Everyone loves this easy vegetarian fajitas recipe! This Tex Mex dinner is full of big flavor and beautiful colorful veggies.

Vegetarian fajitas

Here’s a Tex Mex favorite that no one can turn down…and it’s a great way to infuse loads of veggies without giving it a second thought. Try these Vegetarian Faijtas! These are so full flavored and satisfying, they please everyone around the table: even the meat lovers! This fajita recipe stars our favorite fajita veggies, blackened in the oven and finished on the stove, with pinto beans cooked in a flavorful fajita sauce. It’s so satisfying, you’ll promptly add it to your regular rotation.

How to make vegetarian fajitas: an overview

These vegetarian fajita recipe can come together in about 30 minutes, and the concepts are very simple. There’s a little back and forth between the cooking methods, so here’s a bit more about the why behind the what:

  • Prep the veggies: There’s quite a bit of veggies here, so use your most efficient knife skills! Head to How to Cut a Pepper or How to Cut an Onion if you need to brush up.
  • Broil the veggies (10 minutes): Throw the veggies in a broiler first. This gets them to release their liquid so they’ll all fit in one saute pan, and gets them lightly charred. Why broil instead of baking? You don’t have to wait to preheat your oven, and it’s a quicker broil time.
  • Meanwhile, get the beans started: Make our homemade fajita sauce (more on that below) and throw it in a skillet with the beans.
  • Finish the veggies in a skillet: Finishing in the skillet gets them nice and tender. This makes it much quicker than roasting and gets that classic fajita skillet sizzle.
Vegetarian fajita recipe

Pinto beans add plant-based protein and flavor

The key to vegetarian fajitas is finding a stand in for meat that has great flavor and a good amount of protein. We’ve used portobello mushrooms in the vegetable mix to add big meaty flavor. But mushrooms don’t have protein, so on their own they’re not very filling.

Pinto beans are perfect for vegetarian fajitas! They’re savory with a robust flavor, and they taste incredible with homemade fajita sauce (we’ll get to that next). If you prefer, you can use black beans instead. Just don’t skimp on the beans, since they’re the major protein source.

Vegetarian fajitas
Use our fajita veggies for any type of fajitas: vegetarian, shrimp or meat!

Homemade fajita sauce is key

We highly recommend our homemade fajita sauce for this recipe! It’s got a great zing from the lime juice, and a smoky body from the adobo sauce. Here’s a little breakdown of the ingredients, and make sure to head over to Homemade Fajita Sauce for the full recipe:

  • Lime juice
  • Cumin
  • Adobo sauce: from 1 can chipotle peppers
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt
  • Olive oil

What are chipotle peppers in adobo sauce? They’re easy to find at most grocery stores near the Mexican products. The can includes chipotle chiles: smoked and dried jalapeños that are rehydrated and canned, and adobo sauce, a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and other spices. All you do is use a spoon to remove adobo sauce from the can. Refrigerate or freeze the remainder, and use it for more adobo sauce recipes, like tortilla soup, enchilada sauce, or chipotle ranch dressing.

Vegetarian fajitas

Toppings for vegetarian fajitas

Once you’ve made your veggies and pinto beans: let’s talk toppings! You can use any of your favorite fajita toppings here. In fact: the toppings are the only thing that make this vegetarian fajita recipe! Otherwise, all the ingredients are vegan. So you can make this a vegan fajitas recipe with plant-based toppings. Here are our must-have fajitas toppings (what are yours?):

  • Pico de gallo: It adds just the right zing
  • Sour cream: Always. For vegan, substitute Cashew Cream
  • Fresh cilantro: Another must! It’s the perfect contrast to the savory veggies
  • Guacamole: Optional — or use a mashed avocado
  • Cheese: Optional too! You can add shredded cheddar, feta, queso fresco or cotija cheese: but the flavor doesn’t need it! It’s ultra flavorful as is.
Vegetarian fajitas

Make it a meal: sides to add

These vegetarian fajitas are fantastic on their own: most nights we don’t even make a side to go with them! (Truth.) But here are a few easy ideas for what to serve with fajitas:

More fajitas recipes? Try these tasty Shrimp Fajitas: made on the stovetop or in the oven.

