Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas are a game-changing weeknight dinner that brings all the sizzling flavors of restaurant-style fajitas right to your kitchen—with minimal cleanup! Tender chicken strips, colorful bell peppers, and sweet caramelized onions roast together on one pan with a homemade fajita seasoning blend

Love More Chicken Recipes? Try My Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken or this Coconut Lime Chicken with Green Beans next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s a true one-pan wonder – everything cooks together on a single sheet pan, which means less cleanup and more time for you. The homemade seasoning is SO much better than store-bought packets. The oven does all the work while you relax, and the caramelization that happens in that hot oven creates these incredible sweet and smoky flavors you just can’t get on the stovetop.

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Ingredient List

For the Fajita Seasoning:

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• ½ Tbsp paprika
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

For the Fajitas:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 450 g)
• 2 small yellow onions (or 1 large), sliced into ¼-inch strips
• 3 bell peppers (any color mix), sliced into ¼-inch strips
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil (olive, vegetable, or avocado oil)
• 1 lime (for juice)
• 6-inch tortillas (flour or corn, your choice)

Optional Toppings:

• Sour cream
• Fresh cilantro
• Shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar)
• Salsa
• Guacamole
• Extra lime wedges

Why These Ingredients Work

The spice situation is pretty basic and you probably have most of this already unless your spice cabinet is like my mom’s where everything expired in 2016. Chili powder and paprika are what make it taste like fajitas instead of just random baked chicken. Cumin makes it taste more Mexican-ish, I don’t know how else to explain it. My sister-in-law says garlic powder is useless and fresh garlic is the only way but I think she just likes to make cooking harder than it needs to be. That sugar though—I know it sounds weird in something savory and my mother-in-law straight up argued with me about it the first time saying I was making dessert chicken—but it’s what makes the vegetables caramelize and get those brown sweet edges. Without it they’re just cooked peppers. With it they’re good cooked peppers. It’s science probably.

I buy those huge packs of chicken breast from Costco and spend like an hour cutting them into individual portions and freezing them in sandwich bags because I’m cheap and it saves money. Takes forever and I hate doing it but then I always have chicken. Thighs are better though if we’re being honest. They stay juicy and you can mess up the timing and they’re still edible. With breasts you blink wrong and they’re dry as the Sahara desert.

Peppers and onions are just what fajitas are supposed to have. I didn’t make that rule but I follow it. The peppers do something magical in the oven where they get sweet and a little smoky tasting and my daughter will eat them this way and literally refuse them any other way I’ve ever cooked peppers. The onions basically dissolve into soft golden pieces that don’t have that sharp onion taste anymore. That lime juice at the end isn’t optional even though I listed it in the main ingredients section—I forgot it one time and ate my fajita and something was off and I couldn’t figure out what and then I saw the lime sitting on the counter and realized. The acid cuts through everything and makes it taste bright and fresh instead of just heavy baked food. Makes the whole thing come alive.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You need a sheet pan. That’s basically the whole recipe. I have those half-sheet pans from the restaurant supply store that cost like $12, they’re basically indestructible. Mine has permanent stains on it from various cooking disasters including the great Brussels sprouts fire of 2023 that we don’t talk about. Still works fine though.

You need a knife to cut things and a cutting board so you don’t wreck your counter (learned that one the hard way). A little bowl for mixing the spices. Something to toss everything with—I use my hands because it’s faster and they make soap for a reason. My husband refuses to touch raw chicken with his bare hands and uses tongs like he’s performing surgery. Whatever works.

Oven mitts unless you enjoy burning your hands. I’ve grabbed that pan barehanded probably fifteen times and you’d think I’d learn but apparently not. It’s hot every single time, shockingly.

If your pan is small don’t try to make it work by piling everything up. I did that once and it all steamed and got soggy and my daughter took one bite and said “this is disgusting” which is pretty harsh coming from someone who ate a worm on a dare last month. Use two pans if you need to. Your oven has two racks.

How To Make Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Step 1: Preheat Your Oven

Turn it to 400°F and actually wait for it to heat up. I know we’re all busy and preheating feels like a waste of time but it actually matters. I used to just throw stuff in a cold oven to save time and wondered why everything cooked weird. Now I preheat like an adult.

