Instant Pot Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup—chicken and rice soup with a fajita spin on it. An easy soup with awesome flavor. This soup can easily be gluten and dairy free.
Related: SLOW COOKER Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
I think you’re really going to enjoy this chicken fajita soup! It has tons of flavor thanks to plenty of seasonings, crushed tomatoes, green chilies, peppers and pepper jack cheese. The texture is similar to the consistency of enchilada sauce…not too thick and not too thin. It’s such an easy recipe and comes together quickly.
A few notes about the ingredients:
Chicken–I used frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts from a big Costco bag. The chicken was thick. This helps to keep the chicken breast moist since the cooking time is a bit longer with the build up of pressure (the pot is full! Watch the video below for more info on that) and the cooking time is 18 minutes (brown rice takes a while to cook). Another great option would be to use boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you’d like to use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken add it in after soup has pressure cooked when you add in the peppers.
Peppers--I used 3 different colors of pepper for a fun variety. Really you could use 3 bell peppers of whatever color you like. I do love the orange and yellow peppers over a green bell pepper. I chose to add the peppers in after the pressure cooking cycle. The reason? They don’t hold up well under pressure. They become super mushy. So in order to retain a bit of crispness I add them into the hot soup and it cooks them a bit and they retain some bite.
Beans–I threw a can of black beans in the soup but really you could use whatever type of beans you want. Pinto beans are another good choice. If you want to use dried black beans you’ll need to soak them first. Soak ¾ cup of dried black beans in plenty of water for 8-12 hours. Once they are soaked rinse them well (for a quick soak method watch the segment on the video below). Add them into the pot with the other ingredients only do NOT add in the tomatoes. Add in 1-2 extra cups of chicken broth. Pressure cook as stated in the recipe. Then add the tomatoes in when you add in the peppers. The tomatoes have a lot of acid in them and will prevent the beans from getting soft.
Rice–I love brown rice and try to eat it over white rice. If you want to use white rice, you can. Just add in the ¾ cup of uncooked white rice in the place of brown rice. Then cut the chicken into tender size. This will ensure that the rice and chicken cook at the same rate. Pressure cook the soup for 5 minutes with a 5-10 minute natural pressure release.
What equipment do I need?
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can make this in an 8 quart pot with no changes. For a 3 quart pot halve the recipe and keep the same cooking time. You can also make this recipe in the slow cooker.
Lately, I’ve been using this tool to chop my chicken* and I love it!
I use a paring knife* to core my peppers and slice them into strips. And I use a larger santoku knife* to dice the peppers and onions.
What to serve with Instant Pot Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
The toppings are a delicious and fun part of the soup! Some of my favorite topping ideas are tortilla chips, tortilla strips, fritos, cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, diced avocado or guacamole, pico de gallo or diced fresh tomatoes and if you’re a spice lover then some diced jalapenos.
Besides the toppings I love serving this Instant Pot chicken fajita and rice soup with a slice of my favorite cornbread of all time. It’s not my recipe but it’s the only recipe I use. Another option would be to make homemade bread sticks. I often use this 1 hour bread stick recipe.
Is this soup spicy?
Not at all! It is kid friendly. If you want to make it more spicy add in some diced jalapenos or some hot sauce to each individual bowl.
Can I freeze this soup?
I would not recommend freezing this soup because both the rice and the bell peppers do not freeze well. You can halve the recipe if needed. Cut all ingredients in half but keep the same cooking time. For more information on how to halve Instant Pot recipes watch the video below.
How to reheat this soup
This soup will become thicker overnight in the refrigerator as the rice absorbs some of the liquid. It will be more of a chili consistency than a soup consistency. You can thin the soup out if you desire with some extra chicken broth. To reheat the soup pour the soup into the Instant Pot and turn to the saute setting on the LESS setting. Stir every few minutes to make sure the soup does not burn to the bottom of the pot. Once the soup gets to your desired temperature turn the Instant Pot to the Keep Warm setting.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes with Chicken…
Instant Pot Green And White Soup
Instant Pot Crack Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Instant Pot Lentil Lemon Chicken Soup
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Instant Pot Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes (plus 5-10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Chicken and rice soup with a fajita spin on it. An easy soup with awesome flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen is okay)
- 1 (14.5) oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4 oz) can green chilies
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 orange bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water
- 1 1/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese
- Topping ideas: tortilla chips, diced cilantro, sour cream, avocado or guacamole
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the butter/oil and swirl it around. Add in the onion. Saute for about 4 minutes. Then add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds. Deglaze the pot with the chicken broth.
- Turn off the saute setting. Add in the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, pepper, oregano, rice, whole chicken breasts, black beans, green chilies and crushed tomatoes.
- Cover the Instant Pot and lock the lid into place. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 18 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting. Remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board. Stir in the diced bell peppers. In a small bowl stir together 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 2 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly. While the soup is thickening, chop up* the chicken. Add the chicken back into the pot. Turn off the saute setting.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top each serving with 2 Tbsp of pepper jack cheese. Top with additional toppings, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can make this in an 8 quart pot with no changes. For a 3 quart pot halve the recipe and keep the same cooking time.
I would not recommend freezing this soup because both the rice and the bell peppers do not freeze well. You can halve the recipe if needed.
If you want to use white rice, you can. Just add in the ¾ cup of uncooked white rice in the place of brown rice. Then cut the chicken into tender size. This will ensure that the rice and chicken cook at the same rate. Pressure cook the soup for 5 minutes with a 5-10 minute natural pressure release.
This recipe is gluten free (check the chicken broth label to be sure). For a dairy free version of this soup use olive oil instead of butter and omit the cheese. It still tastes amazing.
Recipe adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Made this last night for dinner and it was delish! I didn’t thicken it and I personally didn’t think it needed it (we like soupier soup). Added diced and stewed tomatoes instead of crushed and threw in some more veggies. Lunch can’t come soon enough to have some more. Would it be weird to eat for breakfast?? lol
★★★★★
I’ve done that before and so has my husband 🙂
I can’t wait to try this! I see it makes 10 servings, but what is a serving? Many thanks
It’s about 1.5 cups per serving.
Looks great! Do you have any idea what the cook time would be if I used cauliflower rice?
I would not add the cauliflower rice in before pressure cooking it will get way too done. Add it in afterwards. And cut the broth down to 5 cups instead of 7.
I love the thought of this recipe . . . but, I cannot eat any kind of “bell” peppers! I think I will try this with three kinds of squash, zucchini, yellow and mexican. We love squash and I will put it in after it cooks.
So far I have loved all the recipes of yours that I have tried, and that is about 30! I seem to add more spices than you do, but I know what our tastes are.
Keep up the great recipes!
I love this idea! I bet it will be so tasty!
this one looks very good. I’m going to try it tomorrow! Fingers crossed 🙂
You’ll love it!
Big hit. Kids absolutely loved it. I’d suggest mentioning to put the chicken breasts in whole earlier in the recipe, as I missed that part later on and ended up cubing it before hand. Worked well regardless.
★★★★★
Thanks Trevor! I’ll change it.