Our Favorite Steak Fajitas

These tender steak fajitas are one of my family's very favorite meals - a perfect Tex-Mex dinner made in a single cast iron skillet.

While it's true that I do a majority of the cooking at home, my husband does his fair share. He mostly does breakfast on the weekends (like pancakes, crepes, waffles, omelets, or poached eggs), but he has a few delicious dinner recipes, too.

And one of those dishes just so happens to be one of my favorite meals on the planet - fajitas!

He's been perfecting his fajita recipe over the past decade or so, and they're so good that I can't order them out at restaurants anymore because it's just never as good as homemade.

And now that I've perfected a homemade fajita seasoning recipe, they're somehow even better!

I decided that it was time to do an overhaul of his recipe so I could measure amounts and share this goodness with kitchens other than my own.

This is similar to how he makes chicken fajitas, but a bit different, so buckle up and pay attention. Your stomach will thank you!

First things first - you're gonna need a cast iron skillet. It really is key for getting that wonderful charred flavor and blistered pepper action. We have several that we like to use, but this 12-inch from Lodge is our go-to for big meals like this.

We've also tried out a lot of different store-bought fajita seasonings in the past, but this one from Penzeys is our current favorite.

Before I came up with my own homemade copycat Penzeys fajita seasoning recipe, I would order it in bulk. I don't like being caught without fajita seasoning when the mood strikes!

A few fajita tips from my husband:

• For timing purposes, I like to cut the onions while the skillet preheats, and then cut the peppers while the onions are cooking.
• It's worth the extra time to really caramelize the onions, but if you're short on time, just put them in with the peppers.
• You want the peppers to caramelize and blister while you're cooking them - make sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet while you're stirring to ensure even cooking without burning.
• The acid from tomatoes can be rough on cast iron, so that's why I add the tomato paste at the end.
• Be sure to clean your cast iron skillet well! Ashley got The Ringer for me last Christmas and it's a great tool for removing stuck on gunk from the bottom of the pan. We also use scrapers like these.

You can use flank steak or skirt steak here - whichever looks better at the store. Skirt steak usually slices up nicer, but it can be hard to find in my neighborhood, so we use flank steak fairly often.

I like to spread a decent amount of Stonyfield plain whole milk Greek yogurt on my tortillas before loading them up with steak, peppers, and onions.

I used to use sour cream all the time, but I prefer the tanginess of Greek yogurt now. Note - this isn't one of my sponsored posts from Stonyfield - I just big-fat-puffy-heart love their yogurt!

Looking for more cast iron meal favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

• Spanish Chicken + Sausage Skillet
• Our Favorite Chicken Fajitas
• Garlicky Beer + Tarragon Steamed Mussels
• Turkey-Scotch Eggs
• Deep Dish Southwest Salad Pizza
• Spicy Shrimp + Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry
• Zoodle Frittata
• Steakhouse Style Steak
• Pan-Seared Lamb Chops Over Roasted Spaghetti Squash w Pomegranate + Aged Balsamic

📖 Recipe

Our Favorite Steak Fajitas

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Dino & Ashley Covelli
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Yield: about 6 servings (2 fajitas per serving) 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Tex-Mex

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Description

These tender steak fajitas are one of my family's very favorite meals - a perfect Tex-Mex dinner made in a single cast iron skillet.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For Fajitas:

• 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 pound skirt or flank steak
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, sliced ¼-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced ¼-inch thick
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ¾ teaspoon low sodium soy sauce (optional)

For Serving:

• Flour tortillas, warmed
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Lime wedges

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Instructions

1. Combine fajita seasoning and water in gallon-sized ziptop bag and set aside.
2. Pat the steak dry with paper towels and trim off any large pieces of fat. Cut meat against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices and add to the bag of seasoning. Add olive oil and lime juice and seal bag, squeezing out as much air as you can. Transfer to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
3. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot (this takes a few minutes), add peanut oil and turn to coat bottom of the skillet. Add onions and break them up w a wooden spoon. Lower heat to medium-low and season with ½ teaspoon salt. Constantly stir until it stops sizzling.
4. When the pan cools down, add butter. Stir every 10 min or so until caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer to a bowl, scraping out all the browned bits and cover. DO NOT CLEAN THE PAN.
5. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Pan should be smoking.
6. Drain the marinade from the bag of steak and put the meat in the hot skillet. Spread over the bottom of the pan using metal tongs, turning until browned on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Once browned, place into the bowl with onions and cover.
7. Add peppers to pan and season with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly. When they start to stick to the bottom of the pan, lower the heat to medium.
8. Add onions and meat back into the skillet, then add tomato paste, turn off heat and stir in until well combined. At this point, you can pour in soy sauce to get that sizzling sound and smoke for when you bring it to the table.
9. Serve fajitas with warmed flour tortillas, Greek yogurt, and lime wedges alongside.

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Notes

Nutrition information doesn't include your choice of tortillas.

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 286
• Sugar: 5.2 g
• Sodium: 374.2 mg
• Fat: 19.8 g
• Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
• Carbohydrates: 9.6 g
• Fiber: 2.5 g
• Protein: 17.6 g
• Cholesterol: 50.4 mg

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