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Spice up your dinners with these flavorful fajita veggies! Our easy recipe combines colorful bell peppers, onions, and a spice blend for serving with the protein of your choice or as fun side dish.
Want to make fajitas? After testing this recipe dozens of times, we can confirm: these are the best fajita veggies! Whether you’re making chicken, steak, shrimp, or veggie fajitas: you’ve got to have those signature sizzling vegetables.
This recipe makes the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth bell peppers, delicious savory onions, and meaty portobello mushrooms. Serve them as vegetarian fajitas with pinto beans, or use them as a topping for fajita salad (our favorite!).
Ingredients for the best fajita veggies
What do you need for fajita veggies? The list is simple and filled with good-for-you ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 bell peppers: We like using red, yellow and green for maximum color contrast. Orange bell peppers also have great flavor.
- 1 red onion: When it comes to onion, we opt for red onion for fajitas: it has a mellow flavor when cooked, and adds a lovely purple color.
- 2 portobello mushroom caps: They’re optional, but portobello mushrooms add big meaty flavor (especially if you’re making vegetarian fajitas).
Seasoning for fajita veggies
You don’t need to go out and buy packets of fajita seasoning for these veggies! Nope, just a few spices you might already have on hand do the trick. But if you happen to have it, fajita seasoning works too. Here’s what to use to season these tasty veggies:
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Smoked paprika: Smoked paprika is also labeled as pimentón at the grocery store. It has a very smoky flavor and is worth seeking out (you can also use it for these smoked paprika recipes).
- Salt and pepper
Using homemade or purchased fajita seasoning
Want to use fajita seasoning instead? You can do that too! Here’s what to know:
- Try this Homemade Fajita Seasoning, or whatever purchased seasoning mix you have on hand.
- Use 2 tablespoons seasoning instead of the spices listed below.
- Important: most fajita seasoning has salt, so you’ll want to us less than the recipe specifies. Start with ¾ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt and add more to taste.
How to make them into fajitas
Once you’ve got your fajita veggies…how to make them into actual fajitas? Perhaps you already have a favorite recipe. But if you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve got some ideas:
- Make chicken, steak, or shrimp fajitas by cooking 1 pound of meat with this Fajita Sauce. Alternatively, try our Shrimp Fajitas or use the grilled chicken recipe in our Fajita Salad.
- Make Vegetarian Fajitas with pinto beans (and the same sauce).
- Add the fajita veggies and tortillas.
- Load up on toppings: Sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce, and cilantro are must-haves in our house.
Need a side dish? Browse all the best Sides to Serve with Fajitas.
Dietary notes
This fajita veggies recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
The classic choice is a mix of bell peppers in different colors like red, yellow, and orange for visual appeal and varying flavors.
While fajita veggies are best enjoyed fresh off the skillet, you can chop the vegetables in advance and store them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Just be sure to cook them right before serving to maintain their crisp-tender texture. Leftovers last refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Absolutely! While skillet cooking is the most common method, you can also grill or roast your fajita veggies for a smoky char. Go to Fajita Salad for grill instructions or Vegan Fajitas or Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas for roasting instructions.
Classic Fajita Veggies
Spice up your dinners with these vibrant and flavorful fajita veggies! Our easy recipe combines colorful bell peppers, onions, and a medley of spices for serving with the protein of your choice or as fun side dish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers (red, yellow, and green)*
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 portobello mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin*
- 1 teaspoon each chili powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Thinly slice the bell peppers and thinly slice the onion. Remove the stems and slice the portobello mushrooms. Smash the garlic cloves. Place them in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add the veggies and cook about 15 minutes until tender and lightly charred, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt to taste (we usually add a few more pinches). Remove and discard the garlic cloves before serving. Store leftovers for up to 3 days refrigerated.
Notes
*If you have homemade or purchased Fajita Seasoning, you can substitute 2 tablespoons seasoning for the spices and use only 1 teaspoon kosher salt in the recipe.
I’ve made this a few times now, but this time I got the Sazon seasoning. Turned out very good. The pork is seasoned when finished and could be used for a bbq pulled pork sandwich or with fajita veggies for tacos. Used my crock pot. Four hours on high, then four on low. I put salta pepper on first, then the Sazon which also has salt, but considering your only putting it on the surfaces, it can handle the salt.
Made this last night for my book group and served it with shredded chicken. It was a bigger hit than the book!
Made these in our cast iron skillet for a football tailgate at our house! They were fantastic!!
Apologies I didn’t see the link on the words! Thanks for a fantastic recipe.
How can you do this in oven for hands off cooking?
Yes! You can use the instructions here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/vegan-fajitas/