Instant Pot Fajita Rice

These Instant Pot Fajita rice bowls are so quick to make, filling and full of flavor! They make feeding the family so easy, and will soon become one of your favorite Instant Pot recipes.

Earlier this year, I shared with you my Instant Pot chicken fajitas recipe. And everyone loved it! It was shared over 100,000 times on social media by readers and I received amazing feedback from you guys! And that’s when I figured that I had to share my Instant Pot steak fajitas recipe on the blog, and again you shared many wonderful pictures of your fajitas with me and it made everyone happy.

We make fajitas at home all the time, and then my husband – a big fan of rice – thought what if we add rice and make fajitas just like we make burrito bowls. We’ve tried that, and it was a big hit in our house! We made a large portion in my 6 quart Instant Pot and it was gone within 20 minutes.

Looking for more Instant Pot rice recipes? Try my Instant Pot Fried Rice, and this Instant Pot Mushroom Rice.

Instant Pot Fajita Rice Recipe

This is basically fajitas + rice + tons of flavor, all made in just one pot! The chicken is cut into bite-size pieces and sauteed, the vegetables are then added along with the rice, and everything cooks to perfection.

In the end, just stir in some sour cream for extra creaminess and flavor, and melt some mozzarella cheese. The result is incredible! You should also check out my Instant Pot Burrito Bowl recipe, I add beans to it!

The Ingredients

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make these fajita rice bowls:

• Chicken breast – I prefer to use chicken breast in this recipe, but skinless and boneless chicken thighs that are cut into bite size pieces would be great here.
• Vegetable oil – for sauteeing, olive oil can also be used.
• Red, yellow and green bell peppers – or any color available, diced into bite sized pieces.
• Onion – I usually use a yellow onion, but a red onion can also be used here. Peel and dice the onion.
• Tomato – One fresh tomato is added to the rice to give some sweetness. Dice it.
• Long grain rice – Any type of long grain rice works, make sure that you rinse it with running water until it runs clear. Don’t skip this step if you don’t want mushy rice.
• Vegetable stock – have you tried making homemade stock in your Instant Pot? I do it all the time with kitchen scraps, it’s so easy and helps you control your sodium instake.
• Homemade fajita seasoning – you can totally use a store bought packet, but nothing beats this easy homemade blend. Trust me on this one!
• Sour cream – optional, to be used as a topping.
• Cheese – For the topping, but you can also mix it in if you like. Use shredded Mexican blend, Colby jack, or sharp cheddar with a little mozzarella.

Recommended Tools and Ingredients

• First of all, you need an Instant Pot (obviously!). I have this Instant Pot, it’s my fav!
• Fajita seasoning, either make your own or get a ready fajita spice mix (I like this Smoky BBQ mix).
• I love these stainless steel measuring cups and use them every time I cook, as well as those measuring spoons. You sill use them to measure out the rice, the stock, and the spices.
• You might also need tortilla bread if you decide to roll up the leftovers in tortillas, I use this brand.

The Directions

1. Press on SAUTE for 10 minutes, add oil and let the pot heat up. Add the chicken and sear it for 2-3 minutes.

1. Move the chicken to one side of the pot, then add the diced onion and bell peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes, then add the diced tomatoes and switch off the SAUTE setting.

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then add it to the Instant Pot.

1. Now comes the seasoning, you will need lots of it and that’s totally fine. If you don’t add enough, the rice might not be as flavorful as it should be. So add in the fajita seasoning.

1. And finally, the stock. Give everything a good mix, then cover with the lid. Make sure that the valve is set at “sealing” position. Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK, choose high pressure, and cook for 8 minutes. The pressure cooker will take some time to come to pressure, then it will start cooking.

1. When the cooking time is up, carefully release the steam. And then with a fork, fluff the rice.
2. Stir in a dollop of sour cream, and you can also melt some shredded mozzarella cheese if you like.

• Top with grated mozzarella, then cover with the lid and let it stand for just 1 minute. The cheese will melt, give the rice a quick stir and it’s ready to be served!

This fajita rice is similar to Mexican rice but with all the tasty additions. If you add some beans and corn, you’ll be making an Instant Pot Burrito Bowl.

The amount of cheese added depends on what you like, I skip it sometimes. And sometimes all I want is cheese, so I add lots of it.

Toppings

Now let’s talk about the toppings – aka my favorite part!

There are so many things that you can top your fajita bowl with, but below are my favorite ones:

• Extra sour cream, or this delicious lime crema
• Sliced avocado or homemade guacamole
• Pico de gallo
• Refried beans
• Lettuce, and extra cheese

Recipe Tips

• You can skip the chicken if you would like to make vegetarian fajita rice.
• The chicken will not really brown as you saute it, there will be lots of moisture and it will just cook without browning.
• Do not cook the peppers for too long, just a minute. As you don’t want to end up with mushy peppers at the end.
• Use vegetable or chicken stock, and once you pour it in the pot, it will cover the rice. Adding too much stock will result in soupy rice.

Enjoy the Leftovers in Wraps

We almost never have any leftovers left, as we just devour the fajita rice in minutes. But when we do, we roll up the fajita rice in tortilla bread and enjoy it like that. So good!

It’s also great for picnics, and packed lunches to take to work or on a road trip.

More Great Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot corn on the cob 
• Instant Pot potato salad
• Instant Pot steak fajitas
• Instant Pot chicken fajitas
• Instant Pot buttered potatoes
• Instant Pot chicken alfredo pasta
• Or check out my Instant Pot recipe collection!