Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Rice–a throw everything into the Instant Pot and walk away meal! Flavorful rice and chicken that has all the great flavors from chicken fajitas! Make it with brown or white rice.
Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Rice
I loved the chicken fajita pasta that I made a while back so much that I decided to imitate it using rice instead. It turned out great and very flavorful.
I just love making rice in my Instant Pot. I love not having to wait for the water to boil and I love not worrying about the water boiling over. I love pushing a button and walking away.
Personally, I feed my family brown rice most of the time. We just like the whole grains better for health reasons. But I did write the instructions in the notes below to make this recipe with white rice.
This is a great all-in-one-pot meal! You got your protein and carbs and vegetables all together. Plus it’s gluten free. Make this creamy, cheesy chicken fajita rice this week!
More Instant Pot recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Southwest Shredded Chicken Bowls
Instant Pot Garlic Mushroom Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Broccoli Casserole
Instant Pot Pesto Chicken Risotto
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Rice I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in you 8 quart pot, with no changes. The 3 quart Instant Pot will be a bit full but it should fit fine.
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Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Rice
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A throw everything into the Instant Pot and walk away meal! Flavorful rice and chicken that has all the great flavors from chicken fajitas! Make it with brown or white rice.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
- 1 (10 oz) can mild rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (frozen is okay)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 green bell pepper, diced or sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced or sliced
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- Optional toppings: cilantro, avocado slices, lime wedges
Instructions
- Add the onion into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Then pour in the broth. Sprinkle in the rice evenly. Then add rotel. Place the chicken on top. Sprinkle the chicken and rice evenly with the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Cover your Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 22 minutes.
- When the time is up let the pot sit for another 10 minutes (display will say L0:10). Move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board. Add the bell peppers into the pot and put the lid back on the pot so that the warm food can “cook” the peppers. Cut up the chicken or shred it. Add the chicken back into the pot.
- Stir the sour cream and cheddar cheese into the pot.
- Scoop onto serving dishes and enjoy with any toppings you like.
Notes
I choose to add my peppers at the end because I don’t like them too mushy. The heat from the rice just slightly cooks them. Alternately you could saute your peppers on the stove top. I don’t really recommend pressure cooking peppers because they are a tender vegetable and get too soft.
To make with white rice: Use 1 ½ cups uncooked white rice and 2 cups of broth instead. Use only chicken breasts that are sliced to 1 to 1 ½ inches thick. Cook for 5 minutes and then use a 10 minute natural pressure release.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can halve this recipe and make it in the 3 quart Instant Pot. You can also keep the recipe exactly the same and make it in the 8 quart Instant Pot.
This recipe is gluten free.
- Category: Chicken
- 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.
Ok this so AMAZING. And my pot didn’t get the burn warning. I added everything in the order you stated and did not mix anything before starting the pot. The only small change I made was to cook the peppers in a pan and then add them at the end. I don’t like crunchy peppers and didn’t trust that the hot pot at the end would cook them enough for me. The only change I’ll make next time is the dice the bell peppers instead of slice them. Nothing else needs to be changed or added here for me. It was perfect!
Thank you so much!! I am so glad it turned out perfectly for you and no burn warning!! Love your idea to cook the peppers first! 😊
Could you do this in the crockpot?!
Just tried to make this recipe, but the rice just got stuck on the bottom of my instant pot and burned. Trying to salvage and put in some corningware and popped it into the oven covered. 🤞🏻 it smells good though!
We love this recipe!! But my youngest gets upset because of the “chunks”—the remnants of the diced tomatoes…they are so small after being pressure cooked that you can barely find them, but he will sift through his entire plate searching them out! Could I maybe substitute enchilada sauce, or can you think of anything else I could swap for the tomatoes?? Thank you!
I bet a small can of enchilada sauce would be really tasty!
This was really good for a throw everything in the pot and walk away meal!! Thanks!
I had a package of chicken breast strips in the fridge, so that’s what I used. Didn’t even take them out of the pot. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and fell apart as I stirred in the sour cream and cheddar cheese.
Love that easy version!
This was sooo good! Thank you! I don’t find many meals where my 2 and 3 year olds actually eat their entire bowls!! The only thing I changed was I added some frozen corn into the mix and used greek yogurt in place of sour cream. So yummy!!!! Thanks again 🙂
So nice to hear! Thank you Kayleigh!
This was so good! Made this last night with long grain brown basmati rice (that’s all Aldi had), two cups of chicken broth (a full can), and a big spoonful of sour cream instead of a full cup – so easy and delicious! Great to have leftovers for lunches this week. Next time, I will add corn as others suggested and try greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Yum!
Sounds like a great version!
What type of brown rice do I use? I can I use minute brown rice?
I used long grain brown rice. Minute rice will cook super fast and your chicken won’t be done in time. If you do use minute rice these are the instructions from their website: Brown Rice: Use equal amounts of rice and liquid. Stir. Use the “manual” setting with High Pressure. Set timer for 5 minutes. When cooking time has elapsed, use the “Quick Release” to vent all the steam. Remove lid and fluff rice. Serve.
