No matter who I cook for, whenever I make fajitas, the crowd goes wild. There's just something about Mexican spiced chicken or shrimp tossed with roasted peppers wrapped in warm flour tortillas that sends people over the moon. It also doesn't hurt that I make a mean guacamole and salsa. Normally, I prepare fajitas on a skillet but today I'm going the sheet pan route. By cooking everything in the oven, these sheet pan shrimp fajitas come together in no time. Enough time, in fact, for you to make homemade smoky tomatillo peach salsa, cilantro lime crema, and guacamole. You won't regret taking those extra steps to make these sauces, trust me.
Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas with Smoky Tomatillo Peach Salsa
Ingredients
Smoky tomatillo peach salsa
- ¾ lb tomatillos husks removed
- 1 garlic clove peel on
- 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo juices
- ¼ red onion peeled
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 yellow peach peeled and chopped
Cilantro lime crema
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ roasted jalapeno seeds removed
- juice and zest of ½ lime
- salt and pepper
Guacamole
- 2 ripe avocados
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup red onion finely chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- salt and pepper
Shrimp fajitas
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
- 1 lb shrimp peeled, deveined
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 pasilla pepper thinly sliced
- ½ red onion sliced
Remaining ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to high. Place tomatillos, garlic, red onion, and jalapeno on baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes or until charred. Remove from heat and set aside the jalapeno. Remove skin from the garlic and blend with tomatillos, red onion, cilantro, and chipotle. Stir in chopped peach and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Prepare cilantro lime crema. Combine sour cream with chopped cilantro, ½ of the roasted jalapeno, and juice and zest of ½ lime. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Prepare guacamole. Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove pit. Scoop out flesh with into medium bowl and mash. Add chopped cilantro, red onion, and juice of 1 lime. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Combine seasonings for fajitas including chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne in a small owl. Toss shrimp with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 teaspoons seasonings. Toss vegetables in 2 tablespoons oil and remaining spices. Spread vegetables on sheet pan and roast for 10 minutes.
- Remove sheet pan from oven and move vegetables to the side. Spread shrimp on the other side and return to the oven. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until shrimp is cooked. Remove from oven.
- Heat flour tortillas on dry pan over medium heat until warm. Serve fajitas with tortillas, smoky tomatillo peach salsa, cilantro lime sour cream, guacamole, and extra limes.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Let's get cooking! Can you sense my excitement? It's because these sheet pan shrimp fajitas are just that good. Okay, start by making the peach tomatillo salsa. Both the peach tomatillo salsa and cilantro lime crema can be made the day before but I recommend making the guacamole the day of. Broil the tomatillos, red onion, garlic, and jalapeno on high until the vegetables are softened and lightly charred. Set the jalapeno to the side for the cilantro lime crema.
Blend together the tomatillos, garlic, and red onion with cilantro and chipotle. If you don't want the heat, you can omit the chipotle or increase the amount for an extra spicy version. Stir in the chopped peach and season to taste.
Now grab that jalapeno you broiled before, finely chop half of it and combine it with sour cream, cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice. You can use the rest of the roasted jalapeno for your fajitas or save it for another delicious recipe.
For the guacamole, simply mash the avocadoes and stir in the chopped cilantro, red onion, and lime juice. I love my guacamole with a big hit of lime but you can adjust according to your preference. Season with salt and pepper and keep it covered until you are ready to serve.
Switch the oven from the broiler setting to 425 degrees F. Mix the seasoning spice and toss it with the shrimp with a bit of olive oil. While you're at it, toss the vegetables with some of the spice too. You can use two baking sheets to cook the vegetables and shrimp separately or use one big one. Just make sure to keep the shrimp on one side and the vegetables on the other.
Roast the shrimp and vegetables for about 7-8 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp. Once the shrimp are pink and firm, remove them from the baking sheet, keeping them warm.
While the peppers are finishing, heat your tortillas. Now get ready to make one epic fajita with the shrimp, peppers, smoky tomatillo peach salsa, cilantro lime crema, guacamole, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
My eyes literally rolled to the back of my head with my first bite. Everything works so beautifully together, and to think, you didn't work up a sweat making these sheet pan shrimp fajitas! This new variation has quickly climbed to the top of the list of favorite Mexican meals.
For more taco inspiration, check out these blackened steak tacos with blood orange salsa.
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