This is a great recipe for making your own fajita seasoning without all the additives of store-bought packets. Make up a larger batch and store it in an airtight container for future use. This versatile spice blend is great on fajitas and grilled veggies alike.
Fajitas are marinated strips usually of beef, chicken, or shrimp grilled or broiled and served usually with a flour tortilla, bell pepper strips, onion slices, and various savory toppings.
Who Created Fajitas?
Who created Fajitas? History gives credit to Mexican ranch workers living in West Texas.
How to Store Fajita Seasoning
Fajita is a Tex-Mex diminutive term for little strips of meat cut from the beef skirt, the most common cut used to make fajitas. Strips of meat are marinated in fajita seasoning made up of a few simple Mexican spices, like cumin and chili powder, plus some additional spices, like paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
Ingredients in Fajita Seasoning:
- Chili powder - I prefer chipotle chile powder. Chili powder tastes like a spice blend that happens to feature a heavy dose of ground chili pepper. It's earthy, mildly spicy, and pungent. Chipotle powder is earthy, too, but there's a deep earthy smokiness to this spice that's created during the drying and smoking process
- Cayenne pepper powder - cayenne brings some heat to the seasoning.
- Ground Cumin - cumin adds pepperiness and smokiness to fajitas.
- Garlic & Onion powder
- Smoked Paprika - Why smoked paprika? smoked paprika has a more intense and smoky taste, while the regular paprika has a more mild, neutral taste
- Mexican oregano - Mexican oregano is more pungent that regular oregano. Mexican oregano pairs better with chiles and meat with a lemony taste.
- Salt & Pepper - Kosher, sea salt or regular table salt
- Sugar - Sugar is not necessary for fajita seasoning, but white granulated sugar will help balance the spices. Brown sugar can be used instead of white sugar to caramelize the fajita meat .
Try Homemade Fajita Seasoning in these dishes
- Fajita seasoned fried chicken: Add 1 tbsp into the flour mixture when coating the chicken.
- Homemade Fajita Fries: Sprinkle fajita seasoning on cut fries before frying or baking.
- Veggies: Before grilling veggies, sprinkle with seasoning.
How to Store Fajita Seasoning