Fajita-stuffed Chicken breast is a different take on Chicken fajitas. Chicken breast is stuffed with caramelized and crunchy peppers, onions, Mexican seasoning, and cheese, and then baked to perfection.

Featured image of baked chicken breasts with fajita-stuffing inside, served on a black plate.

Love Chicken fajitas? Are you tired of regular chicken recipes? Then you are going to love this twist on that classic Tex-Mex dish. You will find the vibrant and sizzling flavors of fajitas along with melted cheese stuffed inside juicy chicken breasts.

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Instead of cooking the chicken along with everything else, we caramelize the peppers and onions with fajita seasoning and stuff them with cheese inside the chicken breasts. Sear them on a skillet, and then bake until done.

Now that’s a twist with a lot of chicken to show off at your parties. The chicken breast gets a nice golden crust from the sear, and it has a cheesy core with fajita flavors. You cannot hide your excitement while cutting the breast and the cheesy-stuffing oozes out. Plus, this recipe is low-carb and healthy if you ignore the cheese 😉

With endless possibilities for stuffing chicken breasts, it is a bit difficult to choose a favorite topping. This Fajita stuffing has a Mexican twist and is a new favorite. We also love these mushroom-stuffed chicken breasts; the stuffing tastes like pizza topping. Spinach stuffing is another classic.

Three chicken breasts with fajita-stuffing, which is made of caramelized and crunchy peppers, onion, Mexican seasoning, and cheese, then baked to perfection on a skillet.

Fajita flavors

Let’s talk about what makes the flavors of fajitas so tempting. Fajita seasoning has a blend of spices and herbs that appeal to your palate. It has a nice balance of earthy, zesty, smoky, and tangy flavors.

The seasoning mix has cumin for its earthy warmth, heat from chili powder, smoky undertones from paprika, aroma from garlic and onion powder, and herby flavors from oregano. At last, salt and pepper to balance everything.

There are good store-bought Fajita seasoning mixes, but you can also make them easily at home. There are no fancy ingredients here, and you might already have most of them at home. The freshness and intensity of the homemade spice mix are not equal.

Undoubtedly used in fajitas, it would be a shame not to use such a fine and delicate seasoning mix for just that. Use it as a marinade for any protein by combining it with soy sauce, olive oil, and lime juice. Or sprinkle it over roasted veggies or grilled meats for more depth of flavor.

Want to make the stuffing a bit more hot, spicy and flavorful? Throw in extra onions and peppers. To make the chicken more flavorful, sprinkle some more of the pepper and paprika on both sides and rub.

Ingredients you need

This recipe calls for a few ingredients, and that makes it worth repeating.

Boneless Chicken Breast: A boneless chicken breast that is big and thick enough to make a pocket horizontally
Seasoning: Just salt, pepper, and paprika to season the chickens on both sides.
Colored Peppers: Red, yellow, and green bell peppers thinly sliced lengthwise.
Onions: are sliced, and sauteed with peppers to caramelize them.
Fajita Seasoning: Good-quality fajita seasoning; in case you don’t have fajita seasoning, you can use Taco Seasoning as well.
Cheese: I have used a blend of sharp and mild cheddar. You can use Mexican-blend cheese as well.

Chicken breast stuffed with fajita-seasoned stuffing, seared and baked and served along with avocado and salsa on a white plate.

How to make fajita-stuffed chicken

There are basically four steps: make the stuffing, stuff the chicken breasts, sear them for a while, and bake them.

Step 1: Prepare the stuffing

Start with making the fajita stuffing. On a hot skillet, preferabley a cast-iron pan, stir-fry the sliced onion and peppers. We are basically looking for nice charred effects. So a cast-iron skillet and high heat are what you need. Make sure there is still crunch to the onion and peppers, these will get further cooked.

Two image collage showing how to make fajita stuffing. First shows sauteing of peppers and onions. Second shows the fried pepper and onions with fajita seasoning.

Step 2: Stuff the chicken breasts

Prepare the chicken for stuffing. There are a couple of ways you can prepare chicken for the stuffing.

The first way is to make a little pocket in the middle. Using a sharp knife, start from the thickest part of the chicken and cut lengthwise downward, making a small pocket in the middle.

Another way is to butterfly the chicken, as shown below. Refer to the video in the recipe to see how to butterfly the chicken.

Stuff it generously with the stuffing and cheese. The cheese just oozes out a little bit once it is baked, and it is absolutely fine.

How to stuff Chicken breast with stuffing shown in 4-image collage.

Step 3: Sear chicken breast

Before baking the stuffed chicken breast, we are going to sear it for 2 minutes on each side to caramelize it. It forms a wonderful golden-brown crust on the surface. A nice crust adds a layer of texture and compliments the juicy chicken underneath and cheesy stuffing.

Two images collage shows how to sear chicken breast on a pan. First shows adding seasoned chicken breast to the pan. Second shows seared breasts with a golden caramelized crust on top.

Step 4: Bake chicken breasts in the oven

Move the skillet to a preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. To check for doneness, check the thickest part of the breast with a kitchen thermometer reading of 165 °F.

How long does it take to cook Chicken?

The chicken breast we are using in these stuffed chicken recipes needs to be thick and large so that it will be easy to create a pocket. So it would take around 25–30 minutes to bake.

We are searing the chicken on each side for 2 minutes and then popping it into the oven. The internal temperature of the chicken in the thickest part should be 165 °F. Once it is cooked, let it rest for 5–6 minutes before cutting it down.

Storing baked chicken breasts

Baked chicken breasts can be easily stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store them in an air-tight container horizontally as we do not want the stuffing to spill out.

Reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds or so. You need to treat the reheating gently since breasts can get dry if heated high. You do not have to bake it again but can also warm it in a preheated oven at a lower temperature. This allows the cheese to melt and become gooey again, while preserving the moisture inside keeping the chicken juicy.

Close up image of stuffed and baked chicken breast shows fajita-stuffing consisting of onions, peppers, onion, and cheese.

Serve with

There are options to pair with these stuffed and baked chicken breasts with Fajita flavors.

Rice: Mexican rice, cilantro rice, or rice pilaf serve as good sides to make this a fulfilling meal.
Tortillas: Serve along with warm tortillas to top the meal with some more Mexican flavors.
Mashed potatoes: Garlic mashed potatoes pair wonderfully providing a creamy texture and fiber to the chicken.
Fresh salsa: Fresh salsa can be made with a wide range of flavors, and ones with a spicy and tangy taste like this Roasted Tomato Salsa compliment the cheesy Mexican flavors of the fajita stuffing.
Salads: Serve the chicken breasts with salads made with refreshing Lemon-Dill Potato Salad( No Mayo) or Mediterranean flavors like Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, or Summer Cherry Tomato Salad.

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One Comment

Becky says:

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Finally a dish my whole family likes!! It was wonderful! Full of flavor. I had extra peppers and onions left so I just added them around the chicken as it baked. I will definitely make this again!