When you talk about Instant Pots, one of the first things that comes to mind is Instant Pot Crack Chicken. Which is delicious. All of that cheesy, ranchy flavor just pops in your mouth and makes for an amazing and easy meal. But. It’s October, and that means that it’s soup season! So bring on the Instant Pot Crack Chicken soup! Plus, you add Spinach to this one, so that makes it healthy-ish…right?

This is more of a crack chicken soup for two recipe, because my husband is weird and doesn’t like ranch. So my daughter and I are the only ones that will eat it. If you want more, just double the recipe!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Crack Chicken Soup

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
8 ounces of cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 – 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups fresh spinach
1 packet of ranch seasoning mix
Bacon to garnish

Directions:

First, start by putting the chicken stock in the Instant Pot. Start with just one cup – you may or may not need more later.

Add the following ingredients in this order:
chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, seasonings.

Set the Instant Pot on high for 20 minutes.

Quick release. Be careful with this part because your soup may splatter out the float valve. I like to move the valve about halfway so that the steam is releasing but not quite as much at once (aka controlled release.) It seems to cut down on the mess.

At this point you’re going to think you screwed up the recipe because some parts look brothy and the cream cheese seems to still be in chunks. That’s okay. I promise it will all come together.

Carefully remove the chicken and shred with either two forks or meat shredding tools.

Return the chicken to the pot. Stir until smooth and without clumps.

Add the spinach and hit the saute button just until the spinach is wilted.

Let sit for about 10 minutes so that the soup thickens. If you want your Instant Pot crack chicken soup thicker, you can always add extra cream cheese or a cornstarch slurry. If you want it thinner, add that extra 1/2 cup of stock or broth and stir it in good.

Serve with bacon garnish.

Why is it called Crack Chicken?

Well, that depends on what you read. Most people say that it’s called crack chicken because it’s highly addictive. You just can’t stop eating it. Others say it has something to do with a hatching yellow chicken on a box of seasonings sold in Michigan. I’m going with addictive since I live in NY.

What else can I add to Crack Chicken Soup?

Once in a while if I’m looking for a super hearty soup, I will add rice or noodles to make crack chicken and rice soup or crack chicken noodle soup. You can also swap out the ranch seasoning for Italian seasoning to make an Italian crack chicken soup. It’s just as good!

Can you freeze Crack Chicken Soup?

You can freeze it as is, but if you plan on adding noodles or rice, I would make them on the side once you’re ready to serve. Noodles and rice don’t freeze well and will just come out gummy and gooey.

Can you microwave this soup?

Once you’ve fully cooked the chicken, the microwave is a perfect way to warm up leftovers. But honestly, I can’t imagine having leftovers!

Can I leave out the spinach?

Sure! You can leave out the spinach if you want to – the end result won’t be as “healthy” for you. I do find that putting the spinach in the soup is a great way to sneak some veggies into a kid’s meal. My daughter doesn’t mind it at all! You can also substitute the spinach for kale or even escarole if you choose.

What can you serve this soup with?

This is more of a question of preference. In our house, we have salad with every meal. However, you could skip the salad and go with biscuits or crusty french bread or crackers. Garlic bread would also be delicious with it!

This post may use affiliate links. While they cost you nothing extra to use, I am compensated for them. Thank you for your support! You can view my privacy policy here.

Tools for making Instant Pot Crack Chicken Soup:

Instant pot
meat shredding claws
knife
serving bowls

You’ll also love these Instant Pot recipes!

Instant Pot Apple Pie Rice Pudding
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Corn Chowder
Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Instant Pot Lemon Blueberry French Toast

Instant Pot Crack Chicken Soup