This easy fajita veggies recipe will have some tender spiced veggies ready to stuff your fajitas with in under fifteen minutes!
Just thinly slice up two types of onion and three different color peppers and toss in a sizzling hot pan while you mix up the seasoning, toss that in for a minute or two and finish off with a drizzle of lime juice while the pan sizzles its way to fajita vegetable perfection!
These veggies are perfect for a quick midweek meal and are suitable for both vegans and vegetarians (depending on what toppings you pair them with).
Serving suggestions
Pick and mix from the following serving suggestions to make the perfect fajitas with your fajita veggies:
- Tortilla wraps (flour ones are best, not corn). If you’re low-carbing you can use cabbage or lettuce leaves. I also use the thin dried sheets of yuba which I quickly rehydrate for a high-protein low-carb alternative to flour tortillas. I’ve even used sheets of nori in a pinch!
- A protein of choice, e.g. refried beans, Mexican black bean salad, or frijoles. If you want your fajita veggies to stay vegetarian watch out for added lard, or make your own from scratch.
- Sour cream (or this easy bean-based vegan sour cream for those who are vegan or have issues with dairy).
- Chunky tomato salsa, homemade or store-bought.
- Guacamole.
- Sliced avocado.
- Grated cheese (my son is allergic to dairy and we love Violife shreds if you need a dairy-free option).
- Pickled sliced jalapeños.
- Lime wedges.
Just pop everything into separate bowls and place them on the table and everyone can pick what they want to go in their own fajitas, meaning less work for you.
These fajita veggies are also great in burrito bowls.
What vegetables to use?
For this fajita veggies mix, I’ve stuck with the classic peppers and onions. A mix of yellow, red and green peppers along with regular white onion and red onion hits just the right spot between savory and sweet.
Having said that, you can add or substitute other vegetables to make it a bit more substantial. Some vegetables I recommend adding to your fajita mix are:
- Mushrooms. Any type will do but thinly sliced oyster or portobellos are particularly good. Mushrooms do contain quite a bit of liquid though so I would dry fry them on medium-high heat for two-three minutes (stirring often, you don’t want them to brown, just to get rid of some of the moisture) before adding the oil and peppers and onions.
- Broccoli or broccolini. Separated or sliced into thin florets no more than 1.5cm wide, and zapped in the microwave or steamed until just fork-tender before adding the florets in with the other veggies as broccoli takes longer to cook than peppers and onions. A bit of broccoli goes surprisingly well (think wok or teppanyaki bright green and firm broccoli, not mushy boiled broccoli).
There are literally no other vegetables I recommend for fajitas, and even if you add the ones above, remember the onion and peppers should be the stars of this particular tastebud show.
Some people add tomatoes or zucchini as well but in my experience they get mushy. If you add tomato wedges I would just add a minute or two before serving so they warm up.
Storing leftovers
Got too many fajita veggies? No problem.
Fajita veggies are best eaten straight away, before the residual heat can cook the veggies all the way through and make them super soft. Having said that, leftovers are still perfect for a whole host of other purposes including:
- Enchilada or burrito stuffing. Mix them up with rice and salsa and cheese and stuff those babies.
- Quesadilla fillings. Just sprinkle them right in with the cheese (unless you’re going for a thin crispy vegan quesadilla).
- Toppings for subs or sandwiches (especially open-faced sandwiches).
- As part of a burrito bowl.
- Taco filling.
- Tex-Mex style salad topping.
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days. To reheat do not use the microwave as it will only make them even moister.
Instead, toss them in a very hot dry pan for a few minutes or pop them into a very hot (think full temperature) oven and toss (turning and tossing them will release more steam) every five minutes until hot enough to satisfy you.
How to make them
Fajita veggies are super easy to make but do keep an eye on the timing mentioned below and in the recipe card or you’ll end up with a soggy mess. I get all my toppings ready first and my tortillas either ready to be zapped in the microwave for one minute, or leave them to heat up slowly wrapped in aluminum foil in the oven.
