This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (2024)

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The restaurant classic is easy to make at home.

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Sheela Prakash

This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (1)

Food and wine writer, recipe developer, and the author of Mediterranean Every Day. Her work can be found in numerous online and print publications.

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Published February 19, 2024

This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (2)

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There is no shortage of chicken recipes on the internet, and that includes right here on Simply Recipes. So you’d think that when I pick up chicken at the grocery store to cook for dinner without a solid plan, I would revel in the sheer number of options available. Instead, I find myself thoroughly overwhelmed—I don't know what to make!

That’s why I am always happy to hear what other home cooks are loving. Of all the wonderful chicken recipes on Simply Recipes, our chicken fajitas recipe is one of the most popular. I had never made it myself—until recently. With a pack of chicken in the fridge and my usual question of what to do with it, I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

How To Make Chicken Fajitas

Simply Recipes' founder Elise published this recipe a dozen years ago and there have been hundreds of five-star reviews and comments from all of you since. Even though I am an avid cook (for work and pleasure), I’ve never prepared chicken fajitas before. I’ve always thought of the sizzling dish of sliced chicken, bell peppers, and onions as a restaurant treat. But this recipe proved just how easy it is to make at home.

Everything takes place right on the stovetop and comes together quickly. You simply marinate chicken breasts in a savory combination of garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, olive oil, and spices, then sear them in a hot pan before sautèing sliced peppers and onions in the same pan. Once everything is cooked, the chicken is sliced into strips and served with the vegetables in warm flour tortillas with all your favorite fajitas fixings.

Reader Misti commented, “These are hands down the best fajitas I have ever had, including any restaurant.” This was one of the tastiest iterations I’ve had of the classic dish, too, with super juicy, flavorful chicken and perfectly charred vegetables. It made me wonder why it took me so long to bring the restaurant favorite into my kitchen.

This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (4)

My Tips for Making Chicken Fajitas

  • The larger the pan the better. Use at least a 12-inch skillet for cooking the chicken and vegetables so that the chicken breasts have enough space to sear rather than steam and the peppers and onions can blister.
  • Use high heat. Elise calls for cooking everything at high heat. My stovetop runs quite hot so I’ve learned over the years that high heat is just way too hot for my pans and results in my kitchen smoking up. I’ve successfully cooked these fajitas on medium-high heat and still gotten plenty of color on the chicken, so adjust according to your stovetop. I find the easiest way to check to see if the chicken is done is to use an instant-read thermometer. It’s cooked when it hits 165°F.
  • Season the vegetables: Sprinkle the peppers and onions with salt and pepper once they’re in the pan to ensure they’re as flavorful as possible.
  • Marinate for up to eight hours: Speaking of flavor, if you have time to start marinating the chicken in the morning, you’ll be rewarded. While a quick 30 minutes in the marinade is sufficient, four to eight hours is even better. Just be sure to not go over eight hours because the lime juice in the marinade can cause the chicken to become mushy and stringy if marinated for too long.
  • Smart shortcut: Reader Penni took a shortcut by using shredded leftover chicken instead. “[I] added [the] marinade ingredients to shredded chicken and let it soak while [the] peppers and onion got a nice char, then added [the] chicken with marinade to the pan with peppers and heated [it] through. Yummy and quick.”

This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (5)

How To Serve Chicken Fajitas

Beyond the usual spread with tortillas, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream, you can also serve the fajitas as taco filling. Catsy commented that she makes these fajitas quesadilla-style: “[I] throw the tortilla on a griddle or in a pan and sprinkle Mexican cheese on top, let it melt and remove to a plate, pile in meat and veggies and fold in half.”

My preference is to turn the fajitas into bowls. Serve the chicken and vegetables over cilantro lime rice or Mexican rice (or even cauliflower rice for a low-carb option) and pile on the fajitas toppings. My go-to's are salsa, sour cream, and diced avocado.

The Best Chicken FajitasGET THE RECIPE:
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This 5-Star Chicken Recipe Is My New Favorite Dinner (2024)

FAQs

How to make a chicken breast taste good? ›

Here are 7 tricks to make chicken breasts taste better and even totally delicious.
  1. Cook them right. Most people get scared and overcook chicken breasts, cooking out all the moisture and leaving them tough and dry. ...
  2. Marinate them. ...
  3. Cut them thin. ...
  4. Fry them. ...
  5. Stuff them. ...
  6. Shred them. ...
  7. Use the right pan.

