of sirloin or skirt steak into 1/2 slices. Turn oven temp up to 450° F and reduce cooking time to 10 minutes.
Fish or shrimp: Substitute 11/2 pounds of tilapia or mahi in this recipe. Turn oven temp up to 450° F and reduce cooking time to 10 minutes. Fish should be opaque when cooked through to 145°F.
Extra Spicy: Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the seasonings or slice up a few jalapeños to mix with the vegetables.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
