Instant Pot Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

This Instant Pot million dollar chicken casserole recipe has chicken (or you can use leftover turkey), cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream and buttery Ritz cracker topping. It is comfort food to the max.

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

Instant Pot Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

If you are looking for a creamy, comforting, tender chicken casserole with lots of flavor and a crispy, buttery topping then this is it! This recipe is easy to make in the Instant Pot, Crockpot or even your oven. You can use uncooked chicken or cooked turkey/chicken. This is a homemade recipe, no cream of chicken soup is used to make this creamy casserole. This casserole tastes like a million bucks!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken broth–you can also use 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon of Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts–or a combination of the two
• 4 ounces cream cheese–softened (I place it on top of the Instant Pot while it cooks the chicken the cream cheese gets perfectly soft)

• 1 cup cottage cheese–Typically I use 4% fat and large curd. You can also use ricotta cheese if you don’t like cottage cheese.
• 1/2 cup sour cream–I use full fat sour cream. You can also use Greek yogurt in the place of sour cream.
• 1/2 tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, pepper–for seasoning
• 1/4 tsp celery salt–for seasoning. You can also use 1/8 tsp of celery seed and 1/8 tsp of table salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot + 1/4 cup cold water–for thickening the sauce
• Optional: 1/2 to 1 cup of leftover cooked rice–if you want you can also serve the casserole over hot cooked rice
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed–you can also use a cup of buttered, toasted panko bread crumbs or crushed corn flakes
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted–for the buttery cracker topping

How to Make Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

Instant Pot Instructions:

1. Add chicken and broth: Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and pepper.
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 for fresh chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes (or longer) and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
3. Chop chicken: Move chicken to a cutting board and chop. Set aside.
4. Add in ingredients: Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, pepper and celery salt into the broth that is in the Instant Pot. Whisk until smooth and creamy. 
5. Thicken: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (more setting is what I used). In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour the mixture into the Instant Pot to thicken the sauce. Once it has thickened turn off the Instant Pot. 
6. Add chicken: Stir in the chopped chicken (and the rice, if using). 
7. Add Ritz topping: In a bowl stir together the crushed Ritz crackers and the melted butter. If you have an air fryer lid then sprinkle the cracker mixture over the top of the contents in the Instant Pot. Then air fry for 4-5 minutes at 400 degrees F. If you don’t have an air fryer lid you can brown the cracker topping in a saute pan on the stove. Heat pan over medium high heat and add in the buttered crumbs. Toss for a few minutes until browned and crispy. Sprinkle the crackers over the contents in the Instant Pot.
8. Eat: Scoop onto plates and enjoy! Top with diced green onions or chopped parsley, if desired.

Slow Cooker Instructions: 

1. Add chicken: Pour broth into slow cooker. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and pepper.
2. Slow cook: Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Each slow cooker cooks differently so some will take shorter and some will take longer to cook the chicken.
3. Chop chicken: Move chicken to a cutting board and chop. Set aside.
4. Add ingredients: Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, pepper and celery salt into the broth that is in the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth and creamy. 
5. Thicken: Turn slow cooker to high setting. In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
6. Add chicken: Stir in the chopped chicken (and the rice, if using). 
7. Cook until thick: Cook on high without the lid for 30 more minutes or until thickened. 
8. Prepare Ritz topping: In a bowl stir together the crushed Ritz crackers and the melted butter. Heat pan over medium high heat and add in the buttered crumbs. Toss for a few minutes until browned and crispy. Sprinkle the crackers over the contents in the slow cooker.
9. Eat: Scoop onto plates and enjoy!

Equipment Needed

• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in the 3 or 8 quart pot with no changes.
• For toasting the breadcrumb topping you can use an air fryer lid*, your oven or a saute pan on the stovetop.
• I like to use a chopper/scraper tool* to chop the chicken
• A large cutting board* for chopping the chicken

Recipe Variations and Tips

• What kind of chicken can I use? You can make this with boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. I personally love the dark meat so I use thighs. But you can also use a combination of the two meats. Try making this with bone-in chicken too. After the chicken has cooked remove the skin and bones and chop. This can also be make with cooked shredded chicken (like rotisserie chicken) or you can use leftover turkey.
• How to make this with turkey leftovers? 4-5 cups of cooked turkey or chicken can be used instead of the uncooked chicken. Pour 1 cup of broth into Instant Pot and then move on to step 4 of the recipe.
• How to bake in the oven: You can also bake this as a casserole in the oven. Pour cooked chicken mixture into a square baking dish and top with ritz crackers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. 
• Adding Vegetables–If it was up to me I’d add broccoli to this recipe! But Greg is not of fan of vegetables mixed in with other stuff…he likes them on the side 🙂 I would add in steamed broccoli florets into the pot when you add in the chopped chicken. You could also use other types of cooked vegetables such as peas, asparagus, chopped green beans, etc.
• Topping variations: Other topping ideas besides Ritz crackers are crushed cornflakes, panko breadcrumbs, crushed potato chips, crushed pork rinds or French’s fried onions
• Thickeners: If you’d rather use another thickener besides cornstarch you can try all purpose flour or even mashed potato flakes.

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Dietary Considerations

How to make low carb? With the Ritz cracker crumbs the total amount of carbs per serving (6 servings total) is 21.2 grams. To make this low carb don’t add in the rice (if you want you could add in riced cauliflower). Then leave out the ritz crackers and use crushed pork rinds instead. If you do this the carb count would be 10 grams per serving. If you leave out the cornstarch and thicken with a low carb thickener you could cut that number down even further.

How to make this gluten-free? Use crushed pork rinds, crushed Rice Chex or gluten-free panko bread crumbs instead of Ritz crackers. Make sure the broth you use is gluten free.

Can this Casserole be Frozen?

Yes this makes a great freezer meal for later. You can double the recipe and save one in a pan for later. Cover tightly with foil. To reheat the casserole after freezing, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Keep the foil on and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.

What to Serve with the Chicken Casserole

Steamed broccoli, asparagus or green beans are good options. Another idea is a side salad or fruit salad.

Leftover Turkey Recipes for the Instant Pot and Slow Cooker

This recipe works well with leftover turkey. Here are some other ways to use leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken:

Instant Pot Turkey and Dumplings

Slow Cooker Turkey Bacon Avocado And Bean Soup

Instant Pot Creamy Wild Rice And Chicken (or Turkey) Soup

Slow Cooker Creamy Quinoa And Turkey (Or Chicken) Soup

Instant Pot Chicken/Turkey Enchiladas Casserole

Instant Pot Nacho Pot Pie

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. For example you can filter Instant Pot recipes and chicken recipes.

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Related: Million Dollar Chicken Recipe

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