Crack Chicken Instant Pot Recipe

Crack Chicken's name is no lie, it really is good and makes people return for more. This version in the Instant pot makes the already simple recipe even quicker while still keeping everything that makes this recipe so good.

Bacon, chicken, ranch seasoning, cream cheese, and cheddar! You can complete the entire recipe in under 40 minutes, including the time it takes to build up pressure!

You can eat this as a sandwich filling, with rice, on baked potatoes, or just out of the pot with a fork. It does well with all these options.

Why This Tastes Different From Slow Cooker Crack Chicken

Crack Chicken is one of those recipes where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ranch seasoning, cream cheese, and cheddar are not individually exciting.

Combined with bacon and chicken cooked under pressure, they offer an experience that is all at once salty, creamy, tangy, and rich. The pressure cooking shreds the chicken in a way that slow cooking merely approaches — you get a finer, even shread that coats in the sauce instead of sitting in chunky pieces.

The first step is cooking the bacon. Using the sauté function will accomplish two things. First, it will render the bacon fat which will be used to cook the rest of the dish. Second, the bottom of the pot will capture some of the bacon flavor which will be incorporated into the entire dish when the pot is pressure cooked.

What Goes In and What Each Thing Does

The Chicken

What works best here are boneless skinless chicken breasts as they shred easily. This recipe requires 4 breasts halved, we want even sized pieces so everything cooks evenly and at the same speed under pressure.

Substituting chicken thighs works as well. Boneless skinless thighs give an even richer outcome due to their higher fat content, plus they're more forgiving with your cook time (add a minute or two).

The Ranch Seasoning

For this recipe, we use Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch packets. Unless you have a compelling reason not to, stay with this option. Buttermilk has more of an interesting flavor than the regular packet.

One packet per batch is just right. Two packets make it aggressively salty and drowns out the other flavors.

The Cream Cheese

8 oz block full-fat cream cheese, softened. This is what gives the dish its creamy thick texture after shredding.

While low-fat cream cheese might yield a slightly thinner end product, it's still usable. Do not use whipped cream cheese — the added water and air changes the texture too much. For easier and more even melting, cut the block into cubes before adding.

The Bacon

One pound diced raw before cooking. This gets cooked first using the saute function, and then the pieces go back in with everything else.

Cutting it right into the pot with kitchen shears will be quicker and less messy than cutting it on a cutting board. You can use turkey bacon, but you'll have less fat to cook it in. To offset this, add a tablespoon of butter.

The Mayonnaise

While we list it as optional, it is definitely an addition that can enhance the dish. The mayonnaise offers richness, with a touch of tang to help balance the flavors. The dish is still excellent without it, but with it, there's a touch more depth.

The mayo helps the dip stay together when it warms up, so it can be served at a party. If you're taking it to a party, you can skip the mayo. If you're making it for a weeknight dinner, you can definitely leave it out.

The Cheese

If you can, shred it yourself using a block of cheese. The pre-shredded cheddar cheese has a coating with anti-caking starch which can cause it to melt a little less smoothly.

In a dish this creamy and rich you can really notice the difference between fresh shredded cheese and the bagged stuff.

How to Make Instant Pot Crack Chicken

Step 1: Cook the Bacon

For this recipe, start by selecting the ‘sauté’ function on your Instant Pot and setting the heat to high. When the pot is hot, add the diced bacon and cook it for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is fully cooked, and the edges are a little crispy.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and set it aside. Leave the drippings in the pot.

Step 2: Brown the Chicken (Optional but Worth It)

Still in sauté mode, add the pieces of chicken into the bacon grease, and sear for about 2 minutes on each side. You're not trying to cook them fully, just getting some color on the outside. This step is for flavor.

Feel free to skip it if you're in a hurry; the recipe will still work without it.

Step 3: Deglaze and Add Ingredients

Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom to loosen the brown bits – this will prevent the burn notice during pressure cooking. Add and stir the ranch seasoning packet.

Submerge the chicken in the broth. Add the cubed cream cheese onto the chicken. Pour the cooked bacon back in.

Step 4: Pressure Cook

Close the lid and set the valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 15 minutes on high.

Once the cooking time is finished, allow 5 minutes of natural pressure release. Then, carefully do a quick release to let go of any remaining pressure.

Step 5: Shred and Finish

First, open the lid and take the chicken pieces out. Then, place them on a cutting board and use two forks to pull the meat apart and shred it. The chicken should easily pull apart.

As you shred, continue stirring the cream cheese into the sauce in the pot until it is fully melted and combined. Add the shredded chicken back, then stir in the cheddar. If using mayonnaise, add it at this stage.

Before serving, remember to taste the dish first!. The bacon and ranch can be pretty salty, so you probably won't need to add any more salt, but a little black pepper usually helps.

Step 6: Add Green Onions and Serve

Add the chopped green onions just before serving so they remain fresh and don’t get wilty in the sauce.

