Fall cooking season is upon us! Normally, I stand at the stovetop, carefully sautéing one skillet full of chicken and one full of fragrant onions and peppers for what feels like ever. But now? Now I’m all about slicing and dicing and sticking those yummy fajitas in an oven safe baking dish and going about my business. All you need to do is cut up your onions, peppers, and chicken and mix it with a little bit of oil. (Olive oil or canola.)
Next sprinkle either your homemade or store-bought fajita seasoning on everything and mix well. (The homemade seasoning is included in the recipe below and is really easy to make. That way you know exactly what’s going into it and know it’s gluten free and mysterious “spices” free.)
I was a little skeptical at first, worried that the veggies would either be too mushy or not crisp up the way I like them in the skillet, thus becoming the Great Fajita Disaster of 2015. (Dramatic, I know.) Praying for the best and remaining cautiously optimistic, I preheated my oven for 400 degrees, and cooked the fajitas uncovered for around 25 minutes. The result?
Friends, let me tell you…these are my new favorite fajitas. They taste every bit as good as the stovetop ones, if not better. The veggies are perfectly crisp and the chicken is cut-with-your-fork tender and juicy. As if that wasn’t awesome enough? They’re healthier. Plus, since they’re minding their own business, baking away, you can work on making your favorite sauces and toppings.
I serve mine with a creamy avocado/cilantro salsa verde (recipe to follow soon), but you can use my 5 ingredient fresh salsa recipe (click here for my salsa recipe) or one of your own salsa’s. This dish is both gluten and dairy free if you use corn tortillas (like I do) and tastes so fresh you’ll want to add it to your weekly dinner repertoire. This recipe makes enough for two trays (using 9×13 baking dishes), so you’ll have some leftovers depending on the size of your family.
Speaking of leftovers…the next night I turned ours into Mexican-style fried rice. So good and such a fun way to utilize leftovers! It’s like having an entire new meal. Money saving AND time saving.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own oven-roasted fajitas tonight:
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP cumin
- 1 TBSP onion powder
- 1/5 TBSP garlic powder
- 1 TBSP chili powder
- 1 tsp chipotle pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 2 TBSP oil (either olive or canola)
- 3 TBSP salsa or Hunt's sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients for fajita seasoning together in a small bowl, set aside.
- Slice veggies and chicken into strips.
- Add veggies and chicken to oven safe baking dish (I used 2 9x13 pans) and coat with oil, salsa (or tomato sauce) and seasoning and mix well.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked and serve over corn or flour tortillas. (If using corn tortillas, try baking them in the oven for five minutes before serving--they taste amazing that way!)