Instant Pot Crack Chicken (+Video)
Instant Pot Crack Chicken is deliciously creamy, cheesy and seasoned with ranch, bacon and green onion. Serve on a bun or as a lettuce wrap.
AN INSTANT POT VERSION
Instant Pot Crack Chicken is the recipe everyone is talking about! It is ridiculously simple to make and the taste is incredible. How can you go wrong with shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch seasoning, cheese and bacon? Let me answer that for you – you can’t! Just a small handful of ingredients and dinner (or lunch or appetizer!) is ready!
IS CRACK CHICKEN LOW CARB OR KETO-FRIENDLY?
If you eat this chicken by itself without adding it on a pita or bun, it is low carb. However, you could wrap it up in a lettuce leaf. I like to use the butter lettuce since it has nice, large sturdy leaves. Or wrap it up in some low carb tortillas. This makes an absolutely delicious wrap sandwich. You can even serve this as a dip along with pita chips!
CAN I MAKE THIS IN A CROCK POT?
Absolutely! Check out my recipe for Crock Pot Crack Chicken to see how!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts – you can also use chicken thighs for this.
- ranch dressing mix – I just use the store-bought packet seasoning here but I also have a recipe for Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix if you want to try and make it yourself.
- cream cheese – this does not have to be softened or warmed up first – it will soften while cooking in the instant pot.
- hot sauce – this is optional but I don’t think it makes it spicy at all, it just adds a nice level of background flavor.
- shredded cheddar cheese – you can play with different kinds of cheeses here. I think Colby Jack or Monterey Jack would also be delicious!
- bacon – I cooked up the bacon myself but you can just buy the packaged bacon pieces if you prefer or to make this easier to make.
- green onions – (also called scallions) I love the green onions in this since its not a strong onion flavor but it’s optional if you don’t enjoy green onions.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT CRACK CHICKEN:
Place chicken in instant pot and cover with ranch mix and cream cheese. Pour water over top.
Place lid on and cook on manual pressure for 15 minutes. Let naturally release for 5 minutes then quick release after that.
Remove chicken and shred.
Turn instant pot onto saute mode on low. Add chicken back in along with hot sauce (if using), shredded cheese, bacon and green onions.
Stir until cheese is melted and it’s creamy.
Serve on buns, wraps, pita pockets, lettuce leaves, etc.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Instant Pot Crack Chicken (+Video)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 8 ounce block cream cheese
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions (optional)
- Buns, wraps, lettuce leaves, etc for serving
Instructions
- Place chicken in a 6-quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker and cover with ranch mix and cream cheese.
- Pour water over top and place lid on and cook on manual pressure for 15 minutes.
- Let naturally release for 5 minutes then quick release after that.
- Remove chicken and shred. Turn instant pot onto sauté mode on low.
- Add chicken back in along with cheese, bacon and green onions.
- Stir until cheese is melted and it's creamy.
- Serve on buns, wraps, pita pockets, lettuce leaves etc.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
So good! Can I freeze it?
It does not freeze well because of the cream cheese unfortunately…
You dida great job explaining this recipe! I am very new to the instant pot duo and the app they recommend is awful! This recipe turned out delicious and I cant wait to try more! Thank you for taking the time to post.
That really makes me so happy to hear Kelly! Sometimes I think I am over-explaining and its too much. So thank you so much for saying that – it really means a lot!!
If I cut the recipe in half do I still pressure cook it for the same amount of time?
Yes
Do I need to change the recipe, if I am using the 3 qt. IP?
I haven’t tested it in an IP that small, I’m sorry, so I honestly couldn’t give you exact instructions. You may want to decrease the amount of ingredients until you’ve tested it out.
If I double the recipe for four adults and a toddler, I keep the same cook time, right? Thanks!
Absolutely loved it! My six year old picky eater said “this is delicious! You should make it more often!”
I only changed two thing ls – I used chicken stock instead of water, and I tossed in some chopped up and cooked asparagus (because the only way she’ll eat veggies is in a sauce). We served it on rolls, and quickly realized it was a little too messy for that so we picked them apart and made open faced sandwiches. So good! Pinned this so I can refer back to it next time!
