This Is One Of The Easiest Recipes I Have On Rotation

dump dinner

In my experience, the most satisfying meals are often the ones that take the least amount of time and effort to make. I find that the more time I spend preparing and cooking something, the higher my expectations become, which means I rarely end up feeling like a laborious or complicated meal was worth the effort!

The inverse holds true as well—if all I have to do is dump a few different ingredients into my crockpot (or Instant Pot), I barely have time to consider my expectations, let alone raise them sky-high! So ultimately I’m much more likely to enjoy /eating/ my low-effort meal, and more likely to make it again in the future too.

dump dinner

And all of that very much applies to the super simple recipe that I’ll be sharing with you today! This creamy Tex-Mex-inspired chicken dish couldn’t be easier to throw together, and your crockpot (or your pressure cooker) does all the hard work for you!

If you’re a collector of recipes of the super quick, easy, and tasty variety like I am, be sure to add this one to your collection. :-)

Related: 11 Easy Recipes You Can Depend On When You Need A Break

dump dinner

Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 2.5-3 pounds frozen chicken breast tenderloins
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can sweet corn, drained
  • 1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel or diced tomatoes

Directions:

To Make It In A Slow Cooker…

Add the chicken, cream cheese, black beans, corn, and tomatoes to your slow cooker. Put the lid on and cook on low for about 6 hours.

When it’s done, turn your slow cooker off. Use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the pot, then shred it, return it to your slow cooker, and stir to incorporate.

Let it sit for about 30-45 minutes to thicken up a bit, then serve as desired (see “Serving Suggestions” below for some tasty ideas!)

dump dinner

To Make It In A Pressure Cooker…

Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the cream cheese to your pressure cooker and lock the lid into place. Select the “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” setting and set the timer for 8 minutes.

dump dinner

When the timer goes off, use Quick Release to depressurize the pot. Open the lid and remove the chicken, then shred it with two forks (or use your stand mixer for a speedy, hands-off approach.)

Related: The Secret to Perfectly Shredded Chicken in Seconds!

Return the shredded chicken to your pressure cooker and add the cream cheese. Stir the cream cheese into the chicken mixture until melted (You can speed this part up a bit by cutting the cream cheese into small pieces before adding it.) Once the cream cheese is mixed in, let it sit for 10-15 minutes to thicken, then serve.

dump dinner

Serving Suggestions For Cream Cheese Chicken

There’s really no wrong way to chow down on this creamy, delicious chicken dish! Here are a few ways you could serve it:

  • On a pile of rice
  • In a salad
  • In burritos
  • With lettuce wraps
  • As a dip for tortilla chips
  • All by itself!

What’s one of your go-to quick and easy recipes?

Easy Chicken Dinner

Cream Cheese Chicken

Jill Nystul
This creamy chicken dish could not be any easier to put together, and your crockpot – or Instant Pot – does all the hard work for you. If you’re on the lookout for easy and delicious recipes, make sure to add this one to your collection.
4.12 from 127 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Thicken: 15 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 291 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 lbs frozen chicken breast tenderloins
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 15 oz canned black beans drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz can sweet corn drained
  • 10 oz Ro-Tel or diced tomatoes

Instructions
 

Directions For Slow Cooking:

  • Add all the ingredients to your crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.
  • After 6 hours, turn your crockpot off and remove the chicken.
  • Shred the chicken, return it to the crockpot, and stir to incorporate.
  • Let the whole thing rest for about 30-45 minutes to thicken up, then serve.

Directions For Pressure Cooking:

  • Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the cream cheese to the pot, then pressure cook on High for 8 minutes.
  • When the time is up, use Quick Release to depressurize the pot and remove the lid. and . Or you can use a stand mixer for especially fast shredding.
  • Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks (or use your stand mixer.)
  • Return the shredded chicken to the pot and add the cream cheese, then stir until the cream cheese has melted into the mixture.
  • Let sit for 10-15 minutes or so to thicken, then serve.