How to get flavor inside chicken? ›

Use a brine

Brining your chicken is a foolproof way to not only add flavour to your roast but also to ensure you don't overcook the meat. Essentially a mix of salt, sugar and water, we love adding herbs, garlic or whole spices such as fennel and cumin to flavour the brine.

How to add flavor to already cooked chicken? ›

Just because the chicken is already cooked doesn't mean it can't benefit from a rub. Before reheating, make a custom blend of your favorite spices like paprika, cayenne, onion or garlic powder. Mix in dried herbs or a bit of sugar for beautiful caramelization, then sprinkle it evenly over the skin.

What makes chicken taste the best? ›

  • Skin on, bone in = more flavor.
  • Crispy skin = more flavor.
  • Seasoning (other than salt and pepper) = more flavor.
  • Overcooking = tough and less flavor.
  • Oven better than stovetop (though both work)
Jul 17, 2021

What makes chicken breast juicy? ›

Here are some tips to help you achieve juicy and tender chicken breasts:
  1. Brining:Consider brining the chicken breasts before cooking. ...
  2. Marinating:Marinate the chicken in a flavorful liquid for at least 30 minutes or, ideally, several hours. ...
  3. Pounding:Use a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness.
Mar 21, 2023

What makes chicken soft and juicy? ›

The best tenderizer though, is a salted yogurt marinade. The salt has the same effect as in a regular brine, but the lactic acid in the yogurt further tenderizes the meat. A 15-minute marinade with one cup of yogurt and one teaspoon of salt makes for the most tender chicken breasts imaginable.

How do you make chicken soft and juicy? ›

  1. Flatten the chicken breasts. ...
  2. Heat the pan. ...
  3. Cook the chicken breasts over medium heat for 1 minute without moving. ...
  4. Flip the chicken breasts. ...
  5. Turn the heat down to low. ...
  6. Cover the pan and cook on low for 10 minutes. ...
  7. Turn off the heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes. ...
  8. Remove lid and take temperature.

Why does my chicken taste bland even after seasoning? ›

You don't need any fancy tricks or an expansive spice cabinet here, it's just important to hit the most basic seasonings and hit them well. You see, without a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, your chicken is basically destined for blandness.

What is the fastest way to add flavor to chicken? ›

Marinating is good for flavouring and tenderising your chicken at the same time. It's best to marinate your chicken overnight to give the flavours plenty of time to infuse. A faster way to add flavour is to simply brine your chicken in salty water prior to cooking.

Which spices go well with chicken? ›

5 best spice and herbs blends for chicken and meat
  • Paprika and garlic powder. Paprika is a great spice that makes any chicken dish stand out, it comes in many forms sweet, hot, regular and smoky. ...
  • Basil and rosemary. ...
  • Ginger and lemongrass. ...
  • Turmeric and chili. ...
  • Coriander and cumin.

How do you make chicken feel good? ›

How to make your chickens feel at home
  1. Keep your chickens in social groups. ...
  2. Provide perches and nest boxes in their run or free-range area as well as their coop – hens lay eggs throughout the day and will often perch to sleep in the sunshine.

When to add seasoning to chicken? ›

Yes, you should always season your chicken before cooking when it's raw. You can even do this up to 24 hours before if you have the time. Why? Because leaving the seasoning on your chicken overnight in the fridge will help it start to trap moisture in the chicken, which will make it nice and juicy once cooked.

Why does my cooked chicken taste hard? ›

Overcooking chicken and buying woody chicken breast are two of the main causes behind rubbery chicken. You can stop this from happening by: buying “slow-growing” chicken. cooking your chicken in moisture.

What does chicken breast taste good with? ›

Chicken Breasts with White Wine Pan Sauce, Crème Fraîche, and Spring Herbs. This simple white wine pan sauce enriched with créme fraîche and a generous handful of tender fresh herbs like tarragon, dill, and chives makes smart use of the pan drippings from pan-roasted chicken breasts.

Why is my chicken breast not tasty? ›

As with steak, chicken breasts don't taste good when they're overcooked. And while this might sound obvious, the best way to avoid overcooking a chicken breast is to cook it for as short a time as possible.

Why is my chicken breast tasteless? ›

You see, without a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, your chicken is basically destined for blandness. After you've pulled your chicken out of its marinade (or even if you're not using a marinade), always sprinkle all sides of the breast with salt and pepper.

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