Instant Pot Steak Fajita Pasta–all the delicious flavors of fajitas in a pasta dish! Steak is cooked with fajita seasonings, pasta and tender, but not overcooked, bell peppers. Sour cream is stirred in to add a creamy element to the pasta dish and ties everything together. Make this recipe is just minutes with your electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Steak Fajita Pasta
Fajitas! They are so good, right? Pasta! It is so good, right? Why not put the two together into an amazing Instant Pot one pot meal that can feed your whole family? Plus you’ll have a serving left for lunch tomorrow! You’re going to love how this creamy pasta has all the flavors of steak fajitas. Add the ingredients to your grocery list and try this recipe next week!
A few notes about the recipe:
I don’t get it, why do you make a foil packet? Peppers cook ultra quick. If you cut them up and add them in with everything else they will turn into a mushy mess. By folding them up in foil and cooking them on top of the pasta they get perfectly cooked but not overcooked. Try it! You’ll see!
Why add some seasonings at the beginning and some at the end? Pressure cooking can sometimes zap the potency of seasonings. Sometimes I like to add half of the seasonings at the beginning and then half after the food has been cooked to give it a pop of flavor.
Why cut the steak so thin? Chuck steak can be a little tough. By cutting it very thinly (think the thinness of gyro meat) it will cook at the right rate with the pasta. Plus the steak will be more evenly distributed throughout the pasta instead of having big chunks of meat.
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Steak Fajita Pasta I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Steak Fajita Pasta
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
All the delicious flavors of fajitas in a pasta dish! Steak is cooked with fajita seasonings, pasta and tender, but not overcooked, bell peppers. Sour cream is stirred in to add a creamy element to the pasta dish and ties everything together. Make this recipe is just minutes with your electric pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 large onion
- 1 1/2 pounds chuck steak
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 and 3/4 cups beef broth
- 1 pound (16 oz) bowtie pasta (or other pasta of your choice)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Slice your onion into thin, half moon slices.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting and let it heat up. While it is heating up, cut your steak into thin quarter-inch strips. This way the steak will be distributed evenly throughout the pasta and will cook more tenderly.
- When the Instant Pot says HOT on the display add in the oil, steak and onions. Sprinkle in half of the seasonings. Sear the steak pieces for about 3 minutes, stirring every minute.
- Add in the beef broth. Add in the pasta. Stir a bit.
- Add the crushed tomatoes on top, do not stir.
- Core your peppers and cut them into long slices and then cut the slices in half. This way they will be more evenly distributed throughout the pasta. Pull out a long piece of foil, about 20 inches long. Place the peppers in the middle of the foil. Then fold up the edges of the foil and crimp together to create a foil packet. Place the foil packet on top of the tomatoes. This will cook the peppers to perfect doneness and prevent them from getting mushy.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Set the valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up let the pot sit there for about 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid when you can.
- Use tongs to remove the foil packet. Carefully open it with hot pads. Stir the peppers into the pot. Stir sour cream into the pot. Stir the other half of the seasonings into the pot.
- Scoop pasta onto serving plates and sprinkle each serving with 1 Tbsp of grated cheddar cheese.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 551
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 870 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Protein: 28 g
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I only had one lb. of chuck steak and it was sufficient. Didn’t have any crushed tomatoes, but a can of diced worked well.
★★★★★
Thanks for the tip on the diced tomatoes!
Can I ask what would be considered a serving? 1cup? 1 1/2 cups?
I’d say about 1.5 cups
Can I make this in a crock pot? I don’t have an insta pot.
I haven’t tried this one in the crockpot yet! You could try it on the stove though.
Can this be doubled to
Make for a crowd? If so, would
It change the cook times? I have an 8 qt instant pot.
Yes you can double and keep the same cooking time!
This is one I frequently make. It is my husband very favorite IP recipe (5 stars +). He asked for mushrooms to be added and I always freeze the left over in individual servings so I added extra tomato and some cream otherwise it becomes a bit dry. Here is a link to the recipe with my changes in red and a link to my photo:
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/cbee43ee-dae8-403d-739f-3756eda70ebe
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/b4c08e69-3e8f-4233-6868-d9fcc145de6f
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your version! It looks so good!
