Instant Pot King Chicken Casserole
Instant Pot King Chicken Casserole is the ultimate chicken recipe in the Instant Pot. No canned soups, and just tasty and easy ingredients you might already have on hand.
Here are some more chicken Instant Pot recipes for you to try out. Firecracker Instant Pot Chicken, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Mississippi Chicken.
Instant Pot King Chicken Casserole
I actually have never heard of King Casserole until a member of my Facebook group asked for this recipe. Mine is a different version so I could make it in the Instant Pot. Spicy and Cheesy with a hint of the ranch this is a great meal that will fill everyone’s bellies and not break your budget. If you are looking for other Frugal Meals check out my 10 Frugal Instant Pot Dinners.
What Is King Chicken
King Ranch is a famous chicken recipe. It is a Tex-Mex style dish. The chili peppers, ranch dressing, and creamy Velveeta come together.
A lot of times this casserole is made on the stove or even the oven, but I wanted to give you a new way to make this insanely cheesy and flavorful dish.
How To Make
Step 1: Start by turning your Instant Pot to saute. You will then add in your diced chicken to saute.
Step 2: Now you will add in your ranch seasoning and give it a good stirl. Then add in pasta, water, tomatoes, chili peppers, in this order.
Step 3: Cook your chicken dish on high pressure with a sealed valve for 5 minutes followed by a quick release.
Step 4: Now you will open the lid and stir in your cheese and milk and mix until it is fully melted. Serve and enjoy this easy King Chicken recipe.
What To Serve With King Chicken Casserole
- Side Salad or even Wedge Salad
- Steamed or Roasted Vegetables
- Dinner Rolls
- Etc
This casserole can be a meal in one. Or if you want to pair with your favorite sides. I love it with a nice crisp green salad on the side. It helps to not make the dish as heavy. It is a total comfort food recipe.
What Pasta Is Best
Honestly, you can use any type of pasta you would like. Elbow pasta is what I used, but feel free to use Bowtie, Rotini, Shells, etc.
You can raid your pantry and grab what you have on hand. You just want to ensure all the pasta is covered in the pot with liquid. This will help the pasta cook, otherwise, it will not cook up to tender pasta as you want.
Can I Use Homemade Ranch Powdered Mix
Absolutely! If you prefer to use homemade ranch powder go right ahead. You don’t have to use the packet. I just enjoy the packet to make it so easy to whip up.
It is the perfect Instant Pot casserole to whip up in minutes for a super simple dinner recipe.
Storing Leftovers
This casserole stores nicely! So if you have leftovers just place in a proper container and store in the fridge.
Then eat within three days of making it, or use your best judgment in terms of when to toss it out. Heat in the microwave or oven on the stove on low for a quick reheat of this King chicken!
Instant Pot King Chicken Casserole
Instant Pot King Chicken Casserole is the ultimate chicken recipe in the Instant Pot. No canned soups, and just tasty and easy ingredients you might already have on hand.
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 pound cubed chicken breast
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 4 oz Chili Peppers
- 28 oz Diced tomatoes
- 8 oz Velveeta cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- 16 oz pasta
Instructions
- Turn Pot on saute.
- Add chicken and ranch seasons.
- Add pasta, water, Tomatoes, and Chili peppers, in that order.
- Place on manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick Release. Stir in milk and cheese until melted Serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 410Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 1157mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 37g
So, the first time that I made this recipe, I stuck to the exact ingredients/measurements and it was fantastic.
Well, I just wanted to tell you that I tweaked your recipe a little, and holy moly, it was FABULOUS. Instead of chili peppers, I used frozen broccoli. I subbed milk for 3 oz of heavy cream. I also added some garlic powder.
that sounds great!
I am making this right now!! Are you supposed to actually sauté the chicken and ranch seasonings or do you do that just to warm the IP up? Also the water didn’t come up over the noodles is that normal?
I’m curious about this as well. How did it work for you?
My daughter and husband loved this recipe. Thank you for helping me find one more thing the picky eater enjoy s.
My two teenage boys went back for thirds! I did partially cook my chicken by sautéing in the pot first, so I cut the time back to 4 minutes, and I’m glad I did bc the mini penne were very done! I didn’t have Velveeta so I used cheddar and evaporated milk in place of milk. I also added some chopped baby spinach when adding the cheese to make it more of a complete one pot meal for us bc I literally had nothing else to go with 😉 Oh, and some crumbled bacon at the end, too! Lol
Perfect & easy pre- baseball game meal!
Important step – Drain tomatoes!
This recipe definitely has potential. My girlfriend and I replaced the water with chicken stock, doubled the amount of chicken, and added some crumbled up bacon.
Used two cans of rotell instead of the tomatoes and chili’s. It was sooo good. I was a little nervous putting the chicken in raw but it came out amazing
Glad you liked it 🙂
I am new to the instant pot and don’t understand the instructions. Am I supposed to sauté for 30 min (like it defaults on the pot) or just do this til it reaches the “Hot”, then move into the next steps?
Is the pasta supposed to be cooked before you add it to the instant pot?
I don’t have a “instapot” I have another brand so it’s kinda harder to follow the directions for “instapot” recipes.
I cooked my 3 raw refrigerated bonelessskinless chicken for 3 minutes in the 3 cups of water. Opened it up, added a splash more water (just to replace what was used in the 3 minutes). Then added the rest of the ingredients and followed the instructions from there. Turned out tender and well cooked. Next time, I will add some spinach or kale for more flavor, bacon sounds good too. I also used rotel. Hope this helps.
Could we get more detailed instructions? How long does the chicken need to be cooked on sautée, before everything else is added?
Yes I’m a complete amateur so when the recipe states… “Turn Pot on saute. Add chicken and ranch seasons. Add pasta, water, Tomatoes, and Chili peppers, in that order. Place on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick Release. Stir in milk and cheese until melted Serve.” you need to be more specific on how long to Sautee and do you saute in the ranch seasoning?? Are you assuming that saute is a general term and that everyone knows how long you’re supposed to saute? Plus everytime I’ve sauted in the instapot I end up getting the burn message eventually so I’d think you’d want to saute in another pan first then add the ingredients to pressure cook together. Hopefully this makes sense cause like I said I’m a amateur cook at best! Thanks
I would love to make this, but as others have mentioned a few clarifications to the instructions would be spectacular! 🙂 I’d rather get it right than experiment and potentially waste food in the process.
@Leah, Saute until the meat is no longer pink all around, usually a minute or 2. THEN, (important!) take a small amount, perhaps 1/2c of broth or liquid and add it and scrape the bottom of the pot! Ensure that no burned bits are stuck to the bottom! Don’t remove them, though, bc they add flavor! But scrape them from the bottom of the pot diligently. Otherwise you will be plagued w/the dreaded “burn” notice. Then, proceed as instructed.
Your recipe calls for 28oz of diced tomatoes and 4oz of chile peppers. Ro-tel tomatoes are diced tomatoes w/green and red chile peppers. Can this be substituted for these? Ro-tel comes in a 28oz can. Seems that would work well. What say you?