Making amazing fajitas from leftovers is a great way to never let food go to waste. It is a quick meal and easy way to throw together an amazing dish with what you have on hand, whether it is steak, chicken or vegetables.
This fajitas from leftovers recipe is quick, easy and delicious. It really is a great way to use those leftovers you have laying around in the fridge and not let any food go to waste!
Fajitas from Leftovers
In this recipe, I am going to show you how to make fajitas from any of your meat and veggie leftovers. This fajitas recipe is so simple and very flexible and all about those spices that will pull the leftovers together to make a delicious dish.
These fajitas from leftovers are amazing and really popular because of the flavor that the copious amount of spices in this recipe adds to the leftovers. It is these spices that are going to help all of your leftovers come together beautifully.
Jump to:
- Fajitas from Leftovers
- Making fajitas with meat that is already cooked:
- Different ways to make fajitas from leftovers:
- How to make these fajitas with fresh ingredients:
- Here is what the steps look like when making your fajitas from leftovers:
- Helpful tips when making these fajitas:
- More leftover meal ideas
- You might also like these quick meal ideas:
- Fajitas, From leftovers!
Making fajitas with meat that is already cooked:
Making fajitas or fajita bowls with leftover meat and veggies is definitely my favorite way to repurpose leftovers! After working in restaurants for many years, one thing I learned is that fajitas are not made with raw meat going on to the hot skillet.
Instead restaurants use cooked meat that is sliced up and then add it to the hot pan. Think of the skillet as the thing that is bringing the spices and ingredients all together.
Different ways to make fajitas from leftovers:
Using already cooked leftover meat to make these fajitas
What makes this process great is using leftover or already cooked meat means the meat is a little dried out because it is not as fresh and juicy. Normally we would think of this as a bad thing but here, that is not the case.
That dryness is going to help with absorbing all of the new spices and oil.
I have made this fajita from leftovers dish so many times. Sometimes I use leftover meat from restaurants that I bring home.
Sometimes I use leftover meat from a previous night's dinner. I have also been known to prepare extra meat the day before just to have this dish.
Using veggies from your fridge to bulk up the fajitas
Think fridge clean out. Maybe there are veggies that you didn't use. Maybe there are leftover veggies from a previous meal. You can use whatever you have on hand and I promise it is delicious!
You can add leftover meat and fresh meat to bulk up the fajitas amount
We often will have some leftover meat but not enough to make a meal of it. When this happens, I like to add some fresh uncooked meat to the mix and whatever veggies I have on hand.
You are going to save money doing this and both of the meats that you add to the fajitas come out great.
You can use leftover fajitas to make these fajitas!
I know you are wondering how that works but much like the other cooked ingredients that are being repurposed, you will just rinse the spices off of them. Once you do that just pat them dry and start the cooking with these fajita spices.
How to make these fajitas with fresh ingredients:
If you are working with fresh meat then you can just cook the meat and let it cool before proceeding to the recipe. If you want an easy one pan meal then these sheet pan fajitas are a good choice. Both recipes are great!
The great thing about making fajitas from leftovers is there are no exact amounts. It can be bulked up with veggies you have laying around in your refrigerator.
When I took this picture, I had lots of asparagus to help bulk up the portion. It was perfect for the four of us!
This fajita dish can be made completely vegetarian as well by using leftover veggies or from a veggie fridge clean out. As long as you have the spices in there, it will be wonderful!
Here is what the steps look like when making your fajitas from leftovers:
Helpful tips when making these fajitas:
What should I do if my leftover meat or veggies already have seasoning on it?
If you have leftover meat that was already seasoned with a different seasoning than the fajita seasoning in this recipe then just rinse the meat under cold water and rinse off as much seasoning as possible. Pat dry before cooking.
What to serve with these fajitas
The name of the game with this dish is using up leftovers and using what you have in your house. Some great ways to serve this is over fluffy basmati rice, over Spanish rice, with soft or hard tortillas or over salad. I also love using leftovers from this leftover fajita recipe as a filling in my air fryer quesadillas!
Use what you have on hand. All of these options are great!
What are some ingredients that taste great in this fajita dish
If you are looking to bulk up your portions then you probably want to add more items into your fajita mix. I have added all sorts of additions to my fajitas from leftovers but here are some of my favorites below.
My favorite veggies to add to the fajitas:
- Asparagus (pictured)
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Peppers
- Cubed potatoes (partially cooked before adding them in),
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Onions
- You can also add corn and that would taste wonderful too.
No matter what ingredients you use, the process will be the same and the flavors from the seasoning will bring it all together into an amazing meal. Hope you give this a try!
This is a favorite dish in our house for good reason! You will celebrate leftovers when you see how delicious they can become.
More leftover meal ideas
You might also like these quick meal ideas:
Ricotta Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms
Fajitas, From leftovers!
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Equipment
- cast iron pan or heavy bottom pan or griddle
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 3 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 4-8 tablespoon vegetable oil or other high heat oil. Depending on how dry your veggies and meat are, you may need to add more oil. You want the fajitas to be well coated.
- 2 pieces leftover chicken breast, steak and veggies (any cuts, pork (chops or tenderloin work great). Just make sure to lightly rinse them under cold water and pat dry to remove any previous seasoning.
- 1 yellow onion thin sliced
- 1 red pepper thin sliced
- 1 green pepper thin sliced (optional)
- 1 bunch of leftover veggies you can use asparagus, zucchini sliced lengthwise, spinach or whatever you have on hand. Again, make sure to rinse them under cold water and pat dry to remove any previous seasoning.
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat your pan on medium high heat
- gather all of your fajita ingredients together and slice them up in long thin strips
- add your oil to the pre-heated pan
- now add your meat and veggie ingredients to the hot pan with oil and toss around making sure to coat your ingredients well in the oil
- now add all of your dried spices to this and mix well to coat your fajitas evenly
- continue to toss your fajitas around in the the hot pan for about 10 minutes to cook and brown all of the spices on to the meat and veggies.
- After 10 minutes, remove pan from the heat and pour your ingredients on to a large platter
- serve with tortillas or rice and some sour cream, cheese and guacamole
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Dan says
We really enjoyed this!
Fran says
We used leftover chicken meat for these and they were so good. So much flavor. We also used some random vegetables in the fridge to add to it and served it with tortillas. We will be making this again.
Anne says
This was really good! We loved how much flavor came from the spice blend.
Real Reviewer says
This was delicious and easy! I halved the chili powder because we thought it would be too spicy, but next time I’d use the full amount. The dry seasoning was too much for the amount of food we made (about a pound of steak, one medium onion, and almost 2 full peppers. The food was visibly covered in a pasty powder. The taste was good but next time I’ll either adjust the amount of seasonings or add more veggies.