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Home Recipes Main Course Chicken

Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe

crack chicken featured image
Posted on April 9, 2018 By Faith Gorsky
Jump to RecipePrint Recipe

Rich, creamy, and full of flavor, this Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is sure to be a favorite family dinner.

Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken in White Bowl on Dark Metal Tray

This recipe is from our e-book, 20 Low-Carb Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes. In the e-book we call it “Better Than Crack Chicken”, which it really is! We switched up the seasoning a little (omitted the Ranch mix and added our own keto-friendly seasonings), and this takes it over the top in terms of deliciousness. Our e-book is now on sale on for just $4.99!

We’ve also included this ebook in our ULTIMATE KETO EBOOK BUNDLE for only $19.99. It includes all 9 of our ebooks and meal plans! If you love the ebooks, join our affiliate program and earn 40% on each ebook sale you refer!

In This Article

  • What is Crack Chicken
  • Using Frozen Chicken to Make Crack Chicken in an Instant Pot
  • Crack Chicken Ingredients 
  • Using Leftover Chicken to Make Crack Chicken
  • How to Make Crack Chicken in a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot
  • How to make Crack Chicken in the Oven
  • How to Shred Cooked Chicken Breasts
  • What Makes This Crack Chicken Keto/Low-Carb
  • How to Serve Keto Crack Chicken (And Keep it Keto-Friendly)
  • Other Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes you will love!
  • Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe

What is Crack Chicken

The wildly popular Crack Chicken is actually pretty simple in its ingredient list: chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, scallion, and Ranch seasoning! The end result is creamy and rich, and packed with flavor. It’s proof that a recipe doesn’t have to be complicated to taste great. Crack Chicken is deliciously addictive, which is where the name comes from.

Using Frozen Chicken to Make Crack Chicken in an Instant Pot

A question we frequently get asked is whether you have to defrost boneless, skinless chicken breasts before making this recipe, or if you can just use them frozen. If you forgot to pull the chicken out of the freezer in the morning, we have good news for you! Crack Chicken can easily be made with frozen chicken. If using an Instant Pot, just add 5 minutes on to the cooking time (for a total of 20 minutes on Manual High Pressure).

Note that the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises against cooking frozen chicken in a slow cooker or crock pot because slow cookers cook at a low temperature and may not heat chicken up to 165F, which is the minimum temperature to destroy any dangerous bacteria and ensure that chicken is fully cooked. So if you’re using a crock pot or slow cooker to make Crack Chicken, make sure to defrost it first!

Crack Chicken Ingredients 

  • bacon
  • boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • cream cheese
  • water
  • apple cider vinegar
  • dried chives
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • crushed red pepper flakes
  • dried dill
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • shredded cheddar cheese
  • scallion

image of the ingredients used to make crack chicken

Using Leftover Chicken to Make Crack Chicken

Sometimes we all have leftover chicken on hand that needs to be used up. Maybe you roasted a couple of chickens on the weekend to prep for the week ahead, maybe you had company over and grilled up too many chicken breasts.

Or maybe rotisserie chicken was on sale at your local grocery store and it was too good a bargain to pass up or you made some Instant Pot shredded chicken breasts. Whatever the reason, we all can use a few ideas on how to use up leftover chicken.

If you have cooked chicken in your fridge just waiting to used, we have good news for you! Leftover chicken works great for making Crack Chicken. If using an Instant Pot, keep the chicken breasts whole if possible (don’t pre-shred them), and decrease the cooking time to 5 minutes (for a total of 5 minutes on Manual High Pressure).

If you have left over crack chicken, it’s perfect to meal prep and take for lunch the next day! 

How to Make Crack Chicken in a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot

One of the things we love most about Crack Chicken is that there are so many different ways you can make it! We love our electric pressure cooker, but if you’d rather throw everything together in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to dinner waiting for you, you’ll be happy to know that Crack Chicken can also be made in a crock pot.

