Printable Recipe Card
Instant Pot Bacon Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
This is a meal I make whenever I'm short on time and just need everything cooked at once, as fast as possible. The baby potatoes turn out wonderfully creamy, the chicken can cook from frozen (how handy!) and the sauce tastes like I slaved in the kitchen for hours.We love this recipe served with a side of Sautéed Green Beans or with Roasted Asparagus, but some broccoli is delicious, too.
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Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning mix or more to taste
- 1.5 pounds chicken thighs I used small bone-in, skin-on ones
- 3 tablespoons chopped bacon
- 1 clove garlic minced (or more to taste)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 pound baby potatoes very large ones cut in half
- ½ cup cream OR half and half
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch or more in case sauce doesn’t thicken enough to your liking
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Brown chicken: Set instant pot to "sauté" and melt one tablespoon butter in the inner pot. Rub chicken thighs with Ranch seasoning mix, then add the chicken thighs to the instant pot in batches and cook on both sides until browned. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Start sauce: Melt one extra tablespoon of butter in the instant pot, then brown the bacon and garlic. Add chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to scratch away any browned bits (do this properly or you may trigger the burn warning). Switch off the instant pot.
- Pressure cook: Place chicken thighs back into the pot (it's fine to stack them), then place the potatoes on top. Close the lid and set the valve to the "sealing" position. Choose "pressure cook" (or "manual" on some models) and set the timer to 10 minutes to start the cooking process.
- Release pressure: Once the timer is up, do a 10 minute natural pressure release (just switch the instant pot off and leave it alone). Then release any remaining pressure manually according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Thicken sauce: Open the instant pot and remove the potatoes and chicken. Combine cream and cornstarch to make a slurry and whisk into the sauce in the instant pot. Set the instant pot to "sauté" and, stirring constantly, simmer until thickened. Switch it off, then stir in the parmesan, season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve over the chicken and potatoes.
Notes
Ingredient Notes:
Butter: I love the taste of butter in any rich cream sauce (especially with bacon and ranch flavors, ahem), but if you want to make this dairy, free, use olive oil instead (and leave out the Parmesan cheese). Chicken: You can use other cuts if you prefer:- Boneless thighs: Cooking time stays the same.
- Boneless chicken breast: Decrease cooking time to 8 minutes.
- Frozen chicken breast: Increase cooking time to 12 minutes. Seasoning and browning is more difficult – see cooking tips below.
- Frozen thighs: Increase cooking time to 15 minutes. Seasoning and browning is more difficult – see cooking tips below.
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
- 2 teaspoons dried garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cooking Tips:
Using frozen chicken: When using frozen chicken pieces (either breast or thighs), there are a few ways to prepare it to still get maximum flavors:- If you have some extra time: Submerge the package of frozen chicken pieces in room-temperature water for 15 minutes while you get everything else ready. Then, use the chicken as stated in the recipe (season and brown), but increase the cooking time to the times given in the “ingredient notes” section above.
- If you don’t have any extra time: Get the sauce started as directed in the recipe, then place a trivet in the pot. Combine the ranch seasoning with ½ tablespoon olive oil and toss the frozen chicken in it. Place on the trivet, then place the potatoes on top. Pressure cook according to the cooking time in the “ingredient notes” section above.
- make sure to whisk the cornstarch very well into a small amount of cool liquid before adding it to hot liquid
- stir constantly as you simmer the sauce until it thickens
- make sure the sauce is hot enough to be at a constant simmer, or the cornstarch will not work
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 651kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 30gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 658mgPotassium: 881mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 747IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition is an estimate.
More recipe information
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Buddy Stonesifer says
I used your recipe as a base, made some changes for what i was going for, AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!! I used boneless skinless thighs and covered them in a full ranch dressing packet. Started by browning them like the recipe calls for, then removing them. Next i browned 4 slices of bacon, along with a diced onion and 8oz of mushrooms, and red pepper flakes. Deglazed with stock. Put the thighs back in the pot with potatoes (I used russet because that’s what i had). Pressure cooked for 8 minutes. Released the pressure. Added 2 tablespoons (instead of teaspoons) cornstarch into the heavy cream, stirred it in and let it simmer a minute, then added about a cup of parm. Added frozen spinach. Stirred until warmed through. It turned out like a chicken bacon ranch stew. It is freaking delicious. Thank you for posting such a good recipe that it is versatile enough to be so good no matter what you do to it!!!!
