Steak fajitas all in one pot? No greasy splatters or house smelling like onions for a week? Yes! It IS possible! Tender, flavorful steak and perfectly cooked veggies made in your Instant Pot! Plus it is so simple that now you'll get to enjoy them more often than ever.
Fajitas are one of those meals I just can't get enough of but don't make near often enough. These Instant Pot Steak Fajitas, however, made an appearance 6 times in a 3 week period of time. Fajita bowls, fajita salads, fajita pizza . . . I can't be stopped.
When you think fajitas you likely think grilled meat and a giant saute pan filled with peppers and onions. Delicious, yes. But I can't possibly be the only one who hates that every inch of my house smells like a steakhouse for 5 days.
Anyone else relate? Or is onion scented hair actually an attractive thing? Regardless, the Instant Pot has fixed the problem!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT EASY STEAK FAJITAS
- Hands off easy dinner, which means you can pay attention when your kid is telling you about his idea for a robot that does the dishes for you
- Bursting with FLAVA!
- Healthy, Wholesome, and Happenin'
- Perfect for a quiet family dinner or rowdy guests
- Colorful party fiesta on your plate!
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT EASY STEAK FAJITAS AKA THE BEST FAJITAS EVER!
This literally could not be simpler!
- Slice a flank steak, against the grain, into thin strips (or have your butcher do that for you. You deserve it!)
- Let it take a long bath in the most amazing marinade you'll ever taste
- Slice up your peppers
- Slice up your onion
- Pile peppers and onions onto a large piece of heavy duty tinfoil
- Make a handy tinfoil packet for the peppers and onions
- Put the meat and marinade in the pot
- Add a trivet
- Place your packet of peppers and onions on top and start the pressure cooker
- When it beeps, open up your pot, lift out the veggie packet and drain any extra liquid
- Put meat and veggies on a pretty serving plate surrounded by ALL the toppings
- DEVOUR!
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Best Flank Steak Fajitas Marinade
- Juicy, flavor bomb meat is essential. Give the flank steak a good overnight soak in this salty, smoky marinade. You can marinate it for less time in a pinch, but it absolutely increases in flavor the longer it soaks.
- Veggie Packet
- Cooking the peppers and onions in a foil packet on a trivet above the meat prevents them from turning into mush.
- Slice Against the Grain
- Slicing meat thinly against the grain immediately increases its tenderness. I call ahead and have the butcher do this part for me. This may be the best tip I ever have for you! I love my butchers!
- Best Tortilla AKA Corn Tortillas are the Worst!
- I highly suggest a whole wheat or white flour tortilla. Even if you decide to go with a double layer of corn tortillas, the juices from the meat, pepper, and toppings will soak through and you'll end up with a sad, torn up mess. One exception to this rule is Trader Joe's Whole Wheat and Corn Flour Tortillas. They have the taste and texture of a corn tortilla with the sturdiness of a flour tortilla. Pure genius right there!
- Fajita Toppings
- Load it up! Guacamole (my favorite hack for 1-minute guac here), salsa or Pico de Gallo, sour cream or plain yogurt, lime juice, crunchy red pepper strips, pickled jalapeños, refried beans, etc, etc.
Variations: Chicken, Pork, or Vegetarian Fajitas
- Beef not your thing? This recipe would be great with chicken or pork. I haven't tried different proteins yet, but here's my thoughts. I would cut the marinating time down to 6 hours and adjust the cook time as follows:
- For Chicken Breasts: sliced – 7 minutes, cubed – 3 minutes with a 5-minute natural release followed by a quick release.
- Pork Tenderloin: Chop into bite-size pieces and cook for 5 minutes with a quick release.
- Vegetarian: Marinate bite-size cubes of extra firm tofu for about an hour then saute and brown in a skillet on the stove top. You could even serve this with just the peppers and onions topped with all the goodies and it would still be incredible.
What to Serve With Fajitas
I love a simple Instant Pot Brown Rice, but if you have my cookbook, Master the Electric Pressure Cooker, go for the Cilantro Lime Rice or the Mexican Rice. My favorite Refried Beans recipe is also in the book or this Instant Pot Black Bean Recipe is a new favorite of mine.
