Make double decker fajita nachos at home easily! They’re loaded with tender fajita chicken bites, melted cheese, delicious tortilla chips, and seasoned bell peppers and onions.
This post is sponsored by BUBBL’R.
Chicken Fajita Nachos
If you’re anything like me, and you love fajitas and you love nachos, you’ll be so excited about this fajita nacho recipe. The flavor combination is seriously so good – it’s legitimately restaurant quality game day food. Everyone in your family will love this recipe, I promise!
I’ve partnered up with BUBBL’R to bring you this incredible appetizer. The lime in the chicken seasoning pairs so perfectly with an ice cold can of their lemon lime twist’r. You can find out where to buy BUBBL’R here.
What Traditionally Goes In Fajitas?
Fajitas are a classic Tex-Mex dish that are popular in Texas. They’re normally made with grilled strips of chicken or steak along with sliced bell pepper and onions. It’s served with a side of fresh tortillas so that you can assemble them yourself with toppings like guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
If you’d prefer to make fajitas, check out our Chili Lime Steak Fajitas – they’re a reader favorite and are so good!
Ingredients
This recipe uses a homemade fajita seasoning blend made from chili powder, ground cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and crushed red pepper flakes. I definitely recommend tasting the seasoning mix and adjusting the salt to your preference before proceeding with cooking.
In addition to the fajita seasoning, this recipe uses chicken breasts, olive oil, lime juice, butter, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, sweet white onion, tortilla chips, and shredded cheese.
How To Make Chicken Fajita Nachos
Start by making the seasoning blend, then coat the chicken bites in it and saute the chicken until it’s fully cooked through. (See the recipe card below for the full written printable instructions.)
Saute the vegetables, then layer the nachos. Be sure that you layer the nachos so that the only layer touching chips is cheese – that’s the step that makes sure you end up with crispy nachos.
Bake them, garnish, and serve. See the recipe card below for the full instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
What Kind Of Chicken Should I Use?
Boneless skinless chicken breasts are my favorite chicken to use in Mexican recipes. It does such a great job of taking on the flavor of the dish. I recommend using air chilled chicken because it’s juicier and releases less moisture while it’s cooking.
You can also use any leftover chicken that you have. Anything from shredded rotisserie chicken to strips of fried chicken would taste great here.
If you’d prefer to use a different meat, my next pick would be beef. Ground beef, flank steak, and skirt steak would all be delicious here.
What Kind Of Chips Should I Use?
Be sure to use thick tortilla chips! There are a lot of toppings in this recipe, so you need a chip that’s thick enough to hold up to the toppings.
This is especially true in this recipe because there are so many vegetables in this dish, and vegetables like to release moisture when they cook.
Save yourself from soggy nachos that disintegrate, and use thick tortilla chips that are layered in the correct order.
Which Toppings Should I Use?
The topping that I think can’t be skipped is something with a little spice. Hot sauce is how I like to add the spice, but jalapenos would also work great.
Some other popular toppings are guacamole, avocado slices, avocado crema (try this easy Avocado Yogurt Dip), lime wedges, green onions, pico de gallo, and diced cilantro.
If you want to try something a little different, you can make this with waffle fries instead of tortilla chips to make nacho fries – SO good!
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
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Appetizer Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire appetizer recipe section! Some reader favorites are:
- BBQ Chicken Nachos
- Beer Cheese Dip
- Grilled Sticky Wings
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders
- Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
Loaded Chicken Fajita Nachos Recipe
The next time you’re craving restaurant quality Mexican nacho, make these delicious double decker fajita nachos at home!
Ingredients
Fajita Seasoning:
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Chicken Nachos:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large chicken breasts)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 medium red bell pepper (stems and seeds removed, chopped)
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper (stems and seeds removed, chopped)
- 1 medium green bell pepper (stems and seeds removed, chopped)
- 1/2 medium sweet white onion (chopped)
- 10 oz tortilla chips (about 280 grams)
- 2 cups freshly shredded Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or Pizza Mozzarella**
- 1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese**
- Hot sauce (optional, but highly recommended, for topping)
- Diced fresh cilantro (optional, for topping)
- Sour cream (optional, for topping)
- Guacamole (optional, for topping)
- Salsa (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C).
- In a small bowl, combine the fajita spice blend ingredients. Taste the blend and adjust the salt to your preference. Put 2 Tablespoon aside for the chicken, and 1 Tablespoon aside for the vegetables.
- In a large bowl, mix together 2 Tablespoons of the seasoning mix with the olive oil. Cut the chicken into 1/2” pieces, then toss in the oil and spice mixture to coat it.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F on an instant read meat thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken to a large heat-safe bowl, and toss with the Tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Add the butter to the pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Add the bell peppers and onion to the skillet, and sprinkle the remaining Tablespoon of the fajita spice blend over the vegetables. Stir to coat.
- Saute for a few minutes, or until the onions are just starting to turn translucent.
- Using either a large cast iron skillet or a small rimmed baking sheet (approximately 8” x 12”), layer the nachos in this order. First layer: 1/2 the chips, 1/4 of the cheese, 1/2 the vegetables, 1/2 the chicken, 1/4 of the cheese. Second layer: 1/2 the chips, 1/4 of the cheese, 1/2 the vegetables, 1/2 the chicken, 1/4 of the cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is totally melted (approximately 15 minutes).
- Garnish and serve. I highly recommend adding a little bit of a spicy kick by sprinkling some hot sauce on top.
Notes
*This chili powder is a spice blend sold in the USA and Canada. It’s a mixture of spices that is not overly spicy. The chili powder sold in the UK and other parts of the world is pure ground chilis, and would be way too spicy if it was used here.
**It’s so important to use freshly grated cheese. The pre-grated cheeses are coated in a starch so that the shreds don’t stick together in the packaging, but this also means that they don’t melt well.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 470Total Fat: 27.8gCarbohydrates: 29.3gFiber: 3.3gSugar: 3gProtein: 26.1g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate. This was calculated assuming 8 servings without any optional toppings.
The next time you’re craving restaurant quality Mexican nachos, make these delicious double decker fajita nachos at home!