Bekie says
My mom made this and I loved it! Now going to make it for my husband! How would you use boneless chicken thighs though? How would it differ in time?
Nora says
Bekie, the consensus is generally to cook boneless chicken thighs 2 minutes less in the instant pot. However, it’s perfectly fine to cook them for 10 minutes in this case, as the potatoes will need the full pressure cooking time (many online recipes call for 10 minutes of pressure cooking time for boneless chicken thighs anyways – I do think they are most perfect cooked for 8 minutes, but 10 minutes isn’t going to ruin them at all). Hope this helps!
Laurie says
This recipe was my first try at using my Ninja Instapot. Your directions were so easy to follow and my family loved it. Very tasty!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Laurie!
Beth Shockley says
My husband loved this recipe! I do not like thyme, anytime I use it that is all I can taste. It is just way to strong for me. Can I leave it out or use a substitute, if so what would I use?
Nora says
Beth, you can absolutely leave out the thyme! My grandmother is the same with rosemary, so I understand wanting to avoid the thyme at all cost. There’s no need to add anything to replace it with.
Alicia K says
I plan on making this recipe, if I double it (3lbs of chicken and 2lbs potatoes) is the cook time the same?
Nora says
Alicia, yes, the cook time stays the same in the instant pot! Just make sure you don’t go over the maximum fill line.
lovefam6 says
If I were to use 5.5 lbs of chicken, do I just a little over triple everything? Or does anything remain the same?
Nora says
I would generally triple everything. If you don’t want quite that much sauce, then only double the chicken stock, cream, cornstarch and parmesan cheese. Most of all, make sure you do not exceed the max fill line on your instant pot. The instant pot will take significantly longer to come to pressure with that much more food, so please be aware that the cooking time indicated in the recipe may be a little too long (since the food starts cooking before it comes to pressure, and it will be in this limbo before coming to pressure for a longer amount of time vs with the original recipe).
Tami says
It’s a great go to for an easy dinner. And so simple to make. We absolutely love this dish.
Thank you
Nora says
I’m so glad, Tami!
Scott says
Hello,
Found this recipe didn’t use rice but could put over rice.
Changed the recipe by using sweet potatoes diced (too small).
Then used milk and cream cheese turned out excellent
Will make this again.
Jennifer says
This was so good!!! Even my picky kiddos loved! Will add to my rotation!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Jennifer!
Emily says
I absolutely love this recipe, and it is sooooo easy to make! My boyfriend is always asking for me to make it!?
I always add a little extra bacon and make a little extra sauce and We normally have extra potato’s left over! I throw those into a baking dish with the sauce, add some cheese on top and bake until bubbly! Perfect side dish with leftovers!
Nora says
That sounds so good, Emily! Will have to try sometimes soon for us ?
Pat says
Turned out delicious. I added mushrooms to the sauce
Jannae says
This recipe looks delicious. If I’m avoiding dairy, would coconut milk work as a replacement for the cream? Any other suggestions? Thanks.
Nora says
Jannae, I think coconut milk would be a good replacement. Alternatively, I’ve also gotten away with stirring a little cashew butter into a sauce when I was out of cream. Hope that helps!
Kim Forsythe-Law says
Quick and easy for a newbie. The family loved it!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Kim!
Emily Walker says
A little more complicated than I cared for, for an instant pot meal…but definitely worth it. So delicious!
Nora Rusev says
Emily, thanks for that honest feedback. I do try to keep my recipes as simple as possible (because that’s what I like best with my family as well, no time for complicated!). Sometimes good flavurs get the best of me though ??
Dona says
Delish! I used 2 pounds of chicken but I could have doubled it, the crew ate it right up!