Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
Jan 16, 2019, Updated Feb 10, 2025
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This Instant Pot crack chicken recipe combines juicy chicken breasts, cream cheese, crispy bacon, and ranch seasoning, cooked together to create a creamy, cheesy, tasty weeknight meal!
Looking for something to soak up all that dreamy sauce? Serve this creamy crack chicken tucked into fluffy dinner rolls, served with sweet potato cornbread, or piled over a mountain of buttermilk mashed potatoes.
This instant pot crack chicken recipe makes creamy chicken that’s comforting, hearty, low-carb, and keto-friendly. Honestly, it’s the Instant Pot chicken dinner of our dreams! We’re talking about tender chicken, crispy bacon, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning all coming together in one ridiculously delicious dish. I meeeean… how could this not be amazing?!
Why We’re Crazy About Instant Pot Crack Chicken
- Versatile. Serve crack chicken in sandwiches, or with a side of pasta, rice, potatoes, and so much more. It’s easy enough to make for everyday family meals, but it’s so good, I’ll look for excuses to make it on any occasion!
- Party food. This is my go-to for game days, potlucks, and family gatherings. I keep it on the Warm function in the Instant Pot, and people can serve themselves, whether they’re piling it onto plates, stuffing it into sandwiches, or just sneaking in a few extra bites straight from the pot. (No judgment!)
- Make-ahead friendly. Crack chicken only gets better over time, making it perfect for meal prep! The flavors meld together beautifully in the fridge, and reheating is a breeze. I love making a big batch and using it for quick lunches, easy dinners, or a grab-and-go snack throughout the week.
What You’ll Need
Seriously, Crack Chicken will change your (dinnertime) life, especially when you can have it ready in no time thanks to the Instant Pot. This recipe couldn’t be easier, and it comes together with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient amounts and step-by-step instructions!
- Thick-Cut Bacon – Adds smoky, crispy texture and deep flavor, but you can also use turkey bacon.
- Avocado Oil or Olive Oil – Helps sear the chicken for a richer flavor. Swap with butter or vegetable oil if needed.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – You could also use chicken thighs for a juicier result.
- Sweet or Smoked Paprika – Swap with chili powder for some heat or regular paprika for a milder flavor.
- Garlic Powder – Fresh minced garlic works too!
- Salt & Black Pepper – Essential for seasoning and balancing the flavors.
For the Cream Cheese & Ranch Seasoning Mix
- Cream Cheese – Creates the signature creamy, cheesy texture.
- Garlic Powder and Onion Powder – Adds bold flavor to the creamy base and enhances the depth of the ranch seasoning.
- Dried Dill Weed and Dried Chives – Bring the classic ranch flavor.
- Chicken Broth – Helps create the rich, velvety sauce. Vegetable broth will also work.
- Fresh Parsley – A simple garnish that adds color and freshness. Swap with fresh cilantro if you like.
- Sliced Green Scallions – Gives a mild, fresh onion bite, but it can be replaced with chopped chives.
Recipe Tips
- If the sauce is too thick, stir in a little chicken broth or water to loosen it up.
- If the sauce is too thin, make a quick slurry by mixing cornstarch with a little cold water until smooth. Stir it into the hot liquid and let it thicken.
- Want to save time? You can use one tablespoon of a store-bought ranch seasoning packet, but I highly recommend making it from scratch (recipe below!). The homemade version is fresher, lower in sodium, and packed with way more flavor!
- Make it spicy. Add a little heat by stirring in crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or diced jalapeños.
- Make it a dip. Crack chicken isn’t just for sandwiches! Serve it warm with tortilla chips, pita chips, or celery sticks for a crowd-pleasing dip.
Serving Suggestions
Crack chicken isn’t just for sandwiches! It’s amazing in tacos, over pasta, or even stuffed into a baked potato. But honestly? I might love it even more in lettuce wraps. That crunch with the creamy chicken is just chef’s kiss! For a low-carb option, I also serve it with cauliflower rice, mashed cauliflower, and zucchini noodles. It even makes an irresistible dip with tortilla chips!
Frequently Asked Questions
This creamy ranch cream cheese chicken earned the name crack chicken, because the flavors are so addictive. Don’t be surprised when you’re hooked!
Yes. If you’re using frozen chicken, make sure to thaw it completely before you cook your crack chicken in the Instant Pot. Otherwise, the frozen chicken can leak excess liquid into the sauce and make it watery.
If the cream cheese sauce is a bit loose for your liking, you can easily thicken it by combining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with an equal amount of the sauce (water or stock will work, too). Whisk until it’s smooth, and then stir it into the chicken.
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Instant Pot Crack Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
FOR THE CHICKEN BREASTS
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE + RANCH SEASONING MIX
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth
FOR GARNISH
- chopped fresh parsley
- sliced green scallions
Instructions
- Prep. Press the "Sauté" button on the Instant Pot and wait for it to heat up.
- Cook the bacon. Add the diced bacon and cook for a minute or two or to a desired crispness. Remove from the Instant Pot and set it aside.
- Brown the chicken. Heat the oil in the Instant Pot. Season the chicken breasts with paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Once olive oil is hot, add the chicken breasts and brown on both sides; about 2 minutes per side.
