These sheet pan fajitas require minimal prep and produce an amazingly flavorful pan full of tender chicken and roasted veggies. The easy spice blend is perfection and you can serve these in a variety of ways! Obviously the mixture can be tucked into tortillas, but we also love these over rice bowls (extra great with some black beans, too) and they reheat really well for an excellent meal prep option. Thousands of you have made these and loved these and ranked them as our top recipe of the year!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Chicken – You can certainly try this recipe with boneless skinless chicken breast, but I prefer thighs for some very specific reasons. Aside from the fact that chicken thighs are so much more flavorful in a recipe like this, they are also much easier to cook. Chicken breasts need to be cooked to a certain temperature and as soon as they pass that, they’re suddenly dry and chewy. It’s hard to mess up chicken thighs. You can overcook them and they’re still juicy and tender. On a sheet pan meal, you’re cooking several different things on the same pan and it’s really nice to have some flexibility in case everything isn’t done at the exact same time. Did I mention they taste so much better in this recipe? Buy boneless skinless ones and then use a sharp pair of clean scissors or kitchen shears to trim excess fat if you like.
- Onion
- Bell peppers
- Olive oil
- Seasoning mix – I’m using seasonings that most of you probably have in your pantries already: Kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and if you have any- True Lime. I buy this crystallized fresh lime in a large shaker bottle on Amazon and use it on evvvverything. If you don’t have it, no worries. We’ll give these a squeeze of fresh lime.
We’re using all dry seasonings because there’s plenty of moisture in the chicken and vegetables and we want these to caramelize and roast (not simmer!). - Cilantro
- Lime
- Items for serving – Sour cream, guacamole/avocado, tortillas, rice and beans, etc.
- Nitrile gloves – Optional. I like to keep a box of these gloves in my kitchen for recipes like this. It makes it easy to mix everything up by hand on the baking sheet!
- Extra large sheet pan – I use an extra large sheet pan so things aren’t too crowded. I get them here, they’re fantastic and so useful. I pretty much use this size for everything! If you don’t have one, you may want to spread everything between two standard sheet pans.
How to Make Sheet Pan Fajitas
- I slice up my chicken and vegetables and then use nitrile gloves so I can just toss everything together with my hands! Pop everything on a foil-lined sheet pan and drizzle with a few tablespoons oil and all of your seasonings.
- Toss that pan in a hot oven. If your oven has a convection setting, use it. Convection will circulate hot air and help get everything kind of toasty brown like a grill would. If not, you can always broil quickly at the end if you like.
- I toss on a handful of chopped cilantro at the end and a big squeeze of fresh lime juice. These are DIVINE.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
Additional Serving Suggestions
You can obviously serve these traditionally in tortillas with all the fixings. But some other ways we love eating these, depending on nutrition preferences, are:
- Over shredded iceberg or mixed greens
- Over a bed of cauliflower rice
- In a bowl of rice and beans (use the quick steam rice bags and canned beans for a fast meal!).
- Simply in a bowl with avocado and sour cream
More Fajita Recipes
I’ve got a couple other fajita recipes here on Our Best Bites, and they all have their place!
For the grill, you cannot beat our Classic Fajita recipe. It requires a long marinade and its tangy, smoky flavor profile is beloved by readers around the world as one of our all-time most popular recipes!
For those times where you need to just dump everything in a slow cooker, we have my easy Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas. Super tender steak and so easy and delicious. Set it and forget it.
These days the recipe I tend to make the most are these Sheet Pan Fajitas. You cannot beat the convenience of a one-pan meal and a simple yet flavorful dry rub gives these fajitas out-of-this-world flavor without drowning everything on a pan like a marinade would.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can prep all of the ingredients ahead of time and store them in the fridge. To follow best food safety practices, store prepped veggies and protein separately. When ready to cook, simply proceed as directed.
Absolutely! The only thing I’d caution against is overcrowding your baking sheet, as that will make it harder for moisture to evaporate and you’ll essentially end up boiling your ingredients. If you have two extra large sheet pans, that should work perfectly. Double ovens that can fit multiple standard pans would work as well. If you have a single oven and standard baking sheets, just do your best to spread everything out well, or cook in batches.
Sure! Add some red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne or chipotle powder to your spice mix or top with hot sauce.
For best results, thaw meat completely before using in this recipe.
Sure! Toss anything in there that sounds good, just keep in mind that softer veggies will cook faster than firmer ones. My sister even told me she has had success adding cubed sweet potatoes to the mix and eats it all as a fajita bowl topped with sour cream and guacamole.
Sheet Pan Fajitas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ – 2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless, skinless trimmed and sliced (see note)
- 1 onion large, sliced
- 2 bell peppers, large or 3 small/med ones, sliced
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil or other oil of your choice
- 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 teaspoons True Lime optional
- handful cilantro
- 1 lime
- optional for serving: sour cream, guacamole/avocado, tortillas, rice and beans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Have a large sheet pan ready (cover with foil or parchment for easy clean-up).
- Place sliced chicken, onions, and peppers in an extra large mixing bowl. Drizzle on oil and all seasonings. Toss to coat. (Tip: I keep nitrile gloves in my kitchen and use them for things like this; tossing with your hands is much easier!)
- Spread chicken and pepper mixture out evenly on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes (closer to 20 with convection) until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. If desired, place under broiler for a quick minute to brown.
- Remove from oven and if desired, sprinkle cilantro over everything and give it a big squeeze of fresh lime juice (you might not need fresh lime if you used True Lime, but I say never enough lime).
- Serve with tortillas and traditional Latin-themed fixings. Or, try over a bed of salad, veggies, or rice and beans.
Notes
- I like using extra large sheet pans for most of my cooking, and they’re the perfect size for this recipe. If you are using a standard sheet pan, you will have to let me know if it all fits- if you’re worried there’s too much, just split between 2 pans and pop both in the oven!
- I use a full 2lbs of chicken and it’s generously seasoned.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
Questions & Reviews
This has become a staple at our house. Quick, easy and yummy!
Funny story: Recently, I got out all the spices and asked my 10-year old son to measure them out for the rub. When we sat down to dinner, they had kind of a weird flavor. Unbeknownst to me, my husband had bought some True Lime Watermelon Lemonade mix and that’s what I had handed to my son! We still ate them, but wouldn’t recommend that. 🙂
Oh my gosh- dying over this!! haha!
So glad I used the chicken thighs instead of breasts. Used convection for 20 min and it was perfect.
So delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I have made a lot of OBB recipes but this may be my all time favorite! It’s so quick and easy, and SO delicious. I have made it at least a dozen times and we are still not over it. Chicken breast will never be as good as thighs, the thighs make this recipe!!!!
Love this recipe. So easy and delicious. Perfect for a weeknight family meal
Made this tonight and it was delicious. The seasonings were spot on. I did 20 minutes with convection – I did use chicken tenders instead of chicken thighs – and it turned out moist and delicious.
Again, the seasonings are what make this taste so awesome! Good job, ladies!
Can I use a short cut and use cooked chicken?
I wouldn’t—the chicken will be overdone by the time the veggies are done. It’s so fast that it’s not really much of a time saver. Hope that helps! ?
My friend served this last night for dinner and it was TO DIE FOR! Super tasty and easy!
This was delicious! I’ve already made it twice. Chicken thighs will find their way into my grocery list regularly now. It was delicious both in tortillas and over cauliflower rice with salsa and guacamole.
Absolutely delicious ! My entire family loved it and it was so easy to put together !