Steak Fajitas with Chipotle Sour Cream

Flavorful, smoky steak fajitas with hardly any work! This has been a family favorite meal for years – so customizable…delicious!

File this away as one of the meals I’ve been making (and loving) for years and am just getting around to telling you about.

Please forgive me?

Often when I rip recipes out of magazines that come in the mail, I’ll make notes on the page about what I liked, didn’t like, what I would change, etc.

When I first made this recipe way back in 2015, I wrote “GREAT!!” at the top. Double underlined. So, you know, I was kind of serious about these steak fajitas.

Then, as I continued to make them over the years, I added other exclamations, like: “company worthy!” and “best ever” and “so good I want to cry.”

Ok, not really on that last one, but I should have, because that’s how I feel about these fajitas! They are amazing.

And honestly, they couldn’t be easier.

A super fast, super flavorful marinade is whisked together and poured over the meat. Like any good steak/beef marinade: the longer the better.

You can get away with 8 hours, but if you go the distance with a 24 hour marinade, you’ll be crying with happiness when you taste the amazingly tender, delicious steak.

Flip the meat out on a grill (I’m guessing you could easily broil if you don’t have a grill) and in 15 minutes, you’ll have some of the best steak of your life.

Like any good fajita (or taco or burrito…), the topping options are endless. Load ’em up, or keep ’em plain and simple.

For these tasty steak fajitas, I go simple. We serve them with the crazy yummy chipotle sour cream, a little cilantro, fresh lime wedges, and…wait for it…

…delicious pickled red onions.

I fully recognize I may have lost some readers by using pickled and onions in the same food description. And even more of you shot me the virtual side eye, I know, when I put delicious as the starting adjective.

But you have to just trust me on this one. These super easy pickled red onions take the steak fajitas to a whole new level (notes in the recipe about how to make them).

Tangy and crunchy, the onions lose their normally pungent bite and become the perfect accompaniment to the warm flavors of the steak fajitas.

Truly, I think this may be one of my favorite meals ever.

And I’m not sad when I have pickled onions leftover. They keep forever in the refrigerator and are amazing on sandwiches, salads, you name it.

As noted in the recipe, I use flank steak for this recipe. Other beef cuts that make great fajitas (thank you google) and that can probably be subbed here are skirt steak, hanger steak, or maybe sirloin flap meat.

We are “hobby farmers” (faking our way through farm life most of the time) raising our own beef, and for the last couple of years, I’ve saved the flank steak(s) in the freezer to use for this recipe. No regrets!

Mexican Chopped Salad
Fresh Homemade Lemonade
The Best Cornbread

One Year Ago: Southwest Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad with Honey Mustard Ranch
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting {Egg-free}
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Applesauce Snack Cake
Four Years Ago: Spinach and Cheese Enchiladas
Five Years Ago: Brazilian Lemonade

Yield: 6 servings

Steak Fajitas

Total Time:8 hours 30 mins (includes marinating time)

Prep Time:15 mins

Cook Time:15 mins

Ingredients:

Fajitas:

• 1/4 cup olive oil or other preferred oil (like canola, avocado, grapeseed)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 4-6 limes)
• 1/4 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 10 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt (I use coarse, kosher salt)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak

Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce:

• 1 cup sour cream, light or regular
• 1 teaspoon minced chipotle in adobo sauce (more or less to adjust spiciness)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons adobo sauce (spooned from the can of chipotle chiles)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest (from about 2 limes)

For Serving:

• Tortillas
• Other toppings of choice, like tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, sautéed or grilled peppers, pickled onions, etc.

Directions:

1. For the fajitas, whisk together the oil, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, cumin, salt, paprika, and coriander. Place the steak in a dish (like a 9X13-inch pan) and pour the marinade over the top, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high (I set my pellet grill to 375 degrees). Grill the steak until desired doneness; 4-6 minutes for medium rare (add time if needed for a more well-cooked piece of meat). Remove the steak from the grill and tent with foil for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
3. For the chipotle sour cream, stir all the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate (can be made 2-3 days in advance).
4. Serve the steak slices on tortillas with the chipotle sour cream and any other favorite toppings or sautéed or grilled peppers and onions.

Notes:

I’ve only ever made these fajitas with flank steak, but a few possible substitutes for that cut of meat might be: skirt steak, hanger steak or perhaps sirloin flap meat.

For the pickled onions, I use this quick tutorial – the premise is simple (my changes to the original method are as follows). Pour boiling water over a thinly sliced medium red onion in a strainer and drain. In a pint-size canning jar (or similar sized container), combine 3/4 cup rice or apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Microwave or heat this mixture for 1 minute and then stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Submerge the onions in the warm liquid, cap the jar, and refrigerate for several hours before using (they get better with time). 

All images and text ©Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: adapted from Cuisine at Home June 2015 (changed up a lot of the marinade ingredient quantities, reduced the oil, eliminated marinating and grilling the peppers and onions)