These flavorful veggie-packed chicken fajita bowls are a fun, customizable weeknight meal that everyone can enjoy. Perfectly seasoned juicy chicken and slightly sweet carmelized onions and peppers are mixed with cauliflower rice, black beans and an array fajita toppings for a fun party in your mouth.
The Family Meal Dilemma
Weeknight family meals have a few common obstacles: a) satisfying all taste buds and food preferences, b) limited time. This is 1 meal that produces flavorful solutions. From start to finish, this meal will take about 30-35 minutes to prep, cook and serve, and you don’t have to be a master chef to make it in that time. It is also possible to roast the chicken, onions and peppers on your meal prep day so that they can be re-warmed on the night you are serving, saving you a good 20-25 minutes. For some, an hour of meal prep on a weekend actually makes homecooked weeknight meals possible.
Another way this recipe will serve you well is that it is a build-your-own-bowl, allowing each family member to decide which and how much of each component they desire. This strategy is quite clever if you have a selective eater spouse or children with certain food preferences. One-pot meals don’t allow them to customize but build-you-own do!
Options, Options…
While the chicken, onions and peppers are roasted together with avocado oil and spices, you can easily separate the veggies from the chicken when serving, if this appeals more to your family members. My husband, who does not enjoy roasted onions and peppers, simply pulls out the chicken from the serving bowl but you can choose what works best for your family.
Packing in more veggies is this quick stir fry of cauliflower rice and black beans with just a touch of cumin and chili powder. It comes together quickly and without much effort.
Once again, if this fits your family’s food preferences better, you can simply warm the beans separate from the cauliflower rice and allow individuals to choose either option or both at the dinner table. Or, sub in some cooked quinoa or brown rice for the cauliflower rice. The point is, you have options!
If there is one thing i have learned about feeding children is that they get excited about choices and making their own- a little bit of control. Place some fun toppings on the table like diced avocado or guacamole, salsa, shredded lettuce, yogurt or sour cream, cilantro or cheese and allow your favorite people to add a bit more color to their plate. I usually serve these Veggie-Packed Chicken Fajita Bowls with a side of seasonal fruit to end on a sweet note.
Fun and colorful build-your-own bowls just might be the solution you have been looking for. I hope you test out these Veggie-Packed Chicken Fajita Bowls on your family and have a mini fiesta on regular ole’ weeknight.
Veggie-Packed Chicken Fajita Bowls
Ingredients
Sheet Pan Ingredients
- 1 ¼ lbs chicken breast sliced into thin 1 1/2-2" strips*
- 2 bell peppers- red, yellow, or orange sliced into strips
- 1 large onion sliced into half moons
- 3 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Bowl Ingredients
- 15 oz can black beans no salt added, drained
- 24 oz frozen cauliflower rice
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
Fajita Bowl Toppings & Add-Ins (optional)
- Plain yogurt or Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Salsa
- Avocado
- Cheese
- shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, onions and peppers. Toss with the oil and then sprinkle on chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, garlic powder and black pepper, making sure all the chicken and veggies are coated with the spices.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or silpat mat. Use 2 baking sheets if desired- this will allow the veggies to spread out for more caramelization. Bake the chicken and veggies for 23-25 minutes, stirring halfway through (chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees).
- While chicken is baking, place cauliflower rice in a large non-stick skillet preheated on medium heat. Warm through for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once the cauliflower rice is tender, stir in the cumin, chili powder and drained can of black beans. Cook for 1 minute to combine and then turn off the heat.
- Place all the components and fun toppings on the table and have fun creating your own veggie-packed chicken fajita bowls!
Notes
- If desired, season the cauliflower rice as stated but warm black beans in another bowl to keep them separate for individuals with these food preferences.
According to my calculations, there are 183 potential combinations to build your Veggie-Packed Chicken Fajita Bowl!… actually, I have absolutely no idea how many there are. BUT, what I do know is that the way you build your bowl is going to be the BEST WAY, so go have some fun at the dinner table!