Step 2: Mix the Fajita Seasoning

Put all the spices in a bowl and mix them around. My eight-year-old loves doing this part and acts like she’s on a cooking show. Sometimes she dumps the measuring spoons in the bowl too and I have to fish them out but she’s helping and not fighting with her brother so I’m calling it a win. I started making big batches of this and keeping it in an old parmesan shaker container so I don’t have to measure every time. Game changer.

Step 3: Slice the Vegetables and Chicken

Cut everything into strips about the same size, though mine are never actually the same and it still turns out fine so don’t stress about it. Just try not to have some giant chunks and some tiny pieces or the tiny ones burn before the big ones cook. I cut the peppers lengthwise into long strips, onions the same way. Chicken gets cut into strips maybe half an inch thick but I’m totally guessing, I never measure. Sometimes if the chicken’s still a little frozen in the middle it’s actually easier to cut cleanly. Don’t tell anyone I said that.

Step 4: Toss with Oil and Seasoning

Everything goes on the pan in one big pile. Drizzle oil over it—I don’t measure this, just glug glug probably two tablespoons-ish. Dump the seasoning on top. Now get your hands in there and toss it all around like you’re mixing a salad until everything looks coated in spices. My kids think this is hilarious and gross. Make sure you’re getting seasoning on all the pieces not just the top layer. Wash your hands after obviously.

Step 5: Spread in a Single Layer

Push everything around so it’s spread out flat in one layer with some breathing room between pieces. If it’s all piled on top of each other it steams instead of roasts and you end up with sad wet vegetables. This is the mistake I made the first two times I tried this and couldn’t figure out why it tasted off. Spread it out. If it doesn’t fit, your pan’s too small or you made too much. Use two pans.

Step 6: Roast in the Oven

Put it in and set a timer for 20 minutes. This is important—when that timer goes off you have to open the oven, pull the pan out (it’s hot, use mitts), and stir everything around with a spatula. Bottom to top, top to bottom, everything gets mixed. Don’t skip this because I have and you get burnt stuff on the bottom and pale raw looking stuff on top. Set another timer for 15-20 minutes. I check mine at 15 because my oven runs hot and has burned things before. If your oven runs cool maybe go the full 20.

Step 7: Finish with Fresh Lime Juice

When it’s done and everything looks cooked with some brown color on the edges, pull it out and immediately squeeze half a lime over it. Right away while it’s still super hot. It’ll sizzle and smell amazing and that’s flavor happening. Don’t skip the lime. I’m serious. This is what makes it taste restaurant-good instead of just oven-baked.

Step 8: Assemble and Serve

Warm up tortillas however you do that. I stack them, wrap them in a damp paper towel, and microwave for 30 seconds. My husband likes to hold them over the gas burner flame with tongs for a few seconds each which I think is unnecessary and showing off but he thinks makes them taste better so whatever. Put out all the toppings in bowls—cheese, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, whatever you’ve got—and let everyone make their own. This prevents the cilantro argument because my husband thinks it’s essential and my daughter says it tastes like soap and they’re both very passionate about their positions.

You Must Know

The halfway stir isn’t a suggestion, it’s a requirement. I’ve tried to skip it because I was watching a really good part of a show or helping my kid with long division and it’s never worth it. You get burnt food and everyone’s disappointed. Set a timer, set three timers, tell Alexa, write it on your hand, whatever you need to do.

Cut things the same-ish size. Mine are never perfect and I’m not Martha Stewart over here but try to keep them in the same ballpark. If you’ve got massive chicken pieces and tiny vegetable strips, something’s gonna be raw and something’s gonna be burnt and nobody’s gonna be happy.

Keep that sugar in the seasoning even though it sounds weird. My mom left it out one time because she thought I was crazy and the whole thing was just flat and boring. The sugar is what creates the caramelization on the vegetables. It’s the secret. Don’t tell everyone or it won’t be a secret anymore.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Want it crispier? Turn the broiler on for the last 2 minutes max. But stay there and watch it through the oven window. Don’t walk away even for a second. I burnt a batch black one time because I went to put laundry in the dryer “real quick” and came back to smoke.

Use chicken thighs if you’re worried about dry chicken or if you tend to forget about things (it’s me, I’m the one who forgets). They have more fat so they stay juicy and you can cook them a little longer without ruining them. They’re usually cheaper too which is nice. Cook them maybe 5-10 extra minutes.

