What To Serve With Fajitas – 12 Side Dishes

Justin Micheal

Food Writer & Editor in Chief For KitchenSanity

Justin Micheal is KitchenSanity's founder, food writer and editor in chief. As an expert home cook with over 30 years of daily cooking experience and food handler certifications, he's a pro at experimenting with recipes and a stickler for food safety. He writes informative and detailed guides about cooking basics such as proper food storage, cutting and cooking methods, and choosing the right products to make cooking easier.

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Whether your main dish will be chicken, beef, or shrimp, the question of “What to serve with Fajitas?” always seems to come up when browsing through Mexican recipes.

So what goes good with fajitas, and what do you need?

Well, of all the possible chicken fajita side dishes you could think of, our list features all the flavors that go well with fajitas like Mexican street corn, avocado, black beans, and Mexican rice. Here are some sides to consider as an accompaniment to your meal.

Best Side Dishes For Fajitas

1. Crock-Pot Chicken Pozole

Crock-Pot Chicken Pozole

A delicious and comforting bowl of chicken pozole is a welcome addition to any Latin-inspired meals.

Made in the slow cooker, it simmers all day in a chicken broth base with onions, garlic, and spices until the chicken is cooked through and all the flavors have blended together.

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If you’re already serving chicken fajitas and don’t want to double-up, try serving vegetarian fajitas with this Crock-Pot Pozole.

This is a great Mexican side for chicken fajitas that your family will love.

2. Refried Bean Dip

Refried Bean Dip

Refried beans can be as simple or elaborate as you want to make it. If you’re short on time, you can just open a can of refried beans and heat them, or if you prefer, you can make your own from scratch – slow cooked and simmered with onions, garlic, and seasonings.

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You will need pinto beans, onion, garlic, salt, and a little oil to fry them in. They are great with all types of tacos, burritos, and fajitas made with flour tortillas. Beans are one of the classic side dishes for chicken fajitas.

3. Cuban Black Beans With Rice

Cuban Black Beans With Rice

If you like black beans, you’ll love this version of rice and beans. It incorporates the flavors of the beans, onions, red peppers, garlic, salt, tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and oregano.

You can soak the beans overnight to speed the cooking process, but you won’t need to if you have an Instant Pot. The beans cook in about 20 minutes on high pressure in the Instant Pot.

Serve the beans over a bowl of hot, steaming rice. You can add your own toppings like jalapenos, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

4. Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro Lime Rice

This Mexican rice dish is perfect for any meal and goes with a variety of main dishes. It is delicious with shrimp, pork, and chicken fajitas, burritos, or tacos.

It doesn’t take long to prepare and can be made when the rest of the meal is almost finished.

This dish requires long-grain jasmine rice (shorter grains tend to stick together and get mushy), garlic, sea salt, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, and red pepper flakes.

5. Corn And Tomato Salad

Corn And Tomato Salad

Sweet corn, green onions, basil, mozzarella cheese, and juicy tomatoes make this salad flavorful and appetizing. Corn is often highlighted as a side dish for fajitas and tacos because it can be made in so many ways.

This is an alternative to corn on the cob and gets topped with an oil and vinegar dressing. This recipe is quick and easy to make, and takes only 15 minutes from start to finish.

6. Mexican Coleslaw

Mexican Coleslaw

If you love coleslaw, you will love this version of it. It is made with cabbage, shredded carrots, red pepper, red onion, and an oil and vinegar dressing with lime juice, cumin, and sea salt.

It’s tangy and flavorful, an excellent accompaniment for a lunch or dinner meal. This dish can be made ahead to save time, but do not add the dressing until time to serve it, or it will be wilted.

The vinegar will make the cabbage go soft, which will ruin the dish, so prepare the vegetables and store them in the fridge until ready to assemble.

7. Oven Roasted Potatoes

Oven Roasted Potatoes

This is a great side dish that tastes fabulous with just about everything. The potatoes are crispy and delicious.

They are easy to make because all you require are potatoes, olive oil, and seasonings. Mix everything in a bowl until all the potatoes are coated and then place on a baking sheet to roast in a hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

These are the perfect side for fajitas, so you probably won’t have to worry about leftovers because there won’t be any.

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8. Crispy Tater Tots

Crispy Tater Tots

You really don’t need a recipe for this one. You empty a bag of frozen tater tots on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside.

Sprinkle them with your favorite seasoning while they are still hot for a little extra flavor. Seasoned salt, lemon pepper, chili powder, taco seasoning, or a little sea salt make these taters taste fantastic.

9. Crispy Tostadas

Crispy Tostadas

Tostadas are like an open-faced taco. They are flat and crispy with refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, avocado slices, and shredded cheese. You can add meat to them, if you like, or make it with just beans for a vegetarian version.

The corn taco shells are fried in oil and then topped with all your favorites. Some people like to add a little sour cream or green taco sauce as a finishing touch. No matter how you make them, they are delicious.

10. Cheese Enchiladas

Cheese Enchiladas

Cheese enchiladas are cheesy and downright fabulous as a side dish. This recipe incorporates all the delicious flavors of the ingredients, including a homemade enchilada sauce.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any canned sauce because you will be making your own. These are great as a side dish or main dish and make great leftovers the next day for lunch or a snack.

11. Tortilla Chips And Homemade Salsa

Tortilla Chips And Homemade Salsa

You would see this particular side in any Mexican restaurant, and it is a classic appetizer on its own. The chips can be any white or yellow corn tortilla chips, and the salsa is a blend of tomatoes, red onions, green chilies, garlic, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro.

It is so easy to make because you put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse it a few times to blend the seasonings but keep the tomato and onions still chunky.

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The texture should be similar to hand-chopped vegetables. Serve in a bowl with a side of chips.

12. Guacamole For Chicken Fajitas

Guacamole For Chicken Fajitas

You can’t have Mexican food without guacamole. Avocados come from Mexico and are used in many of the dishes made by cooks in the region. Who doesn’t love avocado, sliced or diced on salads, in tacos, burritos, or in a chip dip?

The recipe itself is easy to assemble with ripe avocados, onion, tomato, garlic, salt, lime juice, cayenne pepper, and cilantro.

The whole thing takes about 10 minutes to make, and it can be made ahead and kept refrigerated until needed. This is so good you won’t have to worry about leftovers.

Now that you have this list, you can use it to make tons of exciting meal combinations. All of these tasty side dishes are great to serve with fajitas, enchiladas, tostadas, or any Mexican-themed dinner.

The possibilities are endless with these combinations. They go well with any meal and will make a delicious and hearty meal for your family and guests.

Written By Justin Micheal

Justin Micheal is KitchenSanity's founder, food writer and editor in chief. As an expert home cook with over 30 years of daily cooking experience and food handler certifications, he's a pro at experimenting with recipes and a stickler for food safety. He writes informative and detailed guides about cooking basics such as proper food storage, cutting and cooking methods, and choosing the right products to make cooking easier.

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