This vegetarian fajita recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free (with corn tortillas).

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Vegetarian fajitas

Epic Vegetarian Fajitas


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x

Description

Everyone loves this easy vegetarian fajitas recipe! This Tex Mex dinner is full of big flavor and beautiful colorful veggies. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 bell peppers (red, yellow, green)
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 portobello mushrooms
  • 4 tablespoons oil, divided
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 3 cloves smashed garlic
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 each teaspoon chili powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans
  • 1 recipe Homemade Fajita Sauce*
  • Small tortillas
  • For the toppings: Sour cream, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, guacamole (optional), shredded cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. Broil the veggies: Preheat a broiler. Thinly slice the bell peppers and thinly slice the onion. Remove the stems and slice the portobello mushrooms. Place them in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Spread the veggies on a parchment lined sheet pan. Place in the broiler and broil 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until softened and blackened on some edges. Then go right to Step 3. 
  2. Cook the beans: Meanwhile in a skillet, whisk together the ingredients for the Homemade Fajita Sauce. Drain and rinse the pinto beans and add them to the skillet. Heat over medium heat and cook until warmed through and the sauce is thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and stir in another ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  3. Saute the veggies: Once the veggies are done in the broiler, finish them on the stove by heating the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a cast iron skillet or large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the broiled veggies, smashed garlic cloves, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender. Remove and discard the garlic cloves before serving.
  4. Warm the tortillas: Warm and char the tortillas by placing them on an open gas flame on medium for a few seconds per side, flipping with tongs, until they are slightly blackened and warm. (See How to Warm Tortillas.)
  5. Serve: Place bowls of fajita veggies and pinto beans on the table, with tortillas, sour cream, pico de gallo, guacamole, and fresh cilantro. Let each person add their desired toppings and serve. 

Notes

*We highly recommend this homemade fajita sauce! Or you can substitute ½ cup store bought sauce. For the fajita sauce, mix together 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 to 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce), 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ cup olive oil.

  • Category: Main DIsh
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Tex Mex
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Vegetarian fajitas, vegetarian fajita recipe

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

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29 Comments

  1. Thanks for another delicious recipe! Made the fajitas with the homemade fajita sauce and pinto beans, topped them with cashew cream and a side a guacamole & chips. The whole family loved them; a hearty & healthy dinner that will be on repeat!

  2. Wow! This recipe was wonderful. So much flavor! I sautéed the veggies on my blackstone grill & loved the fajita sauce on the pinto beans. Thank u!

  3. These look great but I’m wondering how spicy the dish is? My 6 year old and 22 month old are pretty sensitive to heat so I usually decrease or omit things like cayenne and chili powder…

  4. I made this for the first time last night for a small dinner party and it was a hit to say the least! I did the beans version with mixed black and red beans, use their fajita sauce, Mexican salad with their cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing, and Pico de Gallo. It was wonderful, easy to make and will be a regular for us. So easy for a beginner like me.

  5. Thank you so much for this receipt! I love veggies, but never try with all this spices, smoked paprika is now my favorite))) the taste is so rich, I can’t get enough. I made it like a side dish, and it was wonderful.

  6. SO, SO, SO delicious!!!! The past few years, I’ve cooked a lot of very non-memorable meals. Mostly meant to be quick, healthy-ish, and usually something I would NEVER make for company. If I was going to cook for company, it would be a delicious, time consuming meal, usually centered around meat. As soon as I bit into these vegetarian fajitas, I immediately proclaimed to my husband, I would happily, without hesitation, serve these for company!!! He agreed 100%. I’m finding that to be the case with most of your recipes. I don’t know how I survived before finding you!! Your website is so well organized, I love your how-to sections, and I thank you for all that you do.

  7. LOVE your recipes!!! Every dish I’ve tried has been fabulous. Thank you for rescuing me from dinner development!

  8. Loved the recipe! The fajita sauce + pinto beans was too salty for me (and that was without the added 1/4 tsp salt) but I would definitely make the veggies again like this.

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