Throw in whatever vegetables you want. I’ve added mushrooms which were really good, zucchini which got a little mushy but still tasted fine, jalapeños when my husband wanted it spicy. One time I had leftover corn and threw that in. It all works. Just don’t add so much that it doesn’t fit on the pan.

Buy the pre-cut peppers and onions if you’re really in a rush or you hate cutting vegetables. Yeah they cost like double but sometimes it’s worth it to actually make dinner instead of calling it quits and ordering pizza again. I do this at least once a week and I’m not ashamed.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Leave out the cayenne completely if you’re making it for little kids or people who think ketchup is spicy. Or if you like heat, use more cayenne and throw in sliced jalapeños with the other vegetables. I make mine medium and my husband dumps hot sauce all over his after and my daughter picks out every single pepper and onion piece before she’ll eat it. Somehow this works for everyone.

You can use steak instead of chicken—flank steak sliced really thin against the grain. My brother makes it this way and acts like he invented it. It’s really good though. Cook it less time, maybe 25-30 minutes total because steak cooks way faster. Check it early so you don’t end up with gray overcooked steak that’s chewy. Or use shrimp which only needs like 20 minutes but it gets rubbery if you overcook it so watch the time.

Sometimes I use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika and it tastes smokier, almost like it came off a grill. Makes me feel fancy. Or I’ll throw in a tablespoon of store-bought taco seasoning on top of my homemade seasoning when I’m feeling like it needs something extra.

Make-Ahead Options

I meal prep this when I remember to get my life together on Sunday. I’ll cut everything up, put it in containers in the fridge separated, and then during the week I just dump it on a pan and cook it. Takes like three minutes of work on a Tuesday night which is all I can handle.

Or I’ll cook a double batch on Sunday and just reheat portions all week for lunch. My husband takes it to work. I eat it standing at the counter at 11am when nobody’s watching. It keeps for 4-5 days in the fridge easy.

You can freeze the raw chicken and vegetables already mixed with the seasoning in freezer bags. I lay them flat so they freeze flat and stack better in my freezer which is always packed with random stuff. Thaw overnight in the fridge then cook it normal. Don’t freeze the cooked peppers though, they get mushy and weird when you reheat them. Learned that one the hard way.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

The vegetables will leak some liquid while they cook, this is completely normal and most of it evaporates. If you end up with a puddle at the end something went wrong—usually means the pan was too crowded or your oven wasn’t actually hot enough or you used frozen chicken like I told you not to.

If your chicken pieces are really thick, either butterfly them so they’re thinner or just cook it longer. I usually just cut into the fattest piece to check if it’s done. Should be white all the way through with no pink. Or stick a meat thermometer in if you have one and trust it, should say 165°F. I don’t trust mine because I dropped it once and now I think it lies.

Don’t have a rimmed baking sheet? You can use a 9×13 baking dish in a pinch but you’ll probably need to cook it in two batches unless you’re making less food. Don’t pile it up or it steams and gets gross.

Serving Suggestions

I make white rice in my rice cooker because it’s impossible to mess up and I can forget about it. Open a can of refried beans, dump them in a bowl, microwave for 90 seconds, stir, done. Sometimes I’ll get ambitious and make actual Mexican rice but that’s rare and usually only happens when my mother-in-law is coming over. Throw out a bag of tortilla chips and some jar salsa and boom, dinner spread that looks like I tried.

If you’re doing the healthy thing—I go through phases where I pretend I’m gonna eat better and it lasts like a week—skip the tortillas and put everything over cauliflower rice or make fajita bowls over regular lettuce. I’ve done lettuce wraps too when I was trying keto that one month. It was fine, I missed the tortillas though.

I set out every topping I have in bowls and let everyone build their own. Shredded cheese, sour cream, two kinds of salsa because my daughter will only eat the mild kind, cilantro, lime wedges, sometimes guacamole if I bought it or jalapeños if I’m feeling spicy. My daughter makes hers with literally just chicken and cheese, no vegetables at all which defeats the purpose but at least she’s eating something. My son loads his up with everything plus hot sauce plus he’ll add more lime juice and more salt. I don’t know where he puts it all.

I just do chicken, a little bit of veggies, cheese, sour cream, lots of cilantro, and fresh lime. Keep it simple. Sometimes when you add too much stuff you can’t taste anything.

If you wanna get fancy, Mexican street corn is really good with this. Or elote if you want to use the right word and sound cool. Or just open a bag of Tostitos and put them in a bowl and nobody will judge you. I do that most of the time honestly.

