Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas Recipe

These easy sheet pan chicken fajitas can be ready in 30 minutes, and it's the meal you'll crave on busy nights.

It's hard to imagine a more diverse and flavorful cuisine than Mexican, according to food blogger and photographer Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table. With its myriad of regions and variety of produce, Mexican food is known for its freshness, vibrancy, and yes, spiciness. But Tex-Mex is a whole other story, one that is as American as it is Mexican.

Fajitas can trace their origin back to the 1930s and 1940s when meat was bartered for work that was done on Texas farms. As the meats they were provided weren't the best cuts, the workers had to find ways to get creative with the flavor and presentation of their meals, thus serving them in flour tortillas (via Spice Station).

By the 1960s, fajitas went from being an oral recipe shared through families and loved ones to becoming a mainstay in concession stands, rodeos, festivals, and Tex-Mex restaurants.

Today, whipping up sheet pan chicken fajitas is probably one of the fastest ways to get a simple and tasty meal on the table in 30 minutes, no trip to Taco Bell required.

The ingredient list to prepare Tex-Mex sheet pan chicken fajitas is short and sweet.

For the spice mix to flavor the fajitas, you'll need some ground chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Make sure you choose a chili powder that fits your spice tolerance. Cayenne tends to be spicier than North American "chili powder," whereas the freshest and most flavorful chili spice can be obtained by grinding a few dried chilies of your choice.

The veggie mix only consists of bell peppers and onions. You can choose bell peppers of all colors, keeping in mind that red peppers are the sweetest of the bunch, and green are the most bitter.

The chicken we'll be using for your fajitas is a pound and a half of boneless skinless chicken breasts, however, you can also use thighs for a more flavorful alternative. Olive oil and lime juice will complete the seasonings.

As everyone knows, the real magic of Mexican food comes from toppings, and your imagination is the only limit here. We recommend you stock up on flour tortillas, shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream, along with any other toppings of your choice.

You better set up your timer, because once you start going, it doesn't take long until you have a pile of warm and fragrant sheet pan chicken fajitas on the table!

To prep all the ingredients, slice the peppers into strips. These don't have to be overly thin, as having texture is actually nice in your tortillas. Then, thinly slice an onion into crescents. Cut the chicken into 1/4-inch slices, similarly to the peppers.

After you slice the veggies and cut the chicken, set the oven to the grill / broiler setting, and set it on high heat. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, salt, and pepper. This spice seasoning will be enough to flavor the whole batch of chicken and peppers, if you can believe it! Chili flavor goes a long way — especially once it mixes with the juices of roasted chicken and peppers.

Spread the sliced peppers and onions on the prepared baking sheet, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Top with half the spice mixture, and stir to mix until all the peppers are coated. Put the baking tray in the oven to broil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the chicken with 2 tablespoons of oil and the remaining spice mixture. Stir to combine, until all of the chicken is coated with the seasoning and its color reddens slightly.

Remove the baking sheet with the peppers and onions from the oven after 10 minutes of broiling. Add the seasoned chicken to the baking sheet, and stir it with the half-cooked vegetables until everything is spread evenly in one layer. Then, return the baking sheet to the oven, and set on broil for another 10 minutes.

While the chicken is roasting along with the peppers and onions, prepare the table for a true Tex-Mex chicken fajita feast. This is the time to pull out all your favorite Tex-Mex toppings and sauces: flour tortillas are a must, as are lime wedges. We also recommend serving the fajitas with some shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or any other toppings of your choice. Little bowls of fresh cilantro and chopped jalapeños will give your chicken fajitas a fresher, spicier, and more distinctly Mexican flair. You can even serve some additional Mexican hot sauce on the side, if you like it hot.

After a total of 20 minutes of broiling, your sheet pan chicken fajitas are ready to be served! They are best eaten freshly served out of the oven, still steaming with heat, the skin of the peppers lightly blistered and the onions mellowed and golden.

You can set the sheet pan straight on the table, and let everyone assemble their fajitas the way they like. There is no right or wrong way to eat sheet pan chicken fajitas, as long as you enjoy it! Keep in mind that chicken fajitas will keep in the refrigerator for five days, and can be reheated in the microwave.