Easy Chicken Fajita recipe made in the Instant Pot or Air Fryer is one of my favorites to make for Cinco de Mayo, but we really love them all year round too! Filled with juicy chicken, sweet bell peppers, onion, cheese, and fresh cilantro they're so delicious!
A classic Chicken Fajita recipe is even easier in your trusty Instant Pot!
If you have followed me at all, then you know I LOVE a quick and easy recipe, but I also don't want to compromise on flavor.
You will be amazed at how quick and easy it is to throw everything together!
Pressure cooking is a great way to save on cook time without taking any flavor away.
Instant Pot Fajitas are packed full of yummy seasonings, and they're a great solution for dinner on busy weeknights.
If it's your first time using an electric pressure cooker, then you're in for a treat.
This easy recipe is perfect for the whole family, as everyone can make their own fajita with their own favorite toppings!
Whether it's chicken or steak fajitas, the whole family knows there’ll be something they love on their plates.
This Instant Pot Chicken Fajita recipe is quick to throw together, giving you a bit of time to prep your sides and even more time to enjoy your meal!
If you love these chicken fajitas, you'll also love my Easy Steak Fajitas, this Fajita Steak Marinade, One Pan Frito Pie, and these Cheese Enchiladas!
Ingredients Needed for Instant Pot Easy Chicken Fajitas
- Seasoning. Use a mix of Chili Powder, Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper (Optional), Sugar, Salt, and Corn Starch for your homemade fajita seasoning that isn't too spicy!
- Chicken. I've used Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts for this recipe, but you could also use Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs.
- Vegetables. I like a good variety of fresh veggies, so I use Sweet Onions, Green Bell Peppers, Red Bell Peppers, and Yellow Bell Peppers.
- Tortillas. Use flour tortillas or corn tortillas, depending on what you like best!
- Garnish. Use sour cream, avocado, cilantro, lime, tomatoes, rice, beans, cheese, and anything else you want on your fajitas.
How to Make Instant Pot Fajita Chicken Recipe
Slice the chicken into thin strips. You can use thicker slices if you prefer, but the cooking time may vary.
TIP: Cut your chicken when it's a little frozen. When frozen, it's easier to hold, easier to slice thin, and it also slices so much faster. Then simply let it thaw for a few minutes once sliced, before adding it to the Instant Pot.
Once your chicken is sliced, put all the seasonings in a bowl to combine.
Place the sliced chicken inside a Ziploc bag, and add the seasonings to it. Then, shake, shake, shake to coat the chicken in the seasonings.
The chicken will try to stick together, so break it up and make sure it's beautifully coated.
Use a trivet with a piece of foil on it at the bottom of the Instant Pot, and place the chicken on top. TIP: You want your chicken lifted out of all the juices that will collect at the bottom of the pot. This way, all the yummy seasonings will stay on the chicken and not float away.
Set your Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on High for 5 minutes and do a 5-minute Natural Release (NR) followed by a Quick Release.
Then, add your sliced onions and bell peppers on top and close that lid! Set your Instant Pot to 1 Minute.
It will seal almost instantly because everything is so hot. But this allows your veggies to soften up a bit without getting too soft.
Serve your Chicken Fajitas on flour or corn tortillas and your favorite toppings - delish! You can even go carb-free and serve this yummy fajita mixture over a salad.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
Using an Air Fryer is quick and easy when making Fajitas. I use a Cosori Air Fryer and I love how simple it is to use.
Slice chicken breasts into thin slices. And here is a tip for you! Try slicing the chicken when it's a little bit frozen. It's much easier to slice thin slices when the chicken is very cold with a few ice crystals.
Then wash bell peppers and slice thin along with an onion. Toss vegetables with sliced chicken into a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine seasonings together and sprinkle seasonings over sliced vegetables and chicken. Toss to coat.
Preheat Air Fryer to 360F degrees. Spray Air Fryer basket with non stick cooking spray. I like to us an Avocado Oil spray.
Place seasoned chicken and vegetables into Air Fryer and cook for 15-18 minutes. It's best to toss ingredients half way through.
Chicken should reach 165F internal temperature to be fully cooked.
Remove from Air Fryer and serve with Tortillas, Sour Cream, Cheese, Lime, Cilantro, and any other toppings you enjoy most.
Or add to a green salad and top with tortilla chips and a Cilantro Lime dressing. Yum! It's delicious.
FAQs
Store-bought fajita seasoning can be convenient, but making Chicken Fajita Seasoning at home is easier than you might think.
All it takes is some Cumin, Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, Cayenne, and Sugar to give your fajitas those delicious classic Mexican flavors! Make a large batch and store some in a labeled spice jar to have fajitas at the drop of a hat!
You can make chicken fajitas in so many ways, but making them in the oven or in an iron cast skillet will give them an added rustic flavor, but it will take a little bit longer. Try my Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas for another easy way of making fajitas.
One of the best things about chicken fajitas is that you can top them with pretty much anything you want. The choices are endless!
A few of our favorite options are Roasted Tomato Salsa, Salsa Verde, Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado, Homemade Guacamole, Lime, and Cilantro.
Add some refried beans, Spanish Rice, tortilla chips, salsa, and, of course, a nice fresh salad! Really, any kind of Mexican dish goes well with fajitas.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: You can store your fajita filling in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat before assembling your chicken fajita wraps
Freezing: I have often freeze my Chicken Fajita meat so it's ready to be reheated for an even quicker easy weeknight meal. But I prefer my veggies fresh, so I quickly cook them up just before I'm ready to assemble my fajitas.
Substitutions & Variations
- Change the meat. You can use pretty much any meat you like in fajitas. Try it with shredded chicken, turkey, beef steak, ground beef, or even shrimp!
