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Steak Fajitas in cast iron skillet

Easy Steak Fajitas

Easy Steak Fajitas let you skip the restaurant and have a tasty Tex-Mex meal at home. Make delicious homemade Fajitas right on your stovetop.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Tex Mex
Keyword: beef fajitas recipe
Prep Time: 13 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Marinating & Resting Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Sandy

Equipment

  • Skillet (or Grill Pan)
  • Tongs
  • Bowl for Marinade

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Sirloin or flank, or skirt steak, at least 1 inch thick steak (can be thinner and cooking time need to be adjusted (shorter))
  • 3 small Bell Peppers tricolor or at least 2 different colors, cut into ½ inch thick strips
  • 1 small Yellow Onion, cut into ½ inch thick strips
  • Vegetable Oil for cooking

Marinade

  • 2 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice, plus more for serving
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • 2 large Garlic Cloves, minced (or 1 ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder)
  • ¼ teaspoon Chili Flakes, or more depending on how spicy you’d like it
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper (or to taste)
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Garnishes For Serving

  • Avocado, Shredded Cheese, Cilantro, Lime Wedges, Sour Cream, Hot Sauce

Instructions

  • Prepare the veggies on a separate plate so they are ready when you need them. You can chop them while the meat is marinating.
  • In a large shallow dish (or ziplock bag) mix all the marinade ingredients, reserving 2 tablespoons for the veggies later.
  • Coat the steak with the marinade and allow to marinate for 30 minutes (or for a couple of hours, refrigerated, if you have time). Before cooking allow steak to come to room temperature.
  • Heat up a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat with some vegetable oil. Sear the steak for 4 minutes on both sides (to achieve medium rare temp.)* and 1 minute on both of the sides/edges (kitchen tongs will be very helpful here to hold the steak!).
  • Transfer to cutting board, sprinkle with salt and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut against the grain into ½ inch strips to serve.
  • Wipe out the skillet and add more vegetable oil. Cook the veggies on medium-high heat with the reserved 2 tablespoons of marinade until just softened.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with any garnishes you like.

Notes

*As everyone’s stovetops and steaks are different it is a good idea to use a digital meat thermometer here.
Depending on how you like your steak the cooking temperatures generally are:
Medium rare: 145° F (soft and pink center)
Medium: 160° F (soft but with less pink or lighter pink in the center)
Well Done: 170° F (chewy, firm and no pink center)
Marinade - you can use your favorite spices or a store bought fajita mix here. The steak is delicious on it’s own with just a pinch of salt and pepper! But as it is a dish from Tex Mex cuisine we want to use enough spices for best flavor.
You don’t necessarily need to marinate a good steak for hours, but for the fajita style meat we want to experience the spices. I’d still recommend at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend nicely.
 
If you are running short on time, double up the marinade, leave what is needed to coat (no marinating) the steak, and the rest reheat in a small saucepan and drizzle over the steak once cooked.

Nutrition

Serving: 3oz | Calories: 175kcal