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With an easy homemade fajita seasoning, a simple citrusy marinade, and lots of colorful veggies, Steak Fajitas have never been easier or more delicious!
The cornerstone of this spectacular Steak Fajitas recipe is the homemade seasoning blend, a reader favorite with almost five hundred 5-star reviews. Use that spice blend in a simple, fresh marinade and for your steak and veggies for the easiest stove-top fajitas you’ll make all week. They are colorful, flavorful, and you’ll be pulling them off the stove in just 15 minutes.
Table of Contents
Beef Fajita Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Fajita seasoning: This recipe uses my favorite homemade blend. For this recipe, I’ve portioned out exactly what you need to make this recipe if you don’t already have a jar on hand.
- Steak: The recipe calls for flank steak, but you can use rump or skirt steak, too.
How to Make this Steak Fajitas Recipe
- In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon).
- To a large zipper-top plastic bag, add steak, cilantro, lime juice, and fajita seasoning. Mash until steak 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 oil until shimmering. Add steak and cook, without moving, until crispy and browned on one side, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the second side, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Using tongs, stand each piece on a cut side and cook, turning as necessary, until all cut sides are browned and until meat registers 130 to 135 degrees F (for medium rare) or 140 to 145 degrees (for medium), 3 to 8 minutes.
- Transfer steak to a cutting board and rest for 5 minutes before cutting into strips (do not discard fat in skillet). Slice steak pieces thin against grain.
- 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 steak back to skillet for serving.
- Serve with tortillas and your favorite toppings.
Best Steak Fajita Recipe Tips and Variations
- Yield: Although you start with 2 pounds of raw steak, you’ll have closer to 1 or 1 ½ pounds of cooked steak after cooking. This recipe will make at least 4 servings (1 cup EACH steak and vegetables per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Make the seasoning well in advance and marinade the steak up to 1 hour before you want to start cooking.
- Favorite toppings for fajitas: Sour cream, hot sauce (such as Cholula and Tabasco), diced avocado or guacamole, minced fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
How to Serve This Steak Fajitas Recipe
Serve these steak fajitas with all your favorite toppings on soft flour or corn tortillas. I love to serve fajitas with chips and salsa or guacamole, a big bowl of Mexican Rice, and Slow Cooker Black Beans.
Toppings for Fajitas
Serve these steak fajitas with all your favorite toppings like sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, diced avocado or guacamole, cheese, lettuce, fresh cilantro, and plenty of fresh lime wedges for squeezing.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover Steak Fajitas in the refrigerator, covered in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. Leftover steak fajitas make an epic breakfast tucked into an omelet or stirred into scrambled eggs, too.
Tips for Reheating
Reheat any leftovers to 165 degrees when tested with an internal thermometer for 15 seconds. For best results, reheat fajitas in a skillet on the stove. Just add a splash of water and cover them to move things a long. The microwave works too!
Fajita Steak Recipe FAQs
A cast-iron pan is a great choice because it can cook at high temperatures and give you restaurant-quality fajitas. Other great options: carbon steel pans or anodized aluminum pans. Stay away from non-stick; it can’t take the heat.
Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add a few tortillas in a single layer it’s okay if they’re touching a little bit) and heat until softened on one side, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and heat on the other side for another minute or so. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel or foil (or a hand-embroidered tortilla towel, if you have one).
I swear by my instant-read meat thermometer, and follow these temperature guidelines for any beef preparation:
Rare: 120 to 125 degrees F
Medium Rare: 130 to 135 degrees F
Medium: 140 to 145 degrees F
Medium Well: 150 degrees F
Well: 160 degrees F
While many chefs (and I) prefer a slightly lower temperature for juicer, more tender beef, the USDA has a more conservative minimum safe cooking temperature of 145 degrees F. Cook to your desired doneness level.
When you pull meat off the stove or grill, the internal temperature will rise a few degrees because of what we call “carryover cooking.” Letting the meat rest is crucial to achieving juicy, perfectly cooked meat. If you cut the steak too soon, all the juices will flow out onto the cutting board.
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Best Steak Fajita Recipe
Ingredients
For the fajita seasoning (see note 1):
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or less to taste
- salt
For the marinade:
- 2 pounds flank steak trimmed and slice lengthwise (with grain) into 4 equal pieces (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
- 1/4 cup lime juice from 2 limes
For the fajitas:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- 3 large bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or green) cut into strips
- 1 large red onion halved and thinly sliced
- tortillas warmed, for serving
- sour cream and hot sauce, cilantro, and lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon).
- To a large zipper-top plastic bag, add steak, cilantro, lime juice, and fajita seasoning. Mash until steak 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 oil until shimmering. Add steak and cook, without moving, until crispy and browned on one side, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the second side, about 3 to 5 minutes longer.
- Using tongs, stand each piece on a cut side and cook, turning as necessary, until all cut sides are browned and until meat registers 130 to 135 degrees F (for medium rare) or 140 to 145 degrees (for medium), 3 to 8 minutes.
- Transfer steak to a cutting board and rest for 5 minutes before cutting into strips (do not discard fat in skillet). Slice steak pieces thin against grain.
- 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 steak back to skillet for serving. Serve with tortillas and your favorite toppings.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Fajita seasoning: This recipe uses my favorite homemade blend. For this recipe, I’ve portioned out exactly what you need to make this recipe if you don’t already have a jar on hand.
- Steak: The recipe calls for flank steak, but you can use rump or skirt steak, too.
- Yield: Although you start with 2 pounds of raw steak, you’ll have closer to 1 or 1 ½ pounds of cooked steak after cooking. This recipe will make at least 4 servings (1 cup EACH steak and vegetables per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I used a Mexican steak, it was thin and I think it was a chuck roast. I made your fajitas seasoning and didn’t know I was suppose to marinate, stupid, I know. I added extra seasoning and threw in the pan. I used mild Anaheim chili for the green bell Pepper, along with the red and yellow bell peppers. I was delicious. We live in Tucson, Az with outrageous Mexican food all over the place.
Well done,Meggan. I will be subscribing if you offer a newsletter. ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ต
Thank you so much, Joanne! I’m so glad it worked out and you loved it! I would love if you sign up, I have a couple newsletters I hope you enjoy. You can sign up for them here: https://www.culinaryhill.com/instant-updates/. Take care! – Meggan
Maybe I marinated steak too long, the steak was mushy, without much taste. I know citrus can โcookโ the meat. So my advice would be to not marinate for too long.
Hi Sheryll, sorry your steak was mushy. I recommend to marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 1 hour in the refrigerator. I’m sorry you missed that in the directions and post. Hope your next batch is perfect! Sorry again! – Meggan
My husband loves fajitas so I use your beef recipe and I add shrimp and chicken to it I just love your recipes I haven’t found not even one that I don’t love! Thank You for all of your great recipes!
You’re so welcome, Denise! ๐ – Meggan
Delicious! Used my instant pot to sautรฉ onions and meat. Added peppers, then 7 min, 15 min natural release. Sautรฉed again to thicken sauce. Delicious!
Sounds great Marla, glad it worked so well in the instant pot! Thanks – Meggan
This is the VERY BEST fajitas recipe. I made this the other night, cooked one half to perfect for dinner, cooked the other half a bit rare. Covered and refrigerated a few days then sautรฉed some onions and peppers, cut up some avocado, warmed up some roasted corn and tossed the sliced up steak in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil and butter and a squirt or two of lime juice. Arranged it all on a bowl of cilantro lime rice and had the perfect beef bowl!