This Instant Pot chicken fajitas and rice recipe is a combination of simple ingredients and classic chicken fajitas’ flavors with the ease of an Instant Pot dinner. Forget the weeknight dinner rush, this classic Instant Pot “dump and go” style recipe comes together in under 30 minutes.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice Recipe
- Recipe Contributors
This recipe is…
This month, we’ve been dedicated to bringing you a new one-pot meal every week – and these Instant Pot fajitas may be our favorite of them all! We’ve taken the ease of our reader’s choice lemon chicken and rice skillet, and upped the ante with our favorite Mexican flavors and with the introduction of our best time-saving gadget – the Instant Pot.
If we’ve caught your attention, you won’t want to miss these other quick and easy weeknight favorites, like this Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe that goes from start-to-dinner-table in 40 minutes or this Instant Pot chicken tikka masala that is perfect for weeklong meal prep.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s quick and easy – These Instant Pot chicken fajitas come together in under 1 hour.
- It’s a one pot dinner – Because of the Instant Pot’s multi-cooking functions, the veggies, rice, and chicken can be cooked together in one pot.
- It’s completely fool-proof – This Instant Pot fajitas recipe is so simple. It follows the classic “dump and go” recipe format the Instant Pot has made famous.
Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice Ingredients
All of the ingredients for these Instant Pot fajitas are easy to source at your local grocery store. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Rice – Rinsing the rice before cooking removes excess starch and prevents the rice from clumping.
- Chicken Broth – Cooking the rice with chicken broth, rather than water, infused the rice with more flavor.
- Chicken Tenders –You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of the tenders. We recommend against using boneless, skinless chicken breast as it will dry out.
- Coconut Aminos – Coconut aminos provides the same umami flavor as soy sauce, but is gluten- and soy-free.
- Oregano – Mexican oregano is a staple in Mexican cookery. If you can’t find dried Mexican oregano, you can swap one-for-one with marjoram. If using regular Mediterranean oregano, use slightly less, as it has a stronger flavor.
- Lime Juice – fresh lime juice adds that hit of bright acidity that brings all these intense spices together at the end of cooking.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use a different protein – You can swap the chicken for a different cut, as mentioned above or swap the chicken for sliced flank steak.
- Use a different grain – You can swap the white rice for brown rice or quinoa. Simply adjust the cooking times. Reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes for quinoa and increase the cooking time to 15 minutes for brown rice.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice
Utilizing both the pressure cook and saute settings on the pressure cooker, this Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice recipe comes together in one pot for a quick and easy weeknight meal. To find out how to make it yourself, follow along below.
Step 1: Set the Instant Pot to “saute” mode. Add the olive oil or butter to the pot. Once hot, add the diced onion, bell pepper and minced garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions and peppers are slightly browned. Then, turn off the pot.
Step 2: While the onion and peppers are cooking, prepare the chicken. Add the chicken tenders to a medium-size bowl and toss with the seasonings (fresh lime juice, coconut aminos, sea salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper).
Step 3: Remove the cooked veggies from the pot, then add the chicken broth and ½ teaspoon salt to the Instant Pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a whisk or spatula to scrape up all the browned bits from cooking the veggies. Add the seasoned chicken, the cooked vegetables and rinsed rice to the pot. Secure the lid, make sure the pressure release valve is set to “sealed” and cook for 12 minutes on the manual setting.
Step 4: When the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the pressure release valve to “venting.” Remove the chicken and slice thinly. Stir in the lime juice to the rice. Taste to adjust the seasoning as needed. Return the sliced chicken to the pot and garnish with cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- To prevent the burn warning when making your Instant Pot fajitas, make sure you rinse the rice, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot when you remove the vegetables, and add the chicken thighs to the bottom of the pot.
- If you do receive the burn warning while cooking this Instant Pot fajitas recipe, open up the Instant Pot, scrape the bottom of the pot, and add an additional 1/2 cup of broth, then continue cooking.
- You can use other multi cookers/pressure cookers to cook this Instant Pot chicken fajitas recipe, such as the Ninja Foodi or Crockpot Express.
How to Serve
We recommend either making these Instant Pot chicken fajitas into tacos and serving the rice on the side or making some epic chicken fajita bowls! You can round out your fajita bowls or tacos with some extra lime wedges, sliced avocados or guacamole, salsa, and cheese for the perfect meal. Or try serving these Instant Pot chicken fajitas alongside this black bean and corn salsa. We hope you love this one-pot dinner as much as we do!
How to Store and Reheat
To store: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternately, freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 6 months.
To reheat: To reheat, transfer to a microwave-safe container and heat on high for 2 minutes. Stir and return to the microwave for 1 minute more. Garnish and serve. From frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then heat as directed previously.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Canned beans, drained and rinsed or canned tomatoes can be added to the Instant Pot at the same time as the rice.
This chicken fajitas recipe would be quite a bit different because of the fact that the rice needs to fully cook, too. We haven’t actually tried it, so we don’t have instructions for it!
No. The rice liquid requirements and cook time would be different because instant rice or Minute rice is already parboiled.
More Favorite Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
If you tried this Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice
Ingredients
For the Rice
- 2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 ½ cups white rice rinsed
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
For the Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast tenders*
- 2 tablespoons lime juice about 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For Serving
- 2 tablespoons lime juice about 1 lime
- Fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to ‘saute’ mode, then add the olive oil to the pot. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the onion and bell pepper are slightly browned, then turn off the pot.
- While the onion and pepper cook, add the chicken breast tenders to a bowl along with the lime juice, coconut aminos, and spices and toss to combine, then set aside.
- Remove the cooked veggies from the pot, then pour in the chicken broth and salt, and scrape the bottom of the pot with a whisk or spatula to bring up all of the browned bits.
- Add the chicken to the pot, then the cooked vegetables, and the rice.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and ensure that the pressure release valve is set to ‘sealed,’ then set it to cook for 12 minutes on the manual setting.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then turn the pressure release valve to ‘venting.’
- Take the lid off of the pot and remove the chicken and thinly slice it. Stir the lime juice into rice and taste, adding salt if needed. Return the sliced chicken to the pot, garnish with cilantro, and serve!
Recipe Notes
- You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of the tenders. We recommend against using boneless, skinless chicken breast as it will dry out.
- To prevent the burn warning, make sure you rinse the rice, scrape the the browned bits off the bottom of the pot when you remove the vegetables, and add the chicken thighs to the bottom of the pot.
- If you do receive the burn warning, open up the Instant Pot, scrape the bottom of the pot, and add an additional 1/2 cup of broth, then continue cooking.
Nutrition
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Leave a commentRecipe Contributors
Cassy Garcia
Recipe Developer
Angela Carlos
Copywriter
Jessica Gaertner
Photographer
The whole family loved it. My only note is to add the rice to the chicken broth before the chicken then the veggies. Some of the rice didn’t cook when we followed the steps in order.