Notes

There’s no wrong way to serve up this creamy, delicious chicken. It tastes great over white rice, or you can use it in burritos, salads, and tacos!

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 29gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 370mgPotassium: 727mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 485IUVitamin C: 7.5mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 1.8mg

Read This Next


Jill Nystul Photo

Jill Nystul (aka Jillee)

Jill Nystul is an accomplished writer and author who founded the blog One Good Thing by Jillee in 2011. With over 30 years of experience in homemaking, she has become a trusted resource for contemporary homemakers by offering practical solutions to everyday household challenges.I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

About Jillee

Jill Nystul

Jill’s 30 years of homemaking experience, make her the trusted source for practical household solutions.

About Jillee

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Food & Recipes

4.12 from 127 votes (126 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment

50 Comments

  1. Re-name this dish, “Super Awesome Yummy Chicken!” It is pretty good. I used gluten and dairy free ingredients. The diced tomatoes had Italian seasonings in them, and I ate the chicken with all of the trimmings in a burrito anyway. Thank you for a tasty crockpot meal.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  2. This looks good. I’m on weight watchers and was wondering about the nutrition info for this recipe.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  3. the picture of the corn being added looks like it wasn’t drained, but ingredient list says to drain first. Instant pot instruction for this different from crock pot?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  4. Is the cooking time the same if you use whole chicken breast instead of chicken strips?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • 10 minutes for frozen chicken breasts, but the same amount of time (8 minutes) is perfect if the breasts are thawed. :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  5. You gave a weight for the chicken but for those of us just pulling frozen breasts from the Costco bag can you give a number of individual pieces you’d recommend?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Chicken breasts vary in size quite a bit, so it’s hard to guess. I probably used 5 or 6 “pieces.” :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  6. I made a tweak to this recipe and added 1 cup of water and a box of Zatarns Spanish rice one hour before I served.
    Then i used it as a burito filiing. Yum!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  7. I made this last night using my pressure cooker. I think you should add to drain off excess liquid before adding the cream cheese. My family liked the recipe but it was too runny even after letting it sit for 20 minutes. Hopefully leftovers will be better today.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • The leftovers will definitely thicken up – sorry you had so much leftover liquid! Did you drain both the corn and beans?

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • The recipe does say to drain the canned ingredients, then it should be fine. at least fine, from my experience.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  8. What would you recommend as a substitute for the corn? I do not like the taste of corn. I did use garbonzos once but thought maybe some of you brillant people had some other good ideas.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  9. Love the dump chicken dinner. My recipe also calls for an envelope of Fiesta Ranch Dressing mix. A favorite at our house!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  10. This sounds like a really good recipe. Question, though: the recipe says dump all ingredients into the slow-cooker, but in the [gorgeous] photos that follow, it shows adding the cream cheese after the initial 6-hour cook. Can you confirm the after-cook addition of the cream cheese for the slow-cooker instructions? Thanks for your cool & informational site!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • If you’re cooking it in a slow cooker, then you just add everything! I made it in an Instant Pot, so the photos show the Instant Pot directions – where you add the cream cheese at the end :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Thanks for the clarification! Gonna make this soon.

  11. I like chicken but lately it seems that what I do not like is the amount of tissue in chicken … don’t know what I should call it but i think of it as the ligaments, connecting tissue, etc. Could you share an idea for a brand that might have only chicken meat ? What is called chicken soup is getting terrible with the little pieces of “stuff”.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Costco’s Kirkland chicken (frozen and fresh) is the best trimmed chicken we have found.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Plus the COSTCO chicken breast meat is individually wrapped it’s like 17. 00 Ruff figure for 16 pieces of meat.

