The Best and Easiest Garlic Lime Steak Fajitas - these steak fajitas are easier to make than you think and absolutely delicious! Tender marinated flat iron steak served with sautéed bell peppers, onions, and a creamy Cilantro Lime Avocado Mash.
Get restaurant style fajitas without the additional oil from frying and lower in sodium - at home and on your table in 30 minutes!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 8fajitas
Calories 331kcal
Ingredients
Marinade:
1/4cupLime juiceapproximately 2 limes
1/4cupolive oil
1tbspminced garlic2-3 cloves
1 1/2tspchili powder
1 1/2tspground cumin
1tspsmoked paprika
1/2tspsaltmore or less to taste
1tspblack peppermore or less to taste
1/2tsponion powder
1/2tspred pepper flakesmore or less to taste
1/2tsporegano
2tbspfreshly chopped cilantrooptional, but tasty
Additional Ingredients:
1lbflat iron steakor flank, hanger, skirt steak
3bell peppers, stem and seeds removed, sliced thinlyany color; red, green, and yellow
1medium onionyellow, red, or white
1tbspolive oil
8fajita flour tortillas
Cilantro Lime Avocado Mash: (optional - not included in the nutrition information)
2mediumavocadospeeled and pitted
pinchcrushed red pepper flakesmore or less to taste
1tbspLime juiceor juice of 1/2 lime - more or less to taste
1/4tspgarlic powder
Pinchof saltto taste
Pinchof pepperto taste
1/2tbspfreshly chopped cilantroto taste
Garnishment: (optional - not included in the nutrition information)
freshly chopped cilantro
Limesto squeeze over tacos
Sliced jalapeno
plain greek yogurtor sour cream
Your favorite salsa
Cheesecheddar, mexican, etc
Instructions
Marinade:
Add all ingredients for the marinade into a sealable bowl or large ziploc bag. Whisk/mix together very well and then add the steak.
Toss to fully coat the steak. Seal and place into the fridge to marinade a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
To Cook:
When ready, remove the steak from the fridge and leave on the counter (or in your sink) to come to room temperature - approximately 20-30 minutes.
Place a cast iron pan or large non-stick pan over medium heat with olive oil.
Once olive oil has heated, add the sliced peppers and onions. Saute until the peppers have softened just a bit and the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and cover with foil to keep warm.
If you're going to use the same pan to cook the steak, remove the vegetables to a separate dish and cover to keep warm.
To Grill:
Place a grill pan (or the same pan from above) over medium heat. Add a little olive oil to coat the pan.
Once heated, remove the steak directly from the bag or container and add it to the pre-warmed pan. Allow the meat to cook evenly on both sides until it reaches desired doneness. I prefer medium to medium-rare, so I allowed it to grill for approximately 6-8 minutes. My flat iron steak was cut on the thicker side, though. See Notes below for additional tips.
When the steak is cooked to your liking, add the peppers and onion back to the pan to warm.
Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips.
Serve with warm tortillas with plain greek yogurt, cheese, your favorite salsa, a squeeze of lime juice, or your favorite taco/fajita stuffings.
Warming Tortillas: (no oil needed)
Place a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Warm each tortilla in the pan, flipping from one side to the next. About 20-30 seconds per side.
You can also preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them for 10-15 minutes.
Notes
You can either grill the flat iron steak on your outdoor grill or inside on a grill pan. If you're looking for a remarkably impressive and sturdy grill pan, then I highly recommend this Cast Iron Square Grill Pan. It comes pre-seasoned and helps to give meats and vegetables that charred, grilled taste and texture.
I also use this Cuisinart Cast Iron Pan for meats and vegetables (which you see pictured above). It works very well. I don't think I'll ever be without it or a cast iron pan for that matter.
Be sure to remove the marinated steak from the fridge and allow to sit out 30 minutes prior to grilling.
If you're not a fan of steak, you can easily replace this with chicken breast.
Cilantro is optional, but if you're not a fan - you can omit.
Be sure to cut the meat across the grain to retain as much juice and flavor.
How long to grill the steak will depend upon two things: how thickly cut your steak is and how well-done you prefer your steak. For tender steak, I prefer mine cooked medium to medium-rare. This is approximately 6-8 minutes. My cut of steak was on the thicker side, though.Rule of thumb: Use the finger to thumb method to test how well cooked your steak is. If you're not sure of what this means - google has some wonderful images to explain and show you. Super easy rule of thumb (pun intended).