Sheetpan Fajitas With Homemade Salsa
chicken, Mexican, one pot meals
This chicken fajita recipe is so easy to make full of delicious flavors, great for a tasty mid week meal that you will have on a regular rotation. I used a homemade spice blend to season chicken and the sweet peppers and onions before placing everything evenly on a sheet pan to roast for under 20 minutes. Heat up your tortillas and you have yourself one delicious meal the whole family will love. This recipe can easy be made with shrimp or even steak. I like to serve mine with all the fixings and especially with a fresh made salsa /Salsa Roja that is easy to make and so flavourful!
What is Salsa Roja?
Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce so to many Spanish-speaking cultures, salsa could refer to any sauce. Here in the North America, we associate the word salsa with a dip made primarily from chopped tomatoes, chiles, and onions. Salsa Roja (meaning red) is a red sauce or blended red salsa made with tomatoes. Salsa roja can be made from raw ingredients, cooked ingredients, or a combination of both. It can be pureed until it’s completely smooth or blended slightly for a chunky consistency. It is usually made with Tomato, onion, serrano or jalapeno peppers, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt. Its simple to make and you won’t be able to get enough of it. My dear friend in Mexico City showed me how easy it is to make and its the perfect salsa for the fajitas or tacos and so so good with tortilla chips.
Ingredients
- Chicken: I use skinless boneless chicken breast, you can also make these with steak or shrimp or skinless boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders (for steak use sirloin steak or flank steak sliced into ½ inch strips)
- Bell Peppers: red bell pepper or any colour bell peppers will work - feel free to throw in a poblano pepper for more flavour or a jalepeno for some heat
- Onion & Garlic: I like to use red onion but yellow onion is just fine too. Use as little or as much garlic as you want. I used 1 large clove
- Spices: I used a combination of chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, a pinch of brown sugar for a hint of sweetness and caramelization and some salt. I was conservative with the spices but feel free to double up or adjust amounts according to taste
- Olive Oil: to toss the veggies, chicken and spices with
- Limes: I like to squeeze fresh lime juice over the chicken and veggies when they come out of the oven and serve the fajitas with extra lime wedges on the side
- Additional Add Ins: for extra heat feel free to add a pinch of cayenne to your spice blend, use chopped garlic instead of garlic powder
How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- SEASON the meat and the veggies by tossing them with olive oil and the spice blend
- SPREAD chicken and veggies onto a very large prepared sheet pan evenly without too much overlapping or any if possible (if the sheet pan is too small and everything is overlapping the chicken will take longer to cook and the veggies will steam and become soggy so ensure you use a large sheet pan)
- BAKE/ROAST chicken and veggies 12 -20 minutes
- SQUEEZE lime juice over them after they come out of the oven
- SERVE with warm tortillas and salsa roja and all of your favourite toppings
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas Make Ahead, Storage & Freezing
- MAKE AHEAD: the chicken and veggies can be tossed with the spice blend and olive oil and stored in an air tight container and left to marinate for ½ an hour to overnight in the fridge. Remove from fridge when preheating oven and place on a sheet pan to come to room temperature before roasting. The salsa can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days
- STORAGE: Leftover Chicken Fajitas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days - reheat stove top or in the microwave
- FREEZING: you can season meat and veggies with spice blend and olive oil and place in a freezer safe bag sealed tight and freeze for 1-3 months, thaw over night in the fridge and then remove from fridge when preheating oven and place on a Sheet pan to come to room temperature before roasting.
More Tasty Mexican Inspired or Tex/Mex Recipe You Will Love:
Recipe
Ingredients
For the Homemade Fajita Seasoning (or use approx ¼ cup of your favourite taco seasoning)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (ground Chipotle powder or regular chili powder)
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Fajitas
- 1 small red onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 large bell peppers, any color sliced into strips
- 1 ½-2 lbs skinless chicken breasts sliced into ½-inch thick strips (slice extra wide strips in half)
- 1 clove if garlic peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
For Serving
- Corn tortillas or flour tortillas warmed
- Sour cream, avocado slices or Guacamole, chopped scallions, diced tomatoes, Pico de gallo, salsa or hot sauce, cilantro, Mexican cheese blend (toppings are optional)
- Extra lime wedges
For the Salsa Roja
- ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large plum tomatoes (about 1 ½ lb) halved
- ¼ white onion cut into wedges
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- 1 garlic clove (unpeeled)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
- Lightly grease a large sheet pan / baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line with foil or parchment paper
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Mix all of the spices for the fajita seasoning in a small bowl and set aside
- In a large bowl toss the chicken, red onion, garlic and bell peppers together with the olive oil and the spice blend. If you have time, allow to marinate, covered for 1 hour or even overnight. If not, bake right away. (You can also toss everything in the Sheetpan)
- Empty out the chicken and veggies onto prepared sheet pan in an even layer.
- Bake the chicken and vegetables in the preheated oven for 12-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, or until meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 160°F. If you want to add some char to meat and veggies, put the broiler on for the last 1-2 minutes or cook for an extra 1-2 min
- Wrap the flour tortillas in foil if using and place them in the oven to warm during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Toss chicken and vegetables with fresh lime juice to taste and sprinkle with fresh cilantro if desired
For the Salsa Roja
- Heat a large skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat and add 1 tablesoon oil. Cook the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, and unpeeled garlic, using tongs to flip them often, until charred all over, about 5-8 minutes. If the garlic and jalapeño are charring too quickly, pull them off the pan and allow the other ingredients to continue to char a few minutes longer.
- Peel the garlic and discard the skins (no need to peel the tomato).
- Transfer all the charred vegetables to a food processor and pulse until almost smooth but with some texture remaining.
- Allow to cool slightly before adding the cilantro, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pulse a few more times.
- Taste and season with more salt, if needed, then transfer to a bowl and serve with fajitas and tortilla chip.The salsa can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days
Recipe Notes
Serve Roasted chicken and veggies with the warm tortillas or serve in butter lettuce in place of the tortillas. Another alternative is to serve the chicken and veggies with rice to make fajita burrito bowls. Top with the homemade salsa and whatever toppings you like
