The Ultimate Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken
The Ultimate Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken is the perfect dump and go Instant Pot recipe. Insanely easy prep, incredible flavor, and even an Instant Pot Freezer Recipe for a meal later on. Fiesta chicken is full of tender chicken, corn, Rotel, ranch seasoning and black beans. A meal in one!
Fiesta Chicken is such a fantastic dinner recipe. The Instant Pot allows you to make a one-pot dinner that kids and adults will all love. Add on some of your favorite taco toppings and dive in.
Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken
My goal this summer is to get my freezer prepped and full of quick and easy meals to make the fall and winter a lot easier on me. I have been in a cooking mood, thanks to my Instant Pot! I can dump in frozen chicken and cook away, it saves me from having to plan ahead. This is one of my husband’s favorite Instant Pot freezer recipes. He can even heat it up on his own if I am not at home.
What Type of Rice Pairs With Fiesta Chicken
I enjoy using long grain rice, but you are welcome to use what you want. Brown rice, Jasmine, cauliflower rice for a low carb option, etc. Feel free to make what you want to fit what you have in your pantry. You can also serve this with Chipolte Cilantro Lime rice
What Toppings To Put On Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken
- Guacamole
- Pico De Gallo
- Salsa
- Cilantro
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Splash of Hot Sauce for heat
You can add any of your favorite toppings to this chicken recipe. We mix it up with what we have on hand, but I treat it similar to a taco, on what I pile on top.
Can I Use Homemade Ranch Seasoning For This Fiesta Chicken
Absolutely. If you prefer homemade ranch seasoning just use what is equivalent to a packet and call it good. I have used both methods and didn’t notice a huge difference either way. 
Does Fiesta Chicken Freeze Well
Absolutely! This recipe is great for turning into a freezer meal as I stated above. If you are wanting to prep some quick and easy dinner ideas for your family to heat up when you are away, or to make a night simple for you, this recipe is for you! I share all the instructions below in the recipe card!
How Long Will Fiesta Chicken Last In Fridge
You can expect your chicken to last up to three days. Anything after that, I recommend using your best judgment to see if it is still good. The three-day mark is generally my cut off date for leftovers like this.
If You Love Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken, You Will Love These Recipes Too
- How To Make Shredded Beef From Frozen in Instant Pot | I love that you can cook meat from frozen to tender and juicy in a short matter of time. This recipe is incredible and the beef is so versatile.
- Chicken Fajita Instant Pot Soup | Another winning dish. This soup is savory and full of rich flavors. We make this recipe a ton in the winter months, where you want something warm to warm you up on a cold day.
- Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork | This is great any time of year. Get that sweet and savory pulled pork right in your Instant Pot. Pile on a bun or serve over rice and dive in.
Fiesta Chicken is a simple Instant Pot chicken recipe that I think you all will agree, is fantastic. Give it a try today!
The Ultimate Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken
Instant Pot Fiesta Chicken is one of the easiest Instant Pot chicken recipes. Fiesta chicken is full of beans, corn, ranch, chicken and more.
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Chicken Breast cut in 1" chunks
- 16 oz Can of black beans ( drained)
- 1 Pepper chopped
- 16 oz can of corn (drained)
- 2 Cans Rotel Tomatoes with Chillies
- 4 oz can Jalapenos (optional)
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 2 Cups Rice uncooked
- 2 and a half cups of water
- 16 oz Colby jack cheese
Instructions
Directions from thawed:
- 2 cups of rice in the instant pot along with water.
- Pour both packets of seasoning over the rice
- On top place chicken, corn, Rotel, Black Beans, Jalapeno's, and Peppers.
- Do not stir.
- Place on manual LOW PRESSURE for 12 minutes.
- Do a quick release.
- Stir in Cheese.
Directions to Freeze for a Freezer Meal:
- Use a gallon size freezer bag
- Add Chicken, tomatoes, beans, corn, seasonings, and peppers to the bag.
- Freeze for up to 6 months
To cook From Frozen:
- Remove from freezer bag and place in the instant pot with 1 cup of water.
- Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes with a natural release.
- You can serve with pre-frozen Rice
- Or you can add 2 cups of uncooked rice to the pot
- Cook on LOW Pressure for 12 minutes
- Do a quick release.
- Stir in cheese.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 1331mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 8gSugar: 5gProtein: 41g
Enjoy using your recipes. My question is: If cooking from frozen AND adding uncooked rice, don’t you need to add another cup of water?
@Gladys L Banta,
Good question. Did you figure this out
You
This recipe sounds really good but the Sodium is very high. I am on a low sodium eating program due to chronic kidney disease so is there something else I can do to lower the sodium ?
Is the time the same for brown rice? Usually brown rice takes longer to cook. Also, did you drain the corn and Rotel?
What king of pepper does this use? Green Bell??
Quick question about this recipe (IP fiesta chicken) when you say pepper, do you mean bell pepper? Also do I drain the corn, beans, and Rotel?