- Season the cream cheese. In the meantime, place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and season it with garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill weed, dried chives, salt, and pepper; mix to combine. Or you can also season the cream cheese with 1 tablespoon of store-bought Ranch Seasoning Mix.
- Combine. On the Instant Pot, press "Cancel" to stop sautéing. Add the cream cheese mixture to the Instant Pot. Pour in the chicken broth.
- Cook. Set the pot on High Pressure for 12 minutes; then do a quick release.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken and transfer it to a cutting board to shred it with two forks or meat shredder claws.
- Mix it all together. Stir the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot; place the lid back on the Instant Pot (powered off) and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Serve. Top the crack chicken with previously prepared bacon, fresh parsley, and scallions and serve it in sandwiches, over pasta or rice, in lettuce wraps, as a dip, etc.
Video
Notes
- Ranch: Please follow the above recipe for making your own Ranch Seasoning Mix OR use 1 tablespoon of store-bought Ranch Seasoning Mix.
- Chicken Broth: If using low-sodium chicken broth, remember that you’ll need to adjust/add more salt to your dish. You don’t want a salty flavor, but salt intensifies the flavors of the other ingredients and eliminates the bitterness.
- Slow Cooker Method: Add the chicken breasts, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning to a slow cooker; cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it. Once shredded, toss it back in the slow cooker and stir. Add in crumbled bacon and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How To Make Crack Chicken
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this is your sign to get one, if only for this recipe! Oh, and to make Instant Pot honey garlic chicken, too. 😉
Everything goes straight into the Instant Pot, and 20-ish minutes later, you’ve got the creamiest, most flavor-packed chicken dinner that you’ll keep coming back to again and again. Because, one, it’s delicious, and two, it basically cooks itself!
- Cook the bacon. Start heating your Instant Pot and add diced bacon; cook for a couple of minutes or to a desired crispness. Remove bacon and set aside.
- Brown the chicken. Heat some oil in the Instant Pot and brown the chicken breasts for 2 minutes per side. You don’t have to brown the chicken – it’s up to you – but I think it’s better if you do.
- Add the cream cheese and seasonings. Add chicken broth to the Instant Pot, a block of cream cheese, and your ranch seasoning mix that includes: dried dill, dried chives, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Cook. Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 12 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Finish. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and shred it. Stir the chicken back into the Instant Pot, place the lid back on the Instant Pot (powered off), and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Make It in the Slow Cooker
Place the chicken, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning in the slow cooker, then set it on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is tender and shreds easily. Once it’s shredded, stir it back into the creamy sauce, mix in the crumbled bacon, and serve!
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate. Place leftovers in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of broth to bring back its creamy texture.
- Freeze. Let the chicken cool down completely, then transfer it to a large freezer bag or an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer the night before and let thaw in the fridge overnight.
Not sure why, but it didn’t thicken and the cream cheese and broth look like a clumpy soup
If the chicken was from frozen or had a higher % of water injected into it…that’s why. I had to thicken mine with a corn starch slurry, and sauté for 5 minutes before adding the shredded chicken back in.
Is the ranch seasoning just dry ranch dressing mix?
The ranch seasoning ingredients are listed…it’s from scratch.
Delicious, with a light and fresh flavor. I use an ounce of prosciutto end (because I had it) cut thin, instead of bacon. Also, I used fresh chives and dill (2-3 Tbsp. each) and served it on shredded iceberg. I thought it would be heavy, but it is not. I am fairly new to keto eating and with recipes like this I will be very happy to stick with it! Thank you
I felt like I was burning the bottom of the pot. Also, it didn’t thicken. Taste was good. I used ranch dressing pack mixed with the cream cheese and added some garlic
I won’t be making this again. My family and I thought it was flavorless. I guess different strokes for different folks. We were disappointed.
I would give this recipe a try again. Next time, tweak it! I used a ranch dressing packet anyways. Then added extra garlic powder and cracked black pepper. But what really helped the flavor was doubling the bacon, then reserving some bacon grease to brown the chicken (instead of oil.) I deglazed the pan with a bit of chicken stock. (Kept the flavor bits in.) Added about 1/3 of the bacon to the pot while cooking. Oh, I also sprinkled a bit more ranch dressing mix over the chicken before sealing the pot.
Question:When doing in the crock pot as instructed, do we add the broth at the end or omit?
Hi! Yep, you don’t need the chicken broth for the slow cooker; it will make it too watery.
This is DELICIOUS!! My son loves it!! I like to mix some steamed broccoli in my bowl – so yummy!!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Made this tonight in the instapot. It was delicious. Thank you
If I want to add spinach, when do I do that? Do I cook it first? Or do you think I can toss it in when I put the lid back on and let it rest? What about adding cauliflower?
I love this recipe and the nutritional info makes it really good for Keto. What do you consider a serving size?
I think serving size is 4oz of chicken. As there is 16 ounces in 1 pound. So 4 servings 1 pound of chicken I would say 4 ounces
Can we start with frozen chicken breast? If so does it change the cooking time?
Thank you!!!
I would like to know too!
I did frozen breasts for 22 mins and it worked great, though I did end up thickening it up a bit with a flour/cold water slurry.
I start with frozen chicken breast all the time