    • Just look for “hand-trimmed chicken” on the meat aisle :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Schwann’s has individually wrapped breasts. Another is Perdue at Walmart.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  12. I just made my old 70’s Dump Cake last week, so this is amusing. It was, easy, nostalgic and yummy.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  13. Hello Jillee. I only have the pressure cooker, but I need some liquid to cook in it. If all the ingredients are drained, how do I prevent it to burn on the bottom of the pan in this recipe? I never use the liquid that comes in the cans, it has aditives. Should I use some broth or whater?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I need to know this too! also, the length of time indicated is indeed for frozen chicken breasts? Where they small strips? I am always having issues with my instant pot gauging time frames with meat.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Hi Dona! The 8 minutes called for in this recipe is for frozen chicken, 6 minutes would work for thawed chicken, and you could do 5 minutes for tenders/strips. :-)

    • The frozen chicken provides some liquid as it defrosts, and the Rotel offers some liquid, too. If you drain the Rotel, then you can add 1/2 cup of broth :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  14. This sounds great, but this vegetarian would need a substitute for the chicken.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I would double all of the canned ingredients, for a creamy black-bean corn casserole of sorts :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  15. Hey Jillee! I like to print out your lovely recipes, and I am grateful for the PRINT-FRIENDLY format you offer. But those recipes include lots of (lovely) photos which use up far too much ink.

    When I look at your recipes to decide whether to try them, I enjoy seeing the photos (to fantasize how I will make the recipe). But at printing time, all my mind hears is KA-CHING, KA-CHING. And I end up spending $75 on B&W/colored ink cartridges every few weeks.

    Can you adjust your print-friendly offerings to include no photo, so that I can be thrifty with my computer’s ink supply?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I’m not even seeing the printer family option on my screen. Are ya’ll seeing it?

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • It’s a large green button at the end of the post, before the comments :-)

      • No, the print friendly button is not on my screen either. It used to be, but not any more. I have another deal I can click on to print, but it prints the whole thing and I don’t want 12-20 pages of stuff plus a waste of ink. Don’t mean to sound cheap but all I want is the recipe. I have contacted Jillee and one of her employees contacted me, said they were redoing the website and it should be better. That has been numerous months ago, still no print friendly button. Still love all the posts and look forward to getting them each day but very frustrating to not be able to print.

      • Hi Gail, could you try using another browser? :-)

      • Hey Jillee, my computer guy was by this morning and he checked out about the print friendly button. Don’t know what he did but he has it fixed now where I can print. It still doesn’t show up at the bottom of your blog just before comments, but I can print. Yeah!!! Thanks

    • It already has that option! :-) After pressing the “print-friendly” button, it pulls up a preview. Don’t print right away! Instead, click on any photos or paragraphs that you don’t want to print. It will delete them, and you can print just what you need.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • After pressing green “Print Friendly” my computer doesn’t give me a preview any more. It used to. Now it just prints all the pictures etc.

      • That’s odd! When you press the print friendly button, it just sends it straight to your printer?

      • When I hit the PRINT-FRIENDLY button, the new format comes up but it is still several pages of photos (much less than printing the whole webpage (!). Is there a way to make the print-out recipes include just a single photo of the beautiful final product?

        I really do not need photos of the items and how to pour a can of something. On your main web-page, those photos are very attractive.

        But when it comes time to print -=- I really need the shortest format possible. Having your web designer make this adjustment would completely consistent with your superb commitment to saving money and handling tasks most effectively.

        I do know how to print to PDF, but at the time I actually make a recipe, I need it on paper for me to scribble substitution items, special notes for my appliances.

        And I confess that I am a clumsy cook, so I cannot have my computer or iPad in my kitchen.

        Thanks for working on this idea.

        Deborah from Dunedin FL

      • There is a way! When the preview comes up, simply click on anything you don’t want to print. :-) Or click on the two grey boxes towards the top – one changes the size of the font, and other makes the pictures smaller or removes them altogether :-)

  16. Any suggestions to substitute something else for the Ro-Tel? I don’t like cooked tomatoes with chicken. And I, too, would like to know about the corn drained/undrained.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • You can leave it out, or replace it with another can of corn! The corn should be drained.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I prefer salsa verde to rotel when I make this dish. Green sauce (salsa verde) goes really well w/chicken and black beans.
      (I also like to stir in some fresh, corn tortillas that I cut into strips or triangles when I add in the cream cheese).

