Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

When you're craving Tex-Mex but it's a busy weeknight, it's the Instant Pot to the rescue!

This Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas recipe is so quick and easy, you can have a hearty, satisfying, flavorful meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

❤️ Why you'll love this family-friendly recipe

There are so many reasons to love this Instant Pot Chicken Fajita recipe!

• You only need less than 10 ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand.
  
• You can use any combination of bell peppers you prefer.
  
• It only takes a few minutes of prep work, some of which you can do the night before.
  
• The Instant Pot pressure cooks this recipe in just 6 minutes, plus what we call "come to pressure time," which can take 6 to 10 minutes.
  
• It's an awesome Meal Plan recipe because you can serve this in SO many ways!

🧄 Ingredients for chicken fajitas

Chicken - You'll want to start by thinly slicing chicken breast.

Bell Peppers - You can use any combination of colored bell peppers you like. I like to use a combo of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. Or, I use red, yellow, and green bell peppers. Whichever bell peppers you use, be sure to slice them in even sized slices so they cook evenly. And use a combo of colors versus all the same color, to add more depth of flavor.

Onions and Garlic- These aromatics help build a yummy flavor base to these fajitas!

Fajita Seasoning - You can use my Homemade Fajita Seasoning recipe, or use store-bought fajita seasoning. You can also use taco seasoning instead.

Olive oil - You'll need some olive oil to sauté the chicken.

Broth or water - Chicken broth will add more flavor to the fajitas, but you can use water instead.

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS - Top the chicken fajitas with pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, sliced avocados, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

Exact measurements of ingredients and instructions are in the printable recipe card toward the bottom of this post. Here are some helpful tips to guide you as you make this recipe.

First: make sure you slice the chicken breasts into even, thin slices. And make sure your peppers are all sliced evenly. Slice the onions and mince the garlic.

Get your fajita seasoning ready, whether you use a homemade fajita seasoning recipe or use store-bought.

Turn the Instant Pot to SAUTE.

Add the olive oil and once the oil is heated up a bit, add the chicken slices and sauté the chicken just until it's brown on all sides.

Add the onions and garlic, sauté for one minute, just until they are soft, translucent and fragrant. If there are brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, pour in a little chicken broth or water and use a wooden spoon to gently deglaze the pot by scraping up any brown bits. Hit CANCEL to stop the sauté mode.

Add all of the sliced bell peppers on top of the chicken. Add the fajita seasoning, and pour in the chicken broth or water. Then, without stirring the ingredients, secure the Instant Pot lid. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to SEALING.

Press PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL) and cook on high for 6 minutes.

Once cooking is complete, do a Quick Release. Wait until all of the pressure has been released and the pressure release valve is all the way down. Then, carefully open the lid.

You may have some excess broth or water. Simply drain out excess liquid if necessary. Then serve the chicken fajitas in tortilla shells, over rice or a salad.

What are good toppings for fajitas?

• sour cream
• sliced jalapeños
• cilantro
• avocados
• pico de gallo
• guacamole
• grilled corn

How to serve chicken fajitas

These Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas are delicious served in many different ways

• You can either leave the chicken in strips, or use two forks to shred the chicken (as pictured above).
• Serve the chicken fajitas in soft tortilla wraps.
• Enjoy the chicken fajitas over rice.
• Make a chicken fajita salad by serving the chicken and peppers over a bed of salad greens. Add some corn, black beans, and quacamole!

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQs and tips

🥂 Best wine pairings

Like most Tex-Mex food, these Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas are delicious when paired with crisp white wine.

Try serving this dish with a Sauvignon Blanc or an Unoaked Chardonnay.

⏲ Kitchen tools and equipment

For this recipe, you just need a few basic kitchen tools:

Cutting board and knife - You'll need a sturdy cutting board and sharp knife.

Electric pressure cooker - I use either my Instant Pot Duo or my Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL multicooker to make these chicken fajitas. You can use any 6 or 8 quart electric pressure cooker that you have. However, do NOT attempt to make this in a 3-quart Instant Pot.

Tongs- You'll need some sturdy kitchen tongs to move the chicken around while sautéing. You may also use a wooden spoon.

➡️ More Tex-Mex recipes