Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Update December 2018: This is one of the most popular recipes on Foraged Dish! I love it too. I updated it with new images, a video (!!) and made the instructions more concise. Enjoy!

Let's just cut to the chase: I'm a big fajita fan. What's not to love about have a sizzling hot skillet brought to your table?? 

This recipe is simple to whip together --30 minutes tops- but I'm going to bet high here and say it taste better than any Mexican restaurant. All you have to do is the toss the peppers and chicken in the spice mix, spread them out on a pan and throw them in the oven until their sizzling and the peppers are blackened on the edges. Bonus points for a squeeze for fresh lime juice at the end. 

Grab a helping hand and have them make the guac and the pico while you chop the peppers. As a little experiment, I made my pico de gallo with the tiniest cherry tomatoes I could find, and left them whole. All I can say is, you should try it too! Cherry tomatoes are sweeter than regular tomatoes, so each bite was like a bright explosion of yum. It also made for dripping-juicy fajitas, but I have no problem with that when it tastes so fresh.

You can serve these really however you want--I choose cabbage leaves as a paleo tortilla replacement, as they add a nice crunch, but if you really want to go big you could even make your own paleo tortillas. Heck, just use this filling as a salad topping and you'll still be all set! 

Now, enough talk... on to the recipe! 

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Published September 16, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

3 bell peppers, mixed colors, sliced into strips

1 white or yellow onion, sliced into strips

1 pound chicken breast, sliced into 1/4-inch strips

1 tablespoon olive oil or melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Juice from 1/2 a lime

To serve: tortillas, finely sliced cabbage or romaine, cilantro, pico de gallo, avocado, cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. On a large sheet pan, combine bell peppers, onion, and chicken. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with spices. Then toss everything to coat evenly.
3. Place in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, until edges of peppers are turning brown.
4. Pull from oven, and sprinkle with lime juice.
5. Serve with tortillas, avocado, cheese, greens (such as cabbage or romaine), minced cilantro, etc.

Lemony Garden Vegetable & Chicken Soup

Update 1/27/2018: I love photography, and have learned a lot over the last few years! This recipe is on of the most popular on my blog, but it's images we lacking, so I shot new ones. One of the original photos is at the bottom of this post if you need it as a reference. Hope you enjoy this one! 

My middle name is Summer, and I'm not just saying that. I've always loved that my middle name is Summer because when I use the saying, it rings true in more ways than one. My first name is fine but Summer... That's something I can identify with. It's a bit off beat, and outdoorsy, and warm. It's full of light and fun to write. Plus, I loooove summer, so it just fits.

About now, you may be wondering why this post, titled Lemony Garden Vegetable and Chicken Soup, is all about summer. Soup and summer aren't usually thought of as a "match". But I have a few reasons to share a soup recipe with you on this bright summery day.

Lemon Garden Vegetable & Chicken Soup

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood   

Feel free to flex your creative muscle with this recipe. Every garden is different, so every garden vegetable soup should be different, too. The instructions below are for either a pressure cooker (Instant Pot) or simply using a soup pot on the stove.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes using Instant Pot

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 leek, sliced thin OR 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced small
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium summer squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Juice from 1 lemon, plus additional lemon slices for garnish
• 6 cups chicken broth OR bone broth
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt & ground black pepper
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach OR 1 cup frozen chopped kale
• Optional additional veggies: 1 cup fresh sugar snap peas, chopped; 1 cup fresh asapragus, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot on the sauté setting, and add the leeks/onion and garlic to the pot.
2. When the leeks/onions are soft, add the chicken, carrots, celery, zucchini, summer squash, canned tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and if using, the asapragus and and sugar snap peas. Pour in the broth and lemon juice, and stir.
3. Secure lid on Instant Pot, and turn to Soup setting. Set timer for 4 minutes, with the vent sealed.
4. When timer goes off, release pressure. Add spinach/kale and stir.
5. Serve in bowls and top each bowl with a single lemon slice. Serve hot!

Dutch Oven Chicken & Apricot Tagine

This recipe is inspired by my dad. Hi Dad! 

Earlier this year we went on a climbing trip and my dad actually packed the entire list of ingredients for this recipe, along with his camping gear, and cooked it up on his wobbly camping stove. (You guys thought I was the foodie? Well take a look at how I cook while camping, compare it to this, and you'll see I'm no match).

I wanted to share this recipe today since it's Father's Day this weekend (plus, I've been working on a Tagine recipe for a while and it wasn't until I tasted his version again that I remembered exactly how I like it: full of veggies and spices). 

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Dutch Oven Chicken & Apricot Tagine

Published June 18, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4-6   |    Active Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 pound bone-in chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch fresh ginger, minced

1 onion, sliced

Salt for seasoning

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained

1 bell pepper, diced

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup dried apricots or figs, cut in half or quarters (if using figs, remove the stems)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch of saffron threads

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. While oven heats, melt coconut oil in the bottom of an oven-safe dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove. When oil glistens, place chicken thighs, skin-side down, in pan. Cook, without moving, for 3-5 minutes. Using tongs or a wooden spatula, flip chicken, and cook for another 3 minutes on the second side. Chicken should be golden and browned on the outside, but not yet cooked through. Set chicken on a plate and set aside.
3. Add garlic, ginger, and onion to pan. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.
4. Pour broth into pot. Loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pot using a wooden spatula. Add chickpeas, bell pepper, carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, apricots or figs, and spices. Add a generous pinch of salt. Stir.
5. Place chicken thighs, skin side up, in the pot over the vegetables. Place lid on pot, and continue to cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F when inserted into the middle of a chicken thigh. Remove lid from pot, and switch oven to low broil for 3-5 minutes, just until the top of the chicken begins to sizzle and turn brown. Remove pot from oven.
6. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro and parsley. Serve over rice.