There are only 5-Ingredients in this slow cooker steak fajitas recipe. This easy yet delicious crock-pot dish is perfect any day of the week.
I swear I’m not trying to make every single recipe 5-ingredients or less. I can’t help myself. I’m just all about simplicity these days. Yesterday was National Margarita Day and I completely missed out. I will not miss out on Taco Tuesday! Fajitas count right? The 5 ingredients for this recipe are: beef, bell pepper, onion, salsa, and fajita seasoning.
The beef: Another 2 pound grass-fed, angus beef boneless chuck roast from Vons sliced up. Their grass-fed game has been on point lately! YYYYAAAAASSSSS Vons!! For the salsa, use your favorite brand. Seasoning: to packet or not to packet, that is the question. I try to make my own or buy all-natural brands for seasoning blends as much as possible. I won’t preach because I use packet on occasion but in general, I heavily encourage you to ditch the store-bought seasoning packets. Here is my go-to homemade fajita mix. I’ve been using this for years so please trust me, you will not miss the store-bought. You probably have all these spices in your pantry already. This makes about 2 1/2 tbsp which is equivalent to 1 packet of store-bought. I make a big batch and keep a mason jar full of it in my cupboard.
Homemade Fajita Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Store in an airtight container up to 4 weeks.
Normally when I make this slow cooker steak fajitas recipe I only use 1 bell pepper. This time though, I wanted more veggies so I used two – a combo of red and green. For the salsa, use 20 ounces of your favorite brand. I don’t even remember the name of the brand I threw in. I like to give this a good stir before putting the lid on so the salsa and seasonings are distributed evenly.
Set it and forget it. You can substitute chicken or pork instead of beef if you like. Heck I have even made these fajitas using a large turkey breast. The concept stays the same, just swap out the protein.
- 2 lbs beef, sliced
- 1-2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 20 ounces salsa
- 2 tbsp fajita seasoning
- Add salsa to bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add beef, onion, bell pepper and fajita seasoning. Stir to mix well.
- Cook LOW 6-8 hour or HIGH 3-4.
I have tons of HEALTHY slow cooker recipes on my blog. Most of which are whole 30 approved, paleo or low carb. Feel free to search through my recipe index.
Other 5-ingredient slow cooker recipes in this series: Pot Roast, Jerk Chicken, Italian Chicken, Coconut-Cilantro Curry Shrimp, Apple-Dijon Sausage & Sauerkraut, Spaghetti Squash & Chicken.
Have you tried you’re homemade seasoning on any other type of meats?
Yes! I use it on chicken, pork, beef and seafood! Enjoy:-)
Can I freeze the ingredients and then when ready to cook it throw it all in the slow cooker?
Absolutely! This is a great freezer meal!
Can I use ground turkey.
Sure! I suggest you brown the turkey first before adding to the slow cooker. This will help minimize grease.
Does the meat go in on top of all the veggies n stuff
Yes but I like to give everything a good mix before I set it to cook. xShannon
Yes but I like to give it a good stir before I set it to cook to mix it all together.👍
What can I use in place of salsa? Thanks
Diced tomatoes (canned or fresh) is a great substitute! xShannon
Thank you ma’am
So if we don’t use your seasoning we should just use taco seasoning?
Correct, 1 packet of taco seasoning. Enjoy the recipe!
I doubled this recipe and we ate off of it for a LONG time. We made fajitas one night, my husband ate it another night with a side of mashed potatoes and asparagus, another night he ate it over rice. I took it to work several days and made fajita steak salad, with spinach and avocados. DELISH ! thanks for this recipe.
OMG that sounds delicious. I’m definitely trying it with mashed potatoes next time! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for the feedback! xShannon
Making this now for work luncheon tomorrow.. My house smells amazing !! So easy to make , and thus single girl can not cook …thanks for the 5 easy recipe
You’re welcome. I hope it came out to your liking and you enjoyed the meal! xShannon
can i use a packet of taco seasoning
Absolutely!
If I skip the salsa but use all other ingridents, should I add water?
I would substitute 15 ounces of diced tomatoes OR 1/3 cup low sodium beef broth OR 1/3 cup water. Let me know what you do & how it turns out! xShannon
Just have all but the chili powder in my slow cooker at 11:50 pm. Will leave it on low until morning…and check it then. Need to add the chili in the morning as we need to go get some! Thought I had but hubby has searched and searched and can’t find it. So will update this once we have it finished tomorrow and give it a taste. Love the fact it is only 5 ingredients (well the fajita spices need to be done ahead to add and I am afraid we will be adding the extra tbsp of the chili powder so it is a tad more than you call for but I BET it is forgiving this recipe) and in a slow cooker so I only had to do the slicing and the mixing – the pot does the rest! Yup, my kind of recipe and I have pinned it. If we like it I will be giving it my YEAH! on my Pinterest page where I have the recipes I have tried and YEAH and NAY them! 🙂
How did it turn out??
