This steak fajitas recipe is a quick dinner that’s perfect for weeknights. Made with juicy marinated flank steak pan-fried with sweet bell peppers and onions, served over warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Inexpensive and lean, flank steak becomes tender and full of flavor once it’s marinated.
How long it takes: 25 minutes, plus 30 minutes to marinate
Equipment you’ll need: a resealable bag for marinating and a large skillet for cooking
Servings: 6
The Best Flank Steak Fajitas Recipe
Steak fajitas are the perfect family meal even on the busiest weeknights. They never fall short on flavor! We already love our sheet pan fajitas, and this beefy variation cooked on the stovetop is just as quick and easy. Thinly sliced flank steak is soaked in the best fajitas marinade and then sizzled in a pan with tender bell peppers and onions. Enjoy restaurant-worthy fajitas served hot at your dinner table!
Why You’ll Love These Steak Fajitas
- Quick: Steak fajitas are an easy family dinner when you’re crunched for time. Marinate the meat, and then quickly pan-fry everything on the stovetop.
- Flavorful: This is the ONLY steak fajitas marinade you’ll ever need. This recipe is zesty, savory, and packed with Tex-Mex flavor. Don’t be surprised if you want to use it on everything from fajitas to steak bites.
- Versatile: Serve sizzling fajitas restaurant-style over warm tortillas, or get creative and add them to meal bowls, and more.
- Easy meal prep: This fajitas recipe is make-ahead friendly whether you’re marinating the steak overnight or making the whole dish in advance to store and refrigerate for later lunches. Scroll for easy make-ahead tips!
What Are Fajitas Anyway?
Fajitas are a Tex-Mex dish consisting of grilled or pan-fried meat, peppers, and onions, served in a hot skillet. Go to any Mexican restaurant, and you can hear them coming a mile away. Sizzling, crackling, savory steak fajitas, paired with soft tortillas, guac, salsa, and sour cream are always my first choice on the menu. It turns out, it’s super easy to recreate the experience at home, where you can assemble and customize your tortillas any way you’d like.
Ingredients You’ll Need
I’ll start you off with a quick overview with notes on the ingredients. Don’t forget to refer to the recipe card with the full amounts, instructions, and nutritional info.
- Olive Oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil, or another type of cooking oil, for sautéing.
- Lime – Freshly squeezed lime juice is best, but bottled lime juice also works.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Adds depth of flavor. You can also use a spoonful of soy sauce.
- Seasoning – Chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, paprika, dried oregano, and black pepper. If desired, replace these individual spices with 2 tablespoons of homemade fajita seasoning.
- Garlic – I mince up three fresh garlic cloves but feel free to adapt the number of cloves to taste.
- Steak – Preferably flank steak, thinly sliced. See the cooking note below for details.
- Bell Peppers – Use either green, yellow, or red bell peppers, or a combination, and red or yellow onion. Dlice the veggies up thinly like the steak.
- Tortillas – For serving. You can use flour or corn tortillas depending on your preference.
The Best Kind of Steak for Fajitas
Flank steak and skirt steak are the best cuts of beef for fajitas. Both cuts are great for marinating and cooking quickly while staying tender and flavorful.How to Make Steak Fajitas
Juicy steak and veggies are just a quick marinade away! Let’s get these easy steak fajitas prepped and in the pan!
Marinate the steak. Whisk together the marinade ingredients, including the seasonings and garlic. Slice the steak into thin strips, and add it to a zip-top bag along with the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate your steak for at least 30 minutes, or leave it overnight.
Cook the veggies. When you’re ready to cook, get out a large skillet. Begin by sautéing the sliced bell peppers and onions in a bit of oil. When they reach the desired tenderness, remove the veggies and set them aside.
Cook the steak. Take your marinated steak out of the fridge. In the same skillet, sear the steak strips in batches, until they’re browned to your preference. I always aim for medium-rare.
Combine. Add the sautéed vegetables back into the pan with the steak. Give everything a good stir. When the veggies are warmed through again, take the pan off the heat and let the fajitas rest for a few minutes.
Assembling Fajitas
To assemble your fajitas, you’ll need your choice of soft corn or flour tortillas. While the fajitas are resting, use the time to warm your tortillas in the skillet for serving. Then, all that’s left to do is gather your toppings and assemble the fajitas.
Add the steak. First, take a warmed tortilla and spoon the fajita mixture over top.
Add toppings. Next, layer on shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, then fold up your tortilla taco-style, and dig in! See the section below for more fajitas toppings inspiration and serving ideas.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Fajitas are practically foolproof, and if you’re a beginner cook, they’re the perfect casual dinner. Here are my final tips for perfectly tender and flavorful steak fajitas:
- Slice against the grain. The key to getting tender slices of steak is to cut against the grain. This means identifying which way the long muscle fibers/lines run in the meat, also known as the grain, and slicing across it instead of along it.
- Use fajita seasoning instead. As mentioned, you can replace the individual spices in this recipe with a couple of tablespoons of homemade fajita seasoning, linked above and in the recipe card.
