Instant Pot Crack Chicken is a tasty and versatile chicken recipe made with frozen chicken breast, bacon, cream cheese, ranch seasoning, green onions, and sharp cheddar.
New to the instant pot? Check out our instant pot guide here.
Why is it called Instant Pot crack chicken?
This recipe is called Instant Pot “crack chicken” because it’s hard not to eat it all in one sitting! You can serve it with crackers, rolls, or over salad. Yum! Just note that this recipe is made with both cream cheese and bacon. So healthy, it’s not. 🙂
Is there a lighter version of this recipe?
You can lighten up Instant Pot crack chicken recipe by using reduced fat cream cheese and omit the bacon. Either way, it will still have a great flavor, thanks to the ranch seasoning. Also, if you love ranch, you may want to check out my recipe for Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Tenders.Â
Can I make instant pot crack chicken with defrosted chicken?
Yes. Simply cut your cook time down to 15 minutes on high pressure.
Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe (with frozen chicken)
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound chopped bacon
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 ranch packet
- 2 pounds frozen chicken breast approximately 3 large
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
Instructions
- Set your pressure cooker to saute.
- Cook the chopped bacon and then remove and place a paper towel to drain fat.
- Pour chicken broth into the instant pot electric pressure cooker and deglaze the bottom of your pot. Make sure there are no bits of food stuck to the bottom of your pan or your pot may not come to pressure.
- Whisk in the ranch seasoning packet.
- Place the frozen chicken breasts in the pot and top with the cream cheese.
- Close lid and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual - high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Natural Pressure Release for 5 minutes and then remove the rest of the pressure.
- Remove chicken and shred.
- While chicken is removed, whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch into the chicken broth mixture.
- Return chicken and bacon to the pot and mix until evenly coated with the sauce.
- Serve warm on crackers, rolls, or lettuce. Top with sharp cheddar and green onions.
Other delicious Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Apple BBQ Ribs
Instant Pot Loaded Macaroni and Cheese
I allowed myself to get really frustrated by going over and over your page with the Crack Chicken using the frozen chicken breasts.. I could find no instructions or time allowed for the Instant Pot. I did see where if the chicken is thawed you reduce the time on high to 15 minutes. Somehow I misinterpreted when I read because I used that time for frozen chicken and it wasn’t ready. I tried to fix it by cooking it another 5 minutes but without knowing the true time,… Can you please direct me to where I went wrong and where is that recipe?
Hi Mary, I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t load for you! We are in the process of fixing a bug with my recipe card. I’m guessing that’s why it didn’t show up for you. The cook time from frozen is 25 minutes. I really hope it worked out for you!
Hi there! I would love to make this for dinner but am I crazy or is the actual recipe missing? Please reply soooooon. I have the ingredients listed and want to make this to eat during the game and This Is Us tonight.
Ok that was weird … I refreshed the page and there’s the recipe. I’m not sure if there’s something wrong with the mobile version but this did not show up on my phone or the first time I loaded the page on my PC.
Nikki, I’m so glad you were able to grab the recipe. We are working on fixing a bug with my recipe card, so that was probably the issue. I hope you enjoyed This Is Us and the Crack Chicken!
If you were to double it or use about 5 lbs of chicken (in an 8 Duo Instant pot) how would that affect the cooking time?
Hi Kat! The cooking time will stay the same. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe twice, first time a single batch and the second a double batch. Twenty five minutes seems to work great. The only thing I do different is once the chicken and broth mixture is all mixed, I just add the cheese and green onion right in and mix it again. We love this recipe…..IF there’s any left it makes a for quick delicious sandwich later.
Thank you for the tip John! I’m glad you like it.
So I’ve been wanting to try Crack Chicken for a while now and it just never seemed to appeal to my husband until we found this recipe. I substituted frozen thighs for the breasts and it was amazing! This is definitely going into our recipe book 😊
I’m so glad you liked it, Meesa. 🙂