Kids love making and eating this chicken fajitas recipe. First you get to pound the chicken, then put it in a ziplock bag and massage it and after it is cooked what a treat to taste. I also like how a group of kids decided it would be better to finely dice the onions rather than the traditional slicing that usually accompanies fajitas. This recipe has been adapted from Cooks Illustrated.
servings
Chicken Fajitas
To prepare Chicken Fajitas the chicken is seared in a skillet on the stove top then transferred to the oven to finish cooking. Because of the cooking process you either need 1 oven per 2 chefs or you need to take shifts in the oven. When I cook with a group of 4 we usually prep toppings for serving as well to eliminate downtime. Decide before hand with guests who is buying the tortilla shells and optional toppings. Possible toppings include: grated cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and chopped fresh cilantro.
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts use 4 for a larger family or to have leftovers
- 4 tablespoons canola oil divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (2 large juicy limes)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Vegetable Mix
- 3 sweet bell peppers mixture of colours
- 1 large onion
- 10-20 flour tortillas 2-3 per person small or 1 large size
Toppings: Grated Cheese, Salsa, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cilantro, etc…
Instructions
- Using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin pound chicken to an even 1-2 cm thickness.
- In a large bowl or ziplock bag combine 3 tablespoons canola oil, lime juice, garlic cloves, paprika, sugar, salt, cumin, pepper and cayenne.
- Add chicken to the marinade and massage if desired, cover or zip and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator 1-2 hours.
- While chicken is marinating prepare your onions and peppers in thin slices or give diced vegetables a try.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Heat your skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Remove chicken from the marinade (discard any remaining marinade) and cook without moving until bottom side is well browned and starting to cook through. Flip chicken over and transfer skillet to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken registers 160 degrees.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. If making ahead of time skip next step and instead add sliced chicken and raw vegetables to your skillet, cover and store in the refrigerator until just before dinner and follow the final step.
- Heat your skillet over medium high heat and cook onions and peppers for 3-4 minutes.
- Slice chicken crosswise into 1 cm thick strips and transfer back to your skillet.
- Heat chicken and vegetables over medium high heat and serve with warmed tortillas and your favourite toppings.
“These were a big hit all around. Everyone had multiple servings, and it provided a few leftovers which made a delicious topping for my spinach salad at lunch today. Thanks, Alison!”