This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy.
Ranch Chicken Fajitas are made in one skillet pan on the stove top! Chunks of seasoned chicken, onion, and bell pepper get covered in ranch dressing for a delicious twist to classic chicken fajitas.
For an oven baked recipe of classic chicken fajitas try making these Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas.
Ranch Chicken Fajitas Recipe
I love when something so simple, like this fajita recipe, turns out surprisingly delicious and quickly becomes a quick dinnertime staple at my house.
Chunks of chicken are coated in dried seasonings and then cooked in a skillet pan along with sliced bell peppers and onion. The finishing touch, and best part, is that everything then gets covered in ranch dressing! Yes, ranch. What’s not to love about that?!
Using ranch dressing, either Homemade Ranch Dressing or store-bought ranch dressing, is a great way to infuse tons of creamy flavor with hardly any effort.
Why You’ll Love These Fajitas with Ranch Dressing
- So Many Topping Options – I love serving fajitas because there are so many options you can set out so everyone can customize their own. Chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeno, shredded cheese (any variety), shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, pico de Gallo, salsa, guacamole, avocado slices, black olives, etc.
- Easy Ingredients + One Skillet Pan – If you’re like me, then you love anytime a recipe only calls for one pan to be used. Less dishes! Everything cooks in the same pan on the stove top.
- Ranch! – Need I say more, haha! We love ranch at my house so anytime ranch is involved, I know my kids will happily eat it.
Ingredients Needed & Substitution Ideas
- Olive Oil – I prefer extra-virgin olive ‘light tasting’ because you get the great higher smoke point of olive oil (meaning that it won’t burn during the cook time) but without that very heavy olive taste to it. Any oil will work like canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil.
- Thinly Sliced Onion – A yellow onion, white onion, red onion, or sweet Vidalia onion will all work great in this recipe. I normally use a yellow onion.
- Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers – I love the combination of yellow/orange bell pepper + red bell pepper, but feel free to use your favorite or mix & match, or use two of the same.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast – Two chicken breast is what the recipe calls for. Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized chunks, to ensure that they will cook somewhat quickly in the skillet pan and cook evenly.
- Cumin, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Kosher Salt – Simple dried seasonings for the chicken. There are so many ways to switch up the seasonings if wanted – use a packet of fajita seasoning mix, chicken taco seasoning mix, add some additional spices like cayenne red pepper for spice, onion powder, or oregano.
- Ranch Dressing – Use your favorite ranch dressing!
How To Make Skillet Ranch Chicken Fajitas (Step-by-Step Directions)
- In a skillet pan, over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the sliced bell peppers and sliced onion. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened to your preference. If you prefer really soft veggies (like my family does) put a lid over the pan and cook for a few additional minutes. The lid traps the heat and helps soften the veggies quicker.
- While the peppers are cooking, cut the chicken into small, bite-sized chunks and place them into a bowl. Add the dried seasonings and stir until all the chicken is well coated in seasonings.
- Move the softened veggies to one side of the pan and add the chicken pieces to the other side. Let cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked all the way through (temperature of 165 degrees F).
- Stir together the peppers, onions, and chicken pieces together inside the skillet pan. Pour the ranch dressing over top and stir to combine. Let cook for a few additional minutes just to combine everything together.
- Use tongs, or a slotted spoon, to serve some ranch chicken fajita mix into flour tortillas and top with your favorite fajita toppings.
Which Ranch Dressing Is Best?
Now let’s talk ranch dressing cause not all ranch dressings are created equal! You can use a store-bought bottle of your favorite ranch dressing (I love the Lighthouse brand the best), or if you want an out-of-this-world-crazy-good-ranch then you definitely want to make the best ranch dressing ever!
It really is so yummy and makes all the difference in any recipe that calls for ranch like these ranch chicken fajitas or this Ranch Pasta Salad.
It’s as simple as mixing together sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, and some dried seasonings. That’s it. I make it so much that I buy all the seasonings in bulk so I can whip it up whenever. I promise it tastes a billion (yes a billion!) times better than any store-bought ranch. Give it a try!
Serving Suggestions for Ranch Chicken Fajitas
I love to put out different toppings in bowls, that way everyone can put whatever toppings they prefer on their fajitas.
- Sour Cream
- Avocado Slices or Guacamole (store-bought or homemade salsa verde guacamole)
- Drizzle on this Cafe Rio Ranch Dressing (Copycat Recipe)
- Chopped Tomatoes, Salsa, or Pico de Gallo
- Crumbled Cotija Cheese
- Shredded Cheese (any variety!)
