Cracked Up TaterTots with Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
Cracked up tater tots with Instant Pot ranch chicken is one cheesy, and flavorful dish. If you are looking for a new kid-friendly recipe to try, this cracked tater tots recipe will win over the little ones!
Hello, My name is Carla I have an obsession with my instant pot. They say admitting your addiction is the first step. 🙂 The only thing is I don’t want to stop using my Instant Pot.
Cracked Up TaterTots with Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
Tonight I had a little experiment. I made Ranch Chicken and made Cracked Up Tater Tots with Instant Pot Ranch Chicken. I loved My Crack Chicken so much I made Cracked up chicken and Broccoli rice that was to die for. I did not use the Instant Pot for this whole meal but I did do the chicken in the IP.
Is This Cracked Tater Tot Like Tater Tot Casserole
The biggest difference is tater tot casserole is a creamy base casserole, this cracked chicken for recipe uses tots to add flavor and texture to the ranch based chicken, you could say they are similar but the recipes are quite different.
What Chicken Do You Use
You want to reach for a boneless chicken for this recipe, I tend to do boneless skinless breasts or tenderloins.
The best part about cooking your chicken in the Instant Pot is if you forget to set our frozen chicken, no worries. It will still cook perfectly from frozen.
You do not need to adjust cook time for frozen chicken. It will just take a bit longer for the Instant Pot to come to temperature,
Can I Use Homemade Dry Ranch Instead of Packet
Absolutely, feel free to use either, just measure correctly when adding it into the pot. Use whatever is equivalent of your homemade version to a packet of ranch.
Can I Use Liquid Ranch For Cracked Tater Tot Chicken
Unfortunately no. Because you are pressure cooking it out cuddle and you would gain very little flavor to your chicken. It needs to be dry ranch or it won’t work.
If you end up wanting more ranch flavor once it is cooked, you could then drizzle on fresh ranch!
How to Store Leftover Cracked Tater Tots
With leftovers store in airtight container. Then keep in the fridge for up to three days. The tots will lose their crunch factor once they are in the fridge, so know leftovers will taste slightly different.
Why to Serve With Cracked Up Tater Tots
- Green salad with your favorite toppings
- Side of vegetables like broccoli, peas, roasted veggie medley, etc.
- Dinner rolls or bread. Great for soaking up sauce.
Or any other of your favorite side dishes. This recipe is pretty flexible and compliments sides well.
What Is The Best Way To Reheat Cracked Up Tater Tots
A quick Reheat in the microwave works great, or you can toss in the oven. Place in a casserole pan and turn on to 350 degrees. Cover pan with aluminum foil and heat for 15 minutes or until the dish has warmed up. The aluminum foil will help to prevent the chicken from drying out.
It is an easy, flavorful and satisfying dish for the family. And making this chicken tot dish is pretty easy to do!

Cracked Up TatorTots with Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
Cracked up tater tots with Instant Pot ranch chicken is one cheesy, and flavorful dish. If you are looking for a new kid-friendly recipe to try, this cracked tater tots recipe will win over the little ones!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 bag of frozen tater tots
- 16 oz cheddar cheese
- 6 slices of cooked bacon
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cook tater tots according to package.
- I baked my tater tots and bacon at the same time while my chicken was cooking.
- Place chicken breast in the Instant pot with one cup water and add ranch season packet.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Do a quick release and remove the chicken breast.
- Shred chicken with two forks.
- Mix together chicken, tater tots Spread cheese over the top and bacon.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 693mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 21g
What size is your bag of tater tots?
I just used the regular size frozen bag.
How many does this feed? I need to feed 6.
I made this last night. My family really enjoyed it and this was super easy. I used a 32 oz bag of tater tots , which I thought was regular size. This recipe makes enough for 4 people, 5 if you have smaller portions, but I have 2 growing boys with big appetites. My daughter said this dish reminded her of loaded french fries.
When at the end of your instructions you say bake for 5 minutes, do you mean in the oven or in the instant pot?
Is the chicken thawed or frozen?