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In This Post
- Why You’ll Love My Homemade Fajita Seasoning Recipe
- Ingredient Notes
- How To Make Fajita Seasoning
- How To Use It
- Storage Instructions
- More Homemade Seasoning Recipes
- Homemade Fajita SeasoningRecipe card
- Recipe Reviews
Anyone that knows me knows that I love my spice mixes! You can certainly buy them pre-blended — and sometimes I do when I can find them with clean ingredients — but oftentimes, it’s even more convenient and cost-effective to just make them yourself. If you love Mexican flavors like I do, whip up my homemade fajita seasoning recipe, and you can use it for chicken fajitas and shrimp fajitas in no time!
Why You’ll Love My Homemade Fajita Seasoning Recipe
- Classic fajita seasoning flavor – This seasoning mix has all the flavor you’d expect from restaurant fajitas! It’s very similar to how I make taco seasoning, but with a stronger emphasis on garlic and onion powder rather than cumin and paprika.
- Clean ingredients, and not too many – My homemade fajita seasoning uses just 7 simple spices you probably have on hand if you have your spice drawer or rack stocked. It’s gluten-free, and has none of the MSG, starches, or fillers you sometimes see in store-bought mixes. Plus, there’s a tenderizer…
- Perfect tenderizer – I added a kind of “secret” ingredient commonly found in store-bought seasoning packets that will make your meats extra tender. You might not have it, but it really makes a difference if you want to pick it up.
- So easy – Just mix the ingredients and enjoy in only 5 minutes! Plus, it stores well, so I always keep a batch pre-mixed.
Ingredient Notes
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for my homemade fajita seasoning recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
All you really need are some spices, but I have a couple optional ingredients here to take it up a notch:
- Hot Spices – The primary ingredient in fajita seasoning is chili powder, but I also add cayenne pepper for additional heat. You can omit or reduce the cayenne if you don’t like much spice.
- Savory Spices – I reverse engineered the spices found in store-bought blends, but skipped the fillers. My version includes garlic powder, onion powder, paprika (or feel free to use smoked paprika), ground cumin, dried oregano, and sea salt. (You can also use kosher salt or table salt in place of sea salt.) All spice rack staples!
- Sweetener (optional) – Most grocery store spice blends use sugar to a hint of sweetness to balance out the spicy and savory ingredients. I use Besti Granulated, since it replaces sugar 1-to-1 without the sugar spike or any aftertaste.
- Bromelain Powder(optional) – This is the secret ingredient in most store-bought fajita seasonings! It’s a meat tenderizer that makes your fajita meat super tender. My small jar has lasted me what seems like forever, and I highly recommend it, but you can skip it if you like.
IMPORTANT: If you use the optional bromelain powder, be sure to cook your meat right away after seasoning.
The enzyme reaction will continue until you cook it, so if you let meat sit in a bromelain-containing seasoning for too long, it will be mushy.
If you use my fajita seasoning recipe to make steak fajitas and like them cooked less than medium-well or well done, it’s best to skip the bromelain powder, because it won’t stop working until the meat reaches 160 degrees F.
How To Make Fajita Seasoning
There’s not much to it. Simply mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, and you’re done!
How To Use It
There are two main ways to use fajita seasoning:
Simply Season
Not surprisingly, I use this blend to season chicken fajitas and shrimp fajitas most often. You can also use it for my recipes made using other methods, including Instant Pot steak fajitas and sheet pan fajitas.
But who says you have to stop there? My homemade fajita seasoning mix recipe can also add flavor to your regular sauteed shrimp, sauteed veggies, or simple healthy baked chicken breast. I’ve even used it in place of taco seasoning when I ran out of it to make my taco salad.
Marinade
To make this seasoning into a fajita marinade, whisk together 1/2 cupolive oil, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and 2 tablespoonsof my spice mix. Then, marinate your chicken, steak, fish, or shrimp.
Anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours is a good marinating time for chicken or beef. The closer to the 24-hour mark, the juicier they will be! (Don’t go over that time, or your meat will become mushy.) But for fish and other seafood, limit marinating to 30 minutes, or it will turn into ceviche.
Wondering how much fajita seasoning to use? My rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons per pound of protein.
This is perfect for chicken or steak, but sometimes I use a little bit less for seafood (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons), as it tends to take on the flavor more strongly.
Storage Instructions
I store my homemade fajita seasoning in these little jars, but any airtight container will do. It will last for 1-2 years, but tastes best within the first year.
More Homemade Seasoning Recipes
If you like my fajita seasoning recipe, you might also like some of my other seasonings made from scratch:
Cajun Seasoning
Italian Seasoning
Taco Seasoning
Blackened Seasoning
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Recipe Card
Homemade Fajita Seasoning
Make this flavorful homemade fajita seasoning recipe with simple pantry staples, like chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin & oregano.
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com
Servings: 20 (adjust to scale recipe)
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Stir all ingredients together. Store in an airtight jar.
Use 2 tablespoons of seasoning per pound of chicken or beef, or 1-1.5 tablespoons per pound of shrimp.
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Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Shrimp Fajitas
Sheet Pan Fajitas
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 1/2 teaspoons (amount of seasoning per 1/4 lb of meat)
Makes about 10 tablespoons, or enough seasoning for 5-6 pounds of protein, depending on if it’s chicken, beef, or shrimp.
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories13
Fat0.5g
Protein0.6g
Total Carbs2.4g
Net Carbs1.1g
Fiber1.3g
Sugar0.3g
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Course:Condiment
Cuisine:Mexican
Keywords:fajita seasoning, fajita seasoning recipe, homemade fajita seasoning
Calories: 13 kcal
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Fajita Seasoning Recipe