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Salsa verde is a great idea – sounds delicious!

  17. In the ingredients list it says the corn should be drained. The picture shows someone pouring the corn with the liquid. Which is correct?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
4.12 from 127 votes (126 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment

50 Comments

  1. Re-name this dish, “Super Awesome Yummy Chicken!” It is pretty good. I used gluten and dairy free ingredients. The diced tomatoes had Italian seasonings in them, and I ate the chicken with all of the trimmings in a burrito anyway. Thank you for a tasty crockpot meal.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  2. This looks good. I’m on weight watchers and was wondering about the nutrition info for this recipe.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  3. the picture of the corn being added looks like it wasn’t drained, but ingredient list says to drain first. Instant pot instruction for this different from crock pot?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  4. Is the cooking time the same if you use whole chicken breast instead of chicken strips?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • 10 minutes for frozen chicken breasts, but the same amount of time (8 minutes) is perfect if the breasts are thawed. :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  5. You gave a weight for the chicken but for those of us just pulling frozen breasts from the Costco bag can you give a number of individual pieces you’d recommend?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Chicken breasts vary in size quite a bit, so it’s hard to guess. I probably used 5 or 6 “pieces.” :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  6. I made a tweak to this recipe and added 1 cup of water and a box of Zatarns Spanish rice one hour before I served.
    Then i used it as a burito filiing. Yum!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  7. I made this last night using my pressure cooker. I think you should add to drain off excess liquid before adding the cream cheese. My family liked the recipe but it was too runny even after letting it sit for 20 minutes. Hopefully leftovers will be better today.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • The leftovers will definitely thicken up – sorry you had so much leftover liquid! Did you drain both the corn and beans?

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • The recipe does say to drain the canned ingredients, then it should be fine. at least fine, from my experience.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  8. What would you recommend as a substitute for the corn? I do not like the taste of corn. I did use garbonzos once but thought maybe some of you brillant people had some other good ideas.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  9. Love the dump chicken dinner. My recipe also calls for an envelope of Fiesta Ranch Dressing mix. A favorite at our house!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  10. This sounds like a really good recipe. Question, though: the recipe says dump all ingredients into the slow-cooker, but in the [gorgeous] photos that follow, it shows adding the cream cheese after the initial 6-hour cook. Can you confirm the after-cook addition of the cream cheese for the slow-cooker instructions? Thanks for your cool & informational site!

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • If you’re cooking it in a slow cooker, then you just add everything! I made it in an Instant Pot, so the photos show the Instant Pot directions – where you add the cream cheese at the end :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Thanks for the clarification! Gonna make this soon.

  11. I like chicken but lately it seems that what I do not like is the amount of tissue in chicken … don’t know what I should call it but i think of it as the ligaments, connecting tissue, etc. Could you share an idea for a brand that might have only chicken meat ? What is called chicken soup is getting terrible with the little pieces of “stuff”.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Costco’s Kirkland chicken (frozen and fresh) is the best trimmed chicken we have found.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Plus the COSTCO chicken breast meat is individually wrapped it’s like 17. 00 Ruff figure for 16 pieces of meat.

    • Just look for “hand-trimmed chicken” on the meat aisle :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • Schwann’s has individually wrapped breasts. Another is Perdue at Walmart.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  12. I just made my old 70’s Dump Cake last week, so this is amusing. It was, easy, nostalgic and yummy.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  13. Hello Jillee. I only have the pressure cooker, but I need some liquid to cook in it. If all the ingredients are drained, how do I prevent it to burn on the bottom of the pan in this recipe? I never use the liquid that comes in the cans, it has aditives. Should I use some broth or whater?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I need to know this too! also, the length of time indicated is indeed for frozen chicken breasts? Where they small strips? I am always having issues with my instant pot gauging time frames with meat.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Hi Dona! The 8 minutes called for in this recipe is for frozen chicken, 6 minutes would work for thawed chicken, and you could do 5 minutes for tenders/strips. :-)

