Instant Pot Firecracker Casserole

Instant Pot Firecracker Casserole–this dish has chicken, chili beans, Rotel, cheese and Fritos or corn tortillas. An easy dump and go recipe for any weeknight.

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Note: the SLOW COOKER and OVEN instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Firecracker Casserole

This firecracker casserole is an old tex-mex dish that combines all your favorites like chicken, Rotel tomatoes, jalapenos, chili beans, cheese and Fritos (or corn tortillas) into one dish. You can make this in your Instant Pot, slow cooker or oven. All versions are great in their own way! Make whatever way is best for you.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Chicken broth–you may also use water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
• Boneless, skinless chicken breast–or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Chopped onion–or 2 Tbsp dried onion
• Salt, chili powder, cumin
• Bush’s Chili Beans–I used the pinto variety but there is also white beans or kidney beans. These beans have seasoning included and lots of flavor. You can also use Ranch-style beans.
• Rotel–use mild variety if you don’t like spice
• Mild tame pickled jalapenos–find them next to the pickles
• Cream of mushroom–or cream of chicken soup, cream cheese or sour cream
• 1 bag of Fritos–or 8 corn tortillas
• Shredded cheddar cheese–or another type of cheese like pepper jack, Monterey jack, Colby jack cheese.
• Other toppings: sour cream, cilantro, salsa etc.

Instant Pot Instructions

1. Add ingredients: Add broth and chicken into Instant Pot. Dump the onion, salt, chili powder, cumin, beans, Rotel, jalapenos, and cream of mushroom soup on top of the chicken.
2. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. 
3. Shred the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cheese.
4. If using Fritos, lay a bed of Fritos on each plate. Top with chicken mixture. Add any other toppings you like. If using corn tortillas, break each tortilla into 6 pieces and stir them into the Instant Pot. Serve and sprinkle each serving with any toppings you like.

Notes/Tips

• If you like spicy foods then add a little more chili powder and jalapeno to the dish. If you don’t like spicy foods then cut down the chili powder, jalapeno and use mild Rotel.
• What if I don’t want to use cream of mushroom soup? You can also use cream of chicken soup, a container of cream cheese or a cup of sour cream. If you use cream cheese and sour cream then don’t add it until after the pressure cooking time is up.
• Can I use ground beef instead of chicken? Sure! Brown a pound of ground beef using the sauté setting instead of using chicken.
• Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking raw chicken? Sure. Just pressure cook for 2 minutes instead of 12 minutes.
• You can also serve the chicken mixture over rice. Try making pot-in-pot rice at the same time. Place a tall trivet into the pot on top of the chicken and place a pan with white rice (1.5 cups) and water (2 cups) on top of the trivet. Rice will cook while the chicken cooks. 
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot* but you can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.

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More Recipes with Fritos…

Instant Pot Honey BBQ Fritos Chili Bake

Instant Pot Loaded Frito Taco Soup

Instant Pot Frito Pie Chili

Chicken Crunchwrap Supreme (Instant Pot)

Instant Pot Sour Cream Chili Bake

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.