A very wise man (aka my best friend Matt) said that you cannot live your best life without guacamole. And I'm 100% on board with that. But also you really can't live your best life without salsa, cheese and fajitas so in honor of that.... let's make a Chicken Fajita Skillet Quinoa Bake! 
You guys know how much I love eating out of a bowl right? I mean I wrote an entire chapter on bowls in my cookbook for crying out loud! I have similar feelings about cooking everything in a big 'ol skillet and serving it straight outta the pan. It makes things easy and that's exactly what this Chicken Fajita Skillet Quinoa Bake is!
It's everything you love about fajitas, mixed with some quinoa (you could also use rice or pasta if that's more your jam, see cheesy chicken and rice casserole), doused with salsa, topped with plenty of cheese and then baked to perfection. It's PERFECT for any weeknight meal and it's incredible as leftovers! Top it with some guacamole and call it a day! If you're looking for something vegetarian, check out these quinoa stuffed peppers that are delicious!
Chicken Fajita Skillet Quinoa Bake
Ingredients
For the Fajita Mixture
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 poblano pepper medium dice
- 1 red bell pepper medium dice
- 1 yellow pepper medium dice
- 1 red onion medium dice
For the rest of it...
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups shredded cheese divided
- 1 ½ cups chipotle salsa
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Finely chopped scallions as needed
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts into cubes, about 1 inch. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken mixture, marinade included, and sauté until fully cooked. Using a pair of tongs, remove the chicken from the skillet and add the vegetables. Sauté until tender and charred. Add the chicken back into the cast iron skillet and toss to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Once cooked, remove from heat and transfer the cooked quinoa into a large bowl. Fold in the chicken fajita mixture, 1 ½ cups of the shredded cheese, and salsa. Season the entire mixture with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Lightly spray a large skillet with non-stick spray, and transfer the mixture into the baking dish. Top with the remaining shredded cheese and bake for about 20 minutes until the top layer of cheese is bubbly and melted. Remove the baking dish from the oven and garnish with green onions and serve.
This is SO GOOD. Haven't invested in a cast iron skillet yet, but worked perfectly in a single deep pan and transferred to a casserole dish. Can really add anything you like to it. Added some corn and topped with black olives as well. Thank you!!
Do you think this would freeze well? I’ve made and loved it. Trying to make meals to freeze for baby prep 🙂
yes absolutely
I was so excited to try out my new skillet and this was the perfect recipe to test it out in. Such a delicious meal! I also made mine as a one pot dish. I’m excited to eat this for the rest of the week. And major props to Gaby for creating a healthy, yet hearty meal that feeds the whole family!
This was delicious! Baked it in my cast iron and it was super easy
Gaby, Thank you! This is a huge staple in our house! We probably have this every two weeks! The next day, this is great with a fried egg on top and hot sauce! Keep coming up with fabulous recipes!
This was delicious and the leftovers were amazing. Thank you for this recipe!
I realized that I didn’t have chicken so I replaced it with ground beef. It was amazing. I plan to make it with chicken next week.
Yum! Can I freeze the leftovers (sans guac of course)?
you sure can!
My favorite - everything in the skillet!! This is mouth watering!!
This was wonderful! We used some left over roasted chicken breast and added pinto beans (we didn't have a lot of chicken) and it was great!! I just added in the spices / lime / garlic after the veggies had cooked a bit. Leftovers are great, too. Thanks!
so happy to hear it!
DELISH! Added corn per other reviewers and topped with Greek yogurt and cilantro in addition to green onion. Will definitely be making this again!
Sooo yummy!
Delicious and easy to make - like others in the comments, I cooked and baked all in the same pan. I would also say that this chicken marinade would be great by itself or in other Southwest-style chicken dishes.
This looks like a great recipe! Trying to organize a week's worth to cut down on grocery shopping. Does this serve 4 or 6 roughly?? Under the Servings at the top of the recipe it says "0".
Thanks!
Nancy
4!
Thank you!
Looking forward to fixing it this weekend.
Nancy
I am so glad that I finally made this! I always think to myself that I should be eating more quinoa, but whenever I try, I realize that I just really don't like it. But this recipe is different. Sooo good! After I cooked the quinoa, I just mixed everything together in the same skillet that I cooked the chicken and vegetables in, stuck that in the oven for 20 minutes, then under the broiler for a couple minutes. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!