The BEST Steak Fajitas
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The absolute BEST Steak Fajitas you’ve ever had! This is my take on the Tex-Mex steak fajitas. Marinated for hours in lime juice, garlic, and cumin — so good you’ll never use another recipe again!
Holy Guacamole!
And I’m not just saying that because steak fajitas NEED guacamole. I’m saying it because you need these homemade fajitas. And I actually can’t believe it took me this long to make them for us. I mean, beef fajitas are a classic, and quite possibly the most delicious thing we’ve eaten around here. Hands down. Like EVER. So it’s totally my food blogging responsibility to bring these to you right now because they couldn’t possibly taste better than they do right now.
These fajitas were gobbled up quicker than anything I’ve ever made before – that’s saying a lot because I feel like I’m ALWAYS cooking. And these make A LOT, enough to feed 4-5 people! We enjoyed them in tortillas the first day and turned them into Chipotle-style fajitas bowls for lunch the next day, and we still had some leftovers! And nope, I’m not even complaining about them. I’ll definitely be making these over and over again on repeat.
The Best Steak Fajitas (57 sec.):
You’ve probably made steak fajitas with store-bought fajitas seasoning a million times before. But I’m kind of reinventing this a little because my recipe is less focused on spices and more focused on overall ingredients that marinate, tenderize, and flavor the fajita meat. Because no one likes fajitas that are bland. What’s the point in that?
But this marinade! Oh my Lanta! It is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before. I was never convinced you could make restaurant-style steak fajitas at home and make them taste better, but this totally does it. They are absolutely are the BEST steak fajitas of your life. The ingredients are simple and straight forward. Also, this isn’t a Harry Potter potions class – you don’t need anything super fancy to make the best fajitas of your life. There is one ingredient in particular that I use that isn’t a typical ingredient one sees in a fajita recipe but give it a try, I promise you, it’s a GAME CHANGER.
I like to use a colorful array of veggies for my fajitas.
You can do with the regular red and green peppers if you’d like, but I love the color and the flavor that yellow and orange peppers add to this recipe. I’m one of those people that eat with my eyes first. I also like to add in a BIG poblano pepper. Remove all the ribs and seeds, so the spice is gone. We just want the nice smokiness of the poblano sizzled with the onions and bell peppers — the flavor is out of this world. I can’t believe I had been making fajitas without poblanos for so long before this. I almost feel like I cheated myself out of the best fajitas.
And the secret ingredient in my steak fajitas is…
Okay, let’s do a quick walk through on the ingredients and how you’re going to make the marinade for the fajitas. Without any further suspense let me share with you the ONE ingredient that makes my steak fajitas better than the rest — PINEAPPLE JUICE. Um, yup. You read that right. Pineapple juice, the stuff that comes in a small/large cans in the juice aisle. I use the stuff that is 100% juice with no additional sugars added.
If you’re wondering what the function of pineapple juice is for fajitas, allow me to explain. Store-bought fajita seasonings usually contain enzymes that help tenderize the meat. So to mimic that same tenderization without any weird ingredients, we use pineapple juice. There are people that argue that fresh pineapple juice (that hasn’t been heated) works best. But honestly, for our recipe, canned pineapple juice works just fine! No need to grab a fresh pineapple and make fresh juice, unless you’d like to that is.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BEST STEAK FAJITAS:
The other ingredients are simple! A little lime juice, some Worcestershire sauce (this is Tex-Mex style fajitas after all!), garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, a little olive oil, chopped cilantro, and a little salt and pepper. That is it! No cornstarch or sugar or a million other ingredients. These are simple, flavorful steak fajitas that shine on their own. You don’t need to put a million ingredients in them to taste good.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST DARN STEAK FAJITAS:
Now the instructions – combine the ingredients for the marinade and let marinate. It’s that simple. I like to let fajita meat marinate for at least 4 hours and ideally sometimes, overnight. The longer you let them sit, the tastier they are.
I made these indoors on a large cast iron skillet. You can grill the meat out on the grill in the summertime if you’d like. I know we definitely will once it stops raining here EVERY SINGLE DAY and once we purchase a grill. In the meantime, the cast iron skillet is making them just perfectly. ?? I use one large skillet to sear the meat, and while the meat is resting, I add in another tablespoon of oil and allow the veggies to sauté. I love the little bits of the charred marinade to coat the peppers and onions. If you don’t want that, use a separate skillet to make the veggies. Make sure to season them with a hint of salt and pepper.