You can use any peppers I used a red and yellow yes drain the corn no on rotel
For the fiesta chicken (under 30 days of freezer meals) When you take out of the freezer it said 12 high, but says add 2 cups rice then low 12. So is it high, natural release, then add the rice and do an additional 12 but on low?
Yes rice is always on low pressure
So you do both high pressure for 12 min and natural release. And THEN add rice and do 12 min on low pressure with quick release?
@Mandie, Was this ever answered?
I’m new to making freezer meals. I feel like this is a dumb question, do I put the chicken in the freezer bag raw? Thanks for the info.
It’s not a dumb question yes you can put it in raw
Can I use brown rice in this? If so, do I have to adjust the cooking time?
I followed the recipe exactly and I got the burn warning. What am I doing wrong or how do I fix it when that happens?
@Kristal, me too. So frustrating.
@Kristal, mine did the same and I followed the directions !! My sealing ring is correct so the rice must have burned. I added liquid and tried again bit it was already too late it seems…
ugh so sorry I will be remaking this recipe to see what happened thanks
@Kristal, i wish i knew. My rice (the bottom layer) burnt to a crisp and super-glued itself to my IP.
@Elena, I also got that add water signal and I followed all directions etc. I tried to add water but it was too late. It was ruined. Any suggestions
Our IP doesn’t have options for our Manuel button. What other options are there?
Normaly pressure cook bottom is manual
The recipe says 2 cups of water but the from frozen directions only says 1. Do I put another cup of water in with the rice? Thank you!
For the rice, what kind do you use?
Do you cut the chicken before cooking?
Hi,
Tried the recipe and we loved it but it’s a lot of food! If I halve the recipe, is it still the same cook time?
Is there something I can sub in for the Rotel my sil hates tomatoes. Broth? Maybe tomato sauce or tomaro soup
Normaly pressure cook botton is manual
Hello what is low pressure? I dont think I have this setting…i have the LUX 8qt
LUX models only have high pressure. You cannot change between low and high.
Can you use brown rice for this recipe or does it need to be white?
Hi there.
Looking forward to trying this recipe, but first what type of rice are you using?
Thank you for this great post!
I tried this and kept getting the “food burn” error on my IP. So it never cooked because the heat kept going down or turning off. Basically the rice was burning on the bottom of the pot. Any tips to keep this from happening? I read here in the comments not to drain the tomatoes so in the future I would make sure not to do so (I did as I was unsure). This sounded really good so I was disappointed it didn’t work out. Any tips appreciated to try again!
Yes don’t drain the tomatoes and don’t stir I will do a video for this
I had this issue too and I did not stir it. Is it better to put the rice after the water or water over the rice? I’m new to pressure cooking so I wasn’t sure
What are your serving sizes on your meals
I just got an Instant Pot and this was my first meal ever in it. AMAZING!!!!! Everyone loved it!
I had the same issue with the burn error. I didn’t stir the ingredients. The rice and water was Originally at the bottom. If there is a video that would explain how to avoid this, it couldn’t come soon enough.
I will work on a video this week for it thanks
Is there a video yet? I just got the same error. I followed the recipe exactly. Help!
If I want to cook the rice separately do I put any broth in the pot before hand?
This was a wonderful recipe. How would it work if I halved the rice? Would I still halve the water?
Yes it will
If we add the rice, and it’s uncooked, do we not need to add more water? I’m talking about when you do it from frozen. I would think we’d need more water if we’re adding uncooked rice.
Any chance you could update your directions to account for the comments below? I missed the answer about draining the corn and I dumped the whole thing in there.
Recipes look delish. Can’t wait to make them.
This recipe is delicious and always a hit, but can you tell me how to prevent getting the “burn food” notice? I can never just let it cook for the required time. What do you recommend? Thanks!
So good! I topped mine with salsa, avocado, and sour cream. I saw many had an issue with the burn warning that’s because the rice should be added last and then pushed down so that the liquid covers it. I do this with all my recipes that include rice. I added a little extra water to make sure it would be ok. Worked like a charm!
I want to make this. But I see many people have asked whether, when making from frozen, do you need to add more water before cooking the rice. I do not see a response. Please advise if more water should be added between cooking the chicken with accoutrements and cooking the rice. Thank you.
On two different occasions my daughter and I made this recipe. Both times we had trouble the Insta Pot working correctly – two different Insta Pots. Using low pressure seemed to be the issue. She felt the content was too much .. Any suggestions?
maybe it was too much I will test this recipe again thanks!
This is such a great idea. I have plans to do this for my elderly family. I have one question. If I were to be dropping all these recipes in crockpot instead, would you make any adjustments?
Have you come up with a solution for the burn notice? I really want to try this again as it smelled so good the first time
Use one cup of rice instead of 2
I will redo this recipe this week
@Adventures of a Nurse, We had the same “burn” issue – we thought about trying to finish it in the oven because we don’t want to waste the ingredients.
You are saying we should only use 1 cup of rice, correct? we’ll try it again – it smelled delicious.
Thank you!