EXTRA TIDBITS
Don't Have a Pressure Cooker?
Get one ASAP! I'm convinced every single home needs this appliance more than a microwave. In the meantime, you can always grill the meat outside or on the stovetop and saute the peppers in a large skillet until soft. I've grilled this meat many times (as pictured here) and it's more labor-intensive, but AMAZING!
There you have it! Now you, too, are a fajita makin' queen/king.
I'm seeing a lot more fajitas happening in your future. Enjoy!
MORE MEXICAN RECIPES TO ENJOY
Tools/Ingredients used to make Instant Pot Steak Fajitas
*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!
PrintInstant Pot Easy Steak Fajitas
Take the work out of fajitas by cooking the meat, peppers, and onions all in the same pot. Prepare all your toppings while it cooks for a quick and easy meal!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- juice of 2 medium limes
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds flank steak, sliced against the grain into thin strips
For the Peppers and Onions
- 3 bell peppers (I like a combo of red, yellow, and orange), thinly sliced
- 1 sweet or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
- For serving: fajita size whole wheat or corn tortillas, guacamole, sour cream or greek yogurt, salsa or pico de gallo, cilantro, lime wedges, etc
Instructions
- Place the marinade ingredients and flank steak in a ziplock bag or storage container and lightly shake to combine all of the seasonings.
- Store in refrigerator overnight for the best flavor, making sure that the steak is immersed in the marinade.
- After meat has marinated, pour all of the bag's contents into the pressure cooker pot. Arrange the steak so it is in a flat layer on the bottom of the pot as much as possible.
- Place a large piece of foil on the counter. To the middle of the foil add the peppers and onions. Drizzle with lime juice and soy sauce and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Fold the foil over the peppers and onions to form a packet. Place a trivet on top of the steak and place the foil packet on top.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a 5-minute natural release then release any remaining pressure.
- Remove packet of onions and peppers. Carefully pour the liquid from the foil down the sink. Set aside.
- To serve, place a few slices of meat onto a warm tortilla, top with peppers and onions, and other desired toppings like guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
Freezer Instructions
- Label a freezer safe Ziploc bag with the recipe name, date, and contents. Add steak and marinade ingredients to the bag and seal shut.
- Put the bag inside a pressure cooker pot and press the meat out so it’s flat on the bottom of the pot.
- Freeze inside pressure cooker pot until solid, then remove the bag from the pot and place back in the freezer until ready to use.
- When ready to cook, place the contents of the bag into the pressure cooker pot. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes then proceed with the rest of the directions above.
Notes
- Marinate meat overnight for maximum flavor
- Always slice meat against the grain for an instantly more tender chew
- Chicken breast or pork tenderloin can be swapped for the steak but the time will need to be adjusted.
- sliced chicken breast: 7 minutes, 5 minute natural pressure release
- cubed chicken breast: 3 minutes, 5 minute natural pressure release
- cubed pork tenderloin: 5 minutes, 5 minute natural pressure release
- Make it vegetarian by omitting the meat altogether or by tossing chopped extra firm tofu in the marinade and quickly sauteing it until heated through.
- Leftovers freeze okay. Peppers and onions will be a bit softer but still taste great once wrapped up in a tortilla.
- This makes an amazing fajita bowl! Serve meat, peppers, and onions over brown rice and add all your favorite toppings.
Keywords: instant pot, easy fajitas, easy dinner
Recommendations for slow cooker time? Looks yummy 🙂
Lainey, sorry! I’ve never cooked it in a slow cooker.
Delicious & easy! Followed the directions to a T & this meal was perfect. I was surprised the liquid from the flank steak was enough to prevent the burn notice. Will definitely put this in the rotation.
★★★★★
Shawna, I’m glad you liked it! I’ve found with meat that it releases so much liquid that I don’t have to add much extra to make it work. Bonus, you’re not diluting the flavors!
Is there any other beef cut that would work just as well?
These look great!
I was wondering if there was any other beef cut I could use instead of flank steak?
Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Grace, thank you! This is a good one, I Love fajitas and these make it so simple. I’ve used random steaks over the years and I’ve even sliced up a rump roast before. They all worked great!
Oops,
I did not see this before I wrote the other comment.
Thank you so much for answering so quickly, I love all you recipes!
Delicious but my peppers came out so soggy! Prefer them thrown on a skillet for some crisp.
★★★★
Jennifer, Yes, if you prefer a perfect tender crisp, the skillet is always my go to. For “quick and easy” I’m happy with the pot method though!
Looking for the gold standard 1 cup of liquid that I’ve gleaned must exist in all Instant Pot recipes. Not seeing it listed. Do you really cook these without adding any additional liquid? I’ve doubled the marinade and it still looks pretty scant. 😳
Wendy, the meat will lend more liquid to the pot, I promise, it works great!
Can I put peppers in the stackable stainless steel pans versus wrapping in foil. Will this effect the time. Thank you
Joann, I think that will be fine. They might be a bit softer than the foil method, but once they are all wrapped up in a tortilla, I don’t think it will matter. Let me know how it turns out!
I’m looking forward to making this!! It looks so delicious yet easy — my two favorite things 🙂
Would I be able to put the steak strips in marinade and freeze before cooking? I just cook for myself so I make only 1-2 servings of anything at a time.
Jessica, delicious and easy are high on my favorite list too 🙂
Yes, absolutely you can freeze it that way. Often times I will make double or triple the recipe so I can tuck some away into the freezer. From frozen, cook it for time and a half. I hope you love it!
Excellent. Marinated the thinly sliced flank for 6 hours. Onions and peppers were perfect. Steak just melted in our mouths. On a scale of 5, my family gives it a 10.
★★★★★
Charles, And it all happened in one pot! Fajita night has never been so easy to clean up 🙂
I’m so glad you guys loved it, thanks for letting me know!
Wow, just wow! All this under an hour and no sweating over the stove. Thank you! My Husband will no longer beg for fajitas!
Jean, awesome, right! I love fajitas but cooking them is such a pain. I love this trick 🙂
These were the most amazing fajitas! I was a little hesitant about cooking the beef in an instant pot – but it was seriously so good! Perfectly tender and moist, and loaded with flavor. The veggies came out perfectly, too – yummy all around! I am favoriting this recipe to use for fajitas from now on!
★★★★★
Julie, Kind of crazy that fajitas could come out that awesome in a pressure cooker, right!? Fajitas used to seem like such an ordeal before, but now I can whip them up in no times. Thank’s for the feedback! I love it!
I am going to make the fajitas either tonight or tomorrow. I’ve already got the flank steak marinating. There is enough marinade to cover the 2 lb of meat but nothing left over. Is it supposed to be that scant or is it actually supposed to be soaking in more? I’d rather add more to it now then not have enough later.
Kelly, That’s perfect. The meat is going to make a lot of liquid when it cooks so this will work just great. I love this meal!
Corn tortillas are the BEST, but you have to know how to prepare them! Don’t steam them; those are horrible! Fry them in very little hot oil for about 10 seconds on each side and drain well and pat them dry on paper towels. Work fast, using a spatula and a fork for turning. (Use the fork to keep the tortilla on the spatula while you flip it. I start on high, then lower the temp a bit. You want them slightly leathery rather than super soft. Nothing better, or healthier.
Barbara, bless you forever for helping me out on this! No wonder I’ve always had issues with corn tortillas. Thank you so much!
Oh gosh, I shouldn’t have browsed through the site as I was hungry. I always do this to myself. 🙁 The recipe looks amazing! I haven’t had fajitas for some time. Since it’s Friday, I’m gonna see if I can whip up some with my nephew and girlfriend. 🙂 Thanks for recipe, Marci!
Brian, You’re welcome! I hope you love it!
Where did you find your trivet?
Lisa, I’m not sure! I’ve seemed to collect an entire shelf worth of trivets
Yum, that sounds delicious! I like the photo collage too. Helps to see the steps in pictures. 🙂
Cecilia, Good to know! I’m gonna try out the collages for awhile and see how it goes. Thanks!