These Easy Steak Fajitas are juicy, tender, flavorful and way better than the ones at your favorite Mexican restaurant! Served with a healthy dose of peppers and onions, these fajitas are gluten free, low carb and paleo.
Steak fajitas are one of my favorite easy Mexican dinners of all time. They’re great for summer grilling, perfect for celebrations like Cinco de Mayo and make a wonderful addition to your weekly meal prep routine.
They’re incredibly versatile. You can serve them as tacos with guacamole and sour cream, as an entree with Mexican rice and refried beans or as a low carb lunch with a healthy avocado salad and cilantro lime cauliflower rice.
The secret to flavorful steak fajitas
The secret to getting the meat irresistibly flavorful and juicy is marinating the steak for at least 2 hours up to 8 hours.
This helps tenderize the meat and infuse all the good flavors that are in the actual marinade. I know the marinating process requires planning, but the end result is so worth it.
Once finished, remove the meat from the marinade and place on a surface covered with paper towels. Pat the steak until completely dry and generously season with coarse sea salt and crushed black pepper.
Pro tip: Using coarse sea salt is very important. It helps to further tenderize and break down the fibers of the meat, making the steak super juicy and melt in your mouth delicious.
What kind of beef do you use for fajitas?
Flank steak and skirt steak are the best cuts of beef for fajitas. I prefer to use flank steak (pictured above). Whichever cut of beef you use, make sure to cut it as thinly as possibly to prevent it from being too chewy.
How to cook steak fajitas
To cook the flank or skirt steak, heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the skillet or grill with a bit of oil and cook each side of the steak for about 3-5 minutes, depending on how thick it is.
My husband is a master at using the finger test to check for doneness, whereas I prefer to use a meat thermometer.
This is the meat thermometer that I have and I use it all the time.
They’re inexpensive and take all the guesswork out of knowing whether something has reached a certain temperature or not.
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INGREDIENTS
For the meat and marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 pounds flank steak or skirt steak
- coarse kosher salt and black pepper
For the pepper and onions
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
- 2 medium white onions, sliced
- 1 large large poblano pepper, sliced into strips
- 3 large bell peppers, sliced into strips
- 1 pinch salt
Optional toppings
- guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, flour tortillas, corn tortillas, lettuce cups
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large resealable plastic bag (or a large mixing bowl) add all the ingredients except the coarse sea salt and black pepper and toss to combine.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours up to 8 hours.
- Remove the meat from the marinade, transfer to a clean large surface or cutting board and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season both sides of the steak with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the steak to the skillet and cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes, depending on how thick the steak is and how “done” you want it to be. I recommend using a meat thermometer for this step if you have one.
- Remove the steak from the skillet, transfer to a cutting board to let it rest and lightly cover with aluminum foil.
- While the meat is resting, add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the skillet. Add the onions, peppers and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, until the veggies are soft.
- Uncover the steak and slice it against the grain and at an angle into thin slices. Serve along with the fajita veggies in tortillas, on a salad or in lettuce cups and enjoy!
NOTES
Nutritional information does not include optional toppings.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2018, but was updated in April of 2019 with new photos and tips.
Michael Smith says
Wow. That was a totally delicious recipe. Better than any restaurant we’ve been to lately. I bought flour tortillas straight off the assembly line at the local Mexican grocery store; still hot. (Awesome!) We also put a can of Hatch chiles in refried beans to accompany.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Susan says
I am marinating this skirt steak with your marinade right now but I hadn’t read the part where you could take some of marinade to season the peppers and onions before using it with the meat so my question is can I use it on the veggies if I cook it with the veggies, eliminating the risk of contamination of uncooked meat? Clear as mud but I hope you understand what I’m asking.
Sue
Isabel says
Hi Susan, I would first cook the marinade on it’s own and bring it to a boil, and then cook it with the peppers and onions. It’s an extra precautionary step, but you just want to make sure you don’t contaminate anything.
Bill says
Thank you for recipe. This is my first time to cook fajitas. I am not much of a cook so I appreciate your instruction
Michelle says
Just to clarify, when you say course sea salt- do you mean the whole salt nugget or do you use the course salt and grind it In your salt grinder ?
Isabel says
Here’s a link to the coarse salt that I use – https://amzn.to/2jTdh1o. It’s not a whole salt nugget like rock salt, but it’s coarsely ground and bigger than regular table salt.
Rhonda Bowers says
I enjoy cooking Mexican food that is easy. I always wanted to try to make Fajitas . I have ate them but not made them.
george says
isabel, i have read your recipes before, all great!!!
i add all kinds of peppers to my fajitas (except the really hot ones)…
i prefer plain old yellow onions…i like the taste…
i use more expensive cuts of meat, new york, filet, t-bone, or rib eye…
your marinade sounds great!!!! i will try it…thank you…
Tina says
Can I make the marinade the night before, but add the steak for 2 hours the next day? If not mine would have to marinate for about 10.5 hours.
Isabel says
Yes! You can make the marinade beforehand and then just add the steak in the next day. That’s totally a-okay! I hope you like it!
Donn says
Yup!!
DW says
Yup!!
Leslie says
Oh my…these are amazing. I changed up to using part of my recipe for the rest of the filling. I used a flank steak and cooked it 3 mins on each side in my cast iron skillet on high. Fabulous. Cut it against the grain, mixed it in with my cooked onions, cheese, taco sauce. Rolled them into soft tacos, cheese on top and into the oven at 350 for about 15 mins. The steak is the key because of this fabulous marinade. Thank you so much !!!!
Isabel says
Oh my goodness, Leslie. Your soft tacos with cheese on top sound amazing!! What a great way to serve them! So glad you liked the recipe!
Gwen Clemens says
I have a question before I make it. how many people does it feed
Isabel says
8 servings.
Kathy Corso says
My husband and I made these fajitas and they were delicious!! No need to go out a Mexican restaurant. We will make this recipe again when my daughter and son in law come over.
Kristin says
Hi, Isabel!
I know cilantro is authentic Mexican, but I’m one of the 13% of the population for whom cilantro tastes like soap. Ick! Is there another seasoning you recommend that would also be good to replace the cilantro, or do you think I should just leave it out and be done?
Thanks!
Isabel says
You could use parsley instead. If you don’t like parsley, you can just leave it out.
Dalia says
I loveddd it
Isabel says
Thank you so much! So happy you liked it!