Well! It was ABSOLUTELY a rave! The guys in the family liked it SOOOOO much that they ASKED if we could have the leftovers for the next day supper meal! I loved it also. It was easy to make. I LOVE that it only uses 5 ingredients. I found that it needed to be allowed to “cook down” in order to remove some of the moisture. That might have been because I used two LARGE peppers, a LARGE onion, and because I did not measure exactly the amount of salsa and I used a combo of two of them. One was a homemade one I obtained from our local online market, and because it was not quite as much as indicated I added a Tostitos medium salsa to top it up. As well, I used stew beef that I cut into short, short strips. Not sure why but the end result had a LOT of liquid in it. Maybe I needed more meat since I think I was short the 2 lbs by a wee bit. But anyway, we used a slotted serving utensil to take the mix out of the dish I had put it in and that worked mostly. The main point is that I used your Fajita spice mix and it worked perfectly. The mix given was JUST enough for this pot of slow cooker fajita. So I know I can make this ahead and bottle it for us as it is great! Very very tasty. At any rate, if there was a star rating of 5 I would be giving this recipe a 5+ cause it is just too awesome to pass up! Yup we WILL be doing this again. And oh yes, making this motivated me to also make our own guacamole which my brother insisted I need to have available ALL the time in future and refried black beans to add to our supper. Both the guacamole and the refried beans were found on Pinterest and both were a big hit with my husband and I, although the beans seemed as if they were avoided by my brother. Hmmm… but I liked both of those too. When two guys rave about something you KNOW it has to be good! Yup! THANK YOU!
This comment made my day. Kindly check your email:-)
I made this for dinner tonight it was superb. I will be making it again soon. I think I will add some black beans and serve it more like a soup with tortilla chips
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Adding black beans is a great idea, I think I’ll that next time. xShannon
If I want to end up with med rare flank steak strips using a crockpot what do you recommend?
I would sautee the veggies until they were soft before adding them to the slow cooker. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and cook on HIGH for 30 min or so or LOW about a hour. This is just my best educated guess, I haven’t actually tried this:-) Let me know how it turns out! xShannon
I tried this today and it was so easy and tasty! looking forward to reading your simple recipes!
Nice! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! I hope you try some more and enjoy those as well. Cheers!
What kind of beef should you use? Also, I am planning on doubling this recipe for a party of 10-12… Should I make any modifications! Thanks!
I actually used a roast that I cut into strips. Roast, skirt steak, fajita strips…pretty much any cut of meat will work. This is a great recipe to double. No modifications needed, just double. Enjoy!!
Thank you for sharing!! My husband recently had to get all his teeth out and we cannot yet afford dentures that fit properly and he has always been a big meat eater so I feel blessed to find your easy meal ideas. Thanks again 👍❤
You’re welcome! I stay tuned I have some good soup recipes coming up that won’t require much chewing. Best wishes to your hubby with his teeth situation! xShannon
Would cooked rice do instead of tortillas ?
Absolutely! Rice, heck you can even serve it over some lettuce or with some mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Can I prepare the night before and put crock in the fridge?
Absolutely! This also makes a good freezer meal 👍
Is this one fajita per serving?
Sorry found what I needed to know. Thanks again. I’m going to try this with my family. 🙂
No problem! Great, I hope you enjoy the recipe. 😀
yum!
Thank you!
I’m making this tonight!! My hubby loves all things steak & anything eaten in a taco shell.😊
I make my own fajita seasoning also. Store package sodium content is extremely high. I’ll post a comment later on how it turned out. Thanks!
I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
Question: What’s the calorie count in this dish? It’s delicious!!
Approximately 300 calories per serving but it all depends on what ingredients you add to it. Enjoy!
Currently making this now…smells soo good!! Super easy too…it was nice cause I really didn’t feel like cooking haha
I hope you enjoyed it!!
It seems like I should brown the meat first. Is this not the case?
Nope, not needed. You can if you want to but it’s definitely not necessary. Personally I never brown the meat with this recipe. Enjoy!
Silly question but when you stir it all up, is it important that the salsa stay on the bottom? Or do you stir it around as well?
No question is silly! Stir all around:-) I like the salsa to get mixed in real good with the rest of the ingredients for better flavor.
I went to Pinterest looking for crockpot fajita recipes and yours was the first one I saw – so glad I found it. I will be making this very soon!
Hi Faye – I’m so glad you found me:-) I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know if you have any questions. xShannon
Can you use beef chuck tender steak for this? 🙂
Absolutely! Enjoy the recipe.
What kind of salsa?
Any brand you like! Tomato-based salsa works best.
