These chicken fajitas are wonderful hot from the skillet, but they also freeze and reheat beautifully for quick, tasty meals. Below you’ll find a simple step-by-step method, a family-size version, and a make-ahead plan for feeding a large group. You can prepare full batches, freeze them in portions, and reheat with almost no effort on busy nights.

Step-by-step walkthrough

In a large bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients and set aside.

Prepare the chicken

To promote even cooking, butterfly each chicken breast so it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Place chicken in one- or several 1-gallon freezer bags. Add one-third of the marinade to the bag(s) with chicken, reserving the remaining two-thirds for the vegetables. Gently work the marinade around the chicken, press out the air, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

Prepare the vegetables

While the chicken marinates, slice sweet onions and bell peppers into 1/2-inch strips. Place them in a large bowl. Pour the reserved two-thirds of the marinade over the vegetables and toss to coat; the marinade will act as seasoning for the peppers and onions. Divide vegetables into freezer bags if making in advance and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Cooking

When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium-high heat until very hot. Add enough chicken in a single layer and cook about 8–10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer reads 150–160°F; if uncertain, cut into a piece to check doneness. Remove cooked chicken to plates to cool, and continue in batches until all chicken is cooked.

After the chicken is cooked, sauté the vegetables (in batches if needed) until mostly softened and beginning to caramelize. While the vegetables cook, slice the cooled chicken on the diagonal into roughly 1/4″ by 2″ strips.

Serve now or store

If serving immediately: Add the sliced chicken and any accumulated juices back to the skillet with the vegetables and heat just until warmed through. Wrap tortillas in a damp cloth and microwave in 30-second increments until hot. Serve with warm tortillas and condiments like sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and salsa.

If not serving immediately: Let vegetables cool, then place vegetables and chicken (with any collected juices) into freezer bags. The juices help keep the chicken moist and are one of the best parts of this recipe. Refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 4 months.

Reheating instructions

If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. One hour before serving, preheat the oven to 325°F. Combine chicken and vegetables in one or more large roasting pans, cover tightly with foil, and rewarm for 45–60 minutes (convection ovens take slightly less time). About 20 minutes before serving, wrap tortillas in foil in batches of 10–15 and warm in the oven for roughly 10 minutes. Keep tortillas wrapped until serving.

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Family-size Make-Ahead Chicken Fajitas

This next recipe scales up to feed a large group or to make many freezer portions. It follows the same method as above but increases quantities and uses multiple freezer bags and roasting pans for reheating.

Make-Ahead for a Crowd

For large events, prepare and freeze chicken and vegetables up to four months ahead. Thaw in the refrigerator the day before. Up to four hours before service (no later than 1 hour 15 minutes prior), preheat the oven to 325°F, combine chicken and vegetables in large roasting pans, cover tightly, and rewarm for 45–60 minutes. Tortillas can be wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven 10–15 minutes before serving. This method lets you deliver fresh, hot fajitas with minimal last-minute effort.