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Instant Pot chicken fajitas and rice makes for a fantastic weeknight dinner! Chicken, rice, bell peppers, and onions are all cooked together in the Instant Pot to give you the classic flavors of fajitas with the ease of a one-pot meal.
This month, we’ve been dedicated to bringing you a new one-pot meal every week – and these Instant Pot chicken fajitas may be our favorite of all of them! We’ve taken the ease of our reader-favorite lemon chicken and rice skillet and made it even better by using our favorite Mexican flavors and making it in the Instant Pot instead of the stovetop.
Why Make Chicken Fajitas in the Instant Pot?
While we love classic fajitas done in the cast iron or on the grill, they don’t exactly lend themselves to easy weeknight cooking. These chicken fajitas, on the other hand, can be made in under 30 minutes with the help of the Instant Pot, and you’ll get a full meal that’s all cooked in the same pot. Better yet, this recipe delivers a ton of flavor, and is completely fool-proof!
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas and Rice
Here’s how to make this chicken fajitas and rice recipe:
- Chop the fajita veggies. Instead of slicing up bell peppers and onions as you’d see in a traditional fajita recipe, we chose to chop them up for this recipe. This serves two purposes – first, it gives the rice incredible flavor, and second, we found that putting the veggies in sliced left them overcooked and flavorless.
- Cook the veggies. One of our favorite Instant Pot features is the fact that you can sear and saute in the pot before pressure cooking. You’ll cook the garlic, onion, and bell pepper until just wilted – this prevents the dish from taking on a raw onion flavor.
- Season the chicken. Since we wanted this to be a simple weeknight dinner, you’ll simply season the chicken instead of giving it a longer marinade (though you absolutely can marinate it longer if you’d like). We recommend using chicken breast tenders or boneless, skinless chicken thighs here because boneless, skinless chicken breast has a tendency to dry out. Place the chicken in a bowl and toss it with a few Mexican seasonings, lime juice, coconut aminos, and salt, then set aside.
- Rinse the rice. Don’t skip this step! Before adding the rice to the Instant Pot, place it in a strainer and rinse it thoroughly. This will ensure the rice cooks properly.
- Add everything to the pot. Once the veggies are cooked, you’ll add the rice to the pot along with the chicken broth and salt and whisk it all together, then place the chicken on top.
- Seal the pot and cook. Next, you’ll simply place the lid on the pot, make sure it is sealed, then set it to cook for 12 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let it sit for 10 minutes, then manually release the pressure.
- Slice the chicken. To make this a little more classic fajita-style as we did, you can remove the chicken from the pot and slice it into thin strips. If you’d prefer, you can also easily shred the chicken. Once you’ve finished with that step, you’re ready to eat!
How to Serve Instant Pot Fajita Chicken & Rice
We recommend either making these chicken fajitas into tacos and serving the rice on the side or making some epic chicken fajita bowls! You can round out your bowls or tacos with some extra lime wedges, sliced avocados or guacamole, salsa, and cheese for the perfect meal. We hope you love this one-pot dinner as much as we do!
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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!
Nutrition Information
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.
Danielle says
I can’t find coconut aminos where I live. What can I use as a substitute?
Amber Goulden says
You can use a teaspoon of tamari (GF) or soy sauce in place of the coconut aminos!
Amanda says
When I make rice only in my instant pot, it only takes 6 minutes. Would the extra cooking time in this recipe overcook the rice maybe?
Amber Goulden says
We’ve tested this recipe multiple times and the rice always turns out just right! The cooking time is different because you are also cooking the chicken at the same time.
Amanda says
That makes sense! Thank you!
Anna says
Any idea how brown rice would affect the cooking time? I am trying to avoid a trip to the store. 🙂 Thanks!
Amber Goulden says
Hi Anna – we haven’t tested it but I think you’d want to up the cook time to at least 20 minutes and add an extra 1/2 cup water.
Analy says
I got the dreaded instapot “burn”…any idea what I could have done wrong? I used jasmine rice so maybe that was it?
Amber Goulden says
I’ve tested it with white, jasmine, and basmati rice without any issues – so it may be the Instant Pot. If you get the warning, just release the pressure on the Instant Pot, add about 1/2 cup more broth, and scrape up any stuck bits of rice on the bottom. Then, set the pot to keep cooking for the remaining time.
Amanda Redinger says
I also got the burn — twice!
Amber Goulden says
Sorry about that Amanda! I just tested again a few days ago to try to replicate the error and no burn warning. Can you let me know what kind of rice you were using, whether or not you rinsed it, and what Instant Pot model you have? I’m wondering if it is a problem with the newer model.
Jena says
You might try stirring the rice and liquid (before placing the chicken in) so that the dry rice isn’t coating the bottom. Also make sure the vent is closed (I know I forget sometimes!) so that you much of the liquid doesn’t steam out!
Karen says
If I use chicken thighs, do I need to put them in whole or make chicken “strips” out of them before adding to instant pot?
Amber Goulden says
You can leave them whole!
B. King says
This was easy and delicious! My family and I really liked the flavors. (Be sure to add the lime juice at the end, because it ties all the flavors together!) The only thing I may do differently next time is slightly reduce the amount of rice, just because it makes too much for my little family.
Shelley says
Do you think cauliflower rice could replace the white rice?
