These delicious vegetable fajitas are made with seared asparagus, portobello mushrooms, bell peppers and onions in a zesty cumin lime sauce!
I've had my share of disappointing veggie fajitas, having ordered them at many-a-restaurant where they were the only meatless option. I usually get the impression that these fajitas are simply stuffed with the trimmings that would go in their regular fajitas...in other words, just onions and peppers with no seasonings.
Well these vegan fajitas are way better! I kept the usual onions and peppers, but also added a couple of my favorite veggies (asparagus and portobello mushrooms) and a zippy sauce, then topped them off with a sprinkle of cilantro and a slathering of guacamole. So good!
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What You'll Need
- Lime juice. Use fresh squeezed — it's so much better than bottled!
- Garlic.
- Spices. We're using cumin, chili powder, oregano, and paprika.
- Salt & pepper.
- Bell pepper. You can use any color pepper you like! I used half a red and half an orange.
- Portobello mushroom. You'll need one big one for this recipe. Sub a bunch of smaller mushrooms like button or cremini if you can't find a portobello.
- Asparagus. Try broccoli or green beans if you're not into asparagus.
- Red onion. A yellow or sweet onion will work in a pinch.
- Tortillas. Look for small (fajita-sized) flour tortillas.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Sauce of choice. I love my fajitas with some guacamole, but hot sauce, salsa or cashew sour cream would also work well!
How to Make Vegetable Fajitas
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by making your sauce. Stir the lime juice, garlic, spices, salt and pepper together in a small bowl or cup.
- Now time to cook the mushrooms. We're cooking the mushrooms separate from everything else, because they need space and time to sit in the skillet undisturbed in order to brown.
- Coat the bottom of the skillet with some oil and arrange mushroom slices in it in an even layer. Don't crowd the skillet! Cook the mushroom slices in batches if needed — trust me, it's worth it!
- Cook the mushroom slices for about 5 minutes on each side, until they're nicely browned.
- Remove the mushroom slices from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
- Now crank up the heat and add the rest of the veggies: asparagus spears, bell pepper slices, and onion slices.
- Let the veggies sizzle for a few minutes, then flip them. Continue doing this until they darken in spots and become tender-crisp.
- Return the mushrooms to the skillet. Pour the sauce over the veggies and flip everything a few times to distribute the ingredients.
- Let the veggies cook for another minute or two, until most of the liquid from the sauce cooks off.
- Take the skillet off of heat and season the veggies with additional salt and pepper. Sprinkle everything with some fresh cilantro.
- Warm up some tortillas, slather them with your choice of sauce, and stuff them with fajita veggies. Dig in!
Variation: Grilled Veggie Fajitas
You can also cook these fajitas on a barbecue grill, and they'll be awesome!
Simply oil your grill, use a medium flame and cook the veggies directly on the grill until they're lightly charred and tender-crisp (about 5 minutes) brushing them with the sauce every few minutes.
Use your grill to warm up your tortillas as well. Just be careful not to overheat them or they'll dry out!
Leftovers & Storage
Store any leftover veggies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Just use gluten-free tortillas.
They're spicy, but not very hot. Add a bit of cayenne pepper if you'd like some heat in yours!
Absolutely! Just make sure to substitute with veggies that have a similar texture and cook in about the same amount of time as those called for in the recipe. Broccoli might be a good substitute for asparagus, or eggplant might be a good sub for the mushrooms. Avoid watery veggies like tomatoes or leafy veggies like spinach.
More Vegan Mexican Recipes
- Easy Lentil Tacos
- Black Bean Chilaquiles
- Spicy Black Bean Burritos
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Tostadas
- Loaded Enchilada Casserole
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Zesty Vegetable Fajitas
These delicious vegetable fajitas are made with seared asparagus, portobello mushrooms, bell peppers and onions in a zesty cumin lime sauce!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
- 1 large portobello mushroom, cleaned and sliced
- 8 asparagus spears, woody ends removed, then stalks cut in half
- 1 medium bell pepper (any color), sliced
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 6 small (fajita-size) flour tortillas, warmed
- Guacamole, or sauce of choice
Instructions
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Stir the lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil and place it over medium heat.
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Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the mushroom slices in an even layer. Avoid overcrowding the skillet and cook the mushrooms in batches if needed.
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Cook the mushrooms for about 4 minutes on each side, until the slices are lightly browned.
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Remove the mushroom slices from the skillet. Raise the heat to high and add another dash of oil to the skillet if it seems dry.
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Add the asparagus, bell pepper, and onion. Cook the veggies for about 4 minutes, flipping them occasionally, until they're tender-crisp and darkened in spots.
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Lower the heat and return the mushrooms to the skillet. Carefully pour the sauce over the veggies.
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Continue cooking the veggies, flipping them frequently, until most of the liquid from the sauce has cooked off, 1 to 2 minutes.
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Remove the skillet from heat.
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Season the veggies with additional salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle them with cilantro.
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Stuff the veggies into warm tortillas and slather with guacamole, or sauce of choice. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information does not include guacamole.
Wow, looks delicious! I have to ask my husband to get our grill out! :) Thanks for sharing!
These look great! Our building has a communal grill in the courtyard and I picked up all kinds of grilling supplies last weekend for my husband's birthday bash, so we're all set up and ready to go. I'm bookmarking these for the next sunny weekend!
Mmm...I'm loving the way you think! These fajitas look so yummy! The caramelization you got on the veggies...to die for! Pinned!
So so so delicious!
These looks simply delicious! We live in the Uk and have only had one day of weather mice enough to crack out the grill so far this year so I am going to try roasting these in the oven.... fingers crossed its still tasty :-)
This recipe is everything. It tastes so authentic. And I am so thankful that I finally have a grill alternative to our veggie burgers.
Yay!! I'm glad you like it! Thanks Claudia!
Great recipe!
The marinade is top notch.
The creamy jalapeno sauce is good, but as stated in the recipe notes, more than you need. Next time I'll divide by 4.
I didn't do asparagus (out of season here), but doubled up on the portobellos, and did them in their own marinade (balsamic + olive oil) and grilled separately, because the crowd here that is used to having those prepared like that would've staged a revolt!
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Just be careful about cutting down on the sauce - use a very small blending device if you can, otherwise it might be tough to get it to blend up all the way. You can also freeze any leftover sauce for later. :) Thanks Chris!
What do you use the reserved marinade for?
You brush the veggies with it while they grill.