Be prepared to make this meal on a weekly rotation.
Make it a Sunday tradition, because I have a feeling that this recipe is going to get ten thumbs up.
shop this post:
The BEST Steak Fajitas
The absolute BEST Steak Fajitas you’ve ever had! This is my take on the tex-mex steak fajitas. Marinated for hours in lime juice, garlic, and cumin — so good you’ll never use another recipe again!
Ingredients:
STEAK MARINADE:
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup pineapple juice (no sugar added)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon EACH: ground cumin AND chili powder (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
FAJITAS:
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds skirt or flank steak
- 1 tablespoon oil (high heat)
- 2 medium white onions, sliced
- 1 large poblano, ribs and seeds removed then sliced
- 2-3 bell peppers (any color you please!)
OPTIONAL:
- guacamole,salsa, cilantro leaves, salsa verde, sour cream, black beans, rice, tortillas, cilantro lime rice, sautéed corn, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, etc.
Directions:
- STEAK MARINADE: Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large shallow bowl. Give it a taste and check for seasonings, adjust to preference. Coat the steak with the marinade and let sit covered in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours and ideally overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minute prior to cooking.
- Set a large cast iron skillet or pan over high heat and let heat up for a couple of minutes. Add the steak to the pan and fry on each side for about 3-5 minutes or longer if you’d like it more done. Feel for desired firmness. The 3 minutes/side will yield a medium rare doneness. If the pan becomes too hot, reduce the heat to medium high. Remove the steak from the pan and allow to rest for several minutes tented with a piece of foil. Slice the meat against the grain into thin slices. I like to do so on an angle so the meat slices are tender and thin.
- FAJITA VEGGIES: Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan over high heat, add in the onions, poblano, and bell peppers. Let the veggies begin to sizzle and toss as necessary, cook for a total of 2-3 minutes or longer if you prefer them softer, season with a pinch of salt and pepper. [b]If your pan is small, cook the veggies in a few batches so they don’t steam.[/b]
- ASSEMBLY: Serve them in tortillas or on rice bowls topped with your favorite toppings!
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*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients i’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional facts are for 1/6th of the steak fajitas recipe. The NFs do not include any of the optional ingredients. *
if you like this recipe, you might also like:
Best Ever Skillet Chicken Fajitas
Garlic Lovers Pepper Steak Stir Fry
Marinated Mojo Steak Tacos with Quick Guac
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108 Comments on “The BEST Steak Fajitas”
Wow, these were so authentic tasting. Due to limited resources of our current crisis, I subbed crushed pineapple for the amount of juice and it was still so delicious. I cooked my veggies in the cast iron skillet on top of the grill and the steak right next to the pan. I even grilled the corn tortillas. Thanks, I will definitely post up next time.
Could i cook the steak in a normal non stick calphalon pan?
Yes, that will work, but it just may not develop as nice of a sear because the pan won’t get as hot as cast iron!
So easy and so delish! I made these beef fajitas for dinner tonight, and the flavor was incredible. I think next time I’ll throw some jalapeños in the marinate, as I love spicy, but overall, the dish was magnificent! Yum ?
Wow! Easy and fun for the whole family. Loved it so much, we will have it again for supper really soon.
Quick question. I have read that beef shouldn’t be marinated for more than two hours if your are using lime or lemon juice. The recipe you posted calls for marinating the meat longer than two hours. What am I missing?
What you’re missing is that skirt steak and flank steak are WAY tougher than other cuts of beef. Trust the recipe. It’s sublime.
Just made these for the first time and they are AWESOME! You can bet they will be in the regular rotation at our house.
I have never made steak fajitas before – I don’t eat red meat, but my son was begging me to make these for him. I thought the ingredient list looked flavorful so off i went and bought a flank steak (which I have never cooked before) and made this tonite. My 2 sons devoured 2 pounds of meat in less than 10 minutes. This was awesome. We grilled the meat over charcoal – 3/3 min direct 1/1 indirect – perfect medium rare. This is a keeper.
Excellent! I used Lemon instead of Lime and didn’t have any Cilantro on hand, and it was still wonderful. Will be adding this to my favorites! Thank you for sharing.
These truly are the BEST fajitas!! Love them! I’ve made them many many times and it’s always my go-to recipe for when company is coming over, I want to impress, have something kid friendly, and easy. Great recipe!
