Today is Cinco de Mayo and I will be celebrating with a Build-Your-Own Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Fajita Bar! When entertaining (I'm trying to remember what this feels like?) I find that everyone has different likes/dislikes and food preferences, so I often set up a "buffet-style" bar or table with boards/platters for people to create their own meals - it makes for a very fun evening! In looking for ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, that could be both small-scale (for this year) or tripled/quadrupled for a large-scale crowd (hopefully we will be able to do this next year!), I decided to go with Tex-Mex favourite, fajitas.
This year's celebrations will be scaled back due to Covid restrictions, so I put together one large board (think charcuterie), filled with grilled chicken, vegetables, warm tortillas and all the fixings for a festive fajita salad.
One of the wonderful things about entertaining with a Build-Your-Own Grilled Fajita Bar is that it's rooted in choice. There is the option to create your fajita using tortillas, as well as a non-gluten option of a butter lettuce leaf wrapper. If you want to forget the wrap altogether, there is more than enough options on the board to create your own Fajita Salad. A small jar of cilantro-lime dressing on the side would take that fajita salad to the next level - yum!
The seasoning mix I use for the Chicken Fajitas is incredibly versatile for other proteins. It would work wonderfully on shrimp, shredded pork or beef.
To add a bit of extra heat, I roasted two Poblano Peppers on the grill with the vegetables. After they were charred I peeled them, sliced them into strips and then rolled them into "roses" which I placed in the centre of the board. The addition of poblano peppers offer those that want it, a bit of extra heat as well as a smoky element - again an optional choice for the "buffet bar"/board.
If you do make these Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas, don't forget to pair them with any of the tasty Cinco de Mayo cocktails I have on the blog (here, here, here or here!). You can't go wrong with any of them.
Let me know what you think of this Build-Your-Own Chicken & Vegetable Fajita Bar in the comments below or post any photos to #mykuratedlife on Instagram.
Wishing you a very happy Cinco de Mayo,
Krista xo
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Fajitas
serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 chicken breasts and 2 thighs, as that's what I had - both cuts are great)
1 batch Fajita Seasoning Mix (see Recipe Note below for recipe)
2 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons for vegetables
1 red onion, peeled, cut in half and then each half quartered into wedges
2 poblano peppers, washed and kept whole (omit if you do not like spice)
2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1" slices
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 1" slices
1 green pepper, cored and cut into 1" slices
salt and pepper
1 head romaine lettuce, washed
1 head butter leaf lettuce, washed
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, washed
3-4 limes, halved and cut into wedges
2 avocados, halved
flour tortillas, large
queso cheese, crumbled (feta can be substituted), garnish
green onions, cut on a bias, garnish
cilantro leaves, torn, garnish
Method
Pre-heat a bbq grill to medium-high temperature.
Place chicken pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle and pat enough of the seasoning mix over each breast/thigh to fully cover. Flip chicken pieces over and repeat seasoning on underside. Turn chicken pieces back to right side up. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature to absorb seasoning.
While chicken pieces are resting, cut red onion, red, orange and green peppers and place into a bowl. Toss cut vegetables with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.
After chicken has sat for 30 minutes in the spice mixture, lightly drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the tops of all four pieces. Turn chicken over and drizzle last tablespoon olive oil over the undersides. You don't need a lot of olive oil here, just enough to wet the chicken to prevent sticking. Place chicken on the grill for 4-7 minutes (all bbq's have different temperatures). The chicken will release from the grill when it is ready to be flipped. If it sticks, give it another minute, then flip. Cook on second side for another 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees. Remove chicken from the grill, tent with foil and rest, allowing residual heat to cook the chicken to 165 degrees.
While chicken is resting, add cut vegetables to a bbq grill basket and place on grill. Place poblano peppers, if using, into the bowl and spoon any extra olive oil over top. Add poblano peppers directly to grill beside the basket of vegetables (image above). Every couple of minutes give the vegetables a stir so they don't over char. They should take 6-8 minutes to soften, but still maintain shape and a bit of bite. Poblano peppers should be turned every 2 minutes until all sides are charred. Place poblanos into a bowl and immediately cover with cling wrap to steam. After a few minutes, remove cling film from bowl. Poblano skins should easily peel off. Core and de-seed the poblano, then cut into strips and set aside until board/platter assembly.
To Assemble Chicken and Vegetable Fajita Bar:
Layer romaine, butter lettuce and tortillas around the outside of your board/platter. If creating a large-crowd display, separate each item onto different boards. Slice slightly cooled chicken on a bias, against the grain, into 1/2" strips then, keeping the slices together, layer onto the board. Add grilled vegetables, avocados, tomatoes, lime wedges and cilantro/green onion garnish over top. Crumble hard queso cheese overtop of board, or leave in a bowl on the side. Roll poblano pepper (if using) strips into roses and place around centre of board.
Step aside and allow guests/family to help themselves!
Optional: Add bowls of guacamole and salsa, or a Cilantro-Lime Dressing if turning into a salad.
Recipe Notes:
*If you are wanting to scale this recipe, it can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd.
*The seasoning mix is portioned for 4-5 chicken breasts -if you are scaling the recipe, also scale the seasoning mix. Any leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 1 month
Fajita Seasoning Mix Recipe
In a bowl combine and mix:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder (I used New Mexico Chili Powder)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you don't want spicy, reduce this to 1/4 or 1/8 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano, dried
