23 Delicious Ideas to Serve With Fajitas

Making fajitas, and wondering what else to serve? Turn everyday fajitas into a meal to remember with our winning recipes for drinks, desserts, and side dishes that go great with fajitas. Whether you're cooking steak or chicken fajitas, or keeping it simple and vegan with just veggies, we've got the best recipes to turn this Tex-Mex staple into a complete meal that hits all the right notes in every course.

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Homemade Bottled Mexican Hot Sauce

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Green or red hot sauce in Mexico is often used on botanas or snacks such as chicharrones (fried pork rinds) and potato chips. It is also sprinkled on fresh fruit, either plain (cut into chunks or slices) or prepared as a fruit salad, and adds extra zing to fried or scrambled eggs, fish tacos, and even soups.
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Guacamole Salsa

The Spruce/Leah Maroney

If you crave heat in your fajitas, this creamy, spicy guacamole salsa is a great way to lay it on. It's a zestier, saucier take on the classic guacamole spread, with roasted jalapeno, fresh squeezed lime juice, and tomatillos bringing the flavor to mashed ripe avocados. Pile it atop all your entrees, or serve it as a dip with tortillas chips and veggie sticks.
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Vegan Frijoles Negros (Mexican Black Beans)

The Spruce/Anastasiia Tretiak

Black beans (frijoles negros) are a staple of Mexican cuisine and easy to make vegan or vegetarian. Our homemade recipe tastes so much better than beans from a can, and while it takes some time to cook, there is little hands-on effort. Enjoy these beans as a tasty side dish for any meal, or a filling for vegetarian burritos.
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Elote (Mexican Street Corn)

Leah Maroney

Mexican street corn (elote) is salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy in every bite. Roasted fresh corn cobs are rolled in a garlicky crema, and then topped with cilantro, chili powder, and Parmesan and queso fresco cheeses, for an amazingly tasty, hand-held side. Enjoy it hot off the grill in the summer months, when fresh corn is at its seasonal peak.

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Sopes

Kristina Vanni

Sopes are a Mexican dish made from masa that resemble a thick tortilla with pinched sides. They are gently pan fried and filled with with chicken, beans, vegetables, and crumbled cheese.
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Flour Tortillas From Scratch

The Spruce/Kristina Vanni

Homemade flour tortillas are so fresh and delicious, you may never go back to the store-bought version. You will likely be surprised by how incredibly easy they are to prepare in your own kitchen, with only 4 simple ingredients. Use them to wrap up all your favorite Taco Tuesday dishes, from fajitas and enchiladas, to quesadilla snacks and breakfast burritos.
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Shrimp Avocado Salad

The Spruce Eats/Jennifer Perillo

Balance out a dinner plate groaning with fajitas by serving this refreshing shrimp salad on the side. Plump, juicy shrimp and creamy, ripe avocados are a match made in heaven, especially when accented by herbaceous cilantro, and a zingy, citrusy vinaigrette dressing. Feel free to prep the shrimp a couple of days ahead, for a salad that comes together quickly at meal time.
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Pico de Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa)

The Spruce

Pico de gallo is a fresh, chunky version of salsa. Because you don't need to cook the veggies as you would for a traditional, smooth salsa, pico de gallo is a snap to prepare in mere minutes, and provides great texture and brightness to Mexican and Tex-Mex entrees. Use the boiling water trick in the recipe to mellow the onion and garlic flavors — it may sound strange, but really works!

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Mini Chipotle Chicken Taquitos

Leah Maroney

Double down on deliciousness when you serve tiny chicken taquitos as an appetizer to fajitas for dinner. They are crunchy, deep-fried corn tortilla tubes with an outrageously tasty filling of chipotle chicken and cheese. Make ahead and freeze a bunch for serving at game day parties, adding to a DIY nacho bar, or kicking off taco Tuesdays with the family.
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Instant Pot Refried Beans

The Spruce

Refried beans are simply twice-cooked beans. This essential, protein-rich side is naturally gluten-free, deliciously filling, and easy to make vegetarian or vegan. Whip up a batch of restaurant-style refried beans to make all your entrees better with our easy Instant Pot recipe that uses inexpensive pantry ingredients, and cooks in a fraction of the usual time.
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Cauliflower Tortillas

The Spruce/Leah Maroney

If you love fajitas and tacos, and are following the Keto diet or eating low-carb, then you need these cauliflower tortillas in your life. Soft and flexible, and a breeze to make with a quick cauliflower and cheddar dough, they are the perfect, plant-based vehicle for all of your favorite fixings.
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Esquites (Mexican Corn Off the Cob)

The Spruce/Kristina Vanni

Enjoy a classic Mexican street food experience with esquites. The fresh and flavorful corn side dish includes everything you love about Mexican street corn, in a fork-ready version. With toasted corn kernels, salty queso cheese, zesty lime and jalapeno, and crema, it is always a hit at cookouts and weeknight dinners.