- Chopped Cilantro
- Sliced Jalapeños
- Shredded Lettuce
- Black Olives
- White Queso or Classic Queso
Recipe Tips
- Bite-Sized Chicken Pieces : It’s important to not cut the chicken into too large of pieces. The bigger they are, the longer they will need to cook, which also means the peppers and onions will cook longer too. Aim to cut all the chicken about the same size, making sure that it’s in small bite-sized pieces. About 1-inch chunks of chicken.
- Make It Spicy! : The recipe as is, is not spicy, but it’s so simple to spice it up to whatever level you prefer. Add some cayenne red pepper or increase the chili powder. Add a can of diced green chilies (mild, medium, or hot) in with the pepper and onion mixture. Top the fajitas with shredded pepper jack cheese and/or sliced jalapeños.
- Thinly Sliced Bell Pepper & Onion : Again, make sure these are thinly sliced. I don’t love crunchy texture in fajitas, so I always cut them really thin so that they will soften while cooking. If you prefer heartier, bigger, crunch pieces of bell pepper and onion, then keep them larger.
- Skillet Lid Trick : To help quickly soften the veggies (and soften them to your liking) cover the pan with a lid while they are cooking. I don’t recommend covering the pan with a lid during the chicken cook time because you want that excess moisture from the chicken to evaporate out.
More Skillet Pan Chicken Recipes
Skillet Ranch Chicken Fajitas
Ranch Chicken Fajitas are made in one skillet pan on the stove top! Chunks of seasoned chicken, onion, and bell pepper get covered in ranch dressing for a delicious twist to classic chicken fajitas. A quick and easy 30-minute dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into small, bite-sized chunks)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- In a skillet pan, over medium-high heat, add the oil, sliced bell peppers and onions. Let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6-8 minutes or until softened to your preference. * We like the peppers and onion softer so I always cover the pan with a lid during this cook time to help them soften quicker.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow or orange bell pepper
- While the veggies are cooking chop the chicken breasts into small, bite-sized pieces and place them into a mixing bowl. Add the cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and kosher salt. Mix until all the chicken is well coated.* Make sure to wash your hands after handling raw meat.2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Move peppers and onion to one half of the skillet. Add the chicken to the other half. Let cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165℉. * You might want to stir the pepper mixture a few times to ensure it's not burning, or if you'd rather, you can remove the papers and onions from the skillet pan and just cook the meat in there. Some might choose to do this to prevent the peppers from over-cooking or getting too soft.
- Stir everything together to combine. Pour the ranch dressing over top and combine everything together. Let cook for a few minutes just to combine the flavors together.1/4 cup ranch dressing
- Use tongs, or a slotted spoon, to serve some chicken fajita mix inside flour tortillas and top with your favorite toppings. You can also drizzle some additional ranch dressing over top the fajitas.
Notes
Serving Size : For fajitas with lots of chicken and pepper filling then plan on getting 6 fajitas from the recipe. If you’re feeding kids who maybe won’t want as much fajitas filling, then you can easily serve 8 fajitas from this recipe.
Doubling The Recipe? : If you want to double the recipe, I recommend using two skillet pans – one for the peppers and onion, and the other for the chicken. Add olive oil to both skillet pan, cook separately, and then combine them together for serving and add the ranch.
Make It Spicy! : The recipe as is, is not spicy, but it’s so simple to spice it up to whatever level you prefer. Add some cayenne red pepper or increase the chili powder. Add a can of diced green chilies (mild, medium, or hot) in with the pepper and onion mixture. Top the fajitas with shredded pepper jack cheese and/or sliced jalapeños.
Changes : Use a packet of taco seasoning, chicken taco seasoning, or fajita seasoning mix instead of the separate spices. Add additional amounts or different seasonings. Use any color combination of bell peppers that you want.
Onion : Use a yellow onion, white onion, red onion, or a sweet onion.
Bite-Sized Chicken Pieces : It’s important to not cut the chicken into too large of pieces. The bigger they are, the longer they will need to cook, which also means the peppers and onions will cook longer too. Aim to cut all the chicken about the same size, making sure that it’s in small bite-sized pieces. About 1-inch chunks of chicken.
Thinly Sliced Bell Pepper & Onion : Again, make sure these are thinly sliced. I don’t love crunchy texture in fajitas, so I always cut them really thin so that they will soften while cooking. If you prefer heartier, bigger, crunch pieces of bell pepper and onion, then keep them larger.
Skillet Lid Trick : To help quickly soften the veggies (and soften them to your liking) cover the pan with a lid while they are cooking. I don’t recommend covering the pan with a lid during the chicken cook time because you want that excess moisture from the chicken to evaporate out. We like the peppers and onions pretty soft, so I always cover the pan with a lid and cook them for a few additional minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1007IU | Vitamin C: 94mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
Did you love this recipe?
Make sure to comment below so we can chat about it! Or follow on your favorite social network for even more family recipes.