These easy Instant Pot chicken fajitas are perfect for a simple weeknight meal, or as an alternative to Taco Tuesday. Fajitas are a healthy one pot meal, and it's easier to make than ever in your pressure cooker.
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Why you'll love it
- Chicken fajitas are a family favorite, and kids love it.
- With lean protein and vegetables, it's a healthy and low calorie dish.
- You can serve fajitas in wraps, in a fajita bowl or with side dishes.
- Choose your favorite toppings.
- Suits most diets, including low carb, whole30 and more.
- These fajitas are also suitable for most allergies, as it's a gluten free, dairy free, nut free and soy free recipe.
- The Instant Pot method is super convenient, as most of the cooking is hands-off.
Ingredients
Chicken breasts: Chicken breasts are the main lean protein in this dish. You can also use boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
Peppers: You can use any color bell peppers. I like to use a combination of green, orange, yellow or red peppers depending on what I have available.
Onion: A red, white or brown onion will work great.
Chicken stock: This adds some liquid to prevent the chicken from burning to the bottom of the pot. Feel free to use vegetable stock or water instead.
Seasoning: We use a combination of salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder and paprika. You can omit or substitute any of these spices as you like.
💡 TIP! Substitute the seasoning with store bought fajita seasoning, or try my Fajita Seasoning without Cumin.
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken and veggies: Slice the chicken, peppers and onions. Add these to the Instant Pot.
- Add seasoning: Add all seasoning to the Instant Pot, and stir to coat the ingredients evenly.
- Pressure cook: Lastly, add the chicken stock or water, and give the dish a stir. Seal the lid on to the Instant Pot, and cook using the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK setting for 4 minutes. When the timer is up, turn the valve to quickly release the pressure from the pot.
- Serve it up: Serve the fajitas on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings, or use in any other dish.
Top tips
- The peppers go very soft when pressure cooked. If you prefer more crispy peppers, you can pressure cook the seasoned chicken without the peppers, then add the peppers after pressure cooking. You can then cook the chicken fajitas on saute mode for a few minutes to allow the peppers to warm up.
- You have to use raw and thawed chicken for this recipe. If your chicken is frozen, you can defrost it in a refrigerator overnight before use.
Browse our collection of healthy Instant Pot recipes for more meal inspiration.
Serving suggestions
Chicken fajitas are best served for lunch or dinner. I love to serve mine with some simple side dishes, but you can also enjoy them alone. Here are some of the sides I like to pair my Instant Pot fajitas with:
- Cheesy Tex Mex Sour Cream Sauce - This cheesy sauce is amazing on fajitas.
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice - Serve your fajitas with this easy Mexican rice side.
- Air Fryer Tortilla Chips - I always serve tortilla chips as a snack with chicken fajitas.
- Guacamole with Lemon - Top your fajitas with this simple, creamy guacamole.
- Mango Agua Fresca - This refreshing mango drink is perfect with Tex Mex dishes.
Variations
Other protein: Feel free to change up the protein by replacing the chicken with shrimp, sliced pork loin or beef strips.
Gluten free + low carb: Instead of serving the fajitas in tortillas, you can serve them in lettuce wraps, or make a bowl with fajitas, salad and side dishes.
Vegetarian + vegan: Substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock, and replace the chicken with black beans.
Spicy: These fajitas are really mild. For a kick of spice, you can double up on the chili powder.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can warm the fajitas up in a microwave or pot, and serve them warm.
I recommend storing the fajita mixture separately from the tortillas, and assemble them when you're ready to eat. If the fajita filling is left in the tortillas, they tend to become soggy and unappetizing.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely. The Instant Pot is great for cooking raw chicken.
Yes. You can substitute the chicken in fajitas with other meats, such as pork or beef stripe, or black beans for a vegan alternative.
You might also like these recipes
- Fajita Stuffed Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
- Pork Chop Fajitas
- Sheet pan fajitas
- Creamy Fajita Pasta with Chicken
- Air Fryer Fajitas
- Instant Pot Shredded Beef
If you make this recipe, make sure to post a photo to Instagram with #hintofhealthy!
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
- 3 peppers
- 1 onion
- ¼ cup chicken stock (or water)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Optional, to serve
- 6 tortillas (warmed)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro
- 6 teaspoon salsa
Instructions
- Slice the chicken, peppers and onions. Add these to the Instant Pot.
- Add all seasoning to the Instant Pot, and stir to coat the ingredients evenly.
- Lastly, add the chicken stock or water, and give the dish a stir. Seal the lid on to the Instant Pot, and cook using the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK setting for 4 minutes. When the timer is up, turn the valve to quickly release the pressure from the pot.
- Use tongs to lift the ingredients out of the juices in the pot. Serve the chicken and peppers on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings, or use in any other dish.
Video
Notes
- This recipe has only been tested with a 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Mons
What a fabulous recipe! So easy and tasty! I’ll definitely be making this one again!