Paleo Steak Fajitas

The star of this Paleo Steak Fajitas recipe is the marinade. It is a wonderful blend of tex-mex flavors and includes only whole, Plaeo friendly ingredients.

You can use this marinade for chicken or even shrimp. Only marinate shrimp for an hour though, or the texture will change. You don’t want ceviche fajitas!

If you new to using Paleo ingredients, you may wonder about coconut aminos. They are often used as a replacement for soy sauce, and have an earthy flavor. You can find coconut aminos at Whole Foods, or online, and you might find it in the health food aisle of your local grocery store.

Many ancestral diets recommend avoiding soy, although some allow tamari, which is a wheat free fermented soy sauce. You can use whichever option works with your diet, but I recommend using half as much soy sauce or tamari as coconut aminos, since their flavors are more intense. I also recommend adjusting the salt, since coconut aminos are much less salty than soy sauce and tamari.

If you are not familiar with Adobo, it is a spice blend, usually containing onion, garlic, black pepper, oregano, cumin, and cayenne. It has a bright spicy flavor which I like to balance with some earthy chili powder.

I like Penzeys spices, and I trust them, (pardon the schmutz on the label). Be careful of popular Adobo brands in your local grocery store. Many contain MSG, and are loaded with salt, so read the ingredients list.

For step-by-step instructions with photos, scroll past the recipe.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Paleo Steak Fajitas

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• Marinade for the Steak:
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup lime juice 1&1/2 limes, reserve other lime half for vegetables
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tps cayenne
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 medium cloves garlic finely minced (I used a press)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp finely ground sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 2- lbs flank steak organic, grass fed and pasture raised
• For the Vegetables:
• 1 Tbs olive oil or another fat
• 2 medium red onions halved and sliced
• 2 sweet bell peppers cut into strips I used orange and red
• 1 bunch of scallions ends removed - chopped into 1&1/2 “ pieces
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp Adobo seasoning
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ground black pepper and finely ground sea salt to taste
• juice of ½ lime
• I recommend using organic ingredients when possible.

Instructions

• Wash and pat the flank steak dry. Pierce steak all over with a fork to allow marinade to penetrate meat.
• Mix together all the marinade ingredients. Place flank steak in a Ziploc bag, pour marinade over steak, seal bag and refrigerate for at least four hours, or over night.
• Heat griddle over medium high heat. Make sure to have the oven vent on high as things can get smoky.
• I have a built-in cast iron griddle on my stove top, but you could use a griddle pan, or a cast iron skillet. If using a skillet, you will probably need to work in batches, or you could use two skillets.
• While the griddle is preheating chop your vegetables. To save time, I continue to chop as the vegetables are cooking.
• Add olive oil to the hot pan.
• I usually start by adding the peppers to the pan first, because they take a bit longer to cook. When the peppers begin to char in places, (about 4 minutes), I add the onions. Toss with tongs to break the onion slices up. When the onions soften, (about 4 minutes), add the scallions and cook for about 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle the chili powder, adobo, salt and pepper over the vegetable mixture and stir.
• Add the garlic and quickly stir it into the vegetables. By the time you get the garlic incorporated, it’s time to get the veggies off the griddle.
• Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Stir in the chopped cilantro, and add lime juice from half of the lime. Note: I just hand squeeze the lime, which yields about 1 Tbs of juice. Cover bowl to keep warm.
• Raise the heat on the griddle to high, (or you could cook the steak on a an outside grill).
• Remove steak from marinade, and pat dry. It does not need to be bone dry, but if it is too wet, it will not sear.
• Cook steak to the temperature you want, turning once. I had a thin steak, which took 3 minutes per side to reach medium-rare.
• Let steak rest for at least 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, gather your favorite condiments; I like pico de gallo salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.
• Cut the steak on the bias, in thin slices against the grain.
• You can assemble fajitas onto a lettuce leaf wrap or over a green salad. I like to eat mine right on a plate. I dip my steak in the salsa or guac, and grab some veggies with each bite.
• You could also serve these with paleo tortillas. I have not found a nut-free paleo tortilla recipe that I like yet, (I’m allergic to nuts).
• My kids prefer their fajitas with flour tortillas, of course.

Step-by-step instructions with photos:

Wash and pat the flank steak dry. Pierce steak all over with a fork to allow marinade to penetrate meat.

Mix together all the marinade ingredients. Place flank steak in a Ziploc bag, pour marinade over steak, seal bag and refrigerate for at least four hours, or over night.

Heat griddle over medium high heat. Make sure to have the oven vent on high as things can get smoky.

I have a built-in cast iron griddle on my stove top, but you could use a griddle pan, or a cast iron skillet. If using a skillet, you will probably need to work in batches, or you could use two skillets.

While the griddle is preheating chop your vegetables. To save time, I continue to chop as the vegetables are cooking.

Add olive oil to the hot pan.

I usually start by adding the peppers to the pan first, because they take a bit longer to cook.   When the peppers begin to char in places, (about 4 minutes), I then add the onions. Toss them with tongs to break the onion slices up. When they soften, (about 4 minutes), add the scallions and cook for about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the chili powder, adobo, salt and pepper over the vegetable mixture and stir.

Add the garlic and quickly stir it into the vegetables. By the time you get the garlic incorporated, it’s time to get the veggies off the griddle.

Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Stir in the chopped cilantro, and add lime juice from half of the lime. Note: I just hand squeeze the lime, which yields about 1 Tbs of juice.  Cover bowl to keep warm.

Raise the heat on the griddle to high, (or you could cook the steak on a an outside grill).

Remove steak from marinade, and pat dry. It does not need to be bone dry, but if it is too wet, it will not sear.

Cook steak to the temperature you want, turning once. I had a thin steak, which took 3 minutes per side to reach medium-rare.

Let steak rest for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, gather your favorite condiments; I like pico de gallo salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

Cut the steak on the bias, in thin slices against the grain.

You can assemble fajitas onto a lettuce leaf wrap or over a green salad. I like to eat mine right on a plate. I dip my steak in the salsa or guac, and grab some veggies with each bite.

You could also serve these with paleo tortillas. I have not found a nut-free paleo tortilla recipe that I like yet, (I’m allergic to nuts).

My kids prefer their fajitas with flour tortillas, of course.