Steak Fajitas are made with juicy strips of marinated skirt steak and tender veggies served with soft flour tortillas and fixings like sour cream, a Mexican cheese blend, pico de gallo, and guacamole. They cook in under 20 minutes which makes them a perfect weeknight meal!
I used to work at a Mexican restaurant and the “sizzlin steak fajitas” were always the best selling item on the menu. And Paul will tell you without hesitation that fajitas are his favorite food and he requests for most every birthday and Fathers Day. So when it comes to making the BEST steak fajitas, weve definitely got experience on our side.
Our preferred way of making this easy steak fajitas recipe is to saute the fajita veggies in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop until they are tender but never mushy. Meanwhile, we typically like to grill the meat, then combine the two. But you can also broil or sear the steak on the stovetop if thats what works for you. Ill include notes below to tell you how.
We love Mexican food! Consider serving your beef fajitas with Mexican Rice, Instant Pot Refried Beans, and Tres Leches Cake for a complete Mexican feast!
Use a meat thermometer I like my fajitas with a little pink in the middle, so I measure the temperature with a meat thermometer, aiming for 125°F internal temperature. If you want rare fajita meat, cook to 115°F internal temperature; if you want medium-rare, aim for 120°F.
How to Make Steak Fajitas
Its easy to make this recipe. This is a quick overview with step-by-step s to help you visualize the process. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable, detailed instructions.
- Marinate the meat. Start by whisking the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Then pour it over the meat in a resealable bag and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. Although if you have the time its even better if you can let it go 4 hours or overnight so the marinade can really penetrate and tenderize the meat.
- Cook the fajita veggies. Start with the onions in a large cast iron skillet or heavy duty pan. Once those have cooked down for a few minutes and started to soften a bit, add the sliced bell peppers. Saute until the veggies have softened but still have some bite to them, then toss them with some of the reserved marinade for even more flavor. Go ahead and taste them, then add salt and pepper, as needed.
- Cook the meat. We most often grill our skirt steak because its fast and easy and adds wonderful flavor. To grill, just preheat your grill to medium-high heat so the grates are nice and hot for sear marks. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the grill. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side until it is medium-rare. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and like any good steak, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Broil or pan-seared approach: If you want to broil the meat or cook it in a large skillet, the cooking time and is the same with 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels, then heat 1 tablespoon of olive in the skillet. You may need to slice your skirt steak in half and work in batches so it can fit in the pan.
- Slice, toss, and serve. Once the meat has rested, slice it against the grain into thin strips, then add to the skillet with the fajita veggies. Toss to combine, then serve with warm tortillas and toppings for individual assembly.
You could just use the spices to make fajita seasoning and use that to rub the meat before grilling, but the marinade really helps tenderize the skirt steak even more.
Both are great choices but we prefer skirt steak because its a little thinner, cooks a little faster, and is generally more tender than flank steak. Flank steak has great flavor and only takes a minute or two longer to cook, but it can be slightly chewier and makes it slightly more difficult to eat the fajitas than when we use skirt steak.
When looking at a piece of skirt or flank steak, you will notice lines in the meat that run the same direction. This is called the “grain” of the meat and slicing perpendicular to those lines, which are muscle fibers, actually makes for more tender, easier to chew bites of meat.
Yes, absolutely! This marinade and method works just as well for chicken fajitas. For chicken breasts, you will just want to cook them for 6-8 minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Keep in mind that the temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5 degrees after taking it off the grill, so you might want to pull it a minute or two early so it isnt overdone.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Dont skip the marinade time. Not only does the marinade add flavor, but it also tenderizes the meat. These are actually great for prepping the night before if you plan ahead so the meat can marinate overnight and be ready to cook the next day.
- Be sure to preheat the pan or grill. Regardless of the cooking method, you want to make sure you are working with a hot grill or hot pan to really sear the meat and lock in the juices.
- Double the veggies. I will often double the veggies because they are my favorite part and I love having leftovers. They are fantastic with scrambled eggs for breakfast, in salads, in burritos or burrito bowls.
- Dont overcook the meat. Even if you like your meat more well-done, you dont want to have dry steak for fajitas. Medium-rare or maybe medium is perfect and everything nice and juicy without being bloody.
What temperature should fajitas be cooked?
FAQ
Do you cook fajitas on high heat?
What should the internal temperature of fajitas be when cooked?
What temperature do you cook fajitas on an electric griddle?
What temperature should a steak fajita oven be?
The idea beef fajita oven temperature is 400 degrees. This is the perfect temperature – not to low, but not to high that it cooks to fast. Make these steak fajitas on two pans, if you have to. The last thing you want is overcrowding and soggy vegetables! This recipe is seriously easy and can be made as a freezer meal recipe, too.
How long do you cook fajitas on a grill?
Grill the fajitas for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked to the desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill, place on a clean tray and cover with foil. Keep warm until ready to slice. While the fajitas are grilling, spray a vegetable grilling rack with the olive oil and add the sliced fajita vegetables.
How long does it take to cook fajitas?
They cooked thin slices of meat (“fajitas” loosely translates to “little strips” or “belts”) directly over a campfire. Our Test Kitchen experts perfected their homemade fajitas using the char of a cast-iron skillet to emulate the smokiness of the fire. This recipe is infinitely adaptable and it comes together in less than 30 minutes.
How do you cook steak fajitas?
In it, we mix ancho chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and smoked paprika. It’s strong in flavor and works beautifully with chicken, steak, and even shrimp. For the steak fajitas, we use flank or skirt steak. They cook quickly but can be a bit tough. To get around this, rub the steak with fajita seasoning and salt in advance.