Healthy Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas
The beauty with this recipe is the versatility. Don’t like green peppers? Simply substitute Poblano peppers instead. Interchange different pepper colors. Prefer spicy? Throw in some sliced Jalapenos during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Use prepared fajita or taco seasonings available in any grocery store for spice variations. Try sliced flank steak or even shrimp. Just remember to adjust protein cooking times – shrimp cooks way faster than chicken. Add it towards the end of your cooking process.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 377kcal
Ingredients
- 1.5 Lbs Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless
- 1 Yellow Pepper Julienne
- 1 Orange Pepper Julienne
- 1 Red Pepper Julienne
- 1 Spanish Onion Sliced Thin
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil Divided
- 3 Teaspoons Chili Powder Divided
- 3 Teaspoons Garlic Powder Divided
- 1 Teaspoon Salt Divided
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper Divided
- 2 Tablespoons Cilantro Minced
- 1 Lime Sliced
- ¼ Cup Cotija Optional
- 1 Box Fresh Arugula
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Pan should be a minimum 15 ½ “x 10”. In fact, the larger the better. You want to be able to spread your ingredients out so they cover the pan in one layer for more even cooking.
- Slice peppers into same size strips
- Slice onions into same size strips (similar to peppers) slicing top to bottom.
- In a bowl toss peppers, onions, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 ½ teaspoons of the chili powder, 1 ½ teaspoons of the garlic powder, salt to taste and fresh ground pepper to taste, making sure strips are well coated.
- Spread seasoned vegetables out on sheet pan and place in oven for 15 minutes
- While those cook, cut chicken breasts into strips, long-ways. If breasts are too thick butterfly so pieces are thinner. Make sure strips are similar in size.
- In a bowl toss chicken strips with remaining oil, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Pull sheet pan out of oven, and with a spatula or tongs, push vegetables to one side, covering about half of the sheet pan. Spread seasoned chicken strips over the other half of the sheet pan, and place back in oven for about 20 more minutes, tossing chicken as well as vegetables for even cooking. Chicken strips should reach internal temperature of 165oF. Vegetables should be tender, not mushy.
- When cooked, transfer the peppers to a bowl and the chicken to a separate bowl.
- Sprinkle some cilantro, cotija (if using) and lime over the chicken.
- Plate some arugula. Layer on some onions and peppers. Top with the chicken and enjoy.
Notes
- The key to making sheet pan meals work is adjusting ingredient size to cook in the same (or as close to) amount of time, making denser ingredients smaller in size and thinner or more delicate ingredients larger. Or you can always add ingredients as you go!
- Don't have traditional chili powder? No problem. Add in some chipotle powder or whatever other ground chili powder you might have on hand.
- Want to spice it up? Add in some jalapeno toward the end of the cook time... or poblano in the place of one of the peppers. Or top the fajita with a spicy salsa.
- Make sure that you drag the cooked chicken through the pan juices before removing from the sheet pan. It's so full of flavor!
- If you use other proteins other than chicken, you will need to adjust the cook times. Shrimp cook MUCH faster than chicken and steak should be cooked to your liking.
Nutrition
Calories: 377kcal