Quick Stove-Top Beef Fajitas

By Chelsie Kenyon

Updated 11/29/18

Beef fajitas

Rainmax / Getty Images

  • Total: 30 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 20 mins
  • Yield: 3-4 Portions (3-4 Servings)

A classic Tex-Mex dish that became wildly popular outside its native area in the 1990s, fajitas are grilled strips of beef that are typically served with onion, bell pepper, and tortillas. Though the usual version calls for marinating the meat and cooking over an open flame, this pan-fried recipe will serve you well when you don’t have the time or equipment for grilling.

Did you know? The term fajitas technically refer to only the beef version of this dish, since the name comes from faja, the cut of meat from which they are traditionally made. However, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, shrimp, and even vegetables prepared in the same manner are also popularly known as fajitas.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound/450 grams skirt steak (or flank steak)
  • 4 bell peppers (red, green and/or yellow, stemmed and seeded)
  • 1 large onion (white, yellow, or purple, peeled)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 10 to 12 tortillas (corn or wheat)
  • Garnish: Guacamole
  • Garnish: pico de gallo (or salsa, cream, bottled hot sauce, and/or Mexican table sauce)
  • Garnish: chopped lettuce and tomatoes

Steps to Make It

  1. Slice the steak into ½-inch strips, cutting against the grain of the meat.
    Slice the peppers and onions into ¼-inch strips.

  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and begin to cook meat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the meat juices cook off.

  3. Add the sliced peppers and onions; cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to cook until the juices have reduced, the beef is cooked and the peppers and onions are limp and translucent.

  4. Serve your delicious fajitas with tortillas and the garnishes of your choice. To eat, the strips of meat and vegetables are placed onto a tortilla and topped with one or more garnishes; the tortilla is then folded over or rolled up (depending on the amount of filling) and eaten with the hands.

Edited by Robin Grose