- Vegetarian/Add protein. You can make fajitas vegetarian very easily by removing the meat. To increase the protein content of these fajitas, add some Instant Pot Black Beans, kidney beans, or refried beans to the wraps.
- Tortillas. Corn tortillas are naturally gluten-free and are the more traditional choice for Mexican food. You can get different varieties of flour tortillas too, like herbs, seeds, wholegrain, or Gluten-Free as well - use your favorite! For a low-carb option, use large lettuce leaves and make lettuce wraps!
- Seasoning. You can use a packet of fajita seasoning to save a bit of time if you need to. Try making a large batch of fajita seasoning to always have some on hand and save those pennies!
Pro Tips
- Use a Zip-Loc bag to place the sliced chicken and Fajita Seasonings in and shake it vigorously to coat. Super easy and practically no cleanup!
- Don't let your seasoned chicken fall into the water. It will lose all those yummy seasonings. Use a steamer basket or make a tin foil tray and place it on a trivet. Anything to keep the chicken lifted up.
Have you tried this easy Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas recipe?
Please leave a comment below if you have tried making this recipe. I love to hear from you and enjoy reading about what you think. Be sure to tag @devourdinner when posting to social media. I can't wait to see your photos!
More Easy Mexican Easy Dinner Recipes
- Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas
- Sweet Salsa Chicken Salad
- Navajo Tacos
- Spanish Rice
- Honey Lime Enchiladas
- Pork Street Tacos
- Ground Turkey Tacos
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos
- Ground Turkey Taco Lettuce Wrap
- Chicken Taquitos
- BBQ Chicken Tostada
- Fiesta Chicken Casserole
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Easy Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
Seasonings
- 2 tablespoon Chili Powder
- ½ tablespoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper *optional
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tbs Corn Starch
Fajitas
- ½ large Sweet Onions - Sliced
- ½ medium Green Bell Pepper - Sliced
- ½ medium Red Bell Pepper - Sliced
- ½ medium Yellow Bell Pepper - Sliced
- 1 lb about 2-3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 medium Lime
- 8-10 6- inch Flour Tortillas
Garnish
- Sour Cream
- Chopped Cilantro
- Cheese
- Salsa
Instructions
Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas
- Mix all of the ingredients for the seasoning into a small bowl. Set aside, we aren't ready for this just yet.
- Slice Chicken Breasts thin and set aside
- Slice Onion and Bell Peppers and set aside
- Divide seasoning mixture in half and sprinkle ½ seasoning mixture on top of chicken and the other half on the sliced vegetables. Toss to coat
- Place 1 cup water in Instant Pot
- Place Chicken in Steamer Basket OR use a trivet and place a piece of tin foil on top.
- Set to Manual (Pressure Cook) high for 5 Minutes. Allow a 5 Minute Natural Release (NR) and then Quick Release (QR) and open lid
- Place Sliced Vegetables on top and quickly close lid
- Set to Manual (Pressure Cook) High for 1 Minute and Quick Release (QR)
- Open Lid and remove basket with Chicken Fajitas and vegetables.
- Squeeze juice from 1 lime over Fajitas. Serve on warm Tortillas
- Garnish with Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa, Cilantro etc
Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
- Slice chicken breasts into thin slices and set aside
- Wash bell peppers and slice thin along with an onion. Toss vegetables with sliced chicken into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine seasonings together and sprinkle seasonings over sliced vegetables and chicken. Toss to coat.
- Preheat Air Fryer to 360F degrees. Spray Air Fryer basket with non stick cooking spray.
- Place seasoned chicken and vegetables into Air Fryer and cook for 15-18 minutes. It's best to toss ingredients half way through.
- Chicken should reach 165F internal temperature to be fully cooked.
- Remove from Air Fryer and serve with Tortillas, Sour Cream, Cheese, Lime, Cilantro, and any other toppings you enjoy most.
Notes
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Irene Coker
I made this last night and it was a big hit! I loved it but I have a question. I cooked the chicken and after the 5 min release, I opened it up and added the vegetables, but the lid wouldn't close. It took me several tries to get it to close so I could continue cooking that last minute. What did I forget? This has happened to me before. Thanks, Irene.
Jennifer Nugent
I love everything you send my way please keep it coming. Cooking has always been such a hard thing for me but you explain it so well and I am enjoying it
Erna Mendes
can i make this in a regular pot or slow cooker
Devour Dinner
This recipe works well to bake in the Oven as well!
Beth
This was a game changer for me. Usually my chicken is cooked in all the water and is shredded. This way of cooking changed that!! It was a hit!
Devour Dinner
Hi Beth. Making Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas are so good! I'm so glad you loved it like we do.
Vicki
I have been making this for my grandsons who are very picky about eating peppers and onions.
They absolutely love it!
My daughter said it’s all they talked about, so today I made some and sending it home with them for their dinner.
Devour Dinner
Hi Vicki! That's what I LOVE to hear! So happy to hear that the kids loved the recipe too.
Rosemarie
Yum yum! I love any recipe where you can be creative about toppings etc!
Devour Dinner
Agreed, we love to add what we like and everyone is happy!
Susan
Would the pot-in-pot method work also to keep chicken 'n juices altogether?
Devour Dinner
The pot in pot method would work. I cook using the trivet to keep the chicken out of all the juices but it still gets plenty of liquid circulating. It's a delicious recipe
Debbie
Can you cook the chicken with out lid for pot in pot method.
Devour Dinner
Hi Debbie, You could use the Saute feature to cook the chicken and the veggies. Make sure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees to be fully cooked
Reina
This is a delicious, quick dinner. My husband and kids loved it. Thank you!