Mexican restaurant-style Shrimp Fajitas are easy to make at home! Serve them sizzling hot in a cast iron skillet with your favorite toppings for a quick and easy family favorite dinner.
Why I love this recipe
- Irresistible flavor
- Simple and fresh ingredients
- Quick and easy recipe
Ingredients needed to make Shrimp Fajitas
The exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary for your grocery list.
- large tender shrimp - they get marinated in a mixture of fajita seasoning blend, fresh lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, and water
- bell peppers - you can use a combination colorful bell peppers including yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers, and red bell pepper
- onion - standard yellow onion is recommended but you can use red onion for a more mild flavor
That's it!
How to make homemade Shrimp Fajitas
Marinate shrimp: Combine the fajita seasoning blend with the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and cold water in a resealable plastic bag. Squeeze the bag to mix well. Place shrimp in the marinade and squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade over the shrimp. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag, seal well, and refrigerate for one hour (do not marinate any longer because the acid in the lime juice can actually "cook" the shrimp).
Cook fajita veggies: Using a large skillet (cast iron preferred), heat over high heat with one tablespoon of oil. When the oil begins to soak, add sliced peppers and onions. Stir well to coat in oil and then allow the vegetables to sear, only tossing every so often to prevent burning. Once the peppers and onions have seared nicely but are still pretty firm, transfer them to a separate bowl.
Cook shrimp: Add marinated shrimp along with all of the marinade to the hot pan. Use tongs to place the shrimp so that they all have contact with the bottom of the pan. Again, only stir every so often to prevent burning. You want the outside of the shrimp to sear without overcooking them, if possible. Once the bottoms of the shrimp are bright pink, flip them and allow the other side to sear.
Combine: Once the shrimp are cooked through, reduce the heat to low, add the seared vegetables, toss to combine, and serve them sizzling hot.
Favorite fajita toppings
- sour cream
- pico de gallo
- lime wedges
- fresh cilantro
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerated them. Store any leftover toppings separately. Leftovers should be eaten within 3-5 days.
The best way to reheat fajitas is to heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook them just until they are heated through while stirring frequently. Any longer may result in the shrimp and vegetables getting over cooked.
Fajita FAQs
Fajita seasoning is a spice mix that you can buy pre-made or you can make it yourself. If you're in a hurry, taco seasoning will work as a substitute but won't deliver the best flavor.
Warm tortillas are almost always served with fajitas. Whether you set out warm flour tortillas or corn tortillas is a matter of preference, but they should be on the smaller size so they are easier to handle.
Any variety of shrimp will work, but my preference with shrimp recipes is to always use uncooked and wild-caught large shrimp.
There are tons of sides that go great with shrimp or steak fajitas. When we have fajita night at our house, some of my favorite things to make include cilantro lime rice, elote or Mexican street corn salad, and of course a strong margarita.
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Quick & Easy Shrimp Fajitas
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds large uncooked shrimp (tail removed, vein cleaned, rinsed and patted dry )
Marinade:
- 2 Tablespoons fajita seasoning blend
- 1 lime (zested and juiced)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil (avocado oil works well too)
- 1 Tablespoon water
Fajitas:
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil (can substitute with any kind of oil that can tolerate high heat)
- 2 large bell peppers (stem and seeds removed, sliced into strips (can use red, yellow, orange, green, or a combination))
- 1 large yellow onion (thinly sliced)
Instructions
- Marinate shrimp: Combine the fajita seasoning blend with the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and water in a resealable plastic bag. Squeeze the bag to mix well. Add the shrimp and squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade over the shrimp. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag, seal well, and refrigerate for one hour (do not marinate any longer because the acid in the lime juice can actually "cook" the shrimp).
Cook fajitas:
- Cook vegetables: Using a large skillet (cast iron preferred), heat over high heat with avocado oil. When oil begins to soak, add sliced peppers and onions. Stir well to coat in oil and then allow the vegetables to sear, only tossing every so often to prevent burning. Once the peppers and onions have seared nicely but are still pretty firm, transfer them to a separate bowl.
- Cook shrimp: Add marinated shrimp along with all of the marinade to the hot pan. Use tongs to place the shrimp so that they all have contact with the bottom of the pan. Again, only stir every so often to prevent burning. You want the outside of the shrimp to sear without overcooking them, if possible. Once the bottoms of the shrimp are bright pink, flip them and allow the other side to sear.
- Combine: Once the shrimp are cooked through, reduce the heat to low, add the seared vegetables, toss to combine, and serve them sizzling hot.
Val
This shrimp fajita recipe is SO amazing! I can't believe how easy they were to make!
Jamie
Loved these shrimp fajitas! So fresh and flavorful!