Crack Chicken Soup

Our Chicken crack soup recipe in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop is a bite of cream cheese goodness your whole family will love. With noodles like our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole, you can use thighs or breasts with Lots of cheese!

This is a hearty, creamy dinner idea perfect during the Winter or year round. My girls ask for Instant Pot recipes like this at least once a month, even in the summertime. Served with some rolls it is comfort food in a bowl (and super addicting).

I used my usual method here but if you don’t have this or a Ninja Foodi you could easily use a large pot. Just saute the meat a bit longer at the beginning and simmer until noodles are as tender as you want it to be.

Using this machine, you’ll use the lid that is not attached with bite size skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs for the protein. Either is delicious but the latter offers up a bit more flavor. I’ve used both to make the thicker version, Ninja Foodi crack chicken and either is delicious.

I will tell you, we absolutely love Instant Pot soup recipes when it is chilly outside. When we were in California there wasn’t much of a temperature change, but once we hit Idaho we got all four seasons for real! Right around October I am ALL about Instant Pot casseroles, baking, and soup for dinner.

Why is it called crack chicken?

The quick answer is that people saw this ranch dressing mix, bacon and cream cheese combination as addicting. Some don’t like the name for obvious reasons but I’m just answering the question you asked. 😉

Can you add potatoes?

If you wanted to add more into the mix you could dice russets and throw those in to get tender along with everything else. You can of course thin it out with a bit more broth but I like a really hearty dish full of this. Add a bit more meat if you like, thighs or breasts work.

The nice thing about using the “magical pot” is you can cook the bacon, saute the chicken, and get the noodles tender all in one pot. If you used precooked and bagged real bacon bits and leftover chicken breasts you could skip this first step entirely too.

Ingredient Notes

I buy ranch dressing mix already made but you could also make homemade ranch mix if you wanted to. You cannot always find buttermilk powder in stores so I would make sure you can find it locally or online before attempting it. I’m always about easy so I don’t bother with making that from scratch.

We added orzo pasta to the mix. You could certainly leave it out but it wouldn’t be quite as hearty of a dish. If you have never had or heard of this it tastes a bit like a firmer white rice of sorts. This is what you’ll need to make this:

As for the meat I prefer to use diced chicken thighs. Dark meat is more tender and offers a richer flavor. Breasts would work too if you prefer. Either way you want to remove the bone and cut into equal portions, large bites sizes and saute with olive oil.

Room temperature cream cheese is what makes it creamy. I like Tillamook the best but have used dairy free varieties that do work as well (but I don’t think they are as creamy).

Bacon is typically added, and is a must for us. You will cook this with the meat so it is browned, a bit crisp, but will continue to cook in the soup so you can leave it a bit softer than if served by itself. After the holidays you could easily make this as a leftover ham recipe as well to mix things up.

Chicken broth is way better than water for the liquid. You can use less or more depending on how thick you want it to be.

Cheese can be added into the mix at the very end and/or at the top when serving it up. You can add as much as you like or leave it out entirely. An hour or two before you make this take your block of cream cheese out and set it on the counter. It is best to add in smaller chunks once it is room temperature.

If you don’t it is likely to not melt as well and get a bit chunky instead of becoming smooth immediately. It is still fine but doesn’t look nearly as appetizing to the eye.

Stovetop Method

If you are making this in a dutch oven or large pot on your stovetop you will still saute on medium heat with olive oil or in bacon grease, add other ingredients, reduce heat and cover. Stir intermittently and simmer until pasta is tender, then remove. I provided you with the full printable recipe below with ingredients necessary and you would follow that no matter whether you pressure cook or boil in a pot with a lid.

How to serve

Serve with a baby spinach salad and/or some pull apart bread. If you wanted to add more to this dish you could top with more shredded chicken and bacon bits too. Some like a sprinkle of some dill weed with oyster crackers thrown on there too.

For another delicious idea after this one, try our Crockpot crack chicken or Instant Pot crack chicken pasta dish!! Thicker with large wide egg noodles it is more of a casserole of sorts but still an easy one pot meal for your family.