bacon ranch and chicken crack dip

Instant Pot Bacon Ranch Chicken “Crack” Dip

You read right.

Everywhere I look on Pinterest, I see “Crack Chicken”. Obviously no one is actually cooking with crack, so I have to assume that it means it’s just really addictive.

Thankfully I was right.

This recipe combines a lot of my favorite things: bacon, cheese, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning. If you’re doing Keto, this is great for that. Protein, fat, and low to no carb.

instant pot bacon ranch crack chicken

A lot of people use the packet stuff, but I made my own seasoning and it worked out just dandy. Feel free to adjust however you feel necessary, but this one is heavy on the onion powder and the dill. I love onion powder, I think it’s a highly underrated seasoning. Garlic powder has been standing in that spotlight all alone, and now it has a worthy adversary.

You’ve heard me singing the praises of the Instant Pot before, and it’s still one of my favorite things. Just throw everything in and walk away. In this case, we saute the bacon and the chicken a little bit first, but it’s still so easy.

So, you might be wondering about the golden, bubbly, and cheesy crust on top. Not standard for the Instant Pot, I know, so I put it in a casserole and I baked it after it was done. Sue me. I wanted it to look nice for the picture and also see if that helped thicken it up a bit. And it did! Plus, who doesn’t want extra cheese on top?

Click here for a great cheat sheet on Instant Pot cooking times from Instapot Life!

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp dill weed or 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 4 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1.5-2 lbs chicken breasts (I used 3 chicken breasts, est 1.7 lbs), cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
  • 1.5 cups shredded white or yellow sharp cheddar cheese, divided
  • Scallions (optional, for garnish)

Directions

  1. Combine onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, dill weed, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside. Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and add the olive oil. When it’s hot, add bacon and cook for a few minutes until starting to brown.
  2. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring around so almost all sides of the chicken are white or slightly browned. You don’t want the chicken to be too browned or cooked through, you just want to get that sear to lock in the juices.
  3. Add chicken broth, seasoning mixture, Worcestershire, and cream cheese cubes. Hit “cancel” and set the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook”. Set the timer to 12 minutes and make sure the float valve is set to “sealing”. When time is up, let natural release for 2-3 mins and then set the valve to “venting” and let the remaining pressure release (being careful when you do so as to not burn yourself from the steam)!
  4. Stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and let the heat from the mixture melt it (and it will melt quickly). You can serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of cheese on top, or you can do what I did and bake it so it thickens up a bit.
  5. Preheat oven to 375. Spoon the chicken mixture into a casserole dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar. Bake for 25 mins and then turn to broil for the last 5-10 until the cheese gets all brown and bubbly. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with veggies, crackers, whatever. SO ADDICTIVE.

instant pot bacon ranch crack chicken

instant pot bacon ranch crack chicken

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