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Mexican Rice

The Spruce

Cook up a toothsome, tomato-infused Mexican rice to rival restaurant versions with our essential, budget-friendly recipe. You'll be wowed by how easy it is to create this must-know side dish in just 30 minutes, using basic cupboard ingredients. It cooks in a single pot, so clean-up is easy, too. Serve it as a side for fajitas, or make it a simple main dish with tortilla chips.
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Salsa Verde

The Spruce/Victoria Heydt

Salsa verde is a popular condiment for a reason. It is a simple, versatile salsa made with tomatillos instead of tomatoes, plus onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime, and cilantro. Fresh, green-tasting, and bright, it makes a great topping for steak or chicken fajitas, is an essential part of enchiladas verdes, and even tastes great on eggs.
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Ensalada de Nopales (Cactus Salad)

Robin Grose

Mexican cactus salad is not just a great-tasting, nutritious salad. This easy, aromatic, and delicious medley of chopped, cooked nopales, tomato, lime, onion, and cilantro is also a fabulous topping for plain grilled meats, or a side dish for fajitas and other Mexican mains. Make it a day ahead and chill to let the flavors blend, using jarred nopales (or homemade, with tips in the recipe).
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Horchata (Mexican Cold Rice Drink)

The Spruce

Horchata is a refreshing, chilled Mexican beverage that is great for cooling off in the hotter months. Our dairy-free version is light, sweet, and creamy, with a flavor that will remind you of rice pudding. Make the classic, thirst-quenching version first, and then look below the recipe for yummy variations to try.

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Chelada With Mexican Beer

The Spruce/Julia Hartbeck

Chelada, also known as a lager-and-lime, is a simple and bracing beer-based drink that pairs perfectly with fajitas, and other south-of-the-border favorite foods. It couldn't be easier to make with a bottle of light lager beer, and a wedge of lime, plus some coarse salt to create the essential salted rim on your pint glass.
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Mexican Michelada

Leah Maroney

If you are a beer drinker who also enjoys Bloody Mary cocktails, meet your new favorite mash-up of these two popular drinks. The Mexican Michelada uses beer and tequila, instead of vodka, for an easy-drinking cocktail you can enjoy with a dinner of fajitas, or even bust out at brunch.
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Tres Leches Pastel

The Spruce/Julia Hartbeck

Treat yourself to tres leches pastel (Spanish for "three milks cake"), the beloved dessert enjoyed throughout Latin America. Sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream combine in a soaking sauce that gives this classic cake a dense, extremely moist texture that is closer to a custard than a light and fluffy sponge.
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Mexican Chocolate Cake

The Spruce

The classic Mexican flavor combination of chocolate and cinnamon is at the heart of this rich and decadent chocolate cake. It's an ideal dessert for a Cinco de Mayo fiesta, or a great way to end family dinners. Make it in about an hour from start-to-finish, including making the homemade frosting.

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Mexican Paletas (Fruit Pops)

The Spruce/Cara Cormack

Get out the popsicle molds for these magically flavorful frozen fruit pops that are a staple of Mexican summer living, and make a fantastic cookout treat. They are unbelievably easy to make with ripe fresh fruit, lime juice, sugar, and water. Use juicy watermelon, fresh pineapple, cubed cantaloupe, or any other fruit in season.
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Mexican Flan

The Spruce/Kristina Vanni

If you favor creamy desserts like creme caramel, you are sure to love Mexican flan. Velvety smooth and creamy, with a rich-tasting, vanilla bean-infused custard, it makes a delicious ending to any Mexican-inspired meal. Prepare it in individual ramekins for a show-stopping, chilled dessert.
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Churros

The Spruce/Kelly Ryan

Kids and adults alike go crazy for churros, the deep-fried dough treat. A simple batter is piped into hot oil and fried until golden to make these delectable, doughnut-like desserts. Dust them with cinnamon-sugar, or dip them into a cup of hot chocolate, for a truly Mexican-style after-dinner treat.