Chicken Fajita Marinade Recipe

👨‍🍳How 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 browning—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 165°.
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 quickly—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, Crockpot Chicken Fajitas, Grilled Chicken Fajitas, and Chicken Fajita Quesadillas.

Check out other easy marinade recipes, like Easy Chicken Marinade, Buttermilk Marinated Chicken Breasts, Chicken Marinade with Lemon, Garlic, and Butter, and The Best Steak Marinade.

❄️Storage of Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days—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.

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, ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional), ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/ 4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1-2 cloves of garlic crushed.

Clean and trim about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into strips about ½ inch thick.

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

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.

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.

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 165°—about 8-9 minutes.

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.

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.