This has been my favorite fajita marinade for awhile! It’s so delicious and the pineapple juice is simply genius. I recently started Whole30 and had every aspiration to make some homemade worcestershire so we could have these fajitas. Got lazy and decided to use coconut aminos instead. It’s absolutely perfect! Just thought I would share for other Whole30ers out there.
Is there a reason it calls for no sugar added pineapple juice? I cannot find that. Will it be too sweet if I use regular?
It was my first time making a fajita. I used tenderloin steak. It was sooooooo good! Husband really enjoyed it! Would definitely make again! Thank you for the recipe!
Absolutely crazy good
You’ve just turned a Canadian into a Latino
Thanks
Made this tonight and it was good, should have marinated it longer. My question is that we used a cast iron skillet and there was some smoke but the smoke was almost toxic, burned my throat and made me sneeze and cough (no I don’t cook well or often, I’m sure it was all my fault).
If they were smoking then the heat is way too high, especially indoors.
Awesome recipe! My family loved it and we will use it again. The only problem was the steak was tough. Not sure how to make it tender! I’d appreciate any help with that. Next time I’ll use it for the chicken too. Has anyone used this in the crock pot?
Thanks for your help.
These truly were the best Fajitas I have ever had. We did a mix of chicken & beef. I just finished dinner and sI can’t wait to have them again! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
Thank you for taking time to post this recipe. I appreciate you and your effort.
I tried this recipe tonight. I will not make this again because I keep only the best tasting recipes and this one is just average. Not worth the time and the effort. Some of the store bought fajita rubs are better in my opinion.
Definately the BEST fajitas ever!
My husband and I love them!
I do a small twist though, I add pinapple chunks and also shrimp.
The other twist is that I prefer to broil my food, so I put it all (even the peppers and onions) on a sheet pan in the broiler for about 8 min. (Flipping the meat half way through)… and like I said, this recipie is so delish!
I have made it for my family and friends. Everyone has loved it!
Could i use chipotle powder instead of smoked paprika?
Yes, chipotle powder would be a good substitute but keep in mind that it may make the fajitas a little spicier!
Um yeah….. you cannot beat this recipe! Taco who?????
Delicious! I shared your link for this recipe on my blog 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Love this recipe, one of the things my picky husand will eat! I cut up the steak before hand and use mushrooms instead of onions being the hubby hates onions. I marinate the veggies in with the steak for at least 6 hours. We like it spicy also so we use more chilli pepper and red pepper flakes!
I saw where you told someone to not marinate for longer than 14 hours; but before reading this, I mixed my marinade last night at 11:00 p.m. and didn’t cook everything until 6:00 p.m. tonight, so 19 hours. I didn’t have any pineapple juice, but the flank steak was very tender and the fajitas were the best I’ve ever eaten. I can’t imagine how these could be better than they were tonight, but I will use pineapple juice the next time. By the way, I like spicy, so I used 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes and increased the paprika to 2 tsp. I also had sliced the flank steak into strips before marinating. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I had some cooked shrimp that I tossed into the marinade separately from the steak…This was amazing..Even better heated up on sheet pan in hot oven the next day..Sharing this with everyone!
My husband love it and I did too….!!! awasome
This was SO good!! Only thing I did different was we grilled the meat and with the veggies we grilled them up in a grill pan.
It was fantastic! My 11yr old who is a picky eater came back for seconds. That’s saying something, lol.
I’m so adding this into the weekly rotation! Thank you for the best fajitas, way better then any restaurant.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice – marinated once overnight (amazing) and the other time just for a couple hours (still amazing). I have a question though – I’m pretty new to my cast iron skillet and both times I made this the marinade hardened into a black gunk that was impossible to clean off the pan. I kept the meat and veggies on a minimal amount of time – the steak was rare and the veggies were tender but definitely not burnt, but I still got the burnt-on marinade! Is this happening to other people or am I doing something wrong with either the recipe or my pan maintenance? I love the grilled taste I get from my cast iron since I live in an apartment so can’t grill – I’d love any advice y’all have!
How new is your cast iron skillet? You may need to season it before you use it. I prefer to cook bacon in mine to season it, just cook an entire thing of bacon nonstop. You can use the bacon for breakfast burritos or something else. This allows the bacon grease to really soak into the cast iron. Never ever wash your skillet with anything other than water, and you shouldn’t have any more issues with stickiness.
I made this dish for a Friday meal; following the recipe, it turned out good! But Saturday I kicked it up a notch I added brown sugar. Accent. Seasoning salt, I doubled batched it, along with chicken breast, and shrimp, Jalapeno’s, oh it is fire. Love this recipe.