Quinoa Chicken Fajita Bake

This Quinoa Chicken Fajita Bake is going to be your new fave weeknight dinner recipe. Full of tons of fajita flavor and veggies, quinoa, salsa, and cheese... how could you go wrong. We use one skillet to cook everything up (minus the quinoa) and then bake it all in the same pan. Easy recipe, easy cleanup, big flavor.

Why this Chicken Fajita Skillet Bake will be your new Fave:

• The chicken marinates for just an hour in spices, lime juice, and olive oil. This brings MAJOR flavor.
• We use the same cast iron skillet to cook the chicken, sauté the veggies, and bake it all together. Easy clean up.
• It tastes just as good, if not better, the next day. Perfect for meal prep. Bake it up, divide into containers. I love my Pyrex Snapware set. I got it from Costco a while back, but a similar set is on Amazon Prime here.
• Customizable! Use your favorite salsa, shredded cheese of your choice (I used mozzarella), but pretty much any shredded cheese would work, and pick your favorite bell pepper colors.

The first and very important step is to marinate the chicken. We're using chicken thighs for extra flavors and to avoid them drying out. And our spiced lime juice marinade brings max Mexican, fajita flavor.

If your cast iron skillet is big enough you can use the same one to cook up your chicken and veggies and bake it all together. If your skillet isn't big enough, no biggie! Just transfer everything to a greased (just with cooking spray) baking dish. We set aside a little bit of the shredded cheese to sprinkle on top, so we get some of that bubbly, meatiness happening.

Sprinkle with sliced green onions if you're feeling fancy and serve up! A side of chips and guacamole is highly recommended. For other fajita-inspired recipes, check out these Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas or Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas.

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Recipe

Quinoa Chicken Fajita Bake

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5 from 1 review

This Quinoa Chicken Fajita Bake is going to be your new fave weeknight dinner recipe. Full of tons of fajita flavor and veggies, quinoa, salsa, and cheese... all cooked up in your cast iron skillet.

• Author: Kathleen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 100 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Fajita Spiced Chicken

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Sliced into 1 inch chunks)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (extra olive oil to grease the skillet)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Fajita Veggies

• 2 bell peppers (medium dice)
• 1 medium onion (medium dice)

Rest of the skillet

• 1 cup quinoa (cooked according to package directions)
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend, cheddar, or mozzarella. Divided.)
• 1 cup salsa (use your favorite! I used medium)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• finely sliced scallions (to garnish)

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken ingredients (minus the chicken). Then toss in the chicken cubes. Refrigerate and marinate for an hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F. And cook the quinoa according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil, when the oil is shimmering and hot add in the chicken (extra marinade included). Sauté until fully cooked. About 4-6 minutes depending on size of chicken pieces. Using tongs, remove chicken pieces from skillet, leaving extra sauce and browned bits in the pan.
4. To the same hot skillet (skillet on medium-high), add the peppers and onion. Sauté until tender and even slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Add chicken back to skillet, toss to combine. And remove from heat.
5. If your skillet is large enough, toss the quinoa, salsa, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese with the chicken and veggies. You can also do this in a large bowl and transfer back to skillet or into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with remaining half cup of shredded cheese.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. The top layer of cheese should be bubbly and melted. Remove from oven and sprinkle on sliced green onions and serve.

Notes

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: ¼ of recipe
• Calories: 644
• Sugar: 6.3 g
• Sodium: 1127.3 mg
• Fat: 35.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 40.4 g
• Fiber: 6.3 g
• Protein: 41.5 g
• Cholesterol: 155.5 mg