I would cut up the chicken so that it is in bite size pieces so that it will cook in 5 minutes.
We’ve made this a few times now and it’s always yummy and easy! The last 2 times I’ve made it however, I’ve gotten the “food burn” error message. What could the issue be? I can’t recall doing anything different than before. Thanks.
Ugh! Hate when that happens! Try reading this article: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/the-instant-pot-burn-message/
Can you use white rice instead girls not can Brown rice plz and thanks
To make with white rice: Use 1 ½ cups uncooked white rice and 2 cups of broth instead. Use only chicken breasts that are sliced to 1 to 1 ½ inches thick. Cook for 5 minutes and then use a 10 minute natural pressure release.
thank you making it tonight 🙂
We love this recipe so much! It’s part of our monthly dinner rotation. Would it be possible to make this as freezer meal?
Yes I think this would be a great candidate for a freezer meal. Add chicken, rice, onion and seasonings to bag. Freeze.
Add broth to pot and contents of bag. Then cook according to directions.
If using white rice – reduce pressure cook time to 5 minutes with ten minute natural release? And can I cook whole chicken breast this way or cut into bite size pieces? Thank you!
I would cut up the chicken unless it’s pounded flat. That way it will cook along with the rice.
It was excellent. Used less salt and used Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. Topped it with cilantro.
Glad you liked it Sharon!
This was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as written. I had to switch to a dairy-free diet a few months ago while nursing my son so I made a dairy-free portion for myself by removing mine before adding in the sour cream/cheese. I topped mine with avocado/ lime juice/ hot sauce and some of my dairy-free cheese shreds and it was wonderful!! I didn’t even miss the dairy…there was so much flavor. My family also gave rave reviews on theirs 🙂 Definitely will be making again! Thank you!
Nice! Thanks for the dairy free tips. I’m glad it was still so tasty!
Have you ever tried doubling the recipe?
I haven’t but you could with no problems. Double ingredients same cooking time.
How long do you cook if the chicken is frozen? Thanks. Can’t wait to try it.
Keep the same time for frozen!
I cooked from frozen and thr chicken wasnt cooked all yhe way and my rice was soupy. Not sure what I did wrong
Love all of your recipes! Does this one freeze well?
I think so! I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not 🙂
This is a WONDERFUL recipe!! Super easy and yummy to make! It even impressed my guy and daughter (who can be hard critics) hehe. I also added corn and black beans to this dish (someone else mentioned that in the comments) and it worked out perfectly. Thanks for creating this 🤗
So glad it got good reviews from the picky critics Carly! That is a win!
I tried this with the increased broth and Jasmine rice and got the burn warning, what did I do wrong?
I’m not sure. Can you tell me if your chicken was frozen or fresh?
The pressure cooker does this whenever I put rice or pasta on the bottom as the recipe instructs. I just don’t put them on the bottom anymore, no problems. Beautiful recipe too. Toning down the chilli for my wimpy family though.
We made this last night, and it was a big hit!
We used white rice following the instructions in the notes, and reduced the sour cream to 1/2 cup (personal preference) , but otherwise followed the recipe as normal. Everyone loved it, and it instantly earned a spot in our dinner rotation. Will try the org. brown rice version next time!
Thanks from Norway 🙂
Wow Norway! How great. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
So delicious!!! This is my second recipe I’ve tried from you. This and the cheeseburger soup are so YUMMY!!! THANK YOU!!! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!! (making enchilada soup in a couple days!)
Thanks April! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes 🙂 I think you’ll love the enchilada soup!
Tastes good but my rice is very crunchy. Followed the recipe exactly. Not sure why that happened. It’s too bad, the flavor of everything was so good. Will use white rice next time I guess.
Dang! you did the natural pressure release too? Mine turns out perfect every time. Did you use short or medium or long grain brown rice?
Which brown rice are you suppose to use? I bought long grain rice and I want to try this recipe. Also, when it says to let it sit for 10 more minutes is it a manual release or do I just let the machine naturally release on its own? Thanks
AMAZING!! I added corn and black beans!
GREAT idea! I will do that next time I make it 🙂
This recipe quickly jumped to the top 5 at our house this week. Everyone loved it, and that is really hard to do at our house. We ran out of time, so I wasn’t able to add the peppers, and I only added about a 1/4 cup of sour cream. But everything else we followed as written. My kids are already asking me to make it again.
I’m glad! Our house was the same way…we were all “this is soooo good!”
could you make this with steak or pork and what would I have to change for amounts of liquid.
Yes you can do that! I might add 1/4 cup more liquid since chicken does put off more liquid than steak or pork.
What is the cooking time for steak or pork? Which cuts of meat would you recommend for either steak or pork option?
I would use same times for other meats. The rice is what needs the cooking time.
OMG, so yummy! This is now one of my favorite recipes.
Thanks Shari! I’m so glad you liked it.
I followed your recipe exactly as shown above and I got the “burn” warning. I was able to salvage all of the chicken and some of the rice. I’m not sure if it is because I have the most recent instant pot, but it was so disappointing. It smelled amazing. Could it be that water needed to be added as well?
