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Instant Pot Crack Chicken – a delicious combination of cream cheese, chicken, ranch dressing mix, bacon, and cheddar cheese that all comes together in a creamy and delicious meal!
We eat a lot of chicken in our house. I am sure most of your household’s do as well. It is relatively cheap, healthy, and super versatile. But sometimes it can get a little boring. But it doesn’t have to!
You can make chicken a million different ways and turn it into something amazing! Everything from Mexican food to Indian food and everything in between. This crack chicken is full of so much flavor, your family will think it is anything but boring!
Table of Contents
What is Crack Chicken
A lot of people don’t like the name, because they think it makes light of people with drug problems. But, in the food world it refers to dishes that combine cheddar cheese, ranch seasoning and bacon. You will see a million different recipes out there for crack bread, crack dip, crack chicken soup etc.
If you aren’t a fan of the name, call it Cheddar Bacon Ranch Chicken. Doesn’t really matter the name, it matters how it is made, and trust me it is down right delicious!
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Chicken Breasts – you can use chicken thighs if you prefer
- Bacon
- Chicken Broth
- Ranch Dressing Mix – you want the powdered mix, you can use a store bought packet or Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix is great to have on hand.
- Cream Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese
How to Make Crack Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Cook bacon. Turn the Instant Pot on Sauté and cook the bacon pieces until they are nice and crispy. Remove them from the pot and you will want to drain all of the grease.
- Mix together cream cheese and ranch dressing mix until it is well blended. This makes sure that the sauce comes together nice and smooth and you don’t get clumps of ranch dressing.
- Add the liquid to the pot, top with the chicken, and the cream cheese mixture. Set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure and cook for 12 minutes for fresh chicken or 17 minute for frozen chicken. As soon as it is done, use the quick release method to open the Instant Pot.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and use 2 forks to shred.
- Add the shredded chicken, cooked bacon and cheddar cheese back into the pot and stir until everything is combined.
- Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and let is sit for 3-4 minutes. This just makes sure the sauce gets extra thick, creamy, and delicious!
How to Eat Crack Chicken
The most popular way is piled high on a bun, but it isn’t the only way!
- Serve in lettuce cups for a low carb version
- Mix with pasta
- Over tortilla chips as nachos
- Serve over rice
- It is great in a tortilla like tacos
- Or just eat it with a fork!
Can You Use Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot
Yes, you can use either fresh or frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. If you are starting with frozen chicken breasts you will need to cook for 17 minutes. Fresh chicken cooks in about 12 minutes. If your frozen chicken is super thick for clumped together you will want to add 2 minutes to the cooking time. But standard frozen chicken breasts cook in 17 minutes.
What to Eat With Crack Chicken
You really can serve just about anything you want with this chicken recipe. If you are eating it on a bun, these make great side dishes.
Can You Freeze Crack Chicken
Yes, you absolutely can. Make sure to let it cool completely before placing it in the freezer. Store in an air tight container and then place in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight before you reheat to serve it.
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- You can use frozen chicken breasts, just add 5 minutes to the cooking time.
- Use full fat cream cheese. It melts better and your sauce will be nice and smooth
- If you like a little heat mix in jalapenos or top with Sriracha sauce to serve
- If your sauce is to thick you can add a little water or chicken broth to thin it out.
You can absolutely make this in a crockpot or even the oven. You won’t need the chicken broth, but the rest is the same. You just need to cook the chicken so you can shred it and then mix everything together.
Yes, you can use the pre-cooked bacon or you could even use the bacon bits that are actual pieces of bacon. I prefer to cook my own, so I have bigger pieces, but that is up to you.
More Chicken Recipes To Try
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Sous Vide Chicken
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers
- Creamy Salsa Chicken
- Honey Teriyaki Chicken
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta
- Crunchy Southwestern Chicken Wraps
- Mississippi Chicken
Instant Pot Crack Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pound boneless chicken breasts
- 8 oz bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 oz package ranch seasoning mix
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on Saute and add bacon to the pot. Cook until browned and crispy. Remove bacon and grease from the pan. Set bacon aside.
- In a mixing bowl mix cream cheese and ranch seasoning mix together until well blended.
- Pour chicken broth into the bottom of the pot. Put chicken in the pot and spread cream cheese mixture over the chicken. Put the lid on, turn to Manual and cook under High Pressure for 12 minutes (17 if using frozen chicken).
- Use the quick release once the chicken is done. Remove chicken and shred with forks.
- Add chicken, cooked bacon and cheddar cheese back to the pot and stir in the cheese. Put the lid back on for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is thicken.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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One of our faves! We love to make a wrap. I am excited to try all of your serving suggestions.
The flavor is so good! We love making chicken in the instant pot!
Served this for dinner last night and it has easily become a new favorite recipe for dinner! Even my picky eaters gobbled this up!
This chicken is hard to put down and I can’t wait to enjoy it again. It was so simple to prepare and the instant pot did all the hard work.
I love anything with Ranch! This chicken is creamy and tender! I loved it as a sandwich, but over rice would be delicious too!
My family would love this for dinner tonight! It looks amazingly delicious!
This is so tasty!! Everyone at my house will surely love this!