Wrapped in warm tortillas with a handful of vibrant garnishes—with these fajita veggies you won’t miss the meat…any night of the week. What started as an attempt at Meatless Monday has evolved into one of our favorite taco night dinners.
A delicious mix of bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms are tossed in a zesty, homemade marinade with just the right spices, cooked to perfection, then drizzled with a bit of reserved marinade. The secret to their incredible flavor is that finish with the reserved marinade.
You won’t believe the flavor impact until you give this recipe a try!
Spice Up Your Life! Or at least your Meatless Monday. Grilled onions and peppers are part of the reason I love fajitas in the first place—and with this fajita spice mix I get all of the fajita flavors I’m craving—so I don’t miss the meat for a moment. Also since this recipe contains meaty Portabella mushrooms, it’s hearty and filling, without the meat.
Top It Off!! Building a taco is personal. We love this veggie version with cotija, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. If you didn’t know, cotija is a crumbly Mexican (cow’s milk) cheese that will elevate just about any taco experience. This is our go-to combination of flavors and textures, but feel free to invite your favorite topping(s) to the party.
So whether it’s Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, or Any Other Day Fit for a Fajita—these veggies are sure to hit the spot.
Try my chicken fajita pasta next! It’s super creamy and seasoned perfectly with my homemade fajita seasoning! I promise your family will love it! ♥
VEGGIE FAJITA RECIPE INGREDIENTS
- Vegetable Oil: Or bacon fat works fabulously.
- Fresh Lime: It’s so much better with fresh juice rather the stuff that comes in the plastic lime!
- Garlic: As I always say, please use fresh garlic!
- Worcestershire Sauce: Add some meaty flavor to the vegetables.
- Chili Powder + Cumin + Oregano: Classic spices found in classic fajita seasoning.
- Salt + Black Pepper: This is our foundational seasoning for this dish.
- Brown Sugar: Please don’t skip the sugar. It balances out all the seasoning and is often that missing ingredient in other recipes.
- Smoked Paprika: I love the add nuanced flavor smoked paprika adds. Fell free to use whichever type of paprika you like.
- Garlic Powder + Onion Powder: While we use fresh onion and garlic in our recipe, the dried fortifies the flavor.
- Bell Peppers: Use a mix of any colors you like! I love the sweeter variety such as yellow bell peppers, red peppers or orange peppers, The green peppers are delicous, but aren’t quite as sweet.
- Red Onion: I love red onion in my fajitas. Classically white onion is used, which has a stronger onion flavor. Feel free to use whichever you’d prefer or have on hand.
- Portabella Mushrooms: I love the heartiness these mushrooms add.
- Cilantro: I add a ton of cilantro. If you hate the taste, simply omit it!
TIPS + TRICKS
- Cut Some Carbs: If you want to cut down your carbohydrates, serve these with carb balance tortillas, by Mission foods, (no endorsement) or over cauliflower rice.
- Make It Spicy: Stir in some chopped canned chipotle with a bit of adobo sauce when almost done cooking.
STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Store fajita veggies leftovers in an airtight container. It’ll last in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes. Cooked vegetables can be frozen for up to 9 months. They will soften after freezing.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Chop all the veggies and set them aside in the refrigerator. Measure and combine all the marinade ingredients and place them in a separate container.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
FAJITA VEGGIES SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
Remember these copycat chipotle fajita veggies are equally delicious served as a main course or as a generously hearty, side dish.
More Sides To Serve These With: I serve these with our Charro beans, Mexican rice, taco rice, KFC coleslaw, pineapple coleslaw, strawberry salad, strawberry spinach salad, 1905 salad (with a Spanish flavor profile), and my all-time favorite, Southwest salad. All the flavors compliment each other and create an absolute feast!
Fajita Burrito Bowls: I can’t tell you how many ways I use these. I often make burrito bowls with these as the star of the bowl! They’re amazing in a crispy, golden quesadilla. Traditionally, rajas are placed in quesadillas, but this makes a delicious version. They’re fabulous, with the vegetable strips coarsely chopped up and baked under an ooey-gooey layer of cheese on a plate of nachos.
Add To Burgers or Sandwiches: I also like them on burgers and a sandwich. They add so much flavor and of course, fiber, and nutrition. (they’re really high in vitamin C!)
Serve Alongside Enchiladas: These are wonderful served along side enchiladas. Try them with our white chicken enchiladas, cheesy chicken enchiladas, shrimp enchiladas, super easy weeknight honey lime chicken enchiladas, or our shredded beef enchiladas!
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW TO WARM TORTILLA?
- Oven Method: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Wrap 6-8 the tortillas well, sealing completely, in aluminum foil. Place in the oven until heated through, about 10-15 minutes. If you have more than 8 tortillas, make a second aluminum foil pack.
