Skip the store-bought packets and make your own homemade Fajita Seasoning! It’s incredibly simple and can be mixed together in minutes (and you can reduce or omit the salt and the sugar if you want to).This versatile spice blend is great on fajitas and grilled veggies alike. Round out your menu with cilantro-lime rice, guacamole, corn salsa, and a big batch of margaritas!
What is fajita seasoning made of?
Fajita seasoning is a blend of chili powder, salt, paprika, sugar, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of cayenne pepper.
I included salt and sugar in my Fajita seasoning, but you can reduce or omit them as you see fit.
If you buy Fajita seasoning in a packet, it might contain ingredients such as maltodextrin, modified corn starch, caramel coloring, and yeast extract. Why not skip all that and just add flavor?
Is there a difference between taco seasoning and fajita seasoning?
Taco seasoning contains a higher proportion of chili powder, as well as the addition of oregano and red pepper flakes, to give it more of a punch, whereas fajita seasoning is more subtle in flavor and softer on the palate.
How do you make Fajitas with Fajita Seasoning?
You can make fajitas with just the seasoning (do HALF the recipe of seasoning below per 2 pounds of chicken).
Or, check out my Chicken Fajitas post even more flavor and all the details (including gas grill and charcoal grill methods).
Here’s an overview of the skillet method (it’s great with steak too!):
- In a large plastic bag, add 2 pounds of chicken, 1/4 cup minced cilantro, 3 tablespoons lime juice, and 1/2 the fajita seasoning from the recipe below. Mash until chicken is evenly coated. Marinate at least 30 minutes (room temperature) or up to 1 hour (refrigerated).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Add chicken and cook until crispy and browned on one side, about 8 minutes.Flip and cook until browned on the second side and chicken registers 160 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and rest for 5 minutes before cutting into strips (do not discard fat in skillet).
- Meanwhile, to the skillet with the fat over medium-high heat, add bell peppers and onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Push peppers and onions to one side and add sliced chicken back to skillet for serving.
- Serve with tortillas, avocado, cilantro, and sour cream (or your favorite toppings).
What spices do you put in quesadillas?
Fajita seasoning, of course! For every individual 8-10 inch quesadilla, add ½ teaspoon of fajita seasoning mix to your fillings of choice.
What is good in a quesadilla?
For a basic quesadilla, add shredded chicken or sliced steak, black beans, onions, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and pepper jack cheese, along with the fajita seasoning. If you would like a vegetarian version, omit the meat and substitute rice and beans instead. Fresh herbs are always a nice addition and a dollop of sour cream when serving will round out all the flavors.
How do you make quesadillas in the oven?
Coat one side of your tortillas with cooking spray. Lay coated side down on an ungreased baking sheet, top with seasoned filling of choice, top with another tortilla, and coat with cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and filling is warmed through. Cut into wedges.
Fajita Seasoning Recipe
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or less to taste
- In a small bowl, stir chili powder, salt, paprika, white sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and ground cumin together. Store in an airtight container.
Holy Smoke Batman. My wife is a bit of a Wuss when it comes to spicy food. I like spicy but even I thought this was quite the bit over the top with the heat. Tell me if I was wrong but I made the recipe and I put the whole thing in the frying pan and then added 1/3 cup of water. With peppers and onion and leftover pork tenderloin. I actually only put in a 1/4 tsp of Cayenne Powder, 1/2 tsp sugar. Was I not supposed to put all of the seasoning that the recipe made. Thank you Richard
Hi Richard, I’m really sorry. It’s only supposed to be HALF the seasoning blend, not the whole seasoning blend. I actually completely reworked this recipe last month so it be flawless, but I apparently only updated it on the Chicken Fajitas post, not the Fajita Seasoning post. The blend is still the same, but the instructions within the seasoning post don’t say to use half the seasoning amount. I’ll send you an Amazon gift card to make up for ruining your food, just send me an email and let me know where to send it. You can reach me at meggan@culinaryhill.com. I’m really sorry again. And my apologies to your wife! -Meggan
So easy, so good! This is all I will ever make again for my fajitas!
I tried this seasoning and it was actually really good! It was a little too strong, I’m guessing due to the chili powder but still, 5 stars. I would definitely do this again. Thanks so much!!
Made it with sweet paprika and sugar! Made it awesome. Sweet and spicy. I’m a light weight with spices, and my lips are of fire, but it was so good! Don’t change a thing….other than maybe if you use sweet paprika you can omit the sugar if you want.