I’m sorry that is so disappointing. It’s so weird because I have literally NEVER gotten the burn notice. If I were you I would add the onions in first next time. Then add in the broth then sprinkle in the rice. Also perhaps use 2 cups broth instead of 1 3/4.
You gave recommendations for using white rice. Are you talking about instant rice or long grain? Thanks!!
Long grain white rice
Using white rice,you only pressure cook 5 minutes?
This is my first time ever using the Instant Pot and it turned out amazing! Thank you! PS I also added black beans when I added the bell peppers!
HOOOOORAY! Love the idea of black beans.
How about ground chicken how wil that work
You’d have to brown it first.
Made the chicken Fajita with rice it came out perfect I used 1 lcup long grain rice soaked for 10 min I used 2 cups chicken broth I used chicken thigh cut them pressur cook for 5min natural release 10 min thank you for the recipe its a keeper
Glad you liked it Gerda!
Suggestions on how to change the recipe if I were to use quinoa instead of the brown rice?
Quinoa only needs a 1 minute pressure cook time with a 10 minute NPR so if you did this you’d want to probably cook the quinoa pot in pot. 1:1.5 ratio on quinoa to water. So add 1/2 cup broth to pot then add in the onion and rotel. Place the chicken on top. Sprinkle the chicken and rice evenly with the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. place a pan with quinoa and water on top of the chicken. Cook for 12 minutes for thawed chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken.
How many chicken breasts did you use?
2 large
This is an awesome recipe. Full of flavor and easy to make! Highly recommend
Nice! Thanks Erin!
Such a simple recipe and soooo good!! This is a go to for dinners for us! Thanks for the post!
Glad you liked it Cheryl!
Tried to make this using white Jasmiin rice. Rinsed rice and added the extra broth. Used chicken thighs and kept getting the burn notice. I did try to double the recipe and added one can of rotel and one can of diced tomatoes as we don’t like it too hot. Rice was gummy. Am not sure what I did wrong. This is the first thing I have made that did not come out in my 8 qt IP. Any idea on what went wrong would be appreciated.
Did you ever get it figured out what went wrong?
I just made this for dinner everything turned out amazing.. Thank you for your fantastic recipes
You’re so welcome!
I made this with white rice and chicken broth. Increased the broth to 2 cups, but kept getting the burn notice. Eventually, I took the rice out because it was mushy. Finished cooking the chicken by itself. Rather bland.
This is a tasty recipe.
But used 1 1/2 cups white rice and 2 cup broth and frozen chicken.
Cooked for 22 minutes like recipe says……rice was way over cooked, like mush!
What did I do wrong?
white rice doesn’t need to cook that long. Brown rice needs 22 minutes. To make with white rice: Use 1 ½ cups uncooked white rice and 2 cups of broth instead. Use only chicken breasts that are sliced to 1 to 1 ½ inches thick. Cook for 5 minutes and then use a 10 minute natural pressure release.
You sauna to slice chicken to 1 or 1.5 inches thick. Can you explain that more clearly? Does that mean into slices or cubes?
You say to*** slice. I don’t know why my phone edited that
Into slices 🙂
I followed the recipe and when I went to cook it, the rice stuck to the bottom and caused the “burn” indicator to come up. I used white rice and put in the extra water but this happened. Should I have mixed the rice into the chicken stock?
Holly, rinse your rice well to get the starch out of it. That will stop the burn notice.
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Yeah that probably would have helped. I’m sorry that is so frustrating. Also rinse your rice. that would help.
I rinsed mine til wzter ran clear then i let the rice sit inclear waterfor about 10 min. This is the first time ever i didnt get a burn notice. It was sticky, mushy but icooked it forbrown rice time without thinking. Also i steam rice on the stove top before i got a pressure cooker and found if i rinsed and used a little less liquid it wasnt so mushy however i dont know if you can cut back in the pressure cooker. Practice makes perfect. Great recipe as well.
What if I wanted to make 2
Or 2.5 cups of rice?
Increase the water to 2 1/4 cups or 3 cups. You may want to add extra seasonings as well. Or you could season as written and then season to taste at the end.
what about basmati?
This looks so good! Do you have a slow cooker version?
Not yet! But I need to to soon 🙂
did you ever do a slow cooker version? if so I’d love to have it
Made this last night with white rice and it was so good! Love your recipes!!!
Yes! Glad to hear that Jill.
Made this exactly as printed and it is so very yummy! One of the best things I have made in my Instant Pot! Served it with avocado and sour cream. Great work, Karen!
Nice! I’m so happy you liked it Lou. And good call on the sour cream and avocado!
If using cut up chicken thighs and white rice, how long would you cook it for?
Use 1 ½ cups uncooked white rice and 2 cups of broth instead. Use thighs cut into bite size pieces. Cook for 5 minutes and then use a 10 minute natural pressure release.
Do you have a slow cooker version of this recipe?
not yet! but I need to!