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May 22, 2021

Instant Pot Karen’s Killer Chicken

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Instant Pot Karen’s Killer Chicken–tender chicken thighs with an addicting sauce drizzled over the top, bacon and cheddar. It’s sure to become a family favorite. This recipe is keto friendly!

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cheesy bacon chicken recipe

Instant Pot Karen’s Killer Chicken

I’ve been making iterations of this recipe for years. We didn’t have a name for it so Greg suggested Karen’s Killer Chicken. After all, if Dave can have Dave’s Killer Bread I can have Karen’s Killer Chicken. Although, maybe it should be Greg’s Killer Chicken because I think he makes it more than me! We love it and eat it often when we have company over. Sometimes we make the chicken on the grill but this version of the recipe is cooked in the Instant Pot, of course. I think you should put it on your menu this week!

Some notes about the recipe:

  • The chicken shrinks down a lot. So even though it seems like a lot of chicken just realize it’s not as much as you think!
  • The sauce is so tasty and should not be skipped! Try dipping tortilla chips in the sauce…then try to stop, I dare you!
  • For sake of ease I used bacon crumbles from the big Costco bag. If you want you can cook up some bacon and crumble it yourself.
  • We love moist, tender chicken thighs. If you prefer you can use chicken tenderloins instead. For chicken tenderloins you’ll only need to pressure cook for 5 minutes. Large chicken breasts don’t do as well because they are so thick. If you do want to use chicken breasts I suggest cutting them across the grain into the size of chicken tenders and pressure cooking for 5 minutes.
  • If you’d rather use an air fryer lid to do the melting of the cheese than your oven’s broiler you can. Just dump out the liquid remaining in your Instant Pot first.
  • This recipe is low carb. Serve with cauliflower rice if you’re trying to eat keto-friendly. Or if you aren’t then serve with mashed potatoes.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes…

Karen’s Casserole

Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken

Instant Pot Million Dollar Chicken

Instant Pot Marry Me Chicken

Instant Pot Mexican Queso Chicken and Rice

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chicken with bacon, cheddar and sauce

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Instant Pot Karen’s Killer Chicken


★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

  • Author: 365 Days of Slow and Pressure Cooking
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
  • Total Time: 27 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Montreal steak or chicken seasoning
  • 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons Pace Picante Sauce (mild)
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, of choice
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1/8 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
  • 1/2 cup bacon crumbles

Instructions

  1. Pour chicken broth into Instant Pot. Place chicken into Instant pot and pour the soy sauce and steak seasoning over the chicken. 
  2. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for fresh or frozen chicken. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting to release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid.
  3. Make the sauce by stirring together mayo, sour cream, picante sauce, cajun seasoning, parsley, hot sauce, dill and cumin.
  4. Use tongs to place the chicken on a baking sheet. You can discard the liquid in the Instant Pot. Spoon about a tablespoon or two of sauce over each piece of chicken. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp or cheese and 2 Tbsp of bacon over each piece of chicken. Place under the oven’s broiler for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. 
  5. Serve immediately. 

Notes

You can also make this recipe with chicken tenderloins in the place of chicken thighs. Pressure cook for 5 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.

  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Instant Pot

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chicken with bacon and cheddar on top

*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.

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27 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Can Be Gluten Free, Chicken, Instant Pot, Low Carb, Summer Tagged With: bacon

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Nick says

    February 8, 2022 at 5:53 pm

    Delicious!! Used coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce to make it a little healthier, but slathered on the bacon bits. Should average out right? LOL. It’s amazing how great chicken thighs turn out in the Instant Pot. Thanks for another winner Karen.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 10, 2022 at 2:34 pm

      You’re welcome Nick!

      Reply
  2. Paula says

    October 14, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    Oh Karen, this was AMAZING!! the first time I made with decent chicken thighs. The second time? Now I know why you only recommend FRESH Winco thighs. Unfortunately my hubby grabbed two bags of the frozen thighs not knowing they were NOT skinless, boneless and tiny and strange. Fatty with mystery bones…they ruined your wonderful dish. My question is, what would you suggest I do with the rest? Hubby won’t go near them again LOL. I need to get them out of my freezer. Maybe just IP them until all meat just falls off and pick it out?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 18, 2021 at 6:54 pm

      Oh shoot! Yes you could do that. And the broth would be good for a chicken noodle soup!

