This Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta with salsa and bell peppers is a delicious one pot pasta idea. Just dump all your ingredients and serve – it's all ready in under 30 minutes!
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INGREDIENTS IN CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
This chicken fajita pasta is one of my absolute favourite pasta recipes of ALL TIME, and you don't need a ton of ingredients to make this absolutely delicious dinner idea. Here's what you need below:
- chicken breasts
- taco seasoning
- garlic
- onion
- chicken broth
- fresh salsa (I use the Garden Fresh Gourmet brand; regular jarred salsa or canned diced tomatoes will also work)
- large pasta shells
- red, green and yellow pepper
- cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- fresh cilantro
- avocado
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT PASTA
This Instant Pot pasta recipe is SUPER simple to make – mostly, you'll just dump your ingredients in and then stir in the cheese and sour cream after it's done cooking. Here are the full instructions:
- Add olive oil, chicken, taco seasoning, garlic, onion, chicken broth, salsa and shells to the Instant Pot in that order.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure.
- Remove lid and stir in bell peppers, sour cream and cheddar cheese, stirring well. Replace lid and let sit for five minutes so the bell peppers can become tender (they will get mushy if you pressure cook them, but letting them sit with the hot ingredients will steam cook them).
- Remove lid again and stir in cilantro, then serve among 6 bowls, topping with avocado. Serve and enjoy!
MAKING THIS PASTA ON THE STOVETOP
You can easily make this chicken fajita pasta on the stovetop in just a regular pot! Here are the instructions to do it this way:
- Add olive oil to a large pot, cooking chicken, taco seasoning, garlic and onion over medium-high heat. Add in chicken broth, salsa and shells, stirring well.
- Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until pasta is cooked through and has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Remove lid and stir in bell peppers, sour cream and cheddar cheese, stirring well. Cook another 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
- Serve among 6 bowls, topping with avocado. Enjoy!
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are the substitutions and changes you can make to this chicken fajita pasta.
Chicken – Instead of chicken, you can make this recipe vegetarian and just leave it out! You'll still get plenty of flavour and protein from the cheese and pasta. However, you can also saute some ground beef or ground turkey and add it in if you'd like to use a different protein.
Taco seasoning – You can just use 1 tbsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin if you don't have taco seasoning on hand.
Pasta shells – Rotini, fusili, penne and other large pasta shapes work well for this recipe. DO NOT use smaller pastas like macaroni with this recipe.
Cheese – The cheese at the end is actually optional, so you don't need to add it. However, it does make it that much more delicious so I recommend leaving it in. You can also cut it in half if you're worried about calories.
Sour cream – You will need to use either sour cream or Greek yogurt to get the creaminess with this pasta.
Bell peppers – Leave them out if you'd like, but they pack a ton of flavour and extra nutrition.
MORE TOPPING IDEAS
I stir in cilantro with this pasta and top with diced avocado, but you can use a number of other different toppings with this recipe! Here are some more ideas:
- Green onions
- Jalapenos
- Olives
- Corn
- Tortilla strips
- Fresh tomatoes
- Red onions
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING
You don't have to buy store bought taco seasoning – one of my fave meal prep tricks is to make your own at home! This way you don't get any extra sodium, and you can control what you put in it. I typically make a big giant batch of taco seasoning then store it in an airtight container along with my other spices.
Here's what you need to make your own taco seasoning:
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
STORING & REHEATING
You can store this recipe in the fridge up to 5 days, and reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to sprinkle some water overtop so the pasta doesn't dry out – this is the key to reviving pasta perfectly every time so that it tastes just like new! There are 6 servings with this recipe so you will want to divide all the pasta into 6 portions. I prefer to use glass meal prep containers because you can reheat directly in the container itself, and ensure you are getting the proper portion size.
FREEZING THIS RECIPE
You can freeze this pasta too! It will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat from frozen, simply sprinkle some water overtop and microwave for 7-9 minutes, stirring halfway through. You can also let the pasta defrost in the fridge up to 24 hours and then reheat as directed above.
MORE INSTANT POT PASTA RECIPES
- Instant Pot Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
- Instant Pot Chili Mac
- Instant Pot Hamburger Helper
- Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
TOOLS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe. - Get your square glass meal prep bowls here to store your leftovers
- These are similar to the pasta shells I used
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box
is the version I use in this recipe.MEAL PREP CHALLENGE
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Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups fresh salsa (I use the Jack's Fresh brand, or canned diced tomatoes will work)
- 1 lb large pasta shells
- 1 each red, green and yellow pepper, finely diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, taco seasoning, garlic, onion, chicken broth, salsa and shells to the Instant Pot in that order, making sure to leave the shells sitting on the top of all the other ingredients.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure. Instant Pot will take about 10-15 minutes to preheat, then pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove lid when safe to do so and stir in bell peppers, sour cream and cheddar cheese, stirring well. Replace lid and let sit for five minutes.
- Remove lid again and stir in cilantro, then serve among 6 bowls, topping with avocado. Serve and enjoy!
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Bob says
I made this tonight and it is really delicious. We also had a few pieces of harder pasta so I may try adding an extra 1/4 of broth next time to see if this can be avoided. That said, this is another keeper. Thanks again Taylor for all the great recipes.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed Bob! 🙂 You can try to push more pasta under the liquid or add a bit more broth like you said, that might help!
E says
Hi Taylor, I live in Germany and love, love, love your recipes! This one was great and I found all the ingredients at the store (a lot of Canadian/US websites have exotic ingredients listed we can’t get at a basic grocery store here); salsa was sold out so I used taco sauce instead, fusilli noodles since shell noodles aren’t sold here, and added about a half cup of extra broth, it came out perfect! Even my husband, who refuses to eat dairy, liked it and ate two enormous portions even though I snuck the sour cream in (it sounds mean but I try to make sure he gets enough calcium in his diet). I tried two other recipes of yours (kung pao chicken and pulled chicken burritos) and they were also fantastic. I hope you keep posting new recipes!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🙂 Will keep those recipes coming for sure haha