Fajita Veggies (Chipotle Copycat!)

These grilled Fajita Veggies are a copycat version of the stripped peppers and onions served at Chipotle Mexican Grill! All you need is 5 ingredients and 15 minutes to prepare! Serve this Tex-Mex inspired side with Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans, Roasted Chili Corn Salsa, and Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa to make your own at home Chipotle burrito bowl!

I never skip the fajita veggies at Chipotle Mexican Grill! They’re the best vegetarian and vegan friendly option that gives great flavor to any bowl or burrito. You can never go wrong with adding veggies to your meal!

But of course, making them at home is so much cheaper, healthier (less oil and salt!) and a fantastic meal prep option for busy week nights.

Why This Recipe Works

• Cooking the Fajitas in a cast iron pan on high heat gives them the best char and flavor!
• Lightly seasoning them with neutral flavors means these fajitas make a great addition to any dish.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• bell peppers – Chipotle mainly uses green bell peppers in their fajita veggies (likely because they are by far the cheapest bell pepper). Green bell peppers are also less sweet tasting than yellow, orange or red (red is the sweetest!). Feel free to use any bell pepper you have.
• red onion – A great onion to use in fajitas as it has the best bite! Feel free to substitute a yellow or even a sweet onion in place of a red onion.
• seasoning – Chipotle lightly seasons their fajita veggies with dried oregano, sunflower oil, and salt! For the sake of this recipe, I use this simple seasoning to mimic the taste of the veggies at Chipotle, but feel free to use any seasonings you’d like! This Fajita Seasoning by Spend with Pennies would be a great option if you want to add in things like beans and soy curls to make your fajitas a full meal.

Step by Step Instructions

The most important step in preparing fajita veggies at home is uniformly slicing your onions and peppers. If they are sliced unevenly or too thick, they will cook unevenly and/or could take a lot longer to cook!

QUICK CHEATER METHOD! If you own a food processor that has the ability to slice, that is a great, quick method to slice onions and peppers for fajitas. It will cut them uniformly in seconds. I love opting for this method when I’m doubling or tripling a batch!

How to Slice an Onion into Strips

1. Cut the onion in half from the root down through the stem.
2. Place the onion half bulb scales down and slice of the root and the stem (the ends).
3. Slice the onion following the natural curvature of the bulb.
4. Repeat with second half of onion!

How to Cut and Thinly Slice a Bell Pepper

1. Slice the bell pepper longways through the stem.
2. Pull out the seeds, stem and white portion of the bell pepper and discard.
3. Clean out any remaining seeds.
4. Slice the bell pepper evenly. This is easiest to do with skin side down on the cutting board.

Grilling the Fajita Veggies

1. Heat your cast iron skillet over high heat to get it nice and hot! Once hot add in the oil to coat the pan.

2. Add in the sliced onions, peppers, oregano and salt. Occasionally toss the onions and peppers together to softened and nicely charred throughout, about 10 minutes.

3. Serve immediately with your favorite Mexican inspired dish or allow to cool completely before storing.

FAQs

Alternate Oven Method

No stovetop? No problem!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, then bake for 30 minutes, tossing half way through.

For the charred flavor and color, broil the fajitas for the last 1-2 minutes of roasting. Watch carefully so it does not burn!

What to Serve Fajita Veggies with

Vegetarian and Vegan Protein Options

• Vegetarian “chicken” or “steak” strips! Most traditional fajitas are served with either chicken or steak strips.
  
  To make this vegan friendly, I’d recommend using soy curls, portobello mushrooms, homemade seitan chicken strips, homemade vegan steak, or even a store-bought version like these Chick’n Strips by Alpha Foods or Mindful Chick’n Strips by Sweet Earth.
  
• Beans and rice! I love eating these with either my spicier black beans or my refried beans! I also recommend trying my super simple cilantro lime rice or a vegan Mexican rice!
  
• Tortillas! I love eating fajitas with both corn or flour tortillas. Can’t go wrong with either.

Topping Ideas

• The toppings I love to enjoy with fajitas are the same toppings I love with any Mexican-inspired dish! Fresh salsas (try my Chipotle copycat medium salsa and corn salsa!), cashew sour cream, shredded romaine lettuce, homemade guacamole, diced tomatoes, and vegan cheese! The more toppings, the better.

Storage and Freezing Tips!

Storing these veggies for meal prep is very easy. Simply allow them to cool completely, then transfer to a storage container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, 3 months in the freezer.

When refrigerating, I prefer storing in a glass container or a reusable silicone bag.

When freezing, I prefer using a freezer safe Ziplock that I have squeezed all the air out of to create a tight seal or even better, a FoodSaver vacuum seal bag.

Important note! If you store them when warm, condensation will build inside your storage container and make them soggy.

This is especially problematic for freezing as your veggies will get freezer burn.

Expert Tips

• Double or triple the recipe for meal prep or to stock the freezer! You’ll never regret having these ready to go to add to every meal.
• Use a cast iron skillet, when possible. It will give your veggies the best char and flavor!
• Make sure to cut the peppers and onions in uniform strips. If not, they won’t cook evenly and can increase the prep time considerably.

More Mexican Inspired Recipes to Try

• Beer Braised Jackfruit Enchiladas
• Slow Cooker Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos with Mango Salsa
• Oven Fried Vegan Potato Tacos (Tacos de Papa)
• Vegetarian Green Chili Stew

This post was originally published May 14, 2020 and was updated on September 17, 2021 to include a new recipe with new photos, step by step instructions, and an improved written recipe.