Fajita Veggie Seasoning

We like Mexican food in this household. That’s really an understatement. We are OBSESSED with it. So it’s no surprise that I have everything we need for homemade mexican seasoning (fajita seasoning mix) in our spice cabinet. Fajita veggies are a mainstay!

Besides being delicious and super easy, this seasoning mix is probably the single reason (besides cheese and sour cream) that I can usually mix up a lot of dishes with leftovers and avoid a fair bit of food waste!

Though we love some great fajitas (looking at you, Joe T. Garcia’s in Ft. Worth!), because of our little obsession, I’ve had some experience at making homemade fajita veggies.

Any time there’s leftover meat, rice, veggies, beans – pretty much anything, I can easily work it into a taco night or  mexican casserole!

Homemade Mexican Seasoning Recipe

So let’s talk first about just make fajitas. I only showed peppers and onions here, but I use the same seasoning on any vegetable as well as chicken, fish, and beef. 

The trick to perfectly homemade fajitas, besides the seasonings, is to give it time. After all, the meat and, especially, the vegetables need to caramelize and become one with all the spices. 

The recipe below is for mexican seasoning for one meal, but you could easily make a big batch of it to always have on hand. If you’re cooking fish, lightly sprinkle the seasoning on the fish. For chicken and especially beef, you want a heartier sprinkle since they have stronger flavors!

These veggies would also be divine in a taco with smoked chuck roast!!

What are Mexican Seasoning Ingredients?

If you were to ask people this question, I bet garlic and onion would come up the most – neither of which are in this recipe! The salt and pepper aren’t a surprise, but what is?

While many people might guess the chili powder, the cumin (a major part of the familiar Mexican food flavor) will be forgotten, and we like the addition of the paprika (and of course the chili flakes). And then (maybe obviously) – dried oregano.

If you don’t cook with cumin much, you might start to once you buy some for this recipe. In American cooking, it’s an underestimated spice. We love it when searing or grilling chicken especially. And we use it in anything inspired by Mexican or Indian flavors!

What do you put in fajitas?

When it comes to what veggies to put in your fajitas, the norm is onions and bell peppers (of every color – green, red, orange, and yellow peppers). I’ve also had carrots, zucchini, and mushrooms along the way – each delicious.

I did at least once have baby corn and while that wasn’t my thing, you do you!

We’ve discovered that whatever kind of taco, burrito, or fajitas we’re enjoying for dinner, it’s the garnishes that really make this simple and inexpensive meal so mouthwateringly delicious.

Besides the protein, veggies, rice, and beans, it’s the toppings. This includes fresh cilantro, avocado/guacamole, homemade pico de gallo, and sour cream. I always try to have at least one or two of these special toppings for our homemade Mexican dinner!

Or your can easily add them to these chicken fajita wraps!

Mexican Seasoning in Leftovers

Ok. So how does Mexican seasoning save food waste in our house?!

We’re firm believers that anything with this seasoning mix, and/or melty cheese, and/or sour cream will be delicious, so we try to enjoy that combo as much as possible! It also makes sliding leftovers into dinner that much easier.

The best example? We were heading out of town last summer and had a fair bit of leftovers that weren’t going to be eaten before leaving. Into a big tupperware, I put leftover rice and beans from a local Mexican restaurant along with the the veggies. I’ll also admit that I included two small bits of leftover meat – chicken and a burger, I believe.

It froze while we were away. Upon returning, I cooked up some ground turkey and more veggies with this Mexican seasoning. Added it to rice and my frozen leftovers, put it in a 9×13 pan, topped it with cheese and baked it into a casserole.

We enjoyed it thoroughly! It was basically my one pot Mexican casserole recipe with a combo of fresh and leftover ingredients!

While this may be a little extreme in avoiding food waste, I think it nicely shows how easily you can use up bit of leftovers (added to freshly cooked food) in tacos or casseroles you and your family will love!

We also use leftover fajita veggies in Mexican grain bowls (I guess a burrito bowl in some circles), atop healthy carnitas nachos, and in this sweet potato vegan bean dip!

You can also use these veggies with slow cooker pork loin for some epic tacos or nachos!

More Mexican Inspired Recipes

Want more Mexican-inspired deliciousness? This Mexican Chocolate Cake is simple and yet so deliciously amazing – same goes for my Iced Mexican Mocha and Mexican Fruit Cup Salads.

And if you have time, sip on some of these quick and easy mango margaritas?

These Mexican pinwheels are a fun appetizer that’s actually very simple and easy to make! You could even omit those seasonings and use this fajita seasoning instead!