Instant Pot ranch chicken is a creamy, flavor-packed meal made with tender chicken, baby potatoes, and just a handful of pantry staples. With minimal prep and a short cook time, this one-pot recipe comes together quickly and is perfect for busy weeknights. The ranch-seasoned chicken cooks right over the potatoes, soaking up all the savory juices for a comforting, hearty dish you’ll want to make again and again.
This ranch chicken and potatoes dish is rich, tangy, and incredibly satisfying—perfect for any night of the week. Everything cooks right in the pressure cooker: the seasoned meat rests over baby potatoes, soaking in all that herby flavor while staying tender and juicy. Once the pressure cooking is done, a creamy sauce made with cream cheese is stirred in for a comforting finish.
Since it all comes together in one pot, cleanup is a breeze. Plus, this ranch chicken Instant Pot recipe is a great option for feeding the whole family without a lot of effort. Serve it with your go-to vegetables or a crisp salad to round out the meal.
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Why We Love These Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
- It’s fast and foolproof
This Instant Pot ranch chicken recipe is perfect for busy nights. Just season, layer, and press cook—no extra steps or complicated prep. Everything cooks in one pot, which also means fewer dishes to wash! - Creamy, flavorful sauce
The combination of dry ranch seasoning, Italian herbs, and cream cheese creates a rich, savory sauce that coats every bite. The broth thickens beautifully, making it ideal for drizzling over it. - Pairs well with anything
Whether you serve it with steamed veggies, a fresh salad, or crusty bread, this ranch chicken and potatoes dish fits into any dinner plan. It’s a complete, satisfying meal that’s easy to customize with your favorite sides.
NEW TO THE INSTANT POT? Read How to Use the Instant Pot 101 first. And, my how to cook in Instant Pot are terrific for new owners and seasoned IP-ers alike!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
This recipe is super easy and delicious, and it can be customized with the ingredients you have available. You can use chicken thighs or chicken breasts without making any modifications.
Along with the chicken, you will need:
- Baby potatoes: scrubbed and left whole
- Olive oil: or preferred oil for cooking
- Dry ranch dressing mix for a zesty, tangy taste
- Italian seasoning adds the perfect herbs and spices for a really flavorful dish
- Chicken broth: I recommend low-sodium
- Cream cheese to make the creamiest, richest sauce for the chicken and potatoes
For a dish with even more big Italian flavor, feel free to swap the ranch dressing mix with an Italian dressing mix.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Use softened cream cheese
Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes before adding it to the sauce. This helps it melt quickly and blend smoothly into the broth for a perfectly creamy texture.
Recipe Variations
- Ranch chicken pasta: Instead of serving with potatoes, try tossing the shredded chicken and cream sauce with cooked pasta. The creamy ranch base coats noodles beautifully and makes a comforting, carb-friendly meal.
- Bacon cheddar ranch version: After pressure cooking, stir in crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese. This adds a smoky, cheesy twist to the sauce. Finish with chopped green onions for a flavorful garnish.
- Extra-rich cream sauce: Want a richer texture? Add a tablespoon of butter to the pot while the sauce simmers. A touch of black pepper and salt enhances the flavor even more.
- Classic chicken only: Skip the potatoes entirely and use only boneless skinless chicken breasts. After cooking, shred the meat, pour the creamy sauce over the top, and serve with rice or roasted vegetables for a lighter variation.
Try our other great Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
If you’re looking for more delicious recipes to cook in your Instant Pot, try our Instant Pot chicken tenders and our InstaPot chicken thighs and potatoes. They are both really good and will become family favorites.
If you are looking for some easy Instant Pot soup recipes, then you should try our Instant Pot chicken salsa or our White pozole. Both of these soups are really amazing and will make you feel warm and comfy.
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker)
- Medium bowl
How to Make Ranch Chicken Instant Pot
This is an easy recipe to make on a busy weeknight. Or, make it part of your relaxing weekend meal plan.
Theys are cooked right in the Instant Pot. And, they are paired with a thick and creamy ranch sauce that is so good you’ll want to drink it with a straw!
- First, prepare the baby potatoes by coating lightly with oil and then some of the ranch seasoning in a bowl. Add them to the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- Then, using the same bowl, add the thighs or breasts. Coat with a bit of oil and the rest of the ranch seasoning (or Italian dressing seasoning) plus the Italian seasoning. Place the coated meat on top of the potatoes in the pressure cooker.