    • The frozen chicken provides some liquid as it defrosts, and the Rotel offers some liquid, too. If you drain the Rotel, then you can add 1/2 cup of broth :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  14. This sounds great, but this vegetarian would need a substitute for the chicken.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I would double all of the canned ingredients, for a creamy black-bean corn casserole of sorts :-)

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
  15. Hey Jillee! I like to print out your lovely recipes, and I am grateful for the PRINT-FRIENDLY format you offer. But those recipes include lots of (lovely) photos which use up far too much ink.

    When I look at your recipes to decide whether to try them, I enjoy seeing the photos (to fantasize how I will make the recipe). But at printing time, all my mind hears is KA-CHING, KA-CHING. And I end up spending $75 on B&W/colored ink cartridges every few weeks.

    Can you adjust your print-friendly offerings to include no photo, so that I can be thrifty with my computer’s ink supply?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I’m not even seeing the printer family option on my screen. Are ya’ll seeing it?

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • It’s a large green button at the end of the post, before the comments :-)

      • No, the print friendly button is not on my screen either. It used to be, but not any more. I have another deal I can click on to print, but it prints the whole thing and I don’t want 12-20 pages of stuff plus a waste of ink. Don’t mean to sound cheap but all I want is the recipe. I have contacted Jillee and one of her employees contacted me, said they were redoing the website and it should be better. That has been numerous months ago, still no print friendly button. Still love all the posts and look forward to getting them each day but very frustrating to not be able to print.

      • Hi Gail, could you try using another browser? :-)

      • Hey Jillee, my computer guy was by this morning and he checked out about the print friendly button. Don’t know what he did but he has it fixed now where I can print. It still doesn’t show up at the bottom of your blog just before comments, but I can print. Yeah!!! Thanks

    • It already has that option! :-) After pressing the “print-friendly” button, it pulls up a preview. Don’t print right away! Instead, click on any photos or paragraphs that you don’t want to print. It will delete them, and you can print just what you need.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • After pressing green “Print Friendly” my computer doesn’t give me a preview any more. It used to. Now it just prints all the pictures etc.

      • That’s odd! When you press the print friendly button, it just sends it straight to your printer?

      • When I hit the PRINT-FRIENDLY button, the new format comes up but it is still several pages of photos (much less than printing the whole webpage (!). Is there a way to make the print-out recipes include just a single photo of the beautiful final product?

        I really do not need photos of the items and how to pour a can of something. On your main web-page, those photos are very attractive.

        But when it comes time to print -=- I really need the shortest format possible. Having your web designer make this adjustment would completely consistent with your superb commitment to saving money and handling tasks most effectively.

        I do know how to print to PDF, but at the time I actually make a recipe, I need it on paper for me to scribble substitution items, special notes for my appliances.

        And I confess that I am a clumsy cook, so I cannot have my computer or iPad in my kitchen.

        Thanks for working on this idea.

        Deborah from Dunedin FL

      • There is a way! When the preview comes up, simply click on anything you don’t want to print. :-) Or click on the two grey boxes towards the top – one changes the size of the font, and other makes the pictures smaller or removes them altogether :-)

  16. Any suggestions to substitute something else for the Ro-Tel? I don’t like cooked tomatoes with chicken. And I, too, would like to know about the corn drained/undrained.

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • You can leave it out, or replace it with another can of corn! The corn should be drained.

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
    • I prefer salsa verde to rotel when I make this dish. Green sauce (salsa verde) goes really well w/chicken and black beans.
      (I also like to stir in some fresh, corn tortillas that I cut into strips or triangles when I add in the cream cheese).

      Please log in or create a free account to comment.
      • Salsa verde is a great idea – sounds delicious!

  17. In the ingredients list it says the corn should be drained. The picture shows someone pouring the corn with the liquid. Which is correct?

    Please log in or create a free account to comment.