- Make it spicy. Give the marinade some kick with a half teaspoon of cayenne powder.
- Looking for another easy way to cook fajitas? Try sheet pan shrimp fajitas, too!
While we use flank steak, skirt steak is the traditional cut of beef used for fajitas. These days, flank steak is often the more affordable cut; however, both are good choices for this recipe (see the ingredients section earlier).
The trick to tender steak fajitas is to slice the steak against the grain (see above). Also make sure that your steak has at least 30 minutes to soak in the marinade, as this helps tenderize the meat.
Cut the steak into strips approximately ¼” thick. You want thin, quick-cooking slices of meat for fajitas.
Fajitas Toppings
We’re always changing up the topping options for our steak fajitas, and you can, too. Try some of these easy ideas:
- Salsa – Spoon this restaurant-style salsa or classic pico de gallo over your fajitas. This black bean corn salsa is also hearty and delicious. We also love the smoky flavor of chipotle salsa.
- Avocado – Diced or sliced ripe avocado or homemade guacamole are delicious.
- Refried Beans – Try these easy Instant Pot refried beans, so tasty, healthier, and economical.
- Sour Cream – Plain Greek yogurt is a good choice, too.
- Cheese – Try Shredded cheddar, or your preferred Mexican cheese blend. A drizzle of creamy queso blanco (it’s SO easy to make in the slow cooker!) is amazing, too.
- Herbs – Fresh chopped cilantro or sliced green onions add fresh flavor.
- More Toppings – Mix it up with diced tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, Argentinian-style chimichurri, or pickled vegetables.
What to Serve With Steak Fajitas
Steak fajitas are a meal in themselves when paired with all sorts of toppings. That being said, you can absolutely round out your meal with easy Tex-Mex side dishes like Mexican rice and frijoles borrachos (drunken beans) with a side of corn on the cob. We also love serving fajitas with fun appetizers, like creamy Mexicali dip or Mexican corn dip with homemade baked tortilla chips! Or, serve steak fajitas with shrimp tacos for a delicious taco night variation of surf and turf, washed down with a spicy Paloma cocktail.
Fajitas are wonderful for meal prepping, as they’re easy to shop for and super quick to prepare in advance. Here’s how to meal prep these steak fajitas:
- Prep the vegetables. Slice your peppers and onions and store them in an airtight container.
- Prep the steak. Prepare the marinade and add it to a zip-top bag with the steak.
- Refrigerate. Pop everything into the fridge overnight. You’ll have dinner ready to go the following evening!
- Fridge: Store any leftover steak fajitas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 to 5 days. Reheat fajitas on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through.
- Freeze: Once the fajitas have cooled to room temperature, store them in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers and freeze them for up to 2 months. Thaw the fajitas in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan (it’s free!) that includes this easy recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #52. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.
Enjoy leftover fajitas cold over a green salad or taco salad, in a steak fajita wrap, or reheat them to serve over nachos. You can also add leftovers to a Southwestern quinoa bowl for easy lunches!
Popular Tex Mex Recipes
Steak Fajitas
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 3 bell peppers, cored and thinly sliced (red, yellow, and green)
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 18 tortillas, for serving (flour or corn)
- Optional toppings: guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl, prepare the marinade by combining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, smoked paprika, dried oregano, black pepper, and minced garlic. Mix well.
- Slice the flank steak into thin slices against the grain, about ¼ -inch thick. Place sliced steak in a large zip-top bag or a shallow dish. Pour the marinade over the steak, ensuring it is evenly coated, massaging it into the beef. Seal the bag or cover the dish with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and allow the steak to marinate for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor.
- When ready to prepare fajitas, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the thinly sliced onions and bell peppers to the skillet. Sauté them for about 10 minutes until they become tender-crisp. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and set them aside.
- In the same skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Remove the steak from the marinade, and place the steak in the skillet. It’s best to do this in batches so that the meat browns rather than steams. Cook the steak over medium high heat for about 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, or adjust the cooking time according to your preference. Repeat with remaining steak if doing in batches.
- Once the steak is cooked to your desired doneness, add the sautéed onions and bell peppers back into the skillet with the steak. Stir everything together and cook for an additional minute to reheat the vegetables.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let the fajita mixture rest for a few minutes.
- If desired, warm the tortillas in a separate skillet or using your preferred method.
- Serve the steak fajitas by placing a spoonful of the fajita mixture on a warm tortilla. Add desired toppings, such as guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, or chopped cilantro.
Notes
- If desired, use 2 tablespoons of fajita seasoning instead of chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, smoked paprika, dried oregano, and black pepper.
- You can customize this recipe by adding other toppings such as sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, or jalapenos according to your preference.
- For spicier fajitas, add ¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne powder to marinade.
- Nutrition information is for 3 fajitas made with small flour tortillas, and doesn’t include optional toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Thanks Rachel, I was scrambling for a quick meal for the family and this recipe was perfect. Quick and easy and the marinade was first rate! The family loved it, will definitely be my go to for family night fajitas…
So happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!