Mushroom Fajitas

Red pepper and mushroom fajitas are the ideal summer food. With basic ingredients but plenty of spice, it’s a flexible recipe and you can easily alter the toppings and tortillas used to suit your preferences. This has become a fast favourite for us and it’s a veg-forward meal that everyone likes.

I always use spelt tortillas because the store-bought options in Sweden are iffy at best, which adds some time, so this is more of a weekend thing. The filling is ready in about 20 minutes, though, including chopping, so it’s quick and easy if you can buy good tortillas.

Top with pickled onions or other pickled vegetables, avocado, avocado aioli, or guacamole, a salsa you like, any type of sour cream, and greens (or any combination of these). The fajitas are much nicer with a bit of freshness as they are very savoury.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Red pepper: sub a different colour if preferred. Red peppers are simply fully ripe peppers (capsicum/bell pepper) but you can use orange, yellow, or even green – but red will have the best flavour.
• Mushrooms: any type of mushroom can be used. Portobello, cut into strips, is a popular option, but not my favourite. Oyster has the best texture if you can find it.
• Spices: I recommend keeping the spices used, but adjust the amounts if needed, especially the hot pepper. Smoked paprika adds a nice sort of grilled taste that’s quite pleasant here.
• Tortillas: if you can buy decent ones, certainly do that. I make them at home (see spelt tortillas) but use corn tortillas for an easy gluten-free option.
• Salsa: pictured is a fresh salsa or pico de gallo, but you can use any jarred or fresh option you’d like.

Step by Step

Step 1: add the mushrooms to a hot pan with a bit of oil. Cook, stirring as little as possible.

Step 2: once the mushrooms are golden, add the onion and stir through.

Step 3: stir in the peppers and cook for another few minutes, then add the spices.

Step 4: cook for about 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and serve.

Recipe Notes

If you have a small frying pan, you might have to fry the filling ingredients in batches. If that’s the case, I suggest frying the mushrooms first, then setting aside and frying the peppers and onions. Mix the mushrooms back in once the spices have been added to heat them through again and to coat in the spices.

Try not to cut the mushroom too large, especially if you’re using oyster mushrooms. The base (lower stipe) of oyster mushrooms can be a little tough and since they’re cut into strips, this part does get chewy if included. Button mushrooms can be cut any way you like.

How to Store

Storage: the filling can be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Reheat in a frying pan, but note that the mushrooms can get a little soggy after being stored.

Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this as the mushroom texture is poor when thawed.

Expert Tips

• Make it in the oven: you can make mushroom fajitas in the oven, but they’re not quite as nice. Simply mix the filling ingredients on a large baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked through and the mushrooms are (hopefully) crisping up a bit. See crispy roasted mushrooms.
• Use a spice mix: if you have something like a taco spice blend already on hand, feel free to use that in place of the custom mix. It should be about the same.
• Don’t forget the toppings: while the filling is excellent as is, any fajita benefits from a bit of freshness. Avocado, pickled onion, greens, sour cream, salsa – all excellent.

More Quick Summer Dinners

Vegan Refried Beans
Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta
Summer Harvest Vegan Burrito Bowl
Greek Chickpea Salad