Sunday dinner: Skillet chicken fajitas

The smell of fajitas cooking is enough to make your mouth water! It’s an easy dish to make at home with colorful veggies and marinated chicken.

Fajitas are a favorite Mexican restaurant feature for many of us. This Sunday dinner recipe for skillet chicken fajitas is so easy to make, you may never go out for them again! A combination of colorful (and flavorful) veggies with marinated chicken serves as the filling for this delightful dish. We used two different colored bell peppers, green zucchini and onions for our filling. Use a cast iron skillet to create this recipe, if you have one. The colorful vegetables and juicy chicken make a great presentation and hearty meal served with rice, black beans or a green salad.

Skillet chicken fajitas recipe

Yields 5 (6 inch) fajitas

Ingredients:

For the chicken marinade

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the fajitas

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, seeded and membrane removed, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and membrane removed, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 white onion, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 green zucchini, cut vertically into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 5 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into slices, as garnish
• 5-6 tablespoons sour cream, as garnish

Directions:

For the marinade

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the mixture to a quart-sized resealable plastic baggie.
2. Add the chicken to the bag, seal it and massage the marinade to coat the chicken. Place in the refrigerator for an hour.

For the fajitas

1. Add the olive oil to a hot skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the baggie and discard the remaining marinade.
2. Cook the chicken breasts for about 8 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until cooked. The FDA notes that 165 degrees F., as measured with a food thermometer, is the minimum safe internal temperature for chicken.
3. Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and wrap them in aluminum foil. Set aside.
4. Add the peppers and onion to the skillet (add the zucchini toward the end of cooking) and cook, stirring, for about 4-5 minutes, or until they have softened and begin to char.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat. Cut the chicken breasts into (approximately) 1/2-inch-wide strips, crosswise.
6. Mix together and add the chicken and vegetable strips to a platter and keep them warm.
7. Heat the tortillas, either stacked in the microwave for about 10 seconds, or in a warm, nonstick skillet, for about 30 seconds on each side.
8. Evenly divide the mixture between each tortilla, filling them and folding them in half, and serve with the avocado and sour cream.

Say yes to skillet chicken fajitas!

More Sunday dinner recipes

Italian chopped salad with basil vinaigrette
Pasta with arugula pesto and grilled chicken
California turkey burgers