Chicken Dishes
Chicken Fajitas
Strips of chicken marinated in lime, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and chilli, seared on a smoking-hot pan with charred peppers and red onion, then piled into warm tortillas with soured cream, avocado and coriander.
- Serves 4
- Ready in 35 min
- Marinate 15 min to 4 hrs
- Build your own at the table
- Tex-Mex
Method
In a bowl, mix the lime juice (1), garlic (2 cloves), paprika (2 tsp), cumin (1 tsp), chilli powder (1 tsp), oregano (1 tsp), 2 tbsp of the oil (3 tbsp) and a good pinch of salt. Toss the chicken (600 g) in it and leave for at least 15 minutes, or up to 4 hours in the fridge.
Heat a large cast-iron or heavy frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Add the rest of the oil, then the peppers (3) and onion (1 red onion). Cook for 5–6 minutes, tossing only now and then, until charred in places but still with some bite. Tip onto a warm plate.
Add the chicken to the hot pan in a single layer (cook it in two batches if your pan is small) and leave it for 2 minutes to char, then turn and cook for 3–4 minutes more until cooked through with no pink in the middle.
Return the vegetables to the pan, toss together and squeeze over a little more lime if you like.
Warm the tortillas (8 flour tortillas) in a dry pan for 20 seconds each side, or wrapped in foil in a low oven.
Bring the sizzling pan to the table with the tortillas, soured cream (150 ml), avocado (1 avocado), coriander (a little), cheese (75 g) and lime wedges (1) so everyone can build their own.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
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See also
Chef’s notes
- For a sheet-pan version, toss everything together and roast at 220°C (fan 200°C, gas 7) for 20–25 minutes, as in Allrecipes’ popular sheet-pan fajitas.
- Jamie Oliver adds strips of aubergine to the peppers and crumbles over feta; both are good additions.
- Make a jar of fajita seasoning: equal parts smoked paprika, cumin and chilli powder with half as much oregano, garlic powder and salt.
- Steak fajitas: use thinly sliced skirt or flank steak and cook it for just 1–2 minutes each side.
How this recipe was developed
We compared Jamie Oliver’s chicken fajitas with BBC Good Food’s and the most-rated fajita recipes on Allrecipes.
- A lime and spice marinade. BBC Good Food marinates the chicken in lime, garlic, chilli powder and cumin; Jamie Oliver uses smoked paprika and oregano. We use all of them.
- A very hot pan. Jamie Oliver chars the vegetables in a hot griddle pan first; we cook them separately from the chicken so both char rather than stew.
- Seasoning balance. Allrecipes’ Fajita Seasoning (1,243 ratings) and Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas (4.8/5 from 463 ratings) confirmed the chilli, cumin and oregano mix.
- Build at the table. BBC Good Food serves soured cream, coriander and tomatoes on the side; we add avocado and Cheddar.
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 1 November 2026):
- Jamie Oliver: Chicken fajitas
- BBC Good Food (Lulu Grimes): Chicken fajitas (4.15/5, 20 ratings)
- Allrecipes (themoodyfoodie): Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas (4.8/5, 463 ratings)
- Allrecipes: Fajita Seasoning
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.