Prepare to fill your plate and stuff your belly with these delicious paleo and Whole30-friendly chicken fajitas! They’ll will make you think you were in a Mexican mama’s kitchen for lunch!
Cookbook love.
One of my favorite parts of being a food blogger is getting to preview my friend’s new cookbooks. I love flipping through all the delicious photos and drooling over the recipes. And best of all, I love being able to share a sneak-peek with all of you!
This delicious recipe for chicken fajitas comes to you from my friend Emily’s newest cookbook – Amazing Mexican Favorites in Your Instant Pot. It’s her second Instant Pot cookbook and I love them both! You can check out my review of her first cookbook, The Art of Great Cooking in Your Instant Pot, in my Honey Orange Pumpkin Pie recipe. On a fun note, she co-authored this cookbook with her husband, Rudy, who has Mexican heritage. So you know these recipes are authentic!
While I love ethnic cooking, I’m not the best at it, and most of my Mexican recipes consist of Mexican chocolate (i.e. chocolate something with a little chili powder and cinnamon thrown in). Delicious, but probably not very authentic. 😉
Amazing Mexican Favorites
Thankfully I now have a delicious cookbook full of authentic Mexican recipes to fill my tummy with! Amazing Mexican Favorites in Your Instant Pot has 80 mouthwatering recipes all made with real food, naturally gluten-free ingredients. From tacos to burritos, enchilada casserole to churros cake, everything in this cookbook is full of flavor and nutrition!
Since this cookbook is Mexican food, there are some recipes that include cheese, corn, and rice. If you’re on a grain-free and/or paleo diet, feel free to either skip those recipes, there are still 30 strictly paleo recipes, and 50 dairy-free ones.
GET THE COOKBOOK HERE.
A little tweaking.
I’m all about using whatever I have on hand, and that’s pretty much never chicken breasts. So instead I used thicken thighs. I also happen to have some wimpy kids when it comes to spice, so I left out the cilantro completely (insert sad mom face) and only used 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder. Even though I love spice, I love my kids more. (Kids, if you ever read this, you’re welcome.)
In her recipe, Emily adds in a russet potato. While this may be totally paleo and whole30, I happen to be intolerant to potatoes (not sweet potatoes though!), so I left it out of my version. If you love potatoes and can tolerate them well, please add a potato in with the rest of the veggies – I’m sure it will be delicious!
Optional add-ins and toppings.
While I left my chicken fajitas toppingless ’cause I’m pretty boring, you can feel free to add any of these extra toppings, and/or serve them with tortillas! Some toppings that would be great are grated cheddar, guac, sour cream, salsa or hot sauce, or extra lime juice and cilantro. Below I’ve listed a few recipes from some blogger friends if you want to try any of these options homemade!
- Kid-Friendly Mild Guacamole from Raising Generation Nourished
- AIP Guacamole from Whole New Mom
- The Best Dairy-Free Sour Cream from 24 Carrot Kitchen
- Salsa Fresca from What A Girl Eats
- Homemade Salsa from Wholesome Yum
- Cucumber Salsa from Low Carb Yum
- Hot Chili Oil from Studio Botanica for a little extra heat!
- Grain-Free Vegan Tortillas from Allergy Free Alaska
- 4-Ingredient Pumpkin Seed Tortillas (nut-free!) from Taste Abounds
Get Amazing Mexican Favorites in Your Instant Pot here.
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Chicken Fajitas in the Instant Pot
Free of grain, gluten, eggs, dairy, and sugar.
Ingredients
- 2 T. avocado oil
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1/2 c. chicken broth
- 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (also left this out for kiddos)
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
- 5 fresh garlic cloves, minced (I used a whole head, ’cause garlic is liiiiiiife)
- 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 1 small green or yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into wedges (I left this out to make it paleo/GAPS-friendly)
- 1 small tomato, seeded and diced
- 2 t. Himalayan salt
- 1 t. ground cumin
- 1 t. chili powder (I only used 1/4 t. to accommodate my wimpy kids)
- 1/2 t. dried oregano
- 1/4 t. ground black pepper
- 1/4 c. fresh lime juice
Instructions
I use the Instant Pot Duo 6 quart 7-in-1 for this recipe (and all my Instant Pot recipes).
Add the healthy fat of your choice to the Instant Pot and press “Sauté.” When the fat has melted, add the chicken and brown for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
Use the broth to deglaze the Instant Pot. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button.
Add the cilantro, onion, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeños, potato, tomato, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, black pepper, lime juice and chicken, then stir to coat the chicken.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the steam-release valve is sealed. Press the “Manual” button and set for 5 minutes.
When the Instant Pot is done and beeps, press “Keep Warm/Cancel.” Allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Using an oven mitt, open the steam valve. If there is any steam left over, allow it to release until the silver dial drops, then carefully open the lid.
Serve immediately with your favorite fajita toppings and fixings.
Note
This recipe is used with permission by Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri and Rudy Vidaurri, authors of Amazing Mexican Favorites in Your Instant Pot.
OMG! Your baby daughter is so cute! I love how much she loves and adores the food. Emily’s cookbooks are the best!
Aw, thanks! She’s a permanent fixture when I’m cooking. Haha. And yes, Emily’s cookbooks are amazing!
This book and recipe are beautiful!! Fajitas are always a good idea, cannot wait to make it!
They’re so yummy, Joni! I hope you get to enjoy them!
This recipe looks so delicious! I never say no to fajitas. Haha
Haha! Yeah, saying no to them would be hard…
These fajitas look so good. I love this book!
They’re delicious, Linda!
dinner ease, love this recipe! I am loving the cookbook too!
Isn’t it amazing? There are so many recipes I can’t wait to try!
Cannot wait to try this recipe! Looks like a keeper!
Also, so excited to dive into Emily’s latest book.
Love Mexican cuisine AND my Instant Pot and I are ready for some new ideas!!
thanks!
Her cookbooks are wonderful, aren’t they? I hope you enjoy the fajitas, Carol!
I need to try this! My kids love fajitas.
My kids really enjoyed them! I hope yours do, too! 🙂
This looks like a total winner. Can’t go wrong with chicken fajitas!
I totally agree!
I made this recipe as well and it was amazing! Love this cookbook so much.
It’s so delicious!
What a great family friendly recipe! The recipes in this book sound delicious – I love Mexican food!
They are so delicious, Hope!
I love how your version turned out, looks SO good! I’m a chicken thigh gal too. What a yummy dinner!
It was so delicious! My hubby even ate the leftover broth in the IP. Haha!
Because he wasn’t around to be able to enjoy the meal! :-O But, yet. Even the broth was amazingly delicious! A worthy meal of its own.
O my, your daughter must be really excited to get such a lovely dishes from you
Haha! Yes, she’s always excited to eat!
I really need to get an instant pot! These fajitas look and sound amazing. Sounds like a fantastic cookbook, too!
Yes! The cookbook is amazing! And so is the Instant Pot… 😉
I have not had fajitas in a long time! I’m going to have to give them a try soon!
They’re so delicious, Anne! I hope you get to enjoy them!
Yum, I need to make these ASAP! And, this cookbook looks amazing, I can’t wait to check it out!
It’s such a wonderful cookbook, Kathryn! And the fajitas are delicious! I hope you get to enjoy them! 🙂
I am so prepared for these chicken fajitas! They look so delicious and I bet taste even better! Already thinking of a Mexican-themed weekend!
I hope you enjoy them, Mimi! 🙂
These look so flavorful and I just love that they’re made in the Instant Pot too!
Thanks, Kari! They’re soooo yummy!