- Microwave Method: Run a clean dish towel under the kitchen faucet. Wring it out so it’s just damp. Wrap tortillas up in a damp towel, folding them over so steam won’t escape. Microwave for about 30 seconds.
- Microwaving this too long can actually make tortillas unpleasantly hard, so stick with 30 seconds and only cook longer if necessary.
- Wrap your tortillas in foil, then stick them in the oven. When you are ready to serve, remove them from the oven, but leave them wrapped in the foil so that they don’t dry out before go-time. If your party is on the smaller side, you may want to try just using a damp dish towel to keep those tortillas warm.
HOW TO TURN THE VEGGIES INTO FAJITAS?
- Vegetable Fajitas: When I make these, I serve them with warm flour tortillas and all the standard fajita toppings. Just spread out the thin strips of veggie fajitas on your warm tortilla and top away to your heart’s content.
- Want to add protein? As the recipe is written below, when made with vegetable oil or olive oil, the recipe is considered vegetarian fajitas and vegan. If you don’t follow that diet feel free to add any cooked meat of your choice. These will of course complement virtually any protein you like.
- I make sure to have cheese. I love these with cojita cheese or pepper jack. Beans will also create a complete protein when combined with corn tortillas, I drain and rinse a can of beans, black, pinto, or kidney beans, then add them to the veggies the last 10 minutes of cooking to warm them through
- Rotisserie Chicken: My version of short cut chicken fajitas is made by very lightly sprinkling shredded or cubed cooked chicken with taco seasoning, then adding the mixture to the cooking veggies, as I mentioned above, just he last few minutes of cooking to heat the chicken through.
- If you want to add some leftover cooked shrimp, chicken, or beef, feel free. We’ve often had shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover steak.
HOW TO KEEP FAJITA VEGGIES WARM?
If you’re making these fajita veggies ahead of time, for a party for instance, and need to keep them warm, you can cook them as directed them, place them in a crockpot set on “warm”.
If you’re making these for a simple family dinner, the best way to keep them warm is to simply cover the skillet to contain the heat. Using a large cast-iron skillet is ideal as it will retain heat after you turn the stovetop off. Simply cover it with aluminum foil if you don’t have a fitted lid.
You can also spread them out on a baking sheet or pan, cover with foil and keep them heated in a low-temperature oven. Stir before serving.
WHAT ARE OPTIONAL FAJITA TOPPINGS
- Cowboy Caviar (this, of course, isn’t a traditional fajita topping, but you won’t believe how good it is on your fajitas!)
- Fresh Lime Wedges
- Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole or an Avocado slice
- Salsa
- Shredded Lettuce
- Black Beans or Pinto Beans
MORE VEGETABLE FAVORITES
- Fried Cabbage and Bacon
- Hoppin John Recipe
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Southern Style Green Beans
- Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Best Way To Cook Corn On The Cob
- Sheet Pan Mediterranean Vegetables
MORE MEXICAN SIDE DISHES
**If you make these fabulous veggies fajitas, I’d it if you snapped a photo and tagged me on Instagram, @gonna_want_seconds, or I’d love it if you’d share this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest**
TRIED THIS RECIPE?
Please leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fajita Veggies
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Veggies
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 bell peppers, (red, orange, and/or green mix) sliced into about 3//8 inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion sliced into about 3//8 inch pieces
- 2 portabella mushrooms stems removed and sliced into about 3//8 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Make Marinade:
- In a small bowl, whisk together oil (4 tablespoons), lime juice (1/4 cup), garlic (1 tablespoon), Worcestershire sauce (1 teaspoon), chili powder (2 teaspoons), oregano (2 teaspoons), ground cumin (1 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), brown sugar (1 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), smoked paprika (1/2 teaspoon), garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon), and onion powder (1/2 teaspoon) until well combined.
- Remove 3 tablespoons of marinade to a small bowl and reserve.
Veggies:
- Toss the sliced veggies with marinade (not reserved 3 tablespoons--continue to set aside.)
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet. Saute peppers (3), onions (1), and mushrooms (2) on medium-high until tender and slightly charred, about 13-15 minutes.
- Spread cooked veggies out on a serving platter and drizzle reserved marinade evenly over them then sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve.
Notes
- Cut Some Carbs: If you want to cut down your carbohydrates, serve these with carb balance tortillas, by Mission foods, or over cauliflower rice.
- Make It Spicy: Stir in some chopped canned chipotle with a bit of adobo sauce when almost done cooking.
So delicious very flavorful don’t miss the meat at all, this is a keeper.
Thanks, Evelyn! I’m so happy you like this 🙂
I love this, it’s so easy and yummy!
Thanks, Jamie! Glad you like this recipe 🙂