Get all your ingredients together. I’ve included a labelled photo below in case there is any confusion. I think it can also be helpful to see how big the vegetables are and what someone considers medium or large etc.
For step one, grab the peppers and onions. If you don’t have one pepper of each color that’s fine just substitute with any other color pepper. Core and thinly slice the peppers (between one-two centimeters thick) and peel and slice the onions. Top and tail the onions and cut from the root to the top to get nice thin slices that aren’t super round.
Put a skillet, frying pan or cast iron pan on to heat, the bigger the better. A larger pan will let more moisture be cooked off instead of steaming the vegetables. Turn the heat up as far as it can go, you want it very hot.
Measure your spices and mix together (step two, see photo below) – paprika always tends to clump so I use a fork to mix up the seasoning and squish any rogue paprika clumps. Note only use smoked paprika for fajitas, not the sweet stuff. If you really don’t have anything else you can substitute it with hot paprika.
Add the the oil to the pan and allow to heat until very hot (this should just take 60-90 seconds in an already heated pan). When the oil is shimmering hot, add the vegetables (step three, above photo) and mix and turn quickly to coat all of the sliced veggies in the hot oil.
Leave for one minute and stir again. Leave for two minutes and then stir again, then leave two minutes and add the seasoning. So to recap, you’re sautéing the vegetables for five minutes total, mixing once after the first minute, then after the third minute, and the fifth minute when you add in the seasoning (step four).
Letting the vegetables sit for two minutes will allow them to char slightly.
After you’ve added the seasoning, mix well and let sit for one minute, mix again and let sit another minute. Take off the heat and add the lime juice (step five) and mix in while the vegetables are still piping hot. They should look like the photo below.
If you used a cast-iron pan or a well-seasoned skillet, which holds heat, well you should hear that epic fajita “sizzling” sound when the lime juice is added.
Serve immediately, preferably in the pan (be careful and be sure to place a pot holder underneath), or spoon into a serving dish. Optionally, you can sprinkle a little chopped cilantro over your veggies if you wish.
Place in the middle of the table where you’ve already hopefully assembled your toppings and tortillas.
Done, dig in and enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this fajita veggies recipe, and if you made it please let me know how you got on in the comments below or leave a star rating and review by clicking on the stars in the recipe box.
Ooh, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram (@the_fiery_vegetarian), I love seeing your creations!
Fajita Veggies Recipe (15 minutes)
Lightly charred tangy spiced fajita veggies, strips of peppers and onions, perfect for stuffing your vegetable fajitas with!
Ingredients
- 3 medium peppers (green, red and yellow)
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 medium or large yellow onion
- 1.5 tsp onion powder (or granulated onion)
- 1.5 tsp ground garlic
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ⅛-¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- Juice of half a lime (approx. 1.5 tbsp)
Instructions
1. Core and thinly slice the peppers (roughly 1.5-2cm wide strips) and peel and thinly slice the onions.
2. Set a large cast-iron pan, frying pan or skillet on to heat on high. Prepare the seasoning by mixing together the onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, smoked paprika, salt, oregano and (optional) cayenne. Use a fork to mix so you can mash any clumps of paprika.
3. Add the oil to the hot pan and let heat until shimmering (very hot), approximately one minute. Add all the vegetables and stir well to coat with the hot oil.
4. Let the vegetables sit one minute then stir. Let sit two minutes more and stir again. Let sit another two minutes (so five minutes total) and add the seasoning.
5. Mix the seasoning well and let the vegetables sit one minute. Mix again and let sit one minute more.
6. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice to the pan, quickly mixing through. Serve immediately with toppings and flour tortillas, or use as you prefer.
Notes
You can use any flavorless oil in place of sunflower oil e.g. canola oil.
You can use three peppers of any color you prefer if you don't want to use red, yellow, and green or don't have them available to hand.
1/8 tsp of cayenne will give you some mildly spiced veggie fajitas while 1/4 tsp will be medium-spicy.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 148Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 477mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 2gSugar 12gProtein 2g
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