Sizzling Mexican Fajitas Recipe
Bring the sound, aroma, and flavor of restaurant-style fajitas home with juicy steak or chicken, colorful peppers, onions, warm tortillas, and bold Mexican toppings from MexGrocer.com.
These sizzling fajitas are packed with juicy steak or chicken, colorful peppers, onions, warm tortillas, and bold Mexican flavor from MexGrocer favorites like Herdez salsa, El Yucateco hot sauce, and Guerrero tortillas.
Make It Easy: Order the Sizzling Mexican Fajitas Pack
Get the key MexGrocer ingredients together in one discounted fajita bundle. The regular price was $65.65, but the bundle is now $48.95. It also includes the fajita plate, so you can serve your fajitas with that classic sizzling presentation at home.
The bundle includes the fajita plate, Herdez Salsa Verde, Herdez Avocado Hot Sauce, Sonora 6” flour tortillas, La Morena jalapeños, Herdez Carne Asada seasoning, and Herdez Pollo Asado seasoning.
MexGrocer Products to Use
- Fajita Plate with Handle
- Herdez Carne Asada Seasoning Medium or Herdez Pollo Asado Seasoning Medium— great as the seasoning base for the meat.
- Herdez Salsa Verde 8.5 oz — used as a topping or quick finishing sauce; it is made with tomatillos, onions, chiles, garlic, and cilantro.
- Herdez Avocado Hot Sauce 5 oz — add a few drops for spicy heat and extra flavor.
- Sonora Flour Tortilla 6” — perfect for taco-style fajitas.
- La Morena Pickled Jalapeños 13.13 oz — optional topping for extra tangy spice.
Ingredients
For the fajitas
- 1 ½ lb skirt steak, flank steak, or chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 packet Herdez Carne Asada/Pollo Asado Taco Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon orange juice, optional but recommended
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 large white onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving
- Warm Sonora Flour tortillas 6”
- Herdez Salsa Verde
- Pico Pica Hot Sauce
- La Morena pickled jalapeños
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges
- El Mexicano Mexican crema, optional
- Guacamole, optional
Why Fajitas Are Perfect for Family Dinner
Fajitas are one of the easiest meals to customize at the table. Serve the meat, peppers, onions, tortillas, salsa, hot sauce, jalapeños, crema, cilantro, lime, and guacamole family-style so everyone can build their own plate.
Instructions
Marinate the meat
In a bowl, combine the sliced steak or chicken with oil, Herdez seasoning, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well and let it marinate for at least 20 minutes. For deeper flavor, refrigerate for 1–2 hours.
Cook the peppers and onions
Heat a large skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add a little oil, then cook the bell peppers and onion for 5–7 minutes, until slightly charred but still tender-crisp. Remove and set aside.
Cook the meat
In the same pan, add the marinated meat. Cook for 5–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and fully cooked.
Combine everything
Return the peppers and onions to the pan. Toss everything together and cook for 1–2 more minutes so the flavors blend.
Warm the tortillas
Heat tortillas on a comal, skillet, or microwave. Keep them warm in a tortilla warmer until ready to serve.
Serve
Fill each tortilla with fajita meat, peppers, and onions. Top with Herdez Salsa Verde, Pico Pica hot sauce, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
How to Make the Fajita Pan Sizzle
For that classic restaurant-style fajita presentation, heat your fajita plate or cast-iron serving pan before adding the cooked meat, peppers, and onions. The sizzle comes from placing hot fajita ingredients onto a very hot surface right before serving.
- Place the fajita plate or cast-iron pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat for a few minutes until hot.
- Carefully add a small amount of oil or a light squeeze of lime juice to the hot plate.
- Immediately place the cooked fajita meat, peppers, and onions onto the hot plate.
- Serve right away while the fajitas are sizzling.
Hot Pan Safety Disclaimer: Fajita plates, cast-iron pans, and handles can become extremely hot. Always use oven mitts, heat-safe gloves, or thick towels when handling hot cookware. Keep hot plates away from children, pets, table edges, and heat-sensitive surfaces. Place the fajita plate on a heat-safe trivet or wooden base before serving. Do not touch the plate or handle with bare hands until completely cooled.
Build Your Sizzling Fajita Night with MexGrocer
Want the shortcut? Order the Sizzling Mexican Fajitas Pack and get the fajita plate, tortillas, sauces, jalapeños, and seasonings together at a discounted bundle price.
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The History of Fajitas and Common Fajita Questions
Fajitas have a flavorful history rooted in ranch cooking along the borderlands of South Texas and Northern Mexico. The dish grew from practical cowboy and vaquero cooking traditions, where simple ingredients, fire-grilled meats, warm tortillas, peppers, onions, and fresh toppings came together to create a meal that was satisfying, affordable, and full of bold flavor.
