These spicy baked salmon fajitas are incredibly delicious, loaded up with pan-roasted peppers and onions and finished off with crema, avocado and queso fresco for an unbelievable homemade restaurant-worthy fajita.
This comes together in under 40 minutes and serves 10 people so if you’re looking to feed a large family or even entertain some guests, this recipe will be perfect for you. There is nothing better than eating a great tasting homemade meal with friends and family, and with minimal clean-up.
Salmon in the past 20 years has gone up in price from about $3.19 a pound to about $4.19 a pound, but the availability has increased given people are eating more fish, and there are more ways to have it delivered to you other than just the grocery store. With that being said the 1 1/2 pounds of salmon used in these baked salmon fajitas go pretty far to feed quite a few people.
I always look to purchase wild-caught salmon over farm-raised. It is more sustainable, is better for the environment and the taste is far superior.
Spicy Seasoning Rub
To make this salmon a little zesty I made a really simple spicy blend consisting of:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Simply mix all of these ingredients together until combined. You may have some leftover which is fine because the rub will hold covered at room temperature for as long as the spices are good for.
You can absolutely make this spice rub customizable and tweak the number of spices that are in it or even add to it. For instance, you could add cumin to it, or add more chipotle powder for a zestier taste.
It’s important to brush the salmon with a bit of olive oil so that that rub will easily coat the fish. Once the salmon is coated on all sides with the seasoning it’s then time to sauté up the fish.
How to Cook Salmon
- Step 1: Add a bit of the oil to the bottom of a large frying pan or a rondeau pot over medium-high heat. Once it begins to lightly smoke means it’s optimal for sautéing.
- Step 2: Add the spice-rubbed salmon and cook for 2 minutes per side. You are not trying to cook the fish all the way through, you just want to brown it. To assist with browning the fish and to add more flavor, add about 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to the pan after 1 minute of sautéing.
- Step 3: Deglaze with some freshly squeezed lime juice to help release the fish from the pan.
- Step 4: Remove the salmon from the pan after browning on both sides, and add the peppers and onions to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on high heat stirring every minute. They should have a few dark seared spots on them and the technique used here in this step is simply stir-frying.
- Step 5: Add the salmon over top of the roasted pepper along with a few slices of lime and transfer the pan to the oven at 400° and cook for 10 minutes.
Cooking in the oven will help finish the salmon off while allowing the zesty spices and juices to run down and season up the peppers and onions as well.
Other Methods of Cooking Salmon
- Grilled Salmon
- Smoked Salmon
- Pan Roasting Only
- Broiled
- Oven-Baked
How to Serve
Salmon fajitas are kind of self-serving in the way that you put however much salmon, peppers, onions, and toppings into each flour tortilla shell that you would like. First however use two forks to help break the salmon into bite-size edible chunks. This will help for serving it up and allowing it to feed up to 10 people.
The toppings for the baked salmon fajitas are completely up to you but I used Mexican crema, avocado, queso fresco cheese, and fresh cilantro leaves. The combo of the toppings and the spicy salmon and roasted peppers and onions is to die for!
More Seafood Recipes
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Spicy Baked Salmon Fajitas Recipe with Roasted Peppers and Onions
Ingredients
For the Salmon:
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of chili powder
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon of chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 ½ pounds of skinless salmon
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- Juice of 1 lime
For the Vegetables and Garnishes:
- 10 flour tortillas
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 seeded and sliced red bell peppers
- 1 seeded and sliced yellow bell pepper
- 1 peeled and sliced yellow or red onion
- Mexican Crema for garnish
- sliced avocado for garnish
- queso fresco for garnish
- fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
- limes for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Combine the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, chipotle powder, oregano, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Brush a small amount of olive oil onto both sides of the salmon and generously season the salmon on both sides with the spice blend.
- Next add the olive oil to the 12” stainless steel rondeau pot over medium high heat and add the fish.
- Place the butter into the pan to help brown the fish and flip it over. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown but not cooked through and then remove the salmon from the pan and set it aside.
- Turn the heat up to high and add in the peppers and onions and lightly char, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Place the salmon on top of the roasted peppers and onions and transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and break up the fish using two forks.
- To Plate: Place some salmon, roasted pepper and onions onto a tortilla shell and add optional garnishes.
Notes
- Always look to purchase wild caught salmon over farm raised. It is more sustainable, is better for the environment and the taste is far superior.
- You can absolutely make this spice rub customizable and tweak the amount of spices that are in it or even add to it. For instance you could add cumin to it, or add more chipotle powder for a zestier taste.
- Cooking in the oven will help finish the salmon off while allowing the zesty spices and juices to run down and season up the peppers and onions as well.
Nutrition
Kami Allen says
Mine is steak fajitas with onions & peppers!
Emily Smith says
Chicken fajitas are my favorite. I don’t really use a recipe, I just kinda use what’s on hand in my fridge or in my garden.