How much is a serving? 1/2 cup or 1 cup? Just wondering what others have done.
I made this for the first time this week. I only had frozen chicken breasts so I used those. (Thanks Nana for the tip about cooking time ). It was delicious but too runny for buns. I bought pita pockets to use and that worked ok. I think the frozen breasts may have produced more liquid than the fresh. Next time I will probably remove some of the water after it cooks. I shredded my own sharp cheddar cheese and it was so creamy. I added the green onion the next day for leftovers and we both agreed it added to the flavor immensely! This is a definite keeper. Thanks Brandie. Your recipes are easy, delicious and used at least 3 times a week in my house.
We do not get instant ranch dressing mix in SA. What can I use as an alternative please
I have made this before and it was amazing , do you think boneless chicken thighs would work in this recipe ? I’d love to make it again and i need to use these boneless chicken thighs .
thanks so much
Can this be frozen after cooking?
Excellent, I didn’t have any green onions but I made it any way and it was delicious, today I have green onions to add 🙂
Hey, I am doing this recipe in the crockpot so in the recipe it calls for 1/2 cup of water do I still use it???
Nope – not needed for the crock pot.
Would I need to change anything if I’m using an 8qt instapot?
I don’t believe so. It should still work. 🙂
How many people does this recipe feed? I want to make it for 7 people. Should I double everything?
Hi Doreen – it’s always hard to figure this out. Is this going to be the only thing you are serving? Are you serving it on buns? Are they regular hamburger buns or sliders? All of that kind of goes into figuring out servings. If this is just going to be like an appetizer on sliders than you should be fine with this recipe amount. But if this is going to be served in big helpings on buns, you may want to double the recipe. 🙂
I received an Instant Pot for Christmas from the in-laws and this was the first recipe I made! Absolutely delicious.
The only thing I changed was using chicken broth instead of water. I served on buns the first night, and then in lettuce wraps with jalapenos with the leftovers.
Will definitely be making this again!
Yay! That’s wonderful! Thanks so much Gaby!
I’ve made this recipe before with chicken but can I switch it up with ground beef and yellow onion
Brandie, thank you for taking the extra time to include the nutrition in this recipe. It took me a while to “embrace” a new life style when I found out that I was prediabetic. I spent hours and hours looking for new recipes or ways to change old favorites. Calories are usually easy to spot but some ingredients have sneaky carbs hiding in them! Many days I felt like I was being kicked in the butt just trying to figure out If a recipe was going to fit into a meal plan. Thanks to cooks like you, I can fix one tasty meal for me and my family! I have to control my portion size due to the calories in this recipe, but the carbs are right on, and it is so worth it when I hear my family say “now, this is good food!”
If using frozen chicken breast, how much time would you add?
Hi Bri – I haven’t tested it with frozen chicken breasts yet. Many times the frozen chicken breasts are much smaller than their fresh counter parts. I would maybe only add about 3 minutes and go from there. It’s trial and error sometimes when testing these things out.
Hi, is the nutrition information per serving or for the entire recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Pam, in cases of nutritional information, I always tell folks to use their own trusted nutritional calculators. Mine is just done by itself through the recipe card system. So, I recommend you calculate it using your own nutritional calculator. 🙂
When cooking frozen chicken breasts it is not necessary to change the times. The setting will be correct and the difference is that it will take the pressure pot longer to come up to pressure before it starts the time countdown. This is true of all frozen meats .
Thank you for replying Nana!
My daughter makes this and we put it over mashed potatoes, it is amazing!
Do you place the chicken flat on the bottom of the IP or do you use the trivet? Thanks, Ronny
Hi Ronny, just on the bottom. If you are concerned about any sticking, you could spray some nonstick spray into the bottom of your pot. 🙂
Made this last night, added 4 more oz of cream cheese and my homemade hot sauce it was delish. Thank you for sharing!
Oh yum – homemade hot sauce?!?! That sounds awesome!! Thanks so much for coming back to comment and review!