To make Crack Chicken in a slow cooker, add the chicken and cream cheese to the slow cooker. Whisk together the water, vinegar, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dill, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl and pour on top. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it, and then add it back to the pot and stir in the cheddar. Cook the bacon in a skillet on the stovetop until crispy; cool the bacon and then crumble it on top.

How to make Crack Chicken in the Oven

After so many people have asked we made a keto baked crack chicken recipe! This recipe is just as good as our original keto crack chicken made in the instant pot!

fully baked chicken topped with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, and scallions in a glass baking dish

How to Shred Cooked Chicken Breasts

There are a number of methods for shredding cooked chicken breasts, most of which take less than a minute! Choose the one that works best for you. Note that all of these methods work best when the chicken is still warm, so be sure to shred it before it cools, but not when it’s still too hot to safely handle.

Stand Mixer Method to Shred Chicken

Add the chicken to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Put on the splatter guard. Turn the mixer on until the chicken is shredded, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Hand Mixer Method to Shred Chicken

Add the chicken to a large bowl. Beat the chicken on low speed with a handheld electric mixer until the chicken is shredded, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Food Processor Method to Shred Chicken

Add the chicken to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade (this dough blade is for this Cuisinart food processor).

High Speed Blender Method to Shred Chicken

Add the chicken to a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix or Blendtec) and pulse a few times until the chicken is shredded.

Two Forks Method to Shred Chicken

Place the cooked chicken breasts onto a cutting board. Pierce the center of a piece of chicken with one fork and use the other fork to pull the chicken into shreds.

image of crack chicken in a casserole dish for serving

What Makes This Crack Chicken Keto/Low-Carb

The main ingredients in this recipe (chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon) are all part of a low-carb, ketogenic diet. We skipped the store-bought Ranch seasoning mix because it usually contains sugar, quite a bit of salt, and preservatives that we try to avoid if possible. Instead we used a keto-friendly mix of dried chives, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dried dill, salt, and black pepper to season our Crack Chicken.

To keep this meal keto, an important thing to keep in mind is what you serve with this Crack Chicken; we share a few keto-friendly serving suggestions below.

Crack Chicken on Keto Buns

In the photo above, our Crack Chicken is served “sandwich style” on Paleo Low Carb Sandwich Bread Rolls (Keto Buns)!

How to Serve Keto Crack Chicken (And Keep it Keto-Friendly)

Here are a few of our favorite keto-friendly ways to serve Crack Chicken:

  • On top of zucchini noodles
  • On a bed of baby spinach
  • With a side of homemade guacamole
  • Along with herbed cauliflower rice or cilantro lime cauliflower rice
  • As sliders, using our favorite keto cheddar biscuits (the biscuit recipe is in our Freezer-Friendly Family Dinner Recipes e-book)

Other Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes you will love!

  • Juicy Beef Brisket Recipe – Fall apart tender brisket made in the instant pot!
  • Creamy Garlic Broccoli Mash – A delicious way to eat more vegetables on a keto diet.
  • Low Carb Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chicken – Juicy dark meat in a rich creamy sauce.
  • Low Carb Pot Roast – Made with radishes instead of potatoes (you won’t be able to tell the difference!).
  • Instant Pot Beef Ribs – Perfect for summer barbecues.
  • Cauliflower Soup with bacon and Cheddar cheese – You won’t be able to taste the cauliflower I swear!
  • Keto Cheesecake – Great dessert to bring for friends and family gatherings!
  • Instant Pot Cauliflower Pav Bhaji (Low Carb Indian Food) – To satisfy your craving for Indian food!
  • Low Carb Instant Pot Pot Roast – We use radishes instead of potatoes!
  • Instant Pot Keto Cinnamon Rolls – Perfect for lazy Sunday Mornings!
  • Instant Pot low Carb Chili – great to warm you up on those cold winter nights!

Also, here is a round up post we created sharing other bloggers favorite low carb instant pot recipes.

If you’re new to the Instant Pot, check out this post we wrote on our favorite Instant Pot Accessories!

