Instant Pot Crack Chicken is called crack chicken for a reason. It is so addicting! Really creamy with lots of ranch flavor, bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, plus green onions. It tastes great eaten as is, but it also makes a great sandwich. You could even serve it as a dip.
Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe
Besides the flavor of this chicken, the best thing about it is it can be made so fast. Four chicken breasts along with a block of cream cheese and a packet of dry ranch seasoning are cooked under high pressure in an Instant Pot for 15 minutes. You also need to add 1/2 cup of water.
At the end of the 15 minutes, do a quick pressure release by turning the valve to “venting” until the pin drops. Remove just the chicken from the pot, it will be really tender and it will shred easily.
Make The Sauce
The liquid will be a little watery and the cream cheese won’t completely be incorporated. To finish up the sauce, first whisk it vigorously to get the cream cheese smooth. Then add some cornstarch mixed with either a little cooled cooking liquid or some cold water. Cook on “Saute” mode until the sauce simmers and thickens. Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the shredded cheddar cheese.
Then add the bacon and green onions and get ready to dig in. This is one creamy and delicious chicken recipe and it is sure to become a family favorite!
Equipment Needed
You will need a pressure cooker for this recipe. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot.
TRY THESE OTHER INSTANT POT RECIPES
- Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
- Instant Pot 3-Packet Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Instant Pot Jalapeno Popper Shredded Chicken
- Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta
Watch the short video below to see how to make this easy recipe!
Instant Pot Crack Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 packet Ranch seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 green onions
Instructions
- Place chicken and cream cheese in Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle ranch seasoning over the top and add 1/2 cup water.
- Close Intstant Pot and set to High Pressure for 15 minutes. Be sure you turn the valve to “sealing”.
- Do a quick pressure release. Once pin drops, remove the lid.
- Remove about 2 to 3 teaspoons of liquid from the pot and place in a small bowl to cool.
- Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred.
- Turn Instant Pot to “Saute” mode and whisk the liquid vigurously to break up the cream cheese. When liquid comes to a simmer, stir the cornstarch into the 2 to 3 teaspoons of liquid you removed from the pot. (It should no longer be hot. If it is, stir the cornstrach into 2 to 3 teaspoons of cold water instead.)
- Add cornstarch mixture to the Instant Pot. Cook and whisk until it thickens. Then add chicken back to pot along with cheddar cheese. Turn Instant Pot off.
- Sprinkle bacon and green onions on top and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from Adventures of a Nurse
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
I chopped up the bacon and cooked it on the saute setting in the Instant Pot. This stuff is so good!!! The only problem is that I’ve eaten most of the bacon before DH even got home! Serving it over egg noodles.
What setting do I press on my instant pot? I notcied the recipe just says cook on high pressure.
Do I just select the meat option? Just selecting manual selects normal pressure and I am not sure how to change it to high preasure on the manual setting. Can someone help me? Want to make this tonight
Use the “PRESSURE COOK” button. Tap it until you’re on High Pressure. Then set the time with the ” – / + ” buttons.
I use the bottle of ranch seasoning and started with 2 tbsp! Perfect not salty at all! Add more if u need!
YES! I did too!!
I got a burn message from this recipe. Anyone else?
YES!! I got a BURN message as well
I have an 8Q and will get a burn notification unless I add more liquid than written in the recipe. I think, but I’m not an expert that this is because most recipes as most are made for a 6Q pot?
Love this dish!!! What a perfect blend of flavor and so easy to make!!!! ❤️ love ❤️ love ❤️ love ❤️
How much is a serving size?
While it was edible – we didn’t like it. We tasted a slight “vinegar” taste from the ranch mix and really salty… too bad to because Inwas really hoping it would be great. Your instructions were great, the chicken turned out great – it was just the sauce we didn’t like… bummer!
Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner! Absolutely delicious!
The flavor of this dish was great, although I have to agree with others, it was way too salty. I will definitely make it again, but next time I’ll try it with home made ranch dressing mix, so I can control the saltiness a bit better. My teenager loved this dish, my 9 year old said it “tasted weird”. I thought it was great.
What if my chicken breast ate frozen? How long would I cook it then?
Mine was frozen and I cooked it for about 20 minutes and it was fine
I cooked mine 5 minutes longer….pergect!!!
Made this last night for my wife and 2 kids (9 and 12 yrs old) in our brand new instant pot. The kids liked it and finished their bowls without any prompting (which is somewhat rare). My wife and I liked it too, but we both felt it was too salty. It looks like the ranch package has almost 2000 mg of sodium when added to this dish. Wish there was a low sodium alternative, but I may consider adding just half a package next time and augmenting with a few spices.
How many lb of chicken do u think this is. The chicken breast I buy from my local fresh meat counter r a lb each.
Hi Patricia, I bought 4 breasts and it was about 2.25 lbs.
Just got my Instapot and am anxious to try this. It sounds so good.
Since there is only 2 of us; can the recipe be halved
I tried this and added olives after it was cooked! First of all, it was super easy to make. Secondly, DELICIOUS!!! I am new to instant pot cooking and this is by far my favorite dish! It is versatile: it can be a chicken salad sandwich, a dip, fusion type of tacos (I accompanied the dish with pickled jalapenos), etc. will definitely make it again! Sharing it with my friends, too!!!
So glad you enjoyed it. And you are right. It is so versatile!
I love my Instant Pot! I can’t wait to try this recipe. So glad I found it!
Can you use a crock pot instead? I don’t have an Instant Pot.
Yes you can . I make it in the crock pot all the time. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Add bacon in the last few minutes of cooking.
It actually started in the crock pot years ago.
Are there any adjustments of cooking time needed for high altitudes (I just moved to Colorado and have had some “fails”)
I have a Breville multi-cooker and it has altitude adjustments. It’s not obvious how to do it…had to push and hold two buttons, etc. check your cooker’s manual.
8 oz or 16 oz PKG of Ranch seasoning?
A 1 ounce package. I use Hidden Valley. You can usually find it on the top shelf in the salad dressing section.
I actually set my IP to 17 min high pressure and the chicken wasn’t cooked at the way! I’ve never had a problem with off cooking times before. No big deal! I’m popping it in for another 17 min. Let’s see how it turns out!
Omg came out delish