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Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas with Peppers and Onions

Spiced chicken strips roasted on a tray with peppers and onions, then wrapped in warm wholemeal tortillas with avocado, lime and Greek yogurt. A homemade spice mix and 40 minutes are all it takes.

Dinner

40

Serves 4 (2 fajitas each)

A baking tray of spiced chicken strips with sliced red, yellow and green peppers and red onion, with tortillas on the side

Ingredients

  • For the fajitas
  • 600g/1lb 5oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1.5cm/½in strips
  • 3 peppers (bell peppers), ideally red, yellow and green (about 450g/1lb), deseeded and sliced into strips
  • 1 large red onion (about 150g/5oz), cut into thin wedges
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil
  • 2 tsp mild chilli powder (a spice blend; use less if yours is hot), 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Half a tsp salt
  • 2 limes: juice 1 (about 2 tbsp/30ml) and cut the other into wedges to serve
  • To serve
  • 8 small wholemeal tortillas (whole wheat tortillas, about 40g/1½oz each)
  • 1 ripe avocado (about 150g/5oz flesh), sliced
  • 100g/3½oz/scant ½ cup 0% fat Greek yogurt, instead of sour cream
  • 10g/a loosely packed ½ cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan, 425F).
  2. In a large bowl, mix the oil, chilli powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano and salt. Add the chicken, peppers and onion and toss until everything is evenly coated.
  3. Spread over two large baking trays in a single layer, with space between the pieces, so they roast and char rather than steam.
  4. Roast for 18 to 22 minutes, turning everything and swapping the trays halfway, until the peppers are soft and charred at the edges and the chicken is cooked through, with no pink in the middle. If you have a thermometer, the thickest strip should reach 75C/167F.
  5. For the last 5 minutes, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven.
  6. Squeeze the lime juice over the trays and scatter with coriander. Fill each tortilla with chicken and vegetables, a few slices of avocado and a spoonful of yogurt, and serve with lime wedges.
  7. Leftover chicken and vegetables keep in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat until piping hot. Keep the tortillas, avocado and yogurt separate.

Why it works

Two fajitas have about 47g of protein and 12g of fibre for 583 calories, including the tortillas, avocado and yogurt. That makes it a substantial dinner with a full portion of vegetables.

Why a sheet pan. Restaurant fajitas are usually cooked in plenty of oil on a sizzling griddle. Roasting on two trays at a high heat gives the same charred edges with 2 tbsp of oil for four people, and there is almost no washing up.

Simple swaps that add up. Greek yogurt in place of sour cream gives the same cool tang with far less fat and more protein. Wholemeal tortillas have more fibre than white ones. Making your own spice mix means you control the salt: shop-bought fajita kits are often high in it.

Colourful peppers. Red and yellow peppers are among the richest vegetable sources of vitamin C, and avocado adds fibre and monounsaturated fat.

Not gluten-free as written; use corn tortillas labelled gluten-free if you need to. For another Mexican-style dinner, try the chicken burrito bowl or the vegan sweet potato and black bean tacos.