I’m obsessed with these steak fajitas. Served with mango-avocado salsa and lots of charred veggies, they’re perfect for a summer dinner.
I’ve been indulging in a lot of Taco Tuesday goodness lately, like these beer-battered fish tacos. But fajitas have not been on my radar quite as often. Since I had a skirt steak in the freezer, I decided to make my fajita dreams come true.
Admittedly, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t have the nice sizzling platter that you normally see–er, hear I mean–in restaurants for fajitas.
Regardless, these fajitas hit in all the right spots. I served them with a bowl of lime-cilantro potatoes but serve them with lime-cilantro rice or with my favorite black beans and rice recipe.
The most challenging part of making steak fajitas is timing. You want to get everything done around the same time. For the purpose of this recipe, we’ll assume you’re going to serve these with lime-cilantro potatoes, so my timing recommendations are based on that.
How to make these steak fajitas:
- Step 1: Make the salsa. In terms of timing, the salsa can hang out in the fridge while you get everything done, and the last thing you want to be doing is rushing to chop up mango and avocado while your steak gets cold!
- Step 2: Prep all the ingredients. Get everything chopped and minced. Once you start cooking, things will move quickly. Make sure all your accompaniments are ready to go.
- Step 3: Make the potatoes. Parboil, dry them out, get them seasoned, and get them roasting.
- Step 4: Cook the steak and peppers. During the last 10–15 minutes of the potatoes roasting, fry up your steak and then fry the bell peppers.
- Step 5: Finishing touches. While the steak rests, dress the potatoes and warm up your tortillas.
The recipe below is written in a linear fashion so as to not break up the individual parts of the recipes too much. You’ll see as you cook where to find pockets of time to complete the components in the order above.
As a note, I used serrano peppers throughout. They’re a fair amount spicier than jalapeño. You can halve the serrano peppers and split them up across different components of the recipe (for example, use half a serrano in the salsa and half a serrano in the potatoes) or you can use jalapeño.
Steak Fajitas
Equipment
- Large pot
- Baking sheet
- Skillet
Ingredients
Mango-avocado salsa:
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and small-diced
- 1 mango, peeled and small-diced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, trimmed and minced
- ½ small red onion, peeled and minced (about 1–2 tablespoons total)
- Salt, to taste
Cilantro-lime potatoes:
- 1 pound small Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered or medium-diced if large
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¼ cup cilantro, minced
- 1 serrano pepper, trimmed and minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Steak fajitas:
- 1 pound skirt steak (if your skillet is small, cut the steak in half)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 bell peppers, trimmed, seeded, and sliced
- ½ small red onion, peeled and sliced
- Neutral oil, for frying
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
- 8 Small flour tortillas, warmed according to package instructions
- Shredded lettuce
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Make the salsa:
- Combine the avocado, mango, lime juice, minced serrano, and minced red onion in a bowl. Season with a generous pinch of salt and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if needed. Transfer to the refrigerator.
Parboil the potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Place the diced potatoes, baking soda, and salt in a large pot. Cover with water by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes until just slightly under fork-tender. Drain into a large bowl.
- Using tongs, transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet in an even layer. Let stand for 5–10 minutes.
Roast the potatoes:
- Transfer the potatoes to a bowl with the extra virgin olive oil, ancho chili powder, paprika, and cayenne powder. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Toss to coat. Return to the baking sheet in an even layer and roast for 20–30 minutes until golden brown.
Dress the potatoes:
- Wipe out the bowl you used to season the potatoes and add lime juice, minced cilantro, and minced serrano pepper.
- Carefully add the roasted potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat. Taste and season once more with salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Cook the steak:
- Place a skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add a scant amount of neutral oil and use a paper towel to brush it into an even layer. The skillet should be slick but not pooling oil anywhere.
- Pat the steak dry and season with salt, pepper, and chili powder.
- Turn the heat on the skillet to high. Let it continue to heat for 1–2 minutes. Add the steak and cook without moving for 3–4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking, adjusting the heat if needed until it reaches your desired internal temperature. Skirt steak only needs to cook for 3–4 minutes per side, depending on how thick it is. Transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to rest for 5–10 minutes.
Fry the vegetables:
- Return the heat on the skillet to medium-high. Add another drizzle of neutral oil and let it heat for 1 minute. Once hot and shimmering, add the sliced peppers and onion. Cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes until tender-crisp and charred in spots. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to one side of a serving platter.
Slice the steak:
- Transfer the steak to a cutting board and slice thinly against the grain. Transfer to the other side of the serving platter with the cooked peppers.
To serve:
- Pile the steak and peppers into warm tortillas with shredded lettuce. Spoon the mango-avocado salsa on top. Serve the warm roasted potatoes on the side. Enjoy!