How to Store Your Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Put leftovers in a container in the fridge. Keep tortillas separate or they’ll get soggy and sad and nobody will want to eat them the next day. The chicken and vegetable mixture keeps for 4-5 days in the fridge. I eat leftovers for lunch most days, sometimes I eat them cold standing at the fridge at midnight when I can’t sleep but we don’t need to talk about that.

Don’t freeze the cooked peppers and onions. I tried it once and when I thawed them they were mushy and watery and weird. Just don’t. The cooked chicken freezes fine for up to 3 months though. I freeze it in portions in sandwich bags.

To reheat just microwave it for a minute or two. Or throw it in a pan on the stove for a few minutes if you’re feeling fancy. You can reheat it in the oven at 350°F covered with foil if you want but that’s too much work for a random Tuesday lunch. Add a tiny splash of water when you reheat it or it dries out a little.

Food safety people say don’t leave cooked food out for more than 2 hours. I forget sometimes and have definitely eaten things that sat out longer than that and been fine but officially you’re supposed to put it away after 2 hours. Do what you want with that information.

Allergy Information

What might cause problems:

• Gluten: Flour tortillas have gluten. Use corn tortillas if that’s an issue, they’re actually better anyway in my opinion.
• Dairy: Only in the toppings—sour cream, cheese. The actual fajita mixture has no dairy at all.

How to work around it:

Dairy-free: Skip the sour cream and cheese or buy dairy-free versions. Cashew cream is actually a really good substitute for sour cream, I tried it when my sister went dairy-free and honestly couldn’t tell much difference.

Gluten-free: The chicken and vegetables are naturally fine, just use corn tortillas or those gluten-free flour ones that cost twice as much. Check your spices but they’re usually fine unless they have weird fillers. I’ve never had an issue but I guess double-check the labels if you’re really sensitive.

Low-carb or keto: Ditch the tortillas and the sugar in the seasoning. Serve it over cauliflower rice or just eat it as a bowl. I’ve heard people say you can use monk fruit or erythritol instead of sugar for the caramelization but I haven’t tried it so I can’t promise it works the same.

Nightshade-free: This recipe won’t work for you, sorry. It’s basically all peppers. You’d need to make something completely different.

Nut-free: It’s fine unless you add toppings with nuts like cashew cream or something.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Why are my fajitas soggy instead of roasted?

Your pan’s too crowded, that’s usually the problem. I did this the first three times I made these and couldn’t figure out why they were so mediocre and then I realized I was piling everything up like lasagna. When the pieces are all touching and layered on top of each other, they steam in their own moisture instead of roasting. Use the biggest pan you have or split it between two pans. Also make sure your oven actually got to 400°F before you put the food in. And you have to stir it at the halfway point. These three things will fix it.

Can I make this with steak instead of chicken?

Yeah absolutely. My brother makes it with flank steak and it’s honestly better than the chicken version but don’t tell him I said that. Slice it really thin against the grain—this actually matters because if you cut with the grain it’s super chewy and annoying to eat. Cook it for way less time though, like 25-30 minutes max. Steak cooks so much faster than chicken. Start checking it at 20 minutes. Overcooked steak is gray and sad and chewy so watch it.

Do I really need to make my own seasoning, or can I use a packet?

You can totally use a packet if that’s what you want to do. I used to. Use one of those little fajita seasoning packets, the 1-ounce ones. But making it yourself takes like 30 seconds and tastes way better and you can control how much salt goes in there. Those packets are SO salty it’s ridiculous, like lick-the-ocean salty. Plus you probably have all the spices already sitting in your cabinet. But yeah if you’re really in a rush or you don’t want to measure things, use the packet. No judgment.

My chicken is done but the vegetables are still crunchy – what should I do?

Your vegetables were probably cut too thick or your pieces were different sizes. Next time cut them thinner and try to keep them all roughly the same size. Or put just the vegetables in the oven first for 10 minutes before you add the chicken, then add the chicken and continue. For right now in this moment, take the chicken out and put it on a plate, stick the vegetables back in the oven for another 10 minutes, then mix everything back together. Crisis averted. It’ll be fine.

💬 If you make these tell me how it goes! Do your kids actually eat the vegetables or spend ten minutes picking them all out first? What toppings do you use? Does your family fight over the crispy bits like mine does?