Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas

At a glance

What stands out: What’s not to love about sheet pan shrimp fajitas? Flavorful shrimp, colorful bell peppers, and sweet red onions, roasted on one pan in the oven for straightforward cleanup. Straightforward, tasty, lighter – need we say more?

How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, sheet pan, oven
Servings: 4

Straightforward Shrimp Fajitas

Sheet pan shrimp fajitas is a recipe that we find myself returning to over and over. Shrimp fajitas are so straightforward to mix and the end result is just ridiculously good. You’ll feel like you made something special for your family and actually, you did!

Very little hands-on prep. You don’t have to tell your family that the fajitas only took you about 15 minutes to prepare, and that for 30 minutes while dinner was in the oven, you were catching up on emails.

Colorful and flavorful. Why are sheet pan shrimp fajitas special? Just look at the photos and we bet you’ll start drooling. Vividly colored bell peppers and red onions, and succulent shrimp, seasoned well with flavorful fajita seasoning with just the right amount of spicy heat combine to make these fajitas noteworthy.

Lighter eating. You can feel good about eating sheet pan shrimp fajitas. Shrimp is low in calories and high in protein, plus you’re eating all those great veggies. Fold all this good stuff into lighter corn tortillas which are naturally low in fat and gluten-free. Two shrimp fajitas, on corn tortillas, without toppings, are just under 300 calories. That’s good eating!

DIY Fajita Seasoning

From-scratch fajita seasoning is straightforward to mix. You probably have everything you need in your pantry. Keep a jar handy so you’re ready to go when it comes to fajita time!

Click here for the recipe

How it comes together

You’ll love how straightforward these are to make! Turn your oven to 400°F, turn on some rockin’ good music, and let’s get cooking! You’ll need one large rimmed sheet pan.

Slice the red onion and bell peppers. You don’t have to get fancy, just get slicing.

Mix in the seasoning. Right on the sheet pan, mix the veggies with half the fajita seasoning and a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix it up well (go ahead and use your hands!) and spread it out.

Roast the veggies first. Put the pan in the oven and start roasting.

Marinate the shrimp. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you, shrimp! Your time in the oven is shorter because we don’t want to you to be tough. You’re going to spend a little time marinating while the veggies are getting the heat treatment. In a bowl, mix the remaining fajita seasoning with a tablespoon of oil and coat the shrimp. Let them marinate for 20 minutes.

Marinating Shrimp

Wondering how long you can marinade shrimp? It depends on the marinade. If the marinade contains citrus juice or vinegar, limit the marinating time to less than an hour. If the marinade is not acidic, the shrimp can be marinated up to 8 hours. We find that shrimp is flavorful even when marinated only 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the shrimp to the pan. Okay, shrimp, now it’s your time in the oven. Scooch over, veggies, the shrimp is moving in! Roast everything for another 10 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and opaque. The time in the oven will depend on the size of your shrimp (big=longer, small=shorter).

Serve. Your shrimp fajitas are ready to serve! Wrap the veggies and shrimp in a warm tortilla. Truly, toppings aren’t necessary because there’s plenty of flavor in every bite. But, if you enjoy toppings as much as we do, go ahead and add them.

Topping suggestions

(And feel free to add your own!)

• sour cream
• fresh cilantro
• avocado or guacamole
• lettuce or cabbage
• tomato
• salsa or chipotle salsa
• lime juice
• from-scratch jalapeño ranch dressing
• salsa verde
• pineapple, mango, and avocado salsa

Ways to change it

• Different veggies. While bell peppers and onions are traditionally used in fajitas, use whatever vegetable you like. If you don’t care for bell peppers, try other types of peppers (jalapeño, banana, or poblano), mushrooms, sliced zucchini or summer squash, broccoli, or eggplant. Roasted sweet potatoes are great, too!
• Sub in taco seasoning. Don’t have fajita seasoning? Taco seasoning works just fine.
• Flour tortillas. Instead of corn tortillas, make your fajita with flour tortillas if you prefer. Wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven during the last 5 minutes of baking time.
• Without tortillas. It’s straightforward to mix this recipe Whole30, Keto, or low carb: just skip the tortillas. You can serve the fajita mixture on shredded lettuce, in a lettuce wrap, or on rice or quinoa.
• Not crazy about shrimp? Try sheet pan chicken fajitas or steak fajitas.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Prep the onions and peppers up to a day ahead and store in a ziptop bag in the fridge. Thaw the frozen shrimp in the fridge overnight. Doing those two steps ahead will save you at least fifteen minutes at dinnertime.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate/Freeze: Leftover sheet pan shrimp fajitas are definitely not a problem because they’re just as tasty the next day. Store leftover shrimp and veggies in a tightly covered container and refrigerate. It should keep at least two days. We haven’t tried freezing shrimp fajitas but you easily could. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

Reheating: Simply warm the shrimp/veggie mixture in the microwave and serve. You can reheat leftovers in a skillet over low heat until warmed through. Try not to go crazy with reheating, because overheating will cause the shrimp to get tough.

Leftover Love

Have leftovers? Make a batch of rice and stir the shrimp, peppers, and onions (chop them if you prefer) into the rice. Top with any leftover toppings, including a few big spoonfuls of salsa.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #5, Meal Plan #47, or Meal Plan #77. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 bell peppers (assorted colors), sliced into thin strips
• 1 red onion, sliced into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning, divided
• 1 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off (thawed and patted dry if using frozen)
• 8 corn tortillas (6 inch) see note
• Suggested toppings: lettuce, tomato, salsa, avocado, sour cream, jalapeño, lime, cilantro, etc.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. On a large rimmed sheet pan, toss the bell peppers and onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning until everything is coated (we like to use our hands for this).
3. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
4. Mix the remaining oil and seasoning in a medium sized bowl. Add shrimp and stir until shrimp is well-coated. Let marinate in refrigerator while peppers and onions roast.
5. Add shrimp, stir, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes more or until shrimp is cooked through and looks pink and opaque. Meanwhile, warm tortillas if desired, and prepare toppings.
6. Serve immediately on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Notes

Make a double batch: Double the ingredients and use two sheet pans so they aren’t over-crowded.

Tortillas: we love to use corn tortillas but flour tortillas are great with this recipe. You can wrap them in foil and add them to the oven in the last 5 minutes of cooking time for nice warm tortillas. For corn tortillas, if desired, char them slightly over a gas flame burner using tongs.

Nutrition information is for two fajitas in corn tortillas, and does not include toppings.