      Reply
  3. Marla Burns says

    August 15, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    Made it! Pretty good! Good variety of flavors! Husband & teenagers & I liked it! Tasty! Used sliced up chicken breast.

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 18, 2021 at 3:00 pm

      WOO HOO Marla!!!

      Reply
  4. Nik says

    July 2, 2021 at 5:57 pm

    The family loved it! I just grilled the chicken though because I don’t have an instant pot. But it was delicious! This is the first of your recipes I’ve tried. Got a whole list to make. Thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 2, 2021 at 7:32 pm

      Grilled chicken is awesome!

      Reply
  5. Karen Henderson says

    June 15, 2021 at 8:19 am

    Oh my goodness, this was the best chicken I have ever made. So flavourful and absolutely delicious! Thank you again for a great recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 19, 2021 at 1:56 pm

      YAY! And since your name is Karen it’s yours now too!

      Reply
  6. Jennifer Nelson says

    June 6, 2021 at 10:46 am

    Could this work with frozen chicken tenderloins instead? If so, how much cooking time would I add?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 7, 2021 at 9:59 am

      Yes it would. I’d do 6 minutes

      Reply
  7. Eve Zavelo says

    May 30, 2021 at 7:34 am

    Can you use chicken breast in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 31, 2021 at 12:02 pm

      We love moist, tender chicken thighs. If you prefer you can use chicken tenderloins instead. For chicken tenderloins you’ll only need to pressure cook for 5 minutes. Large chicken breasts don’t do as well because they are so thick. If you do want to use chicken breasts I suggest cutting them across the grain into the size of chicken tenders and pressure cooking for 5 minutes.

      Reply
  8. Jill says

    May 26, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    Awesome recipe…my husband and I both enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 27, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
      • John says

        May 29, 2021 at 7:59 pm

        How long should you cook in instant pot if using ?bone in thighs

        Reply
        • Karen says

          May 31, 2021 at 12:04 pm

          I’d use a 15 minute cooking time!

          Reply
  9. Paula D says

    May 23, 2021 at 11:27 am

    It is waaay too much sodium for this household so I’m going to try it with no added salt chicken broth, both the low sodium soy & picante sauces are high sodium so I’m leaving one of those off…same on the Montreal or chicken seasoning. and the Costco bacon bits are processed with a lot more sodium than my low sodium bacon so I’m going to fry it up and crumble it on top. I’ll let you know how it tastes. It’ll def be less briny! 😂 But this is a great recipe to adapt!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 24, 2021 at 1:15 pm

      good ideas…A lot of the sodium comes from the cajun seasoning. You could make your own cajun seasoning and limit the salt in it.

      Reply
  10. Jamie Blankenship says

    May 23, 2021 at 11:07 am

    thats alot of sodium at 42% what can i do different to lower that and still get same great taste

    Reply
    • Connie says

      May 23, 2021 at 11:17 am

      I agree …that is a whopping amount of sodium. I guess you could use home made picante sauce if that is the culprit….

      Reply
      • Belinda says

        May 23, 2021 at 11:25 am

        There are quite a few possible “culprits,” including cheese, bacon, and soy sauce. You can use lower sodium soy sauce (or tamari) and bacon. But, it may not be the best recipe for those really watching sodium intake.

        Reply
    • Karen says

      May 24, 2021 at 1:14 pm

      A lot of the sodium comes from the cajun seasoning. You could make your own cajun seasoning and limit the salt in it.

      Reply
  11. Laura Semmens says

    May 23, 2021 at 10:53 am

    Karen, I am so excited to see a keto recipe in your awesome blog! I recently switched and am loving how I look and feel but really miss your recipes. Hope we will see more, thanks!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 24, 2021 at 1:14 pm

      This is a good one to try Laura! Here are my low carb recipes: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=instant-pot&fwp_dietary_restrictions=low-carb

      Reply
      • Laura Semmens says

        May 25, 2021 at 3:10 am

        Thanks! And I LOVE salt 🙂

        Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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