I made this a few days ago and it was wonderful! I had lots of juices left over so I decided to make soup out of the leftovers! I cut up the meat and peppers that were left, added some beef stock, cooked brown rice and some corn. Topped it with some sour cream and shredded cheese. It was divine! Thanks for a great recipe!
That sounds fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I think I’m going to try it your way next time! 👍
This was by far the best slow cooker meal I have ever made!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Wow thank you so much for the great feedback. I hope you try some more of my recipes!
My daughter made this for dinner, it is delicious
It’s was so good I could eat just the veggies in tortillas. She also made a chimichurri sauce that complimented it very well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Chimichurri sauce sounds great, I’ll have to try that next time!
Made it with chicken tonight. It was awesome! Any clue on calories per serving?
Hi Stacy,
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! The calorie content will depend on the salsa you use and how you serve this (tortilla, over rice, etc) but in general, this a low calorie with approximately 350 calories per serving.
do you think this can be frozen ahead of time
It sure can! This is a great freezer meal. 👍
Looks, yummy! Just wondering do the peppers stay firm or do they get soft? I don’t want mushy peppers. Thanks, April
Thank you! The peppers get soft. If you like yours ‘al dente’ then I suggest you add them to the slow cooker the last couple hours of cook time versus at the beginning. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
do i buy steak and make into strips or can i buy steak strips? ive never paid attention so i dont know whats out there lol
Either. If you can’t find already cut strips at your local grocery then you will need to buy the beef and cut it yourself. I hope you enjoy the recipe. Good luck!
Looks good will try it thank you so much
I’ve made this twice already and it is so easy and so delicious. You can make it a little different every time by switching out different types of salsa or tomatoes [like jalapenos, chipotle, green chilies, etc.] This is going into my favorites folder. Also, highly recommended for mommies with little ones because it takes no time to prepare. THANKS a million for posting! 🙂
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the recipe. I LOVE your ideas…I think I’ll add in jalapenos next time:-) Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you try some more recipes from my blog.
Would it be fine to cook steak and chicken together?
Sure. The taste will be a little different but you can definitely do it. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this tonight and we loved it. My husband usually isn’t a fan of crock pot meals, but he loved this. Said it’s the best crock pot meal we’ve ever had and to save this recipe. Thank you!
You’re very welcome and thank YOU for the wonderful feedback. I’m so glad to hear your husband was converted to a crock pot fan even if only for this recipe!
Can I substitute the beef for chicken?
Absolutely you can use chicken! I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Can you leave out the salsa?
Yes but you’ll need some sort of ‘juicy’ substitute. Do you like diced tomatoes? If so, sub 15 ounces diced tomatoes. If not add 1/3 cup low-sodium beef broth.
I usually use taco sauce instead of salsa because I don’t like the chunks of tomatoes.
Perfect!
If i need to 1/2 the recipe because I am cooking for just 2 people – is the cook time the same?
You’ll need to reduce the cook time by an hour or so. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I’m really sorry if this has already been asked, but I want to make this tonight. Can my meat be frozen? Would anything need to be changed?
Yup, you can use frozen meat. You’ll need to add an extra 30 min of cooking time but that’s it. Good luck, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
salutations friend i was having a serious debate with my father in law’s 3rd wife and we were wondering how to properly pronounce fajita. she claims that the 2nd a is silent but my english teacher says that the hard J sound makes the F sound like a PH. thanks so much!
‘Fa – HE – tah’ is the pronunciation:-)
The ingredients and amount you put for the fajita mix is equal to a packet correct?
Correct:-)
I just realized that I put the beef in as a whole and not sliced it up before hand. Will this still be okay and just shred the meat when it’s done? :-/
That’s totally fine! Yup, you can just shred it when it’s done. It should be falling apart. Enjoy:-)
Hi specifically what beef did you use?
I used rump roast that I sliced into strips:-)
Would skirt steak work?
Absolutely!
Can the salsa be the one that comes in the jar, like the Pace brand?
Absolutely! I used jar salsa when I made it:-)
Hi! I want to try this recipe next week (it looks delicious) but I need help about the salsa. Which one it is? In my country we have salsa de tomate (ketchup), salsa inglesa (worcestershire),salsa china (soy) salsa verde o de tomatillo (I have not idea how to translate it), barbacoa (BBQ), …. so, could you help me clarifying the ingredient? Thank you.
The salsa you could use would be verde or tomatillo. Whatever you prefer 🙂
You will want to use the kind of salsa that you dip tortilla chips into. The company Pace makes several varieties. Es la salsa que contiene tomate, cebolla, pimiento, y cosas así. Es un poco “chunky.” Ojalá que le ayude.
Go with the salsa Verde/tomatillo!
I like your style Michelle!
Hi Rebeca,
Salsa verde o de tomatillo or salsa de tomate. Personally I like salsa de tomate; I used a pico de gallo salsa this particular time. But like I said, you can use either. Let me know how it turns out!