Instant Pot Crack Chicken
Creamy ranch chicken, smoky bacon, and tons of cheese come together in this Instant Pot Crack Chicken recipe. It is easy to make and cooks in just 15 minutes.
I love making comfort food like Beef Stew, chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, pot roast, and Loaded Potato Soup in my Instant Pot. This Crack Chicken is a new favorite. One bite and you'll find out how it got its name. It is made with crunchy bacon, gooey cheese, and creamy ranch flavors. It's so addicting I keep going back for just one more bite. It is truly one of the best things you can do with boneless skinless chicken breasts. It is perfect for weeknight dinners, or for watching for the big game.
Best of all, the Instant Pot makes prep and clean-up a breeze, and I love how fast it cooks.
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
- Cream Cheese: For best results, use full-fat cream cheese.
- Chicken: I used chicken breasts. If possible, grab your chicken breasts at the meat counter at your supermarket or butcher shop. Most prepackaged meat has only three breasts in a package. This recipe calls for four breasts.
- You can also use boneless skinless thighs if desired.
- Bacon: I like using Hormel Black Label microwave bacon. It cooks quickly in the microwave and tastes amazing.
- Broth: I like to use bouillon cubes, so I don't have to open a container of broth for just a half cup.
- Ranch Seasoning: Look for this in the salad dressing aisle. You can use homemade, too.
Hate Mayo?
You can leave it out or replace with an equal amount of ranch or Caesar dressing.
️Tips and Tricks️
- Lock the Lid: Always be sure to line up the Triangles on the left-hand side, and then turn the lid clockwise to lock it in place.
- Steam is Normal: Don't be alarmed if steam exits the pressure valve while the pot is coming up to pressure, this is normal.
- Natural Release: Natural release means to let the pot sit after the timer goes off before releasing the pressure valve. This will allow the chicken to continue cooking and produce less steam. It also leads to moister, juicier meats. Quick releases can cause the muscle fibers to contract making it tough and rubbery.
- Cool feature: Don't worry about setting a timer, the Instant Pot will automatically begin to count up.
- Texture: If the sauce is too thick, stir in chicken broth a little at a time.
- If it is too thin, stir in a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in water.
- Quickly Shred Chicken: Use one fork to hold the chicken in place and the other to pull the meat apart.
- A food processor or hand mixer will also work well, just be careful the chicken is hot!
Food Safety:
Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees or more.
Serving Suggestions
- Buns: Place inside sandwich or slider buns.
- Tortillas: Roll up into a wrap, pinwheels, or put inside a quesadilla.
- Serve over pasta or rice.
- Low-Carb Ideas: Serve over zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, or inside lettuce wraps.
❓Frequently Asked Questions❓
Use the manual button instead, it does the same thing.
Yes, but add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time. When using frozen chicken, it may take a little longer for it to come up to pressure.
Yes, but the crockpot will cook the chicken and sauce simultaneously, so we need to use less liquid.
Follow the instructions below:
Prep: Place 4 chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle with 1 envelope of ranch powder, and 8 ounces of cubed cream cheese.
Cook: Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
Serve: Shred, and then stir in 1 cup of Mayonnaise.
More Chicken Recipes I Love
For even more delicious recipes, you may like these:
📖 Recipe
Easy Instant Pot Crack Chicken
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Ingredients
- 8 Slices Bacon Cooked Crisp
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- ½ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Package Ranch Dressing Mix
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Cups Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- Green Onions For Garnish If Desired
Instructions
- Place chicken and cream cheese into Instant Pot.
- Pour in chicken broth and sprinkle with ranch powder.
- Seal lid,and cook on manual mode (also called Pressure Cook) for 15 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release for 5 minutes naturally, and then do a quick release(Open the valve).
- Remove chicken from Instant Pot, and shred.
- Switch Instant Pot to saute mode. Whisk cream cheese, and mayonnaise until thickened.Add in shredded chicken, and stir until combined.
- Serve with shredded cheese, bacon, and green onions.
- We served ours in sandwiches, but it also tastes amazing over pasta or rice!
Notes
-
- Cream Cheese: For best results, use full-fat cream cheese.
-
- Bacon: I like using Hormel Black Label microwave bacon.
-
- Mayo: Hate mayo? You can leave this out.
-
- Broth: I like to use bouillon cubes, so I don't have to open a container of broth for just a half cup.
-
- Ranch Seasoning: Look for this in the salad dressing aisle.
- Lock the Lid: Always be sure to line up the Triangles on the left-hand side, and then turn the lid clockwise to lock it in place.
- Steam is Normal: Don't be alarmed if steam exits the pressure valve while the pot is coming up to pressure, this is normal.
- Natural Release: Natural release means to let the pot sit after the timer goes off before releasing the pressure valve.
- Texture: If the sauce is too thick, stir in chicken broth a little at a time.
- If it is too thin, stir in a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in water.
- Quickly Shred Chicken: Use one fork to hold the chicken in place and the other to pull the meat apart.
- A food processor or hand mixer will also work well, just be careful the chicken is hot!
- Food Safety: Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees or more.
Nutrition
This chicken is so flavorful! I would like to make it tonight!
This Instant Pot Crack Chicken looks perfect! I need to add this to our menu soon!
Oh my goodness this turned out so delicious!
Wow! This looks very good. I can't wait to try this!
This chicken is SO good! Absolutely delicious. Love the flavors. It might be a touch addictive! ...cause, yeah, I could totally eat the whole thing myself! 😀
This was amazing!! I highly recommend it!
This instant pot crack chicken is so delicious and EASY to make! The creamy chicken is loaded with flavors and so juicy.
My kids gobbled this up! It was a huge hit. I will definitely be making it again.
This recipe will NOT let me copy Crack Chicken for instant pot
Hi Sue! I'm not sure what you mean by copy? Maybe try printing it instead.
If using frozen chicken, how much longer should I cook it? Fresh is 15min, should frozen be like 17, 20, etc? I'd like to try but my chicken is frozen (I mean I could defrost it but thought I'd ask first)
Hi Stacy,
I have not tried this recipe with frozen chicken, but I think the cooking time would be just a few minutes more.
Would heavy cream work in place of the mayo? Or maybe sour cream?
Hi Brooke,
I have only tried the recipe as written sorry. Sour cream may work.
If I triple the recipe... how long should i cook it?
Hi Mary,
Thanks for stopping by! I'm sorry, but I can't help here. I've never cooked that much chicken in my instant pot at one time.
When cooking the bacon in the Instant Pot for this recipe, do you cut it before or after it's cooked? I just want to make sure I'm doing this correctly, because one pan meals are right up my alley.
Hi Kiffany! Set the Instant Pot to saute and then just fry it in slices like you would in a skillet. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you for the beauty !
I am confused......(not totally unusual).....the cream cheese? You say add the chicken and cream cheese to the IP at the very beginning of instructions.......then you have us mix the cream cheese with mayo and then add it to saute pot??? which is correct?
Hi Barbara,
Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm sorry for the confusion. Its actually both!
Cook chicken and cream cheese in the IP. Remove/shred chicken but leave cream cheese in there to mix with the ranch ect. Does that make sense? I'll work to make it clearer in the instructions! 🙂
Thank you, this was my question too!