Amber Goulden says
Unfortunately not in this recipe, the cauliflower would be too soggy!
Mandy says
I, too, got the burn message twice. Anyone figure out how to prevent this? I followed the recipe exactly in an 8 quart IP. I did stir well before adding the chicken. I’ve never had this happen before and I’ve done several chicken and rice recipes. The dish itself is delicious, but I do have quite a bit of burned rice on the bottom of my pot.
Amber Goulden says
Hi Mandy – so sorry about that! We’ve updated the recipe with instructions on how to avoid the burn warning.
Katie says
Do have any idea how to adjust cooking time to sub quinoa for rice?
BEth C says
Made this tonight for the family. Easy, quick meal with ingredients that are easy to have on hand. Rice turned out to be my favorite part. Might do 2 lbs of meat next time for our crew
Jess says
My daughter wanted me to comment because she absolutely loved this recipe! She’s 8 and a pretty good eater but also particular, so this is Abbie-Grace approved!
We added fresh green beans with the peppers because we had some from the farmers market. Kept everything else the same and it worked out perfectly!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Amber Goulden says
Ah that is so good to hear, so glad y’all liked it!
Laura says
I’ve made this 3 times already! It’s become one of our favorite recipes on IP, so, so good!
Amber Goulden says
So glad you enjoyed it Laura!
Jules says
Can I sub chicken for tempeh or tofu?
Amber Goulden says
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not!
Stephanie Maxwell says
This dish is amazing! I just about make it weekly for my family. The leftovers are perfect to take to work!
Brandi Schilhab says
That’s awesome! We’re so glad you guys love it!
Francesca says
Do you happen to have directions for how to recreate this with a crock pot?
Brandi Schilhab says
We don’t – the ratio of rice to liquid would be a lot different! Sorry about that, Francesca!
D says
How long cook in stovetop Dutch oven after chicken is added? TY!
Brandi Schilhab says
We actually haven’t tried this recipe on the stovetop, so we can’t guarantee the outcome or the exact times. This lemon chicken + rice stovetop recipe is really yummy though, so it may be one to add to your list!
Amanda says
Hi Amber – do you know how I might change the recipe / cook time if I leave out the rice? I already have some cooked rice. Thank you!
Brandi Schilhab says
About 7 minutes at high pressure should do the trick, Amanda! Enjoy!
Jessica says
This was great! I even added too much rice on accident and it STILL turned out delicious! Even leftovers the next day
Brandi Schilhab says
That’s so great to hear!! We’re glad you loved it, Jessica!
Beth Holland says
This recipe is a family favorite! It is made at least a couple of times a month because I can count on all 3 of my kids to eat it and my husband and I love it just as much as they do!
Brandi Schilhab says
Score! That’s awesome, Beth! Thanks for sharing!
Laura W says
This was delicious!
I doubled the batch and brought half to our friends who just had a baby, they also loved it.
I used brown rice, I set the instapot to 25 min and added extra half cup of water per the other recommendation. Came out great!
Thanks!
Brandi Schilhab says
So glad you loved it, Laura! How sweet of you to bring it to your friends, too!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Beth Holland says
I’ve wondered about doubling it! We are a family of 5 with 3 boys (6, 3.5 and almost 2) and it is rare to have leftovers! Tonight they asked for more but we had to offer fruit. We’d already added a side of broccoli. That’s why I was looking at the comments to see if anyone mentioned doubling it!
Martha Rodriguez says
Made this tonight for my family of 6 and everyone loved it, thank you. Very quick for busy moms
Brandi Schilhab says
Wahoo! So glad everyone enjoyed it, Martha!
Joanna says
I just have “instant” rice. Would this work? Still figuring out how the IP works!
Brandi Schilhab says
I’m not sure, Joanna! We haven’t ever tried it with instant rice. If you do try it, let us know how it goes!
Jeanette says
This was so delicious and easy! It was so flavorful and my 3 year old inhaled the rice! I did not get any burn notice, and that was after following the instructions from the e-book. I left the veggies in the pot, threw in the rice (I didn’t even rinse since i was multitasking and I ran out of time) and then poured in broth and mixed everything up and threw in the chicken.
Brandi Schilhab says
So glad it was a hit, Jeanette!
Mary says
Thank you for sharing a delicious, one pot meal! Everyone in my family from the 3 yr old to 13 yr old loves it. I do add a bit more water to make it more moist. We like it topped with avocado, fresh tomatoes, cilantro and cheese. On our monthly rotation
Brandi Schilhab says
So glad you love it, Mary! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Michelle Ryan says
This meal was easy and yummy! It is going to be a weeknight regular I think. What changes to time or prep would you have to do in order to use steak? I’d like to cook with this steak next time.
Brandi Schilhab says
We haven’t tried it, Michelle, but our guess is that the time would need to stay the same in order for the rice to cook!
April T says
Amazing flavor!! Made this today after seeing it shared on IG last week. Wow! For how easy it was, it was so delicious! Whole family loved it. Topped with a little shredded cheese and sour cream, but would have been great without it, too.
Brandi Schilhab says
So glad you enjoyed it, April! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Michelle says
Can you please add how to cook this recipe in a slow cooker.
Brandi Schilhab says
The recipe would be quite a bit different because of the fact that the rice needs to fully cook too, Michelle. We haven’t actually tried it, so we don’t have instructions for it!