Grilled Chicken Fajitas: A quick soak in garlic lime marinade is all chicken needs to transform it into a stellar fajita filling. Just add guac and cheese and call this dinner in under 30 minutes!
In years past, we used to grill on and off all winter. It seemed like a rite of passage during New England winters.
But for whatever reason, we only busted open the grill once or twice this past winter. One of those times was in a state of complete desperation and panic on Christmas day when I had some trouble getting our [very expensive] beef tenderloin to cook properly in the oven.
It worked, btw!
So when temps here hit 70 last week, I dusted off both the flip flops and the grill. HELLO perfect grilling weather!
I had big plans for our inaugural first grill of the spring so it was bound to be a special one. These grilled chicken fajitas!!
Now, I’ve made other fajitas before and we always love them.
These stovetop chicken fajitas are perfect for winter meals or when it’s too gross outside to grill.
These portobello and poblano fajitas are an excellent vegetarian/vegan meal.
And these tomatillo chicken fajitas are topped with THE BEST salsa verde.
But I’ve heard Annie rave about these grilled chicken fajitas for years and I’ve been DYING to try them!
And let me tell you, all of those raves are fully justified. These fajitas are awesome!!
You’ll give a few boneless skinless chicken breasts a super quick soak in a garlic lime marinade for like 15 or 20 minutes. And basically, that’s all the chicken needs to transform it into a stellar fajita filling.
While the chicken is marinating, slice up some red peppers and red onion and get them ready for the too! Man alive, I LOVE grilled red onions!
Grilling red onions make them sweeter and gets rid of all of the bitterness you taste when you eat them raw. Grilling red onions is the way to go!
We made a basic guacamole for these chicken fajitas and that pushed them right over the edge. I mean, seriously over the edge.
The guacamole basically turned these fajitas in to fajita chicken bowls without all of the rice.
We now have a new favorite grilling meal and the warm weather can’t get back here fast enough!
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
For these grilled chicken fajitas, you'll quickly marinate the chicken in a garlic lime marinade and that's all it needs to transform it into a stellar fajita filling. Just add guac, cheese, and grilled veggies and call this dinner in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
For the fajitas:
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 7 tbsp canola oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tsp brown sugar
- 1 jalapeño, seeded, ribbed and diced
- 1 ½ tbsp minced fresh cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp pepper
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 halves total), pounded to about ½-inch thick
- 1 large red onion, sliced into ½-inch thick slices, rings not separated
- 2 large bell peppers, stemmed, quartered and seeded
- 8-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
Toppings for serving:
- Shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Scallions, sliced
- Extra cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Whisk the lime juice, 4 tablespoons of the canola oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, jalapeño, minced cilantro, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade and transfer the rest to a large, shallow casserole dish. Add the chicken to the dish, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the grill to high. When the grill is hot, brush both sides of the onion slices and peppers with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Turn two of the burners down to medium, keeping the third on high. Brush the grill grates with the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Place the chicken (without the marinade, which you can discard now) on the hot end of the grill. Place the onions and peppers on the medium side of the grill. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, until nice grill marks emerge and it is cooked through (165° F). Flip the onion slices (a spatula helps here rather than tongs) and peppers once the bottoms have started to char and cook on the other side until slightly charred as well. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the grill and keep them warm on a platter under foil. Turn the burners back to high and toss the tortillas on the grill for 20 seconds on each side until they are warmed and starting to char. Remove them from the grill and keep them warm between two clean kitchen towels.
- Add the reserved ¼ cup marinade to a large, shallow bowl. Separate the onion slices into rings and add them, along with the peppers to the marinade. Slice the chicken on the diagonal and add the chicken to the bowl as well, tossing everything to coat well with the marinade. Serve the onions, peppers, and chicken on a large platter alongside the suggested toppings for serving.
Notes
adapted from Cook's Illustrated via Annie's Eats
Recommended Products
As a member of the Amazon Associate affiliate program, I earn a small percentage from your qualifying Amazon purchases when you click the Amazon links on this page. I'm not informed of who purchases what, just of what products are purchased.
This is my favorite grilled fajita recipe, too! If I hadn’t already been in love with CI, I would have been after this.
These fajitas are the absolute best, it was the first meal we made when the weather got warmer!