Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta

Need a creative way to sneak in another night of Mexican food?? We’ve got ya covered! This Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta combines the delicious flavors of cumin and chili pepper with pasta and bell peppers. All made in one pot, this dish has easy steps to follow and great when you don’t have a lot of time. Simple and delicious – just the way we like out dinners!

The Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta in a bowl, garnished with fresh cilantro.

If Mexican food could be a food group in my house, it would be. My husband and I love it THAT much. My kids sometime groan when they see tacos and quesadillas coming around for the third night in a row, though. So I decided to change up the presentation and texture without losing the flavors we love so much. Enter this pasta. It took a little tweaking but once I got it right, I was hooked! This is a great dish for the week ahead as it provides a large amount that usually means leftovers.

What if my pasta comes out runny?

All chicken can react a little different as far as the amount of liquid it gives off. If you find your pasta is too ‘soupy’ for your taste, remove about 1/2 cup of the broth and stir in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Once fully mixed, slowly pour back into the instant pot and stir together with the rest of the ingredients. It should thicken up nicely n about 3-5 minutes. Want to make this a soup?? Double the amount of chicken broth and you are ready to roll!

What is fajita seasoning made out of?

Fajita seasoning is a blend of chili powder, salt, paprika, sugar, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of cayenne pepper. Every brand does it a little different, but it is almost always a combination of those ingredients. If you don’t have fajita seasoning on hand, don’t be afraid to use taco seasoning – it’ll still give you a delicious outcome!

Ingredients for the Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta.

Ingredients for our Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta:

  • Chicken
  • Pasta
  • Bell Peppers
  • Onion
  • Sour Cream
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Chicken Broth
  • Fajita Seasoning

How to make our Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta:

First, dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. They will shrink some in the cooking process so don’t worry too much about that perfect size in the beginning. Next, dice the bell peppers and onions into thin strips.

All the ingredients for the Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta next to the instant pot insert.

Next, set the Instant Pot to ‘sauté’ and allow it to heat up for about 2 minutes. Then, pour a little olive oil (less than 1 tablespoon) to coat the bottom. Add the chicken and onions and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of fajita seasoning.

Diced chicken and onions in a pit with fajita seasoning, about to be sauteed.

Stir and cook for about 8 minutes. Chicken doesn’t need to be fully cooked at this point. You mainly want the exterior of the chicken to look cooked and the onions to be a little soft.

Next, add the bell peppers, 1 cup of chicken broth, and 2 cups of salsa. Give it a good stir so that all the flavors are nice and incorporated. Last, add in the raw pasta and stir. You will notice the pasta isn’t completely submerged and thats OK! Turn the sauté setting off, place the top on with the valve set to ‘seal’ and press ‘manual’. Bump the time to 7 minutes. It will take 10-12 minutes to come to pressure. Once it has, the time will appear and then start to count down.

All the ingredients for the Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta in the Instant Pot insert before being pressurized.

Once 7 minutes is up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for approximately 5 minute. With a long spoon or utensil, release the remaining pressure carefully.

A pictured of the ingredients that were cooked in the instant pot.

Last, remove the lid, add 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of cheese and stir. Make sure it is fully combined before stirring.

Cheese and sour cream being added to the other ingredients in the instant pot and being stirred by a wooden spoon.

You are now ready to serve! Enjoy!

Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta in a white bowl ready to be served, next to sour cream, shredded cheese, and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

This dish takes the guessing out of what’s for dinner tonight! All made in one pot makes clean up super simple as well. It makes a good amount and can serve 8-10 people. The flavor is on point and it’s warm and filling. We will take Mexican food in any form we can find it in our house – and this just got added to the list! Enjoy!

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Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
Yield: 12 Servings

Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Soup

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Additional Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 box of pasta
  • 2 Bell Peppers, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons Fajita Seasoning
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3 raw chicken breast (About 3 cups)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
  • 2 cups salsa
  • Fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. Set the Instant Pot to 'sauté'.
  2. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and slice both bell peppers and onion.
  3. Once instant pot is heated up, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the chicken, onion, and fajita seasoning. Stir and cook for about 8 minutes.
  4. Next, add the salsa and bell peppers. Stir and combine completely.
  5. Pour the raw pasta and chicken broth into the pot and mix.
  6. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set on manual for 7 minutes.
  7. Once time is up, use a long utensil to carefully release remaining pressure.
  8. Once pressure is released, carefully remove lid. Add sour cream and shredded cheese to mixture. Stir.
  9. Garnish with cilantro and serve!

Notes

*If pasta is too runny, remove 1/2 cup of liquid from the pot and slowly stir in 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Once fully dissolved, slowly add to the mixture in the pot and stir. The dish should thicken up in 3-5 minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 175Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 656mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 16g

(Nutritional information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

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2 thoughts on “Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta”

  • This is really good! I did have to make a few changes, but it may have been because I used a pretty thick salsa. After pressure cooking for 7 minutes my penne pasta wasn’t done. If this happens, all you need to do is add either more chicken brother or water (I added about 1 cup of water because I had used all my chicken broth) and then pressure cooked for an additional 5 minutes. It came out great!

    • So glad you enjoyed it and were able to modify! I believe penne cooks slightly different than bowtie, so that could be the cause of the time issue. I’ll be sure to add that note in my post. I really appreciate your feedback!

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