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Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pin Wheels

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These Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pinwheels are the best! Made with simple ingredients these simple chicken pinwheels are ready in less than 20 minutes! This is the perfect easy appetizer for a holiday party or a simple dinner recipe and is sure to be a hit with the whole family.

Be sure to check out my Chicken Salad Cucumber Bites for another super delicious and easy recipe.

Instant pot crack chicken pin wheels

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What Are Pinwheels?

Pinwheels are thin slices of meat, cheese, and/or vegetables rolled up into a circular shape. These can be served as an appetizer or light meals. Chicken pinwheels are great as buffet food because they’re easy to eat and can be made ahead of time. Whilst we called them pinwheels others often call them tortilla roll-ups.

What Is Crack Chicken?

Crack chicken is a creamy, cheesy, and flavorful dish. It’s made with shredded chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon bits and ranch dressing mix. All of these ingredients get combined and cooked until everything is melted and perfectly blended.

You can make the best crack chicken pinwheels or crack chicken sandwiches with our tasty Crack Chicken Recipe.

How Far In Advance Can You Make Pinwheels?

You can easily make these pinwheels in advance, but I’d recommend no longer than 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, you’re risking the tortilla getting soggy and nobody has time for that!

How Do You Keep Pinwheels From Getting Soggy?

You can prevent your pinwheels from getting soggy by putting lettuce or another type of delicious barrier between the tortilla and the rest of the ingredients.

You don’t have to do this if you’re making them eat straight away but this is something to consider if you’re going to have them be made and then set for a bit.

Crack Chicken Pin Wheels Ingredients

  • 1 Chicken Breast – Buy in bulk when it’s on sale!
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Pepper 
  • 6 Slices Of Thick Bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 1 8oz Package Cream Cheese – Make sure that it’s softened.
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoon Ranch Mix – A packet of dry ranch mix is amazing for flavor.
  • 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese – You can use any type of shredded cheese as well.
  • 2 Tablespoons Milk 
  • 4 Burrito Tortillas (10-inch) – Flour tortillas roll the best for pinwheels.

instant pot crack chicken ingredients

How To Make Pin Wheel Sandwiches

Here are the step-by-step instructions for Instant Pot crack chicken pinwheels.

Step One: Put The Trivet In The Instant Pot

Place your trivet in the Instant Pot and add one cup of water.

Step Two: Season The Chicken

Mix your salt and pepper. Season each side of your chicken breasts.

searing the raw chicken in the Instant Pot

Step Three: Pressure Cook the Chicken

Put your chicken breast on the trivet. Close the lid on the Instant Pot and close the sealing valve.

Turn your Instant Pot to high pressure and pressure cook for eight minutes.

Once your Instant Pot is finished coming to pressure, do a natural release.

fully cooked chicken in the instant pot

Step Four: Shred The Cooked Chicken

Remove your cooked chicken breast and shred. Set aside.

shredding your chicken after it's cooked

Step Five: Cook The Bacon

Remove your trivet and water from your Instant Pot. Turn your Instant Pot on to sauté mode. Once hot, sauté your bacon pieces until fully cooked.

cooking the bacon in the Instant Pot

Remove the cooked bacon and then set aside.

Step Six: Mix The Ingredients

Add to a large bowl your chicken, bacon, softened cream cheese, ranch mix, shredded cheese, and milk.

Step Seven: Spread The Chicken Mixture And Cut

Evenly distribute your crack chicken mixture onto four tortillas and roll them. Cut them into 1-inch sections.

rolling the pinwheel and cutting with a knife

Step Eight: Garnish And Serve

Garnish your pinwheels with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Tortilla pinwheels are the perfect appetizer for any gathering. They’re easy to make, can be made ahead of time, and they’re always a hit with everyone! Enjoy.

crack chicken pin wheels on a plate

Are Crack Chicken Sandwiches Eaten Hot Or Cold?

Crack chicken sandwiches can be eaten either hot or cold. The creamy and cheesy flavor of the crack chicken is delicious both ways. I prefer to eat crack chicken cold as it’s easy to cool and can be made in advance.

What To Serve With Pinwheels?

Crack chicken pinwheels can make a great meal on their own! If you want to have a side of chips or fresh veggies, that would balance it out quite nicely.

You could also serve these chicken pinwheels with the following:

hand holding a cream cheese pin wheel with chicken

How To Store Leftover Chicken Pinwheels

If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge! You can then pick one out and eat it cold or you can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and enjoy it warm. Either way, they make a great snack!

How Long Will Pinwheels Keep In The Fridge?

As long as you’re keeping them cool and storing them in plastic wrap or an airtight container in the fridge, your finger sandwiches should last for 2-3 days.

