Chicken Fajita Fried Rice
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 481kcal
This Chicken Fajita Fried Rice is packed with flavor and is close to a perfect meal prep recipe in my eyes. It is made using marinated chicken thighs, rice, and fajita vegetables that reheats well and stores great in the fridge.
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Share on Facebook
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 lbs (908 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp (30 g) oil
- 1 tbsp (15 g) lime juice
- 2 tsp (6 g) garlic powder
- 1 tsp (1 g) oregano
- 1 tsp (3 g) coriander
- 1 tsp (3 g) cumin
- 1 tsp (3 g) paprika
- 2 tsp (6 g) chili powder
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
- 1 tsp (2 g) pepper
For the Vegetables and Rice
- 3 cups (450 g) cooked rice
- 1 medium (200 g) onion
- 1 medium (150 g) red pepper
- 1 medium (150 g) green pepper or poblano
- 1 tbsp (15 g) minced garlic
- 2 tbsp (30 g) lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp (15 g) oil
- ¼ cup cilantro optional for garnish
- 1 lime optional for garnish
Instructions
For the Rice
- Day old rice is best for making fried rice because it has had the chance to dry out in the fridge. You can also buy pre cooked, frozen rice at the store that works well.
- Prepare the rice the night before and store it in the fridge overnight. You will need 3 cups (450g) of cooked rice. You can use freshly cooked rice if needed, it is just better to use the day old stuff.
For the Chicken
- Start by preparing your chicken marinade and marinate the chicken while you cut your vegetables.
- Into a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Oil, lime juice, garlic powder, oregano, coriander, cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cut your chicken thighs into thin strips of about ¼" in thickness. Think of the shape the meat is cut in for traditional fajitas, that is what you are going for.
- Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat completely. Set aside to marinate while you prep the veggies.
For the Vegetables
- Wash and cut the peppers into thin strips and cut those strips in half to make smaller pieces. You need 300g worth of peppers, it doesn't matter what color you use. I prefer to use poblano peppers in place of green bell peppers because they are cheaper where I live but I know they can be hard to find in certain areas.
- Cut the onion into thin slices and mince the garlic.
- If you want to top with cilantro, roughly chop it.
Cooking Process
- Cast iron or carbon steel pans make for better fajitas. They allow for better coloring and therefore flavor. Heat your skillet over medium high heat and add in about ½ tbsp of oil. The chicken already has oil in the marinade so you shouldn't need to add much.
- Add half the chicken and cook it until it has browned come up to temperature. Unless you have a giant pan, it will be best to cook the chicken in batches to achieve proper coloring.
- As the chicken finishes cooking, transfer it to a plate to rest until you are ready for it later. Leave any oil and fond in the bottom of the skillet for the vegetables.
- Once the chicken has finished, add in another ½ tbsp of oil for the vegetables. There should be a good amount of oil in the skillet from the chicken.
- Add in the onions and peppers to cook. Season with salt to encourage them to cook faster. Cook them for 3-5 minutes to soften a bit and pick up color.
- Add in the garlic and toss. Allow it to become fragrant and then dump in the cooked rice. Stir to combine and pour in 2 tbsp of lime juice.
- Dump in the chicken and any juices on the plate. Mix to combine and taste test. Adjust any flavor as needed.
Plating
- This recipe makes 5 servings. Divide the ingredients evenly between 5 containers. You can garnish with cilantro and a lime wedge if you wish.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 18g | Fiber: 3.6g
NUTRITIONAL INFO FOR THE [POST_TITLE]
The information in this table represents the estimate for the total nutrition of the recipe as it is written. If you wanted to split the recipe into more or less servings than what is originally listed you can use this table to determine the nutritional estimates. If you update the number of servings in the “Servings” field of the recipe above, the information in these tables are no longer accurate as you have updated the ingredients.
Servings
Carbs
205.9g
Protein
198.6g
Fat
87.4g
Calories
2404.6 cals
This Post Has 12 Comments
Awesome recipe. Josh strikes gold once again by marrying my favorite template of meal prep with one of my favorite plates. I also added 1 cup of shredded cheese to the recipe and it was a nice addition.
Repeatable recipie yet again!! Macros easily adjustable by tweaking amounts of rice / chicken / veg. Fantastic flavor
Love this one! Thanks Josh!
I might be getting close to trying just about every meal on here and I have to say that this is one of my favorites. Goes great with Melinda’s green sauce. This one is a winner!
One of the first recipes I have ever made. Nice and easy and SUPER GOOD! Highly recommend!
My go-to recipe for sure. It’s easy to prep the chicken, veggies and refrigerate the rice the day before. Then just quickly cook everything the day of!
For the chicken is that measured cooked or raw?
Made this on my blackstone griddle. It’s super fast and the rice gets really crispy
It was the first recipe that I’ve tried and it was amazing. i can’t wait to try other high protein and low cal recipes. thank you
I love everything about this one – simple, quick, delicious each time. I think this is going to be one of those go-to recipe’s when I cannot find something else to do or just don’t have the time. I also like to add half an avocado to the top for some extra good fat in my diet.
Just made this today and the flavor was out of this world. Planning on eating it all week. Really love your channel and your recipes. Keep’em coming please.
In my faves