It’s not Taco Tuesday, nor is it Fajita Friday (is that a thing?) but it’s Wednesday, and I’m willing to bet that at this stage in the week, you’d be down for a totally low-maintenance, one-skillet dinner. Am I right?
Meals in my house tends to take on 1 of 3 cultural flavour profiles – Asian, Indian or Mexican/Southwestern. Give me any veggies and a source of protein – I don’t mind what they are as long as I’ve got some fresh herbs and spices to play with. As a kid, I never really appreciated the magic of these things because I was all about sauces – specifically drowning my food in ketchup, then salsa. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE a good salsa, but in my mind, anything that gets salsa also needs a hefty handful of cilantro, and probably some chilli powder and cumin too. Maybe you feel the same?
If so, you’re gonna be totally into these One-Skillet Chicken Fajita Bowls. The fajita spice mix is one I like to toss together myself in a triple batch so that I have it on-hand for using in things like omelettes and other egg-based dishes. It gives the chicken SO much flavour (even if you don’t have time to marinate it) and you can tweak the spiciness to match whatever heat level you like. Alternatively, if you’re plant-based you could absolutely use the fajita seasoning to spice up some cooked black beans or lentils.
One other recipe note: For those who prefer to eat grain-free, or if you just can’t bring yourself to wait for rice to boil (although this whole meal can be made on a weekend and eaten as leftovers for several nights), cauliflower rice works just as well.
Lastly, avocados. I know, I KNOW there should be some in these photos and I HIGHLY recommend adding them to the finished dish. For some peculiar reason, I’ve had a bad stroke of luck lately. Whenever I go to take blog photos, my avocados are always under-ripe or a tad too mushy to slice in a blog-worthy way. Aesthetics aside, add ’em if you’ve got ’em!
PrintOne-Skillet Chicken Fajita Bowls
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Say goodbye to boring chicken with these easy One-Skillet Chicken Fajita Bowls, spiced up with zesty fajita seasoning and perfect for big batch meal prep.
Ingredients
Fajita Spice Mix:
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp each cayenne, ground cumin, ground coriander and garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each black pepper and sea salt
- 1 tbsp avocado oil* (see note)
- 500g boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp fajita seasoning
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 each red, yellow and orange bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly into strips
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- cooked brown/wild rice or cauliflower rice, lime wedges + torn cilantro, to serve
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the spice mix in a small jar or spice bottle.
- In a bowl, stir together 2 tsp avocado oil, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp fajita seasoning, lime juice and the chicken strips. Stir well to coat. If you have time, let them marinate for 2-4 hours. If not, no worries – they’ll still be tasty regardless!
- When ready to cook, place a cast iron skillet over high heat and let it get hot for about 3-4 minutes. Working in batches if necessary, stir fry the chicken strips in their marinade until no longer pink inside (and slightly charred on the edges, if you like.) Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and keep warm.
- Without cleaning the skillet, heat the remaining tbsp of avocado oil. Stir fry the minced garlic for 1 minute, then the peppers and zucchini until tender crisp. (I like to add a few more good shakes of fajita seasoning here.)
- Distribute rice into each bowl and top with the vegetables and chicken. Squeeze a few lime wedges over each, then garnish with additional lime wedges and cialntro. Serve hot.
Notes
- I’ve used avocado oil because it’s a good option for high heat cooking. Feel free to swap olive oil if you need to.
- For more flavourful rice, I prefer to boil mine in low sodium vegetable broth. You can also squeeze lime juice and stir cilantro into the rice prior to plating.
- For the vegans and vegetarians in the crowd, a great swap for chicken is cooked black beans or lentils. Stir fry them on the stove in a skillet with avocado oil and fajita seasoning until warm, then plate with all the other ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: dinner
- Method: stir fry
- Cuisine: Mexican
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