Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas Recipe
Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas arrive sizzling with mesquite-grilled steak, juicy chicken, bacon-wrapped shrimp brochette and all the fixings, creating a smoky, savory feast that turns every table into a celebration.
Make our Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas Recipe at home. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Mixed Grill Fajitas will taste just like Pappasito’s Cantina.
Photo by Victor Wong
Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas
A Pappasito’s Cantina Copycat Recipe
To See ALL of Our Pappasito’s Cantina Copycat Recipes – Click HERE
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To See ALL of Our Grilling Copycat Recipes – Click HERE
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Pappasito’s Cantina: Texas-Sized Flavor with a Legacy of Fire-Grilled Tradition
Pappasito’s Cantina is one of the crown jewels in the Pappas family of restaurants, bringing bold, mesquite-grilled Tex-Mex flavors to life since its founding in 1983 in Houston, Texas. Born from the vision of Chris and Harris Pappas, whose family has been in the restaurant business for decades, Pappasito’s quickly set itself apart by delivering hearty portions, scratch-made recipes, and a vibrant, fiesta-filled atmosphere rooted in Texas hospitality.
The heart of Pappasito’s cuisine is its devotion to authentic, wood-grilled cooking. The sizzling fajitas—often hailed as some of the best in Texas—are carved tableside and served with warm flour tortillas, house-made guacamole, fresh salsas, and creamy frijoles a la charra. Their mesquite-grilled shrimp, beef, and chicken plates are legendary, and enchiladas smothered in bold sauces bring a deeply satisfying flavor that keeps diners coming back. Other house favorites include the queso-laced nachos, smoky carne asada, and shrimp brochette wrapped in bacon with jalapeños and cheese.
With its festive ambiance, vibrant margaritas, and theatrical service, Pappasito’s has grown to include multiple locations across Texas and a few beyond, mostly clustered in the South and Southwest. Each location maintains the same lively energy and commitment to quality, drawing crowds nightly for celebrations, family meals, and casual happy hours.
While it’s undeniably rooted in Texan tradition, Pappasito’s represents the wider love affair America has with Tex-Mex cuisine—its sizzling cast-iron platters, its smoky-sweet marinades, its playful, spice-kissed comfort. Over the decades, it has become a beloved institution for locals and travelers alike, combining big flavors with bigger heart. Whether you’re diving into a plate of fresh chips and house salsa or savoring a smoky margarita under the glow of string lights, a visit to Pappasito’s is pure Tex-Mex joy.
Fajitas
Fajitas are a sizzling spectacle of flavor and texture, a dish that captivates the senses from the moment they hit the table. Originally a humble ranch-hand meal from the Rio Grande Valley, fajitas have evolved into a Tex-Mex favorite, beloved for their smoky, savory appeal and endless customization. The magic begins with the protein—traditionally skirt steak, but now often including chicken, shrimp, pork, or even portobello mushrooms for a vegetarian twist—marinated in citrus, garlic, cumin, and chili spices before being seared over high heat to achieve a perfect char.
The real showstopper is the presentation: hot, steaming strips of meat and colorful bell peppers, caramelized onions, and sometimes jalapeños arrive on a cast-iron skillet, the aroma mingling with the warmth of fresh, pillowy flour tortillas. The beauty of fajitas lies in their interactive nature—each bite can be personalized with toppings like cool sour cream, fresh pico de gallo, creamy guacamole, or a sprinkle of cheese.
While beef and chicken fajitas remain classics, creative variations abound. Shrimp fajitas, kissed with lime and garlic, bring a coastal twist, while barbacoa fajitas, slow-cooked and smoky, offer deep, rich flavors. Some restaurants, like Lupe Tortilla in Texas, specialize in marinated, ultra-tender steak fajitas, while chains like On The Border and Pappasito’s serve up generous, flame-grilled portions bursting with flavor.
A perfect balance of heat, smokiness, and freshness, fajitas are a celebration of bold, unfussy cooking, making them a staple of both casual dining and backyard cookouts alike.
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Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas arrive sizzling with mesquite-grilled steak, juicy chicken, bacon-wrapped shrimp brochette and all the fixings, creating a smoky, savory feast that turns every table into a celebration. Make our Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas Recipe at home. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Mixed Grill Fajitas will taste just like Pappasito’s Cantina.
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 12 Jumbo Shrimp (16 - 20 count) peeled and deveined with tails removed
- 6 slices Bacon cut in half
- 12 slices Beef Fajita Meat 1 x 4 inches
- 12 slices Chicken Breast Fajita Meat 1 x 4 inches
- 6 Pineapple Cubes 1 1/2 inches
- 12 pieces Red Bell Pepper 2 x 2 inches
- 12 pieces Green Bell Pepper 2 x 2 inches
- 12 wedges Red Onion 2 x 2 inches
- 2 cups Italian Dressing or preferred Fajita Marinade
- 12 or more large Flour Tortillas warmed at time of serving
For the Spice Blend & Garlic Butter
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Paprika
- 2 teaspoons Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- 1/2 pound Unsalted Butter 2 sticks, melted
Instructions
- Wrap each shrimp in a half slice of bacon. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Prepare all ingredients and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
- In a small bowl, combine paprika, cayenne and black pepper. Mix well. Divide into 2 equal portions and set aside.
- In another small bowl, whip softened butter with garlic and wine until smooth and fragrant.
- All this can be done in advance. If doing more than 2 hours before using (like the night before) be sure to cover each dish before refrigerating or setting aside. Heat or melt the butter slightly before using.
Grilling
- When ready to grill, preheat grill to medium.
- Pour Italian dressing or marinade into 2 large dishes.
- Place prepared shrimp, bacon, beef and chicken into one dish of Italian dressing. Soak and toss for 2 - 3 minutes to fully cover with dressing.
- Place prepared pineapple red and green bell peppers and onions into the second dish of Italian dressing. Soak and toss for 2 - 3 minutes to fully cover with dressing.
- Remove all from dressing and discard dressing.
- Place shrimp in a grill pan or basket.
- Place bacon, beef and chicken in a second grill pan or basket.
- Place pineapple, bell peppers and onions in a third grill pan or basket.
- Sprinkle all 3 with 1 portion of spice blend.
- Place all grill pans or baskets on hot grill. Cook, constantly basting each garlic butter, while shaking and turning as needed until each basket is done cooking. Total time for meats and veggies should be about 10 - 12 minutes. Shrimp should cook much faster than the other 2. Cook until shrimp is just opaque - do not overcook - and remove from heat. (Alternately, if you are an accomplished griller, start the 2 grill pans or baskets with the meat and veggies first and add the shrimp at a time that will ensure all baskets finish at the same time.)
- Place cooked fajitas on a serving plate or individual serving plates. For a restaurant-style serving, place on a cast iron skillet heated in the oven. Be VERY CAREFUL when handling the hot skillet.
- Sprinkle lightly with remaining portion of spice mix.
- Melt the remaining butter and serve tableside for drizzling.
- Serve with warm tortillas for wrapping and sour cream, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese and/or any other fajita addons you like.
Pappasito’s Cantina Mixed Grill Fajitas
A Pappasito’s Cantina Copycat Recipe
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Photo of “Fajitas mixed plate” is by Victor Wong and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/legalcode.en. Photo of “Pappasito’s Cantina” is by Scott Beale and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en. Thank you, Vic and Scott. Great Pictures. Photos may be “representative” of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes based on information from the restaurant and other sources on the internet – many courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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