Can You Freeze Pinwheel Sandwiches

Yes! You can freeze your pinwheel sandwiches for up to 3 months. Be sure to wrap them individually in plastic wrap first and then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. When you’re ready to eat, pull one out and let it thaw in the fridge overnight before enjoying it.

plate of instant pot pinwheels

Can You Use Rotisserie Chicken Instead Of Chicken Breast?

Making crack chicken pinwheels works well with shredded chicken breast, however, if you’re short on life or want to use up leftover rotisserie chicken then simply skip the cooking chicken part and use the pre-cooked chicken to make your crack chicken mixture.

You can also use chopped chicken or canned chicken if you have a can or two and want to use this up. Either way any kind of crack chicken wrapped in large burrito tortillas will taste fantastic, especially with ranch seasoning.

More Variations For Crack Chicken Pin Wheels

There are plenty of possibilities when making crack chicken mixture for your pinwheels.

Use Bacon Ranch

You could switch the ranch seasoning mix and use bacon ranch or even a garlic parmesan ranch if you wanted to give it even more flavor.

crack chicken pin wheels

Use Precooked Bacon

You could also use pre-cooked bacon instead of cooking your own. This will help to reduce the time it takes to make these pinwheels and make them even easier to put together.

Use Extra Cheese

To give your crack chicken mixture a cheesy kick, you can always add in some extra shredded cheese or even more cream cheese!

Add Different Veggies

Adding some diced tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, or onions can give your crack chicken pinwheels an extra crunch as well as a pop of color.

Add Hot Sauce

If you want your pinwheels to have a bit of kick, add some hot sauce or sriracha. This will give them an extra zest and make them even more flavorful!

Add Avocado

Adding diced avocado or guacamole can also be a great way to give your crack chicken pinwheels some extra flavor.

These are just a few of the many variations you can make for these crack chicken pinwheels. Get creative and see what other delicious combinations you can come up with!

Crack Chicken Sandwiches

If you don’t have tortilla bread you can always make crack chicken sandwiches with your crack chicken mixture. Just spread your mixture onto a slice of bread and top with another. You could also make these into sliders by using dinner rolls instead.

Enjoy this pinwheels chicken recipe!

Different Types Of Pinwheel Sandwiches

There are so many different types of pinwheel sandwiches you can make! Besides the crack chicken version, here are a few other ideas for you to try:

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels – Spread a layer of cream cheese on your tortilla, top with thin-sliced ham and shredded cheese.

Cranberry Turkey Pinwheels– Spread a layer of cream cheese on your tortilla, top with thin-sliced turkey and sweetened cranberries.

Mashed Potato Pinwheels – Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on your tortilla, top with crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.

BBQ Chicken Pinwheels– Spread a layer of BBQ sauce on your tortilla, top with cooked chicken and shredded cheese.

Mexican Pinwheels – Spread a layer of refried beans on your tortilla, top with cooked chicken, black olives and shredded cheese.

Sausage Pinwheels – Spread a layer of cream cheese on your tortilla, top with cooked sausage and shredded cheese.

Flanksteak Pinwheels – Spread a layer of horseradish sauce on your tortilla, top with cooked flank steak and shredded cheese.

Pepperoni Pinwheels – Spread a layer of marinara sauce on your tortilla, top with pepperoni and shredded cheese.

Tuna Pinwheels – Spread a layer of mayonnaise on your tortilla, and top with tuna and shredded cheese.

The possibilities are endless! Get creative and see what other delicious pinwheel combinations you can come up with. Enjoy!

Yield: 18 pin wheels

Crack Chicken Pin Wheels

plate of instant pot pinwheels

This delicious pin wheel recipe is fast and easy to make! And so addictive!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 (about 6 oz) chicken breast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 6 slices thick bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1½ tbsp ranch mix
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 4 burrito tortillas (10-inch)

Instructions

Step One: Put The Trivet In The Instant Pot

Place your trivet in the instant pot and add one cup of water.

Step Two: Season The Chicken

Mix your salt and pepper. Season each side of your chicken breasts.

Step Three: Pressure Cook the Chicken

Put your chicken breast on the trivet. Close the lid on the Instant Pot and close the sealing valve.

Turn your Instant Pot to high pressure and pressure cook for eight minutes.

Once your Instant Pot is finished coming to pressure, do a natural release.

Step Four: Shred The Cooked Chicken

Remove your cooked chicken breast and shred. Set aside.

Step Five: Cook The Bacon

Remove your trivet and water from your Instant Pot. Turn your Instant Pot on to sauté mode. Once hot, sauté your bacon pieces until fully cooked. Remove the cooked bacon and then set aside.

Step Six: Mix The Ingredients

Add to a large bowl your chicken, bacon, softened cream cheese, ranch mix, shredded cheese, and milk.

Step Seven: Spread The Chicken Mixture And Cut

Evenly distribute your crack chicken mixture onto four tortillas and roll them. Cut them into 1-inch sections.

Step Eight: Garnish And Serve

Garnish your pinwheels with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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