5 Day Keto Meal Plan On a Budget

This crack chicken recipe can be made super cheap! And if you’re looking for other budget friendly keto recipes, check out our 5 Day Keto Meal Plan. This keto meal plan is great for people looking to do keto on a budget. With our keto budget meal plan you can eat for less than $5 per day!

5 day budget plan jumpstart

Easy Chicken Recipes you need to try!

  • Low Carb Indian Butter Chicken
  • Low Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
  • Keto BBQ Chicken Salad Bowls
  • Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole 
  • Buffalo Chicken Dip
  • Leftover Chicken Bone Broth Soup
  • Copycat Alice Springs Chicken

If you’re big into meal prepping, we have something for you! We wrote a post about keto chicken meal prep that you may enjoy!

Close Up of Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken with Bacon and Scallion on Top

If you loved this post or any of our recipes, please leave a comment below. We love hearing from you! You can also tag #theketoqueens on social media. To stay up-to-date, FOLLOW US on Instagram @theketoqueens, Twitter, and Facebook.

Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken in White Bowl on Dark Metal Tray

Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe

Rich, creamy, and full of flavor, this Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is sure to be a favorite family dinner.
Author: Faith
Servings: 8 servings (yields about 7 cups total)
Calories: 380
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Print Pin Rate

What You'll Need

  • pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 2 slices bacon chopped
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 16 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dried chives
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar (2 oz)
  • 1 scallion green and white parts, thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Turn pressure cooker on, press “Sauté”, and wait 2 minutes for the pot to heat up. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Press “Cancel” to stop sautéing. (See Note.)
  • Add the chicken, cream cheese, water, vinegar, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dill, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Turn the pot on Manual, High Pressure for 15 minutes and then do a quick release.
  • Use tongs to transfer the chicken to a large plate, shred it with 2 forks, and return it back to the pot.
  • Stir in the cheddar cheese.
  • Top with the crispy bacon and scallion, and serve.

Notes

We've tested this recipe upwards of 10 times and have never had the burn warning come on; however, several readers have had the warning come on, so we want to give a tip. In step 1 of the Instructions above, after removing the bacon from the pot, we recommend adding a splash of water, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits that have formed on the bottom to deglaze the pan. After that, continue on with step 1 and press "Cancel" to stop sauteing.
Nutrition Facts
Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 380 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 14g88%
Cholesterol 146mg49%
Sodium 473mg21%
Potassium 527mg15%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 30g60%
Vitamin A 980IU20%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 116mg12%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Crack Chicken, keto crack chicken, Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheRealKetoQueens or tag #TheKetoQueens!

 

 

I want to start keto!

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Comments

  1. Julee Garrett says

    5 stars
    My husband and I just love this! Do you have a chili version?

    Reply
    • Faith Gorsky says

      Julee, Thank you so much! We don’t, but we’re thinking about making one! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sherry says

    You can decrease cook time for the Instant Pot Keto Cracked Chicken by using rotisserie chicken instead of raw boneless skinless chicken breasts. You’ll only need to cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes.
    Bon Appétit!

    Reply
  3. Catherine says

    5 stars
    This is my go to recipe for Keto crack chicken, it’s the best out of all the recipes I’ve tried. The only thing I do different is I use chicken bone broth instead of water. I am going to try cutting the chicken before adding it, as someone suggested, in hopes that makes the shredding process a little quicker. Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe!

    Reply
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Hi! I'm Faith.

Hello! Whether you’re a keto newbie, already keto-adapted, or just keto-curious, you’re in the right place. Here at The Keto Queens, we share keto lifestyle tips, informative tidbits, and of course tasty low carb and keto recipes that your whole family will love. We want to inspire you, and show you that you can do this! Welcome to the family.

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The Keto Queens is monetized in part though affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if you click on an affiliate link and/or purchase an item after clicking on an affiliate link, The Keto Queens may receive a percentage of the sales price. We only recommend products that we love and use. To learn more, please read our Privacy Policy.
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