These Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas are a delicious weeknight meal that the whole family will love. All those fajita flavours that you know and love, but made in the slow cooker for a fuss free meal. No pre-cooking needed, just dump it all in and let it cook for 3 hours. Healthy, protein packed and with a veggie boost.
Chicken fajitas are a family favourite, and cooking them in the slow cooker takes the hassle out of them, with no need to stand at the cooker making them. Just a few simple ingredients, easy to adapt and perfect for those busy weeknights when you just want dinner ready as soon as you walk in the door.
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Why should you try it?
- Just 7 ingredients
- Easy to adapt
- Freezes really well, so it's great for bulk cooking
- Comfort food the whole family will love
What you will need
- Chicken - We used skinless and boneless chicken breasts to keep these slow cooker chicken fajitas nice and lean, however if you want juicier chicken then you could use boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
- Bell peppers - These are a great way to give the dish a nutritious boost and add a little crunch. We used green, yellow and red, but use whatever you have.
- Onion - This adds lots of flavour, and some texture too. You can dice or slice and use yellow or red onion, or even use shallots for something a little sweeter.
- Fajita seasoning - We have used our own super easy homemade fajita seasoning, however you can save yourself some time and use a good quality store bought one - just watch the salt and sugar levels in these.
- Tinned tomatoes - This adds the sauce element to the dish and stops it being too dry. It will look really liquidy when finished cooking, however you will scoop the chicken and veg out and not use the juice (you could save it for stock though). Try to use a really good quality can of tomatoes, as you will taste the difference. Cheap ones tend to be really watery.
- Garlic - You can crush fresh garlic yourself or save some time and use a teaspoon of the ready crushed garlic in a jar.
Lime - this adds a nice freshness to the dish, but you could leave it out if you don't have any.
Step by step
One: Put the sliced peppers and onion in the slow cooker.
Two: Add the chicken breasts on top.
Three: Sprinkle over half the fajita seasoning. Turn the chicken breasts over and sprinkle over the rest of the seasoning.
Four: Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and lime juice. Cook on high for 3 hours.
Five: Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts and chop. Put the chicken back into the sauce and cook for an extra 15 minutes.
How to adapt it
We love a meal that we can easily adapt and this is one of them. As we have used a homemade seasoning, you can adapt it to suit your own tastes. If you don't love spicy food, then you can leave the chilli out or just use a little less - the paprika gives it a nice smokiness. If you are making this for younger kids, then leave the salt out of the seasoning.
These slow cooker chicken fajitas have peppers and onions in them, but there is no reason why you can't add other vegetables too. You could add chopped mushrooms and courgette (zucchini) at the same time as the peppers, and then stir in some spinach when you add the chopped chicken back in.
If you didn't want to use chicken in these, then you could use just vegetables or even some tofu (cooking times would vary for this).
Homemade fajita seasoning
You can buy fajita seasoning in a packet, but it's usually loaded with extra sugar and salt. It's really easy to make yourself, and then you can make a big batch and keep it in a jar for whenever you make fajitas. We like to sprinkle it on salmon before grilling too.
We mix together 1 tablespoon chilli powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, a pinch of sea salt, black pepper and sugar.
What to serve it with
These slow cooker chicken fajitas go perfectly with all the usual sides that you use to build up a delicious wrap. Soft flour tortillas, Restaurant Style Salsa, The BEST Guacamole, sour cream, cheese, jalapenos and shredded lettuce. Some lime juice and coriander on the side is great to lighten it all up too.
You could swap the soft flour tortillas in these slow cooker chicken fajitas for crispy hard tacos and the guacamole could be swapped for avocado slices. If you are serving these for a few people, then you can bulk it all out to serve more people by adding some rice or black beans. Why not try our Spanish Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice.
FAQs
This is a low carb and low calorie meal, with the option to add lots of extra vegetables. We have used lean chicken breast and made our own fajita seasoning which is lower in salt and sugar. You could also make these lower in carb by serving them in a giant lettuce leaf.
You can put the chicken mixture in an air tight container and it will keep in the fridge for 2 days. You can then heat it through in a pan, or put it in the microwave until it is heated through.
Yes, the mixture freezes really well, making it a great batch cooking meal. Put it in a freezable container and it will be good for up to 3 months. You can also wrap the mixture up in a tortilla and then tightly wrap it in foil and then keep those in the freezer. If you are doing this, don't add things like sour cream, guacamole and lettuce to them, as they don't freeze well.
If we have any leftovers of this (which we usually do as it's a great bulk cook dish), then we either serve them the same way we have done here, or we serve it on top of rice or a baked potato. You can also use it as a topping for our Chicken Burrito Bowl.
If you don't want to cook these in the slow cooker, then they can be done in the oven instead. Put everything in to a large baking dish and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 200°C until the chicken is cooked through, this will take around 30-40 minutes.
Yes, if you make your own fajita seasoning, then the chicken mixture is gluten free. Just make sure that you use gluten free tortillas and any toppings you use are gluten free too.
Extra tips
- Save yourself some time by using frozen onions, lazy garlic and a good quality store bought fajita seasoning.
- If you prefer your peppers with some real crunch on them, then don't add them at the start and instead add them about 45 minutes before the finish time.
- Add some extra flavour by stirring in some chopped fresh coriander before serving.
- If you find this too acidic with the lime and tomatoes, then you can stir in a little honey at the end.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
- 650 g chicken breast
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 large red onion
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 4 tablespoon fajita seasoning
- 400 g chopped tomatoes canned
- 0.5 lime (juice only)
To serve
- tortilla wraps, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and cheese (all optional)
Instructions
- Put the sliced peppers and onion in the slow cooker.
- Add the chicken breasts on top.
- Sprinkle over half the fajita seasoning. Turn the chicken breasts over and sprinkle over the rest of the seasoning.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and lime juice. Cook on high for 3 hours.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts and chop. Put the chicken back into the sauce and cook for an extra 15 minutes.
Notes
- Save yourself some time by using frozen onions, lazy garlic and a good quality store bought fajita seasoning.
- If you prefer your peppers with some real crunch on them, then don't add them at the start and instead add them about 45 minutes before the finish time.
- Add some extra flavour by stirring in some chopped fresh coriander before serving.
- If you find this too acidic with the lime and tomatoes, then you can stir in a little honey at the end.
Beth
My husband and I love this recipe! It's so delicious and flavorful! I can't wait to make this again soon!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
Fajitas sound like a great dinner for a busy weeknight. Making them in the slow cooker is so convenient too. Thanks for sharing... Heading to the kitchen now...
Erica Schwarz
This looks like a great go-to during a busy week.