Instant Pot fajitas are great and take just minutes to cook to tender perfection. Flavorful marinated beef and vegetables are for dinner tonight! Use any brand of pressure cooker you have including a Ninja Foodi or Crockpot Express with the best fajita marinade or packaged seasonings.
If you’re looking for a low carb recipe or just some flavorful beef Instant Pot fajitas with lots of veggies that tastes great, you’ll love this idea meal! One more quick and easy Instant Pot recipe you can try at home for dinner. (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Steak Fajitas
We made this steak fajita recipe in our pressure cooker. We will soon follow this one up with Instant Pot chicken fajitas too. Just like any of our other high pressure recipes you can use any brand you have at home. Many times I’ll make this as a Ninja Foodi recipe because that pot will allow me to do it both ways.
This time we are using the pressure cook function but with this machine you could make our beef air fryer fajitas recipe as well. A double win for the week. Both with different textures but still our favorite Mexican meal throughout the year.
Table of contents
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
How to Make Ninja Foodi Fajitas
This time if you are using a Foodi you want to use the lid that is not attached, that will reach high pressure for you. Locks in the moisture with this cut of meat and maintains that juicy texture.
You have got to use our dry marinade for steak. Ok I mean if you have your own creation then by all means try that too. I prefer a dry rub vs. a lot of sauce for this because you don’t really need added liquid. The meat exudes enough of what you need to reach pressure for sure.
This is what our beef looked like after it sat in the goodness overnight….I know, my family loves it!! If you have leftovers y’all, you can make our Instant Pot chicken fajita soup the next day too. I know, amazing right??
Beef Fajitas in Instant Pot
You could use a number of different pieces of beef or chicken for this. You just want to cut it into thinner strips so it can get nice and tender. It makes a great stew meat recipe too if that is what you have on hand. Just cut into bite size pieces.
What cut of beef is best for Instant Pot fajitas?
Typically you should just grab whatever type of steak you like. You are going to want to slice it into thin strips. Some like tougher cuts like flank but you need to ensure you are slicing against the grain on that one or it will be too chewy.
- Cut your beef into strips – Or buy it like this in the meat department. It is usually cheaper to cut it yourself (but that is just the cheapskate in me talking).
- You could use chicken breast sliced but cooking time will need to be adjusted to closer to 7 – 15 minutes depending on thickness.
- Slice an onion – we like thick slices
Slice a few bell peppers – a variety of colors is nice but totally up to you
- Use lime juice as the liquid to cook – Electric pressure cooker recipes need liquid. You don’t need a lot for this though because the beef and vegetables will create juices as well as they cook
- Add chili powder if you’d like to add additional heat before pressure cooking begins.
Here’s our pot full…..
Of course you can use lime juice in a container but fresh is always best. You can also use broth instead of lime if you’d rather but this sure does give it a great added flavor.
We used this same method when we made our Instant Pot tacos too and it works great. If you’re using something other than lime juice I’d say you might need 1/3 – 1/2 cup or so but quite honestly I have never done it that way.
Instant Pot Beef Fajitas Recipe
Instant Pot fajitas with beef
If you do have your own favorite dry rub recipe that you love then by all means use that. We have many on our site but this one is specific to this dish.
- Use our recipe (link above and described below) for the best fajita marinade
- Make this first and you’ll want to leave it in the fridge overnight and cook these in your pressure cooker the next day
- If you don’t use this marinade then alternatively you can make homemade fajita seasoning and add in with your vegetables and season that way
- Make this first and you’ll want to leave it in the fridge overnight and cook these in your pressure cooker the next day
- Beef – cut into strips, the thinner the more tender they will become
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Limes
- Other items if you’re putting this into small tortillas like tacos
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
My favorite add on top of my meat would be slices of fresh avocados. By far the best bites ever.
If you only have chicken strips, we do have this crock pot chicken fajitas recipe we’ve made in the past. I will be honest it turns out much better in your IP, Crock Pot Express or Ninja Foodi.
If you only have a slow cooker though this is an option.
After you try this, try our steak fajita cups too! You can print recipe out below.
How do you make fajita meat not chewy?
Using high pressure like we do here is key. You don’t want to cook it too long though or beef can get tough. You want a bit of pink, if you wanted it even more on the rare side you really could even cut the timing in half. Marinating helps with keeping it moist too, and lastly you could pound before slicing like cubed steak.
How to Make Instant Pot Fajitas with Steak
You could use half poultry and half beef too if you wanted to. In this case I might slice the chicken into slightly thicker pieces so they are done to the same tenderness when done. Quickly this is how to make them, there is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post too though.
- Marinade your thinly sliced beef overnight (link to the best beef marinade is above recipe card).
- Slice onion and add into pressure cooker with beef.
- Squeeze 3 fresh limes into the pot ensuring no seeds land inside.
- Sprinkle packet of fajita seasoning over everything if you are adding that rather than previously marinading your beef.
- Mix all ingredients so everything is mixed and/or coated well.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Time will vary depending on thickness of meat pieces and how much meat you are using
This worked well for 2 lbs. cut into med. size strips. Do a quick release. Add bell peppers, put lid on and let that sit for 5-10 minutes until they’re as softened as you’d like them to be. Serve inside small tortillas topped with fresh cilantro, salsa, sour cream, avocado, or any other fajita toppings.
Instant Pot Fajitas
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef, cut into strips, typically flank steak is used but can use other cuts
- 2 bell peppers, I use 1/2 of 4 different colors, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 3 limes
- 1 pkg fajita seasoning, McCormick makes one, or marinate beef in homemade fajita marinade, link at top of post
Instructions
- Marinade your thinly sliced beef overnight (link to the best beef marinade is above recipe card)
- Slice onion and add into pressure cooker with beef.
- Squeeze 3 fresh limes into the pot ensuring no seeds land inside. Sprinkle packet of fajita seasoning over everything if you are adding that rather than previously marinading your beef.
- Mix all ingredients so everything is mixed and/or coated well.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 10 minutes. (time will vary depending on thickness of meat pieces and how much meat you are using, this worked well for 2 lbs. cut into med. size strips)
- Do a quick release. Add bell peppers, stir together. Put lid on and let that sit for 5-10 minutes to allow those to soften.
- Serve inside small tortillas topped with fresh cilantro, salsa, sour cream, avocado, or any other fajita toppings.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fajitas are a favorite in my house. This recipe was right on time and the family loved it! They are already asking me to make it again.
We often make sheet pan fajitas, will have to try this IP version!
Every bite does indeed look amazing! All of the flavors are incredible. And I love these vibrant colors.
What a fantastic instant pot recipe! I love that we can now make delicious fajitas with a minimum of time and fuss. This is a great easy dinner recipe we will make often.
It was good I only cooked for 8 min and peppers still mushy, next time Iโll put peppers and onions after I let out pressure..
The flavor was good but the Peppers turned to mush! Not very good in an instant pot. Waste of money for the peppers.
FYI: there are no seeds in limes; only lemons. ?