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

---

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.

Arugula, Peach & Piquillo Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

This time of year, just walking by the peaches at the market is enough to get my mouth watering, their sweet scent wafting yards away. Their flesh is tender -- almost too tender, you can't pack them away- and their juice is sweeter than pie. My favorite peaches are those grown on the Western Slope of Colorado. Palisade Peaches are worth every penny and the wait all summer for their peak season. 

Have you heard the saying "what grows together goes together?" This salad is further proof it's true: peppers are also a late-summer crop, and in this salad piquillo peppers are a perfect "pop" of flavor. Piquillo peppers are a little bit sweet but with a smokey, spicy edge. They match the brightness of peaches, with out overshadowing them. 

The combination of peaches and sweet peppers is pretty much begging for a bed of arugula. Arugula is a tad bitter, which balances out the other sweet ingredients. It keeps this salad from getting too sweet. It's delicate and leafy.

The final touch is goat cheese, which adds a streak of richness that makes this salad oh so satisfying. It's soft enough that it just barely begins to melt away as you pour the dressing in, emulsifying and cream-ify-ing the entire thing. It also cuts through the pepperiness of the arugula, and is the ingredient in this salad that brings it all together. 

Arugula, Peach & Piquillo Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

Published August 24, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 pound baby arugula

2 ripe peaches, sliced thin

1/2 cup roasted piquillo peppers, diced (find these with the olives & pickles in the store)

1/3 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup red onion, finely diced

Creamy Balsamic Dressing (try this recipe)

Directions:

1. In a large salad, bowl, combine arugula, sliced peaches, peppers, and onion. Sprinkle goat cheese over top.
2. Just before serving, drizzle with balsamic dressing to taste.

Sun Dried Tomato & Sausage "Zasta"

View fullsize

Note to self: When using the spiralizer, keep your your hands on the handle. In fact, keep your hands as far from the blades as possible. Especially the day before a climbing trip. 

Some lessons, you just have to learn the hard way! This dish was actually not the dish I was making when I sliced my finger, but just thinking about the spiralizer right now has me curling my fingers. It's okay--I'm still going to force my fingers to type out this post, because this recipe is just that delicious. What is it about those long strings that make dinner so much fun?! 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Sun Dried Tomato & Sausage Zasta

Published July 29, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2-3   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large zucchini

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon coconut oil

2-3 Hot Italian Sausages

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, quartered and drained

Sprinkle dried oregano

Sprinkle of red chili flakes

2 sprigs fresh basil, minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional, for serving: grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the sausages and cook until done through. Remove from pan, and set aside for later.
2. Meanwhile, spiralize the zucchini. Add the zucchini to the pan, along with oregano, red pepper flakes, and basil.
3. Slice the sausages into bite-sized pieces, and return them to the pan. Place lid on pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the zoodles are soft.
4. Season with salt & pepper to taste, and serve hot topped with parmesan.