The word fajita comes from the Spanish word faja, meaning “belt” or “strip.” It refers to the long, thin skirt steak cut from the diaphragm area of the cow. Skirt steak was once considered a less desirable cut, but cooks learned how to make it delicious by marinating it with citrus, grilling it over high heat, slicing it against the grain, and serving it in warm flour tortillas.
Vaquero Roots: Fire, Tortillas, and Simple Ingredients
In the 1930s and 1940s, Mexican vaqueros and ranch hands often cooked with the cuts of meat available to them. Tougher cuts like skirt steak became tender and flavorful when marinated with lime juice, cooked over hot coals, and sliced thin. Served with tortillas, peppers, onions, salsa, and fresh toppings, fajitas became a practical ranch-style meal with a memorable flavor.
From Ranch Cooking to Sizzling Restaurant Favorite
By the late 1960s and 1970s, fajitas began moving from ranch-style cooking into restaurants and public events. Sonny Falcon, an Austin meat market manager, helped introduce fajita tacos to a wider audience through a concession stand in Kyle, Texas. Around the same period, Otilia Garza served fajitas at the Round-Up Restaurant in Pharr, Texas, and helped popularize the dramatic sizzling cast-iron plate presentation that many people associate with fajitas today.
Houston restaurateur Ninfa Laurenzo also played an important role in popularizing grilled meat served with tortillas, especially through dishes like tacos al carbón and tacos a la Ninfa. As fajitas became more popular, restaurants and home cooks began preparing them with chicken, shrimp, vegetables, and different cuts of beef while keeping the same spirit of hot seasoned ingredients, warm tortillas, and fresh toppings.
Modern Fajitas: Steak, Chicken, Shrimp, and Vegetables
Today, fajitas are enjoyed in many styles. Skirt steak remains the classic choice, but flank steak, sirloin, chicken breast, shrimp, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and other vegetables all work well. The heart of the dish is the combination of seasoned ingredients cooked over high heat, served hot with tortillas, salsa, hot sauce, jalapeños, crema, guacamole, cilantro, and lime.
10 Common Questions About Fajitas
1. What is the best meat for fajitas?
Skirt steak is the classic fajita cut because it has bold beef flavor and cooks quickly. Flank steak, sirloin, and thinly sliced chicken breast are also popular choices. For the best texture, slice beef against the grain into thin strips.
2. Can I make chicken fajitas instead of beef fajitas?
Yes. Chicken fajitas are easy to make and work very well with peppers, onions, lime juice, garlic, and Herdez Pollo Asado seasoning. Use thin strips of chicken breast or chicken thighs and cook until fully done.
3. How well does beef fajita meat need to be cooked?
For food safety, whole cuts of beef such as skirt steak, flank steak, or sirloin should reach at least 145°F and rest for 3 minutes before serving. A food thermometer is the safest way to check doneness.
4. How well does chicken need to be cooked for fajitas?
Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F. The chicken should be fully cooked with no pink in the center, and the juices should run clear. Always use a clean food thermometer to confirm the temperature.
5. Can I replace the meat with shrimp?
Yes. Shrimp fajitas are quick, flavorful, and delicious with peppers and onions. Shrimp cook faster than beef or chicken, so add them near the end and cook just until they turn opaque and reach 145°F.
6. Is there a vegetarian version of fajitas?
Yes. Vegetarian fajitas can be made with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, poblano peppers, or strips of firm tofu. Season the vegetables the same way you would season meat, then cook them over high heat until lightly charred and tender-crisp.
7. What toppings go best with fajitas?
Great fajita toppings include Herdez Salsa Verde, Pico Pica Hot Sauce, La Morena pickled jalapeños, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, diced onions, guacamole, Mexican crema, and shredded lettuce. You can also make a simple salted sour cream by mixing sour cream with a small pinch of salt before serving.
8. Should I use flour or corn tortillas for fajitas?
Flour tortillas are a favorite for fajitas because they are soft, flexible, and easy to fold around grilled meat, peppers, and onions. Corn tortillas can also be used for a more taco-style flavor.
9. How do I keep fajitas from getting soggy?
Cook the peppers, onions, and meat over medium-high to high heat so they sear instead of steam. Avoid overcrowding the pan, drain extra liquid if needed, and add sauces and toppings after the fajitas are placed in the tortilla.
10. What can I serve with fajitas?
Fajitas go well with Mexican rice, refried beans, charro beans, chips and salsa, guacamole, crema, pickled jalapeños, lime wedges, and fresh salad. For an easy family-style meal, place everything in bowls and let everyone build their own fajitas at the table.