Sweet Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas | Quick and Easy
Smoky grilled chicken fajitas that are a little sweet and a little savory topped with charred peppers and onions on a soft flour tortilla.
How’s your summer going so far? Ours has been busy with work for both me and J. I just finished my latest costume design for a dance company a week ago, and he was teaching science at a summer camp this week. All good things, but we are ready for a little time of rest! After we visit our families this weekend I am really looking forward to finding our summer routine. 🙂
Speaking of summer routines…I have to cook dinner every night! This is a tried and true recipe I have been making for years. An easy meal that takes less than 30 minutes to make – 20 if you’re a fast cook/chopper!
If you’re gluten-free or don’t want tortillas, try this chicken on a taco salad.
Sweet Lime Chicken
This chicken is perfectly spiced, bursting with the flavor of garlic and lime, and a little sweet. You won’t believe how easy it is to make!
All you need is fresh lime juice, Italian dressing, fresh garlic, and coconut sugar (brown sugar works well too.) It might sound strange but trust me! Mix those ingredients together, pour them over your chicken, and that’s all there is to it. I’ve been making chicken like this for years and it’s always DELICIOUS!
Chicken Fajitas in the Cast Iron Skillet
I love to make this recipe in a cast-iron skillet, it reminds me of when you order fajitas at a restaurant and they bring the steaming hot skillet to the table still sizzling. YUM!
ABOUT THE CAST-IRON SKILLET
Be sure to preheat your cast iron on medium-low for at least a few minutes before you begin cooking with it. There are a few reasons for this:
- It helps your food to cook more evenly. This is because the heat has had time to be properly distributed.
- It helps to keep the food from sticking to the pan.
- Any meat or vegetable can get nice and brown in a properly heated cast iron skillet. It’s a great way to cook steaks, chicken breasts or any meat that you want to have a nice brown color.
If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, and you cook at home, I would recommend that you get one. They are so versatile and if they are treated properly they will last FOREVER. I’d say it’s in the top 5 kitchen items I wouldn’t want to live without.
CAST IRON CARE
Are you nervous about the care and maintenance involved? Here’s how we wash ours after each use:
- Rinse and scrub with hot water and a brush. If the food is really stuck on the bottom we love to use a scraper, like this, to get it off.
- Dry with a paper towel, or just put it back on the stove on low for a few minutes until it drys.
- Every once in a while we rub a little oil on it. And I do mean just a little.
Cooking with the Cast Iron Skillet on the Grill
In the summer we love to cook on the grill. We have found that it’s a great way to cook meals like this one without heating up the house! Try it and see what you think. 🙂
Preheat the grill and cast iron skillet to 400 degrees and cook the chicken for about 4 to 5 minutes per side with the grill lid closed. What I love about grilling chicken thighs in a skillet is that you avoid the flare-up that normally occurs from the dripping fat. Instead, you collect all of the fantastic flavorful fat for cooking the peppers and onions!
Serve these fajitas with your favorite Mexican side dish (we love rice and beans) and enjoy!
Don’t like sour cream? Try this guacamole recipe instead!
RECIPE
Sweet and Savory Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
- Flour Tortillas
- 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil
- 5 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 2 Bell Pepper
- 1 medium Red Onion
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Chicken Marinade
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar or Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Italian Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
- 1-2 small cloves Garlic minced or finely chopped
For the Lime Sour Cream Topping:
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Lime zest
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the avocado oil.
- Heat the tortillas either on the stovetop or wrapped in tin foil in the oven on 275 degrees while the other ingredients are cooking.
- Salt and pepper one side of the chicken thighs, place the chicken in the skillet seasoned side down, and salt and pepper the other side.
- Let the chicken cook about 4 minutes, until browned and flip.
- While this is cooking, slice the pepper and onion into long thin slices and set aside.
- Once the chicken thighs are brown on both sides, remove from the pan (don't worry if they aren't fully cooked, they will get cooked more later)
- Immediately add the pepper and onion to the pan and sautee for a few minutes stiring occasionally until the vegetables are browned and softened. Lower the heat if the veggies are browning too quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste
- While the peppers and onions are cooking, mix together the marinade. Coconut sugar, Italian dressing, garlic, and 1 Tablespoon of lime juice. Set aside.
- Then in a separate bowl stir together the sour cream, 1 Tablespoon of lime juice, lime zest, and salt. Set aside.
- Next slice the chicken into strips or bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Once the peppers and onions are soft, REMOVE from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the Italian dressing mixture, and stir to remove the fond from the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce starts to bubble add the chicken and stir continuously until the chicken is cooked and the sauce begins to caramelize and thicken. Then remove the chicken from the pan.
- Begin to set out the assembly line for your fajitas. Tortillas first, then chicken, then peppers and onions, then lime sour cream, then top with any other toppings that you'd like. Serve immediately.
Notes
More chicken recipes from Indigo Spring Home
Hoisin Chicken Burgers
Lemon Basil Chicken
Chicken Salad – 5 ways
This looks super delicious and I’ll have to make it soon!
Love me some fajitas! Grilling them in the cast iron is a great idea for when my kids are playing in the backyard and I need to keep an eye on the crazy!!
Yum, these look so good. I’ve never actually made fajitas before, but I love all the things in them so this is a great new idea for me to make for dinner.
I’ve never thought of using sugar (let alone coconut sugar) in fajitas! It sounds delicious!