Made this tonight. I made Extra seasoning because I love Things flavorful. I did An extra 1/3 of seasoning. I put Half in the beginning and half at the end. I used it all. I also used an extra red bell and an extra green. My sauce was a little runny but if you let it sit for a while, it thickens up. We also put way more cheese than suggested.
We enjoyed it and excited for left overs tomorrow.
★★★★★
Yay for leftovers!
Can you use frozen fajita veggies instead of fresh veggies?
Yes that would probably work fine!
I don’t have crushed tomatoes what could I substitute.
I have paste, sauce and diced.
Thank you
I’d do diced!
Could I use frozen meat with this recipe?
If it’s already cut into strips it should work fine.
So yummy!! I even think my picky husband will enjoy 😁 thank you for your quick reply and will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
You’re welcome!
If I made the fajita mix I used the recipe u suggested. How much would this recipe call for? Thx
Hi Jordan, do you mean these ingredients?
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
If so you’ll use all of them 🙂
Can you substitute the chuck steak for another cut ?
Yes I’m sure you could! I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know how it goes!
Do you drain the crushed tomatoes?
No I don’t 🙂
I made this tonight. I almost ate the whole pot by myself!! This is an Awesome recipe. Everything was tender and the seasoning was just fantastic!! Thanks Ms. Karen I loved it. I love all your recipes I have tried. Thanks for keeping my instapot busy with fabulous meals!!
★★★★★
Oh you’re so welcome Sheila!!!
Total WIN!
I have the absolute pickiest eaters
Everyone loved it and told me Mom
we need this once a week
Thanks
Brandi
★★★★★
Thanks so much Brandi for sharing. I’m glad you guys liked it!
Sounds so yummy! Making this tomorrow night and I am so excited. To make it healthier, do you think I can sub the sour cream with non-fat plain Greek yogurt? Will this make the pasta go bad if I save leftovers for 1-2 days after?
Just made it yesterday! It was watery at first, but the pasta ended up soaking most of it up. MEAT WAS SOOO DELICIOUS. I did end up using the greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and I would recommend it to those who want a slightly healthier option. I think it tasted great without the yogurt anyways. Thanks so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Juli!
Looks like you got your answers! I don’t think it would go bad.
How would I sub chicken for the beef?
I would use this recipe: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-chicken-fajita-pasta/
Would the times or liquid differ if using an 8quart instant pot?
I would keep everything the same but possible reduce the pressure cooking time to 3 minutes with a 5 minute NPR.
I made this tonight and it was delish. I followed every step but all my pasta dishes are like soup. I don’t know what I am doing wrong
You can add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up or maybe next time use 1/4 cup less liquid.
Do you cook the bowtie pasta prior to adding in instant pot?
Thank you
nope!
Awesome recipe! I used steak fajita strips cut into squares, only 1/4 cup sour cream but then I added 1/2 cup cream cheese and a splash of heavy whipping cream. I then sprinkled cilantro on after the cheese. Yum!
★★★★★
I have a new pressure cooker but not the instant pot
My cooker doesn’t have the sauté fiction
How can I make this and other recipes that call to sauté first
Thanks for your help
What brand is your pressure cooker? Does it have a browning button?
I made this recipe tonight, substituted lean pork chops, cut into small pieces, and omitted the sour cream. It turned out great!
★★★★★
That is a great idea! I will try that out soon 🙂
If you use chicken, would you need to substitute chicken broth for the beef broth?
If you’d like. Either way is fine.
Just made this today…boy that was good! Thanks!
I used chicken and chicken broth tonight—first time ever using my new instant pot and this recipe was awesome. I am hooked!! Thank you so much for the delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Am I missing it when is the sour cream added?
It’s in step 9 🙂
I made this dish tonight and my grandson said “it’s very good” The most he ever says is “it’s OK” – so this is high praise! Really good recipe!
Haha! I’m glad he liked it. WIN!
How would cooking with fajita chicken (or even cubed chicken) change the cook times? We don’t eat beef, but I think these flavors would work with chicken.
Oh yes Kristin! I think chicken would be awesome. Cut up chicken would take same amount of time. I would do the 4 minutes. You can saute it or not, it is up to you.