- Next, add the broth to the pot. Place on the lid and seal, and set to manual pressure cook for 12 minutes.
- Once done, allow the Instant Pot to do a natural release for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Use tongs to remove the Instant Pot chicken thighs and potatoes and transfer them to a serving dish. Then turn on the sauté function and stir in the cream cheese to make a creamy ranch sauce. Continue stirring until the cream cheese has completely melted and the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy ranch chicken Instant Pot dish is hearty on its own, but pairing it with a few simple sides makes it even better. Serve it with roasted or steamed vegetables like green beans, broccoli, or asparagus to balance the richness of the sauce. A crisp garden salad with a tangy vinaigrette adds freshness, while warm dinner rolls or garlic bread are perfect for soaking up any extra cream cheese sauce. For a comfort food twist, spoon them over a bed of rice or mashed cauliflower.
Recipe FAQs
You can make your homemade ranch dressing mix by following these instructions: combine 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder (optional), 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried chives, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1 teaspoon dried dill.
You can use different types of potatoes for this recipe, such as baby potatoes, yellow (Yukon gold) potatoes, russets, or red potatoes. If you prefer, you can also cut larger potatoes into halves or quarters.
Store the chicken and potatoes with ranch seasoning in an airtight container. If you have leftovers, they will be good for up to four days. I don’t recommend freezing the dish because of the creaminess.
More Easy Dinner Recipes To Love…
- Spicy Meatballs
- Grilled Bone In Ribeye
- Street Tacos Pulled Pork Recipe
- Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casseroles Recipe
If you tried this ranch chicken and potato recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
Equipment
- Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker)
- medium bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1½ pound baby potatoes, scrubbed, whole (cut larger potatoes into halves or quarters, about 2")
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix (1/2 package) (see notes to make your own ranch dressing mix)
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup chicken broth softened and cubed
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened and cubed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix baby potatoes with 1 Tbsp of olive oil until coated, then add 1 Tbsp dry ranch dressing and until well coated. Add to bottom of pressure cooker.
- Using same bowl, brush chicken breasts with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Using a small spoon, evenly coat the both sides of chicken breasts with the rest of the dry ranch seasoning and the Italian seasoning. Lay the chicken over the potatoes.
- Add the chicken broth to the Instant Pot, twist on the lid to seal it, and turn the sealing lever (if needed). Set Instant Pot to cook at high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Once pressure cooking is complete, allow pot to naturally release pressure (Natural Pressure Release) for 10 minutes, then initiate a quick release by carefully turning the sealing lever away from you to vent the steam.
- Remove chicken and potatoes to a serving platter. Press cancel and set pot to sauté. Stir in cream cheese until melted, then let simmer on sauté for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Serve cream cheese sauce over chicken and potatoes.
Video
Notes
- Ranch chicken pasta: Instead of serving with potatoes, try tossing the shredded chicken and cream sauce with cooked pasta. The creamy ranch base coats noodles beautifully and makes a comforting, carb-friendly meal.
- Bacon cheddar ranch version: After pressure cooking, stir in crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese. This adds a smoky, cheesy twist to the sauce. Finish with chopped green onions for a flavorful garnish.
- Extra-rich cream sauce: Want a richer texture? Add a tablespoon of butter to the pot while the sauce simmers. A touch of black pepper and salt enhances the flavor even more.
- Classic chicken only: Skip the potatoes entirely and use only boneless skinless chicken breasts. After cooking, shred the meat, pour the creamy sauce over the top, and serve with rice or roasted vegetables for a lighter variation.
- Cut larger potatoes for even cooking
If your baby potatoes are more than 2 inches wide, cut them in half or quarters. This ensures they cook evenly and become perfectly tender during pressure cooking.
- Use softened cream cheese
Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes before adding it to the sauce. This helps it melt quickly and blend smoothly into the broth for a perfectly creamy texture.
- Store the chicken and potatoes with ranch seasoning in an airtight container.
- If you have leftovers, they will be good for up to four days. I don’t recommend freezing the dish because of the creaminess.
Nutrition
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Angie says
This recipe is absolutely delicious! The only change I made was to use 4 ounces of cream cheese instead of 2 ounces that the recipe calls for. We will most definitely be adding this meal as one of our favorites. Thank You for sharing this wonderful recipe/dish.