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Steak Fajita Pasta – An easy one pot pasta recipe that combines fajitas with pasta night! This easy weeknight dinner recipe can be made with steak or chicken and is perfect to feed the family.
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If you’re looking for easy steak and pasta recipes, fajita pasta combines the best of both worlds: fajitas and pasta in an easy dinner recipe everyone loves.
Fajitas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes, and I love steak pasta dishes, so I created this easy steak fajita recipe. It’s a great twist on fajitas with all the flavors but served up as a one pot pasta.
BEST Steak Pasta Recipe: Fajita Pasta
If you love steak pasta recipes, this easy weeknight meal recipe is made in one pot and takes just 30 minutes! The flavor is spicy and reminiscent of those Sunday Fajita nights, and the pasta wins over (most) kids.
This is fajita pasta without cream, so it’s lighter. Instead of cream, I stir a little sour cream in at the end to give the juices a little body and creaminess. The sauce has all the delicious spices and flavor from the meat. It’s so good!
What I love best is that the pasta cooks right in the same pan. When I realized you could boil pasta in liquid that wasn’t water and that you could use just enough, so the pasta absorbs it all with no draining, that was a game-changer. It makes one-pot meals SO easy!
This recipe combines the best of steak and pasta dishes with fajitas for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. You are going to love it!
What Kind of Meat is Used for Fajitas
Fajitas are made with either chicken, steak, or shrimp. For this fajita pasta, I go with steak because Jordan loves it. I love the flavor, too; the steak is savory and goes perfectly with the fresh bell peppers.
What’s great is that you can swap the steak for chicken or shrimp, if you prefer!
What is fajita sauce made of?
For this one pot beef fajita pasta, the sauce is created after cooking the pasta. You can use beef stock, chicken stock, or even water to cook the dish. Once the pasta is tender, there is just enough liquid left to make the fajita sauce.
You could serve it just like that, but I stir in sour cream right at the end. It combines with the broth to make a creamy, light sauce. The seasonings from the meat flavor the sauce. It really works well.
How to Make Fajita Pasta
- In a small bowl, combine dried oregano, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning mix all over the meat.
- Cook the steak in a large skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Once it’s browned and almost cooked through, take it out of the pan and set it aside.
- Add sliced onions, bell peppers, and chopped garlic to the pan and cook them until tender. Take them out of the pan and set them aside with the steak.
- Add diced tomatoes, stock or water, and pasta to the pan. Bring it to a boil and cook the pasta, occasionally stirring, until it is tender. There should be liquid left in the pan, which is the sauce.
- Place the steak and vegetables in the pan with the pasta. Stir in the sour cream and cook the pasta over low heat until everything is warmed through.
Expert Tips
- I like to make this steak and pasta with beef stir fry meat, but you can use any cut of red meat and slice it thin. You can also use chicken if you prefer.
- Or, make it with leftover steak to make leftover steak fajitas pasta. If you use leftover steak, you can skip cooking the meat and add it after the pasta is done cooking.
- If you don’t want to measure out all the spices, feel free to swap out them for a packet of fajita seasoning mix if you happen to have one.
- You can skip the sour cream at the end, but I like the sauce’s body. Avocado would be fantastic too!
- The leftover fajita pasta is excellent! It will keep in the refrigerator and can be warmed up in the microwave. The sauce may get absorbed by the pasta, so you can add a splash of broth and a little more sour cream after you reheat it.
FAQ:
Cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, Monterey jack cheese, or any Mexican blend of cheeses are great with fajitas.
Pasta should be cooked to al dente, which means it’s tender but with a bite. The cooking time varies depending on the kind of pasta you use, but you should always test it to be sure it’s al dente.
I think penne is the best shape for one pot fajita pasta. The ridges hold the light sauce, and it’s easy to eat. You can use other short pasta shapes like cavatappi, bowties, or rotini. Just keep in mind different pasta shapes have different cooking times.
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can freeze it, but I think it’s best to enjoy it within a few days of making it. It may dry out if you freeze it, so if you do, you will need to add more broth and sour cream so it has some sauce.
I am so in love with this skillet beef fajita pasta that I want to come up with a fajita pasta bake! Until I do, add this to your meal plan soon so you can give it a try! It’s a great way to change up pasta night, and it’s so easy you can make it any night of the week. Enjoy!
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Steak Fajita Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼-½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes depending on how hot you like it
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound beef stir fry meat or any cut sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 2 bell peppers any colors, sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 can 15 ounces diced or petite diced tomatoes
- 2½ cups beef or chicken stock or water
- 10 ounces dried pasta I used penne, about 3 cups dry
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Stir together all spices, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over meat and rub in to coat all sides and pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the steak and cook, turning as needed to brown all sides, for about 5 minutes until browned and mostly cooked through. The time it takes will depend on the thickness of your cut. Remove to a plate.
- Add onions, peppers, and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place with the steak.
- Add the tomatoes, stock or water, and pasta to the pan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked through, about 8-12 minutes. There will still be some liquid in the pan (this is your sauce).
- Return the meat and peppers to the pan with the pasta. Stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat just until the sour cream is distributed through the sauce and all the components are hot. Serve immediately.
This is terrific, no mess, and quick. I had leftover steak, so I threw a little of the broth and half the spice mixture in with it, which was a bit extra, but so am I. The rest of the spices went in with the peppers. I made the rest of the recipe as written and really enjoyed it. I love things I can make on autopilot at the end of the day.