Quick and easy to prep, these chicken fajita foil packet dinners with a simple homemade fajita seasoning mix are cooked on the grill or in the oven and ready to eat in just about 30 minutes.
Juicy. Flavorful. Healthy. Easy. These days, those are the words that are the litmus test for nearly every chicken dinner recipe, especially when using skinless, boneless, chicken breasts that can too often become overcooked and dry with lackluster flavor.
Rest assured, dry and withered chicken won’t be happening with this recipe.
Cooking these fajitas in foil on the grill or in the oven steams the chicken and veggies to juicy perfection. Even better, there’s hardly any dishes to wash and no lingering fajita smells afterward.
What You’ll Need for Chicken Fajita Foil Packets
You’ll notice this recipe calls for the same classic ingredients as traditional fajitas—it’s just the cooking method that gets a tweak.
Here’s what you’ll need to make these chicken fajita foil packets:
Aluminum foil
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Avocado or canola oil
Fajita seasoning mix (ingredients below)
Green, red and yellow bell peppers
White onion
Canned black beans
Homemade Fajita Seasoning
It’s highly likely you have everything you need in your spice cupboard to make a flavorful fajita seasoning blend at home.
So long as you have the Mexican spice foundation of chile powder and cumin, this fajita seasoning mix recipe is very forgiving, so feel free to tweak it with what you have on hand. Here is a simplified version of the fajita seasoning mix used in these amazing steak fajitas... It’s just as good.
Fajita seasoning spice mix ingredients:
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic powder
Coriander
Paprika
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
How to Make Chicken Fajita Foil Packets
First, preheat the grill or oven. Depending on which cooking method you’re using, preheat the grill to medium high and the oven to 400°F.
Season chicken with the fajita mix. Evenly rub half of the mix over the chicken breasts coating all sides. Next, set aside to rest and absorb the flavors while prepping the rest of the ingredients.
Marry Those Fajita Flavors
Prep and slice the veggies. Seed and slice the bell peppers in uniform slices along with the onion so they cook evenly. Most people prefers white onion because of its more mild flavor, but yellow or red onion will absolutely work too.
Season the vegetables. In a small bowl, toss the sliced vegetables and drained black beans with the remaining fajita seasoning. Because the salt and seasoning pulls moisture from the veggies and chicken, there’s no need for adding oil or fat.
How to Make Foil Chicken Look Grilled
Cooking chicken in foil is essentially steaming it, and can result in a pallid looking chicken breast.
To avoid a pale bird, lightly sprinkle the chicken breasts with extra paprika before closing up the foil packets to give the cooked chicken breasts a deeper color.
How to Make the Foil Packets
Tear off a few lengths of aluminum foil in 12- to 14-inch pieces. You’ll want plenty of room to create your foil dinner masterpiece yet still leave room so heat will build within the pouch. This method is like creating a mini oven, so don’t over pack your pockets.
Fill your packet. Place 1/3 of the seasoned vegetables in the center of the foil and top with a seasoned chicken breast. Packets can vary in size, just make sure they’re not overflowing so the juices don’t flow out.
Fold your tidy packets. Take the two long edges and fold toward one another, then over once or twice and crimp tightly. Fold and crimp each short end of the foil toward the middle so that the edges are tightly sealed.
How to Cook Chicken Foil Packets On the Grill
Cooking the chicken pouches chicken side down with vegetables on top for longer allows the veggies to steam and release their juices to flavor the chicken below.
Prepare the grill to medium high heat, 400°-350°F. Place the foil packets vegetable side down and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the packets and cook for 20 more minutes or until the packets are fragrant and sizzling within.
How to Cook Chicken Foil Packets In the Oven
Cooking the chicken at higher heat seals in the juices.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the foil packets directly on the oven grate and cook chicken side down for 25 minutes.
Make Foil Dinner Packets Ahead of Time
Perfect for camping or cookouts, these chicken foil dinners can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready for cooking.
Easy Chicken Fajita Foil Packets In Sum!
Quick and easy to prep, these chicken fajita foil packet dinners with a simple homemade fajita seasoning mix are cooked on the grill or in the oven and ready to eat in just about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Fajita Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika , plus more for adding color to the chicken breasts before cooking if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- 1 green bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- 1 white onion
- 1 15 ounce can black beans , rinsed and drained
- lime and jalapeño for garnish , if desired
Instructions
- Prepare a grill to medium-high heat or set the oven temperature to 400°F.
- In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, ground coriander, paprika, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle half of the seasoning on both sides of the chicken breasts and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the cut vegetables with the drained black beans. Toss with the remaining seasoning. Set aside.
- Tear off a few lengths of aluminum foil in 12- to 14-inch pieces. Place 1/3 of the seasoned vegetables in the center of the foil and top with a seasoned chicken breast. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with more paprika for color, if desired.
- Fold the two long edges toward one another, then over once or twice and crimp tightly. Fold and crimp each short end of the foil toward the middle so that the edges are tightly sealed.
- If cooking on the grill, place the packets vegetable side down, close the lid and cook for 5 minutes, then turn to the seam side down and cook for 20 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- If cooking in the oven, place the packets chicken side down and cook for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Let the packets rest for 5 minutes before serving with lime wedges and jalapeños if desired.
Notes
These foil packet dinners can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days before cooking.