Don't Serve Fajitas Without These Toppings

Sizzling hot fajitas are probably the most quintessential Tex-Mex food you will ever eat. The birth of this now ubiquitous dish, which is served everywhere from Taco Bell to Chili's, to Chuy's and upscale restaurants like Houston's Guard and Grace, where they make their fajitas with gold, can be traced to Mexican ranch workers residing in West Texas, according to What's Cooking America. The ranch workers would be partially compensated with tougher meat cuts, like the skirt steak. They would grill this skirt steak and this is what we call fajitas or arracheras. Fast-forward to the 1970s and, per The Austin Chronicle, fajitas were on the menu at Otilia Garza's Round-Up Restaurant in the Rio Grande Valley where the skirt steak was served up to customers with tortillas and a host of condiments that included guacamole, pico de gallo, and shredded cheese – all the makings for delicious tacos.

But regardless of how fajitas came to be or where we decide to eat them – on the couch in front of the television watching Netflix original Bridgerton sounds perfect to us – fajitas continue to be a favorite among Tex-Mex lovers. This is a meal that has all the components to please just about anyone. But if you are going to serve up fajitas, you do not want to serve leave out the following toppings and accouterments.  

The toppings for fajitas can make or break this meal. According to food purveyor Santa Maria, and the 15,000 Brits they surveyed, if you are going to be eating fajitas or offering them up to a crowd at dinner, there are five toppings you will want to have on hand to accompany this dish. Shredded cheese tops the list and we see why this ingredient is so beloved. In our humble opinion, cheese works on pretty much anything, but cheese on fajitas is up for debate with the Reddit community, with many members seemingly hailing from Texas. While Redditors seem to be able to get behind Cojita cheese with fajitas, the line in the sand seems to be drawn when it comes to any other. Still, keep some cheese on hand.

The other items on the list of must-haves for your fajitas include salsa, sour cream, chicken, and guacamole. Insanely Good Recipes agrees that these toppings are a must, especially if you are making your fajitas at home. Salsa can add a fiery element for your taste buds, and when coupled with creamy delish guacamole, it's like a fiesta of fireworks for your palette. If your salsa is too hot, sour cream can cool things off. The only other item we would recommend to top off this dish is a frozen margarita on the rocks to complete the Tex-Mex experience.