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๐Ÿ Home ยป Recipes ยป Mexican Recipes

Chicken Fajita Marinade Recipe

Updated: Nov 28, 2023 ยท Published: Mar 25, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan ยท 11 Comments

Jump to Recipe
Total Time: 30 minutes mins

This easy Chicken Fajitas Marinade Recipe has a wonderful taste and fits nicely in a low-calorie or low-fat, healthy diet. Enjoy some incredible homemade fajitas tonight.

This is a healthy marinade. When used with chicken breast, it is under 300 calories and about 8 grams of fat. Just follow the simple step-by-step photo instructions.

๐Ÿ“Ingredients

Lime juice
Olive oil
Garlicโ€”crushed or minced
Liquid smokeโ€”optional but recommended
Pantry ingredientsโ€”soy sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
For severingโ€”chicken, bell peppers, onion, tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, or anything else you like

chicken fajita on a white plate.
Jump To (scroll for more)
  • ๐Ÿ“Ingredients
  • ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐ŸณHow to Make Marinated Chicken Fajitas
  • How long to marinade
  • Related Recipes
  • โ„๏ธStorage of Leftovers
  • โ“FAQs
  • Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
  • ๐Ÿ“–The Recipe Card
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Featured Comment from Charlene:
"5 stars. We had these tonight for dinner, and WOW fantastic! I was really curious about the lime, liquid smoke, and soy sauce together and these were amazing!"

Great fajitas start with a great fajita marinade that will penetrate the meat. We all love chicken fajitas, and now you can easily make this classic Mexican recipe at home from scratch. And yours will be better than the restaurants.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐ŸณHow to Make Marinated Chicken Fajitas

  1. Mix chicken marinade. Clean and trim chicken breasts, then marinate for 30 minutes to 8 hours.
  2. Prep the bell peppers and onion. Start to cook in a large skillet, and add soy sauce and lime juice during cooking. Cook until the onion is clearing and browningโ€”8 to 9 minutes. Remove from skillet and cover.
  3. Add more oil to the pan, drain, and add the marinated chicken. Cook until browning some and 165ยฐ.
  4. Break up the cooked chicken, add the vegetables back into the chicken, and cook for a few minutes to reheat the vegetables.
  5. Serve hot with tortillas and toppings.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

How long to marinade

The marinade will work reasonably quicklyโ€”as little as 10-15 minutes will give lots of good flavor.

Like many marinades, longer is usually better. So, 2 hours will get every bit of flavor, and you can leave it longer, up to 8 hours, but longer can damage the meat due to the acid in the lime juice.

Related Recipes

Don't miss the other chicken fajita recipes, like Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas, Grilled Chicken Fajitas, and Chicken Fajita Quesadillas.

Check out other easy marinade recipes, like easy chicken marinade, buttermilk marinade for chicken, flank steak marinade, lemon chicken marinade, and easy steak marinade.

โ„๏ธStorage of Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 daysโ€”reheat covered in the oven or on the stovetop. A microwave will change the texture of the chicken.

The chicken will freeze well, but the cooked vegetables will lose texture if frozen.

โ“FAQs

How to serve chicken fajitas?

We are all familiar with the sizzling presentation at the restaurant. Move that skillet to the table and serve on warm tortillas and toppings. Typical toppings are cheddar or Mexican cheese, salsa, pico de Gallo, slices of jalapeno, sour cream, or guacamole,

How to warm tortillas?

Warm tortillas in a foil pack in the oven. Or, in the microwave, give them a light sprinkle of a few drops of water, wrap them in a thin dish towel, and microwave a stack for 10-20 seconds.

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โ†‘Jump to Table of Contents

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

101's Best Recipes, Chicken Breast Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes, Mexican Recipes

Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

seasoning for marinade.

Start by mixing a marinade in a 1-gallon zip lock. 2 tablespoons lime juice, 4 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ยผ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional), ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/ 4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1-2 cloves of garlic crushed.

raw chicken breasts sliced on a white board.

Clean and trim about 1 ยฝ to 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into strips about ยฝ inch thick.

chicken in the marinade in a bag.

Add to the marinade for about 15 minutes, but refrigerated for 2 hours is better. Do not marinade for more than 8 hours.

chopped onion with red and green pepper on a black board.

Put 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large cast-iron pan and heat over medium-high heat. While heating, slice up a large onion and two peppers. Mix 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon lime juice, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a small bowl.

cooking peppers and onions in a cast iron skillet.

When the oil is hot, add the veggies, and after a few minutes, add the water, soy sauce, and lime mixture. When onions are clearing and starting to brown (about 8-9 minutes), remove from pan, set aside, and cover.

cooking chicken in the skillet.

Add a little oil to the pan. When hot, add the drained chicken and brown. Near the end of cooking, break apart the chicken with a wooden spoon. This will make much smaller pieces and prove the meat is cooked. Check a few large pieces with an instant-read thermometer to be sure you are at 165ยฐโ€”about 8-9 minutes.

cooked chicken with peppers and onion in cast iron skillet.

When the chicken is done, add the veggies back to the pan. Cook and stir for a minute or two until the veggies are reheated.

chicken fajita on a white plate.

Serve hot in the skillet with heated tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and anything else you like. An easy way to heat tortillas is to sprinkle a dish towel with some water, put them inside, and heat them in a microwave.

โ†‘Jump to Table of Contents

๐Ÿ“–The Recipe Card

Close up image of a chicken fajita on a white plate

Chicken Fajita Marinade Recipe

4.70 from 13 votes
From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
This easy Chicken Fajitas Marinade Recipe has a wonderful taste and fits nicely in a low-calorie or low-fat, healthy diet. Enjoy some incredible homemade fajitas tonight.
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

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Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric
  • 1 ยฝ to 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts - cut into thin slices or cubes. Thighs are fine.