Instant Pot Tips for This Recipe

Steering Clear of the Burn Notice. The Instant Pot recipes often fail because one of the most common reasons is the bottom of the pot igniting, in which case it will no longer use the pressurize function. To avoid this, make sure after sautéing the bacon and chicken you properly deglaze, meaning you will need to scrape all of the brown bits before sealing the pot lid.

Take a look at the sealing ring. If you've done a lot of savory cooking in your Instant Pot, the sealing ring may have absorbed some smells. You can either run a steam cycle using white vinegar or get a new ring — they're cheap and it's a good idea to have a spare.

Natural release and quick release differ in how they let the pressure in your instant pot decrease. With a natural release, you can let the pressure drop on its own. Quick release, however, will allow the pressure to drop much faster, meaning you are more likely to have tougher chicken. The 5-minute wait is the difference here.

Three Things That Can Go Wrong (and How to Fix Them)

Underseasoned base. Base ranch packet and bacon do most of the seasoning but always taste before serving. The cream cheese mutes the flavors, so what may have tasted well-seasoned before the pressure cooking might taste really flat after. So, adjust with black pepper — it rarely needs more salt.

Avoid putting cheese in under pressure. For shredded cheddar, you’ll do that after pressure cooking and with the pot open. If you add cheese under pressure or cover the pot, it will stick to the cheese and bottom.

Burn notice while cooking? Turn off the pot, do a quick release, open the lid, scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon, add a splash of broth, re-seal, and try again. It will finish cooking just fine after that — don't throw the batch out.

Six Ways to Serve This

This filling is multifunctional and can be used in various ways:

• Sandwiches: Toasted brioche buns, potato rolls, or a crusty hoagie roll. Add pickles if you’re into that — it works.
• Over white rice: The sauce soaks into the rice well. This is probably the easiest weeknight version.
• Stuffed in baked potatoes: Split a baked potato, pile the crack chicken on top with extra cheddar and green onions.
• As a hot dip: Keep it warm on the warming setting and serve with crackers, tortilla chips, or sliced French bread.
• Over cauliflower rice: One of the better low-carb options — the sauce is rich enough to carry the dish without bread or rice.
• Lettuce wraps: Large butter lettuce or romaine leaves work surprisingly well and add a fresh crunch contrast to the rich filling.

Three Directions You Can Take This

Spicy Version

For extra spice, toss in a diced jalapeño before pressure cooking, or mix in a few tablespoons of hot sauce afterward. If it's ranch-based, then Frank's RedHot should be the go-to.

Buffalo Crack Chicken

Once shredded, add in 1/4 cup of Frank’s RedHot buffalo sauce. Instead of ranch, serve with blue cheese dressing on rolls.

Slow Cooker Version

For those without an Instant Pot, you should pre-cook the bacon and combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Set it to low for around 6 to 7 hours. Once cooking time is up, shred the chicken and mix in some cheese and sliced green onions. For a slightly different but just as delicious version, check out our Crockpot Crack Chicken Sandwiches for a complete slow cooker recipe.

How It Keeps and How to Reheat It Right

Refrigerator: The sauce will keep for 4 days in an airtight container. The sauce may thicken as it cools, this is normal.

Freezer: Good for freezing for up to 2 months. Upon thawing, some cream cheese-based sauces can separate, but a quick stir while reheating can fix that. For easier reheating, freeze in portion-sized containers.

To reheat, add about 1-2 tablespoons of chicken broth or water to loosen the sauce. Then, reheat it in the microwave in 90-second intervals, stirring between each interval, or do it on a stove on medium-low heat in a saucepan. Keep the heat low to avoid breaking the cream cheese sauce.

Instant Pot Crack Chicken FAQ

Can I double this recipe?

Yes, as long as your Instant Pot is big enough — a 6 quart can handle a double batch just fine; a 3 quart will be too full. Cook time stays the same because pressure cooking time does not scale with volume.

Just be sure to stay under the max fill line on the pot.

Why is my sauce runny?

Several factors could have played a role in this: the cream cheese may not have been completely melted and mixed in, there might be excess liquid from the broth in addition to what the chicken released, or it's possible your chicken released more moisture (which is common when using previously frozen chicken).

Use the sauté function after shredding and stir everything together on low heat for a few minutes to bring the sauce down to your desired consistency.

Can I use frozen chicken?

I guess the Instant Pot can technically cook from frozen. Just add 5 minutes to the cook time.

That means frozen chicken releases more liquid. More liquid can mean less sauce. In this case, fresh or thawed chicken is better.

More Crack Chicken Recipes Worth Making

• Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Pasta — the crock pot version with pasta, Velveeta, and ranch — one of the most-shared recipes on this site
• Crescent Roll Crack Chicken — same flavors wrapped in buttery crescent dough and baked in 25 minutes
• Crockpot Crack Chicken Sandwiches — the original slow cooker version, great for feeding a crowd