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Instant Pot Crack Chicken is a delicious combination of chicken breasts, cream cheese, crispy bacon, and ranch seasoning mix, all cooked together to create a creamy, cheesy, and incredibly excellent meal.
This instant pot recipe makes creamy chicken that’s comforting, hearty, low-carb, and keto friendly. Honestly, it’s the Instant Pot chicken recipe 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?!
Reasons I Love Crack Chicken in the Instant Pot
Versatile. Crack Chicken isn’t just for sandwiches! It’s amazing in tacos, over pasta, or even stuffed into baked sweet potatoes. 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 mashed cauliflower and zucchini noodles.
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. This recipe 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.
- Salt & Black Pepper – A simple seasoning to balance out the flavors.
- 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.
How To Make Crack Chicken
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you need one—if only for this recipe. Oh and for my 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.
To 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!
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 is typically used as a sandwich filling, but why stop there? This creamy, cheesy chicken is just as delicious tucked into tacos or burritos, piled over pasta, or spooned onto a baked potato. For a low-carb option, try it in lettuce wraps, over cauliflower rice, or mixed with zucchini noodles. It even makes an irresistible dip with tortilla chips!
Storage
In the Fridge: Place leftovers in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: Let the chicken cool down completely, then transfer it to a large freezer bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, remove from freezer the night before and let thaw in the fridge overnight.
To reheat: Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of broth to bring back its creamy texture.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Chicken Zoodle Soup
- Instant Pot Lemon Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot Sticky Chicken Thighs
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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.
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.
I have been making this recipe for a few years now. It is often requested at our house. I serve it over egg noodles for the non-keto people and as a lettuce wrap to keep it keto. I add a can of rotel and some diced jalapeños to mine for a little extra kick. Just use less broth if you do this or it will be more soupy. We also love it cold in a tortilla or lettuce wrap as leftovers.
LOVE this recipe — have made it a dozen times over the years and passed it along to friends and family.
Recently subbed the chicken broth for beef broth and dried rosemary instead of chives with mashed potatoes as the base. Thank me later 😉
So glad you adore the recipe and have shared it with loved ones! Your twist with beef broth, rosemary, and mashed potatoes sounds absolutely delicious—thanks for the tip! 🙂
I used the leftover chicken (minus the breasts) from a home roasted chicken for this and as I fight IBS used Garlic Scapes powder and Onion Scapes Powder in place of regular. This was incredible, quick and ever so yummy! I shouldn’t have added salt as it was already in my roasted chicken and didn’t really need it.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe with your adjustments and found it delicious! Good note about the salt. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This was bomb. I followed everything you said to do and mine was creamy and very flavorful. I had about 6 chicken breasts so I added a bit more cream cheese. The seasoning, I just eye balled it. I didn’t have dill pickle or scallops. We do keto in my home and everyone said it was delicious! So thank you and we will def be making this often. Spaghetti squash or broccoli will be used on the side next time.
Since so many people commented that this is bland, I tripled all the spices, and added 1/4 tsp chipotle paprika and 1/2 tsp minced garlic. I used 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 TBL fresh black pepper. It came out yummy!
Bland! I made this for my family and served it over linguini and I was so disappointed! Chicken was bland and it was more like a cheese soup with bland chicken. I even doubled it thinking it was going to be amazing, I wish I didn’t. I don’t even know how to save it. The sauce itself is delicious over pasta but would not recommend making this just for that.
Do you mean bland, as in lacking flavor? Maybe you are used to spicier or more seasoned foods. Did you add more salt? The recipe instructs to use salt and pepper “to taste.” That does not mean salty flavor, but salt does make the rest of the flavors pop and adds depth. A little salt might be the only fix you need if you have a dish that tastes flat or bitter. Try adding a teaspoon, taste it, and see if that helps.
I tried this but for some reason my pot didn’t pressurize and it eventually said burnt Food as the sauce was starting to burn. The chicken cooked so the meal wasn’t ruined but not sure what I did wrong. I had the valve to the correct position so any advice or thoughts would be appreciated
After awhile, the rubber ring gets too loose and needs to be replaced. That’s the most common reason it would struggle to pressurize (other than the valve being in the wrong position)
Tried to make it and it was cream cheese soup with unseasoned chicken
can this be done with frozen chicken breast, and if so, what adjustments need to be made?
I have tried this with frozen chicken breasts, but I set it to 14 minutes and that worked perfectly. Just make sure that the chicken breasts are separated and not glued together by the ice.
THANKS! I was wondering how to cook frozen chicken and you had the answer!
A very simple recipe with limited ingrediency that was pretty hard to mess up. Tasted great and will certainly be making this again. Next time I’d like to try this over egg noodles.. I also left the bacon out to be added when the dish is served so it stays crispy.
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