Marinade

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ยผ teaspoon liquid smoke - optional
  • ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper - adjust for heat
  • ยผ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1-2 cloves garlic - crushed

Veggies

  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 pepper - large or 2 medium - green or red
  • 1 onion - large
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice

Serving

  • 4-6 flour tortillas
  • cheese - usually cheddar
  • sour cream
  • salsa
  • Guacamole

Instructions
 

  • seasoning for marinade
    Start by mixing a marinade in a 1-gallon zip lock. 2 tablespoons lime juice, 4 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ยผ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional), ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/ 4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1-2 cloves of garlic crushed.
  • raw chicken breasts sliced on a white board
    Clean and trim about 1 ยฝ to 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into strips about ยฝ inch thick.
  • chicken in the marinade in a bag
    Add to the marinade for about 15 minutes, but refrigerated for 2 hours is better. Do not marinade for more than 6 hours.
  • chopped onion with red and green pepper on a black board
    Put 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large cast-iron pan and heat over medium-high heat. While heating, slice up a large onion and two peppers. Mix 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon lime juice, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a small bowl.
  • cooking peppers and onions in a cast iron skillet
    When the oil is hot, add the veggies, and after a few minutes, add the water, soy sauce, and lime mixture. When onions are clearing and starting to brown (about 8-9 minutes), remove from pan and set aside and cover.
  • cooking chicken in the skillet
    Add a little oil to the pan. When hot, add the drained chicken and brown. Near the end of cooking, break apart the chicken with a wooden spoon. This will make much smaller pieces and prove the meat is cooked. Check a few large pieces with an instant-read thermometer to be sure you are at 165ยฐโ€”about 8-9 minutes.
  • cooked chicken with peppers and onion in cast iron skillet
    When the chicken is done, add the veggies back to the pan. Cook and stir for a minute or two until the veggies are reheated.
  • chicken fajita on a white plate
    Serve hot in the skillet with heated tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and anything else you like. An easy way to heat tortillas isย to sprinkle a dish towel with some water, put the tortillas inside, and heat them in a microwave.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

  1. Lime juice is important. The liquid smoke is not. If you use liquid smoke (I do suggest it), it must be of good quality.
  2. This has a touch of heat. Cut down the cayenne if you want.
  3. You can use chicken breasts or thighs.
  4. Raw chicken only here. This is not a recipe for pre-cooked chicken.
  5. Fajitas are good refrigerated and reheated for up to 4 days.
  6. Nutrition is meat and veggies only. No toppings or tortillas. And โ…“ of the marinade is counted as absorbed, which is probably too high.

Your Own Private Notes

Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 293.8 kcal (15%)Carbohydrates : 3.6 g (1%)Protein : 48.8 g (98%)Fat : 8.1 g (12%)Saturated Fat : 1.5 g (8%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 1.3 gMonounsaturated Fat : 3.2 gTrans Fat : 0.03 gCholesterol : 145.2 mg (48%)Sodium : 547.6 mg (23%)Potassium : 905.5 mg (26%)Fiber : 0.7 g (3%)Sugar : 1.3 g (1%)Vitamin A : 176.6 IU (4%)Vitamin C : 6.3 mg (8%)Calcium : 23 mg (2%)Iron : 1 mg (6%)
Serving size is my estimate of a normal size. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

ยฉ 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors.

Originally Published May 3, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

Molly sunning herself.

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Comments

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  1. Gail says

    May 13, 2022 at 3:34 pm

    Can I use bottled lime juice?

    Reply
  2. Fran says

    April 29, 2021 at 10:52 am

    Your new website is almost as good as your recipes......and that means it is great! Thank you for everything.....keep on cooking....for two of course.

    Reply
  3. Catherine says

    April 28, 2021 at 10:10 am

    5 stars
    Dr Dan, this recipe sounds and looks delicious. Iโ€™ve pinned it under my Mexican food pin and will be trying it soon.
    I read every word of your text regarding the new website and not sure what you meant as the โ€œreminderโ€? The site looks great and have no thoughts of unsubscribing.....your recipes are a staple here. Thanks for making them available. Catherine

    Reply
  4. Darice T says

    May 05, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    I always make a mixture of chicken and steak when making Fajitas. It tastes great and there is no deciding between the two.

    Reply
  5. Ziyi says

    May 07, 2019 at 3:21 am

    5 stars
    I love exploring tortilla with different fillings and this turned out to be so good! Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
  6. Charlene says

    May 05, 2019 at 12:58 am

    5 stars
    We had these tonight for dinner and WOW fantastic! I was really curious about the lime, liquid smoke, and soy sauce together and these were amazing! Highly recommend, nice to have had the meat prepared ahead of time so dinner went together in a snap. Thanks Dr. Dan - another great recipe!

    Reply
  7. Lara says

    April 29, 2019 at 10:18 am

    5 stars
    Delicious on the grill, too. Having that slightly charred taste ramps up the flavor even more, and no skillet to clean!

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      May 01, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      Hi Lara,
      I agree, the grill does add something special.
      Thanks for the note and rating.
      DrDan

  8. Marsha says

    October 08, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    Does the T stand for teaspoon or table spoon? Thanks

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      October 08, 2014 at 10:16 pm

      T is tablespoon and t is teaspoon. I just moved the FAQ section onto the main part of the menu bar to help.
      DrDan

  9. Chris says

    May 09, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    I love fajitas, probably one of my favorite meals from the grill.

    I have to have a little cumin in mine, one of the definitive flavors in the profile.

    Reply

DrDan imageHi, I'm DrDan.
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