Well done. Was going to use a package, but was complaining I’d have to use two with so many ingredient..and I only had 1. Thank God! I’ll just throw the package out and book mark this!
Thank you!
Brad
Not the first fajita seasoning recipe I’ve tried, but definitely the last. Five stars!!! Perfect amount of heat, without making you sweat 😓. I also used two lbs of chicken, 2 bell peppers, 1 lrg onion, 1 zucchini and a lrg handful of cherry tomatoes… the amount of seasoning was perfect for all the chicken and veggies.
This was a fantastic recipe. My husband asked me if I did something different because these were the best fajitas I ever made. The only thing I omitted was the cayenne pepper because I was out and wasn’t getting out into the bad weather to buy some. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi Catrina, thank you so much! Cayenne is always easy to leave out, better than driving on bad roads. I’m so glad you liked it. Makes my day. Take care and thanks again! -Meggan
Turned out great! Maybe next time a little less cumin but definitely a repeat recipe.
Wish it wasnt so spicy
Hi Sarith, sorry about that! I’ll go change the recipe to make the cayenne pepper “optional or to taste,” I always think that people will know cayenne is spicy and use what they want, but I feel bad you didn’t know. Sorry again. -Meggan
I’m curious what the sugar does for the seasoning and if it’s necessary. I’ve been making my own taco seasoning for years now and greatly prefer it to the store bought packets. I have omitted the salt from my seasoning, so I feel comfortable reducing or removing the salt, but I’m curious about the function of the sugar.
Hi Yardley, the sugar is something you could easily leave out. The sugar doesn’t have much of a function other than it tastes good (I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in the Midwest, but sugar shows up in a lot of recipes where other people might be like… why did you add sugar?!). It might help brown the chicken, too, but I add it for the flavor. Take it out if you want to, no problem at all! Thanks. -Meggan
Love this. Use it for all Mexican type recipes., fajitas, tacos, quesadillas.
Yeeeess! Was great. Definitely saving this for next time. I’ve honestly never put sugar in any other mixture I’ve made for fajitas but this was very good.
This is great!! Then topped with guacamole..even better. Added lemon juice when chicken was done cooking.
My family loved this seasoning and fajita recipe. It’s super easy and quick (approx. 30 mins). I’ve added it to my recipe folder! Thank you!
Hi Amanda! I’m glad you liked it! :D
This recipe is a keeper! My husband said that this was the best fajitas dinner he has ever had :)
Hi Meggan, my family loves your fajitas seasoning. I made a flank steak fajitas with jalapeño wrap. It was delicious. Gave you a shout out in the blog!
Excellent! Delicious and easy. Thanks for sharing.
How much of the seasoning mix (e.g. how many teaspoons) do you use for roughly 2 lbs of chicken thanks
Hi Stacey, here’s the recipe I worked up to use the seasoning. I decided I should add it because it calls for adding 1/3 cup of water with the seasoning. If you missed that, your chicken would probably be overly salty/seasoned! I don’t want that to happen.
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil until shimmering. Add 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken and cook, without moving, until crispy and blackened on one side, about 8 minutes. Flip and cook 8 minutes longer on second side. (To substitute steak, cook to desired doneness).
2. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and rest for 5 minutes before cutting into strips.
3. Meanwhile, add onions and peppers to skillet and cook until blackened and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4. Return chicken to skillet and add fajita seasoning (the full recipe below) and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer 1 minute or until heated through.
Hi Stacey, one batch of this recipe is good for one pound of chicken plus peppers and onions. So I would make double for 2 pounds of chicken plus veggies. If you are doing JUST chicken, no veggies, you could use the recipe as is (without doubling). One thing to note is, everyone has a different taste of what is “too salty.” If you find that you are sensitive to salt, you could use less seasoning blend overall or just reduce the salt in the blend. I hope this is helpful. Thanks! -Meggan
Your directions state to use the full recipe. Did you mean a tablespoon or a couple of tablespoons? Thanks
Hi Carey, the total recipe is 14 1/2 teaspoons I think, or just over 1/4 cup. You would use that whole amount with 1 pound of chicken and 1/3 cup of water. Does that make sense? You could certainly use less if you want to though. I will make sure that is clear in my post. Thanks!
Excellent flavor. My new fajita go to.
I only used the spice mix part of the recipe. It. Was. Awesome. Definitely a keeper.