Citrus Marinated Chicken Fajitas. These delicious fajitas have a slight orange flavor from fresh-squeezed orange juice, combined with wonderful fajita spices. Serve them up with your favorite fajita toppings for an easy and delicious meal for the entire family will love.
You can easily prep this meal earlier in the day and let the chicken soak up the orange marinade for anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. I have also let the marinated chicken sit overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. There are mixed reactions on letting the chicken marinate that long in citrus, so that would be totally up to your taste preference. The flavors will be much more intense of course, but some people feel that the extended marinade time toughens the poultry.
Some of the toppings we enjoy with these fajitas are sour cream, salsa, lime, and an assortment of cheese. We had used cheddar, Monterey Jack, and pepper jack cheese. Yum!
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Ingredients Needed
To make these fajitas you will need...
- Chicken Breast
- Onion
- Green, Orange, Yellow or Red Bell Pepper
- Orange
- Olive Oil
- Garlic Powder
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Smokey Paprika
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt and Pepper
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Lime
- Cheese
- Tortillas
Prepping this recipe
Let's get ready to cook!
Slice up some onion and bell pepper. I like to use white onions when I make this recipe. Yellow will also work fine. For the bell peppers, you can use green pepper or add some color with orange, yellow or red. Place the peppers and onion in a bowl, or a food storage bag until ready to use.
Next, you will need the peel from an orange. You can either grate the orange or use a zester and remove the peel in strips. I find using the strips adds a little bit more intense orange flavor. After you have removed the peel, cut the orange in half and juice it. Make sure to remove any seeds you may come across. Place the peel, fresh-squeezed orange juice, olive oil and spices in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Slice the chicken breast into strips and place it in a food storage bag. Pour the prepared citrus fajita marinade over the top and remove the extra air from the bag and make sure to seal it tight. Work the marinade into the chicken and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to a few hours. Marinating overnight is also an option.
How to cook
I like to use a cast-iron skillet. Get the skillet very hot over a medium to medium-high heat. The skillet will probably start to smoke slightly.
I like to cook the onions and bell peppers first. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the hot pan, add the onions and pepper and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Stir often while cooking. They will only take a couple of minutes, you want them to soften, but not overdone. Remove the onions and peppers from the pan and set aside on a platter.
Drizzle a little bit more olive oil into the hot skillet. Add the chicken (you do not need to add all the marinade). I use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the marinade bag. Pour out the remaining marinade. Cook the chicken, stirring often, just until done. The chicken needs to reach 165 degrees on your meat thermometer. The fajita chicken strips with brown slightly if you pan is hot enough and there isn't an excess of the marinade in the pan. Add the cooked chicken to the serving platter with the onions and bell peppers.
Roll the Citrus Marinated Chicken Fajitas up fajita-style, taco-style or serve on a bed of lettuce for a delicious salad.
Citrus Marinated Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 - 1 ½ pounds Chicken sliced
- 1 Onion sliced (large)
- 1 Bell Pepper sliced (large, the color of your choice)
- 1 Orange zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Smokey Paprika
- Red Pepper Flakes dash or two
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 6 ounces Sour Cream
- 6 ounces Salsa
- Lime
- 8 ounces Cheese
- 6 Flour Tortillas
Instructions
- Slice onions and bell peppers and put into a bag or bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
- Slice chicken into strips and put into a Zip-Loc bag or bowl.
- Mix orange peel, fresh-squeezed orange juice, olive oil, and spices together. Add the marindae to the chicken strips and mix through. Seal the Zip-Loc bag or cover the bowl and let marinade in the refrigertor at least 30 minutes to several hours.
- Drizzle a little bit more olive oil into the hot skillet. Add the chicken (you do not need to add all the marinade). Using a pair of tongs, remove the chicken from the marinade bag. Pour out the remaining marinade.
- Cook the chicken, stirring often, just until done. The chicken needs to reach 165 degrees on your meat thermometer. The fajita chicken strips with brown slightly if you pan is hot enough and there isn’t an excess of the marinade in the pan.
- Add the cooked chicken to the serving platter with the onions and bell peppers.
- Roll the Citrus Marinated Chicken Fajitas up fajita-style, taco-style or serve on a bed of lettuce for a delicious salad.
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