Crack Chicken

Crack Chicken – scrumptious and easy baked chicken dinner topped with a ranch cream cheese mixture, crispy bacon bits and cheesy melty goodness. Flavorful LOW-CARB dish that can be served in so many ways!

Can you imagine enjoying a meaty LOW-CARB dinner that is super filling and flat out delicious? I couldn’t believe it at first, but this recipe here is really a game changer in my household. We just couldn’t stop praising how good it is and the short amount of ingredients that you need to make this CRACK CHICKEN dinner recipe.

If you’re looking for a comforting dinner that the whole family will love, then you’re in for a treat!

What is Crack Chicken?

Honestly, there is no definite history on how did this crack chicken recipe came to life. All I know is that this is alternately called Ranch Chicken and it is quite addictive….you guessed it….just like crack! Hence, the name! Every aspect of this this dish is simply good, and there’s no denying to that.

Crack Chicken Ingredients

You only need a handful of mostly simple ingredients to whip up something as crazy good as this.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs or Breast – You can either use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breast. If you want lean meat, then choose chicken breast, but if you want juiciness all over your pan then go with chicken thighs.

Creole Seasoning or Italian Blend – Season your chicken meat with either Creole or Italian seasoning. If you don’t have either of those, you can simply season them with salt and pepper. Anyway, the topping itself is already flavorful, so you won’t need to go crazy with seasoning your chicken.

Bacon – Adding crispy bacon bits to our creamy topping adds another layer to it plus that smoky bacon fat infused into our meat as it gets browned is just EVERYTHING!

Vegetable Oil – Or any cooking oil will do. This is used to brown our chicken meat before it bakes.

Cream Cheese – This mild, slightly sweet cream cheese with a pleasant tang makes up the base for our topping. Please think twice in using the low-fat cream cheese as it doesn’t melt well like the regular ones.

Garlic and Onion Powder – We’re using this to balance out the savory flavors in this dish.

Ranch Seasoning Mix – This packet mix is like the dry form in packets of the popular ranch dressing that most of us would love as a dip or on salads (see my homemade Ranch Dressing HERE). Now if you don’t have ranch dressing mix on hand, you can simply add the following in to the mix to bring out that ranch flavor: 1/2 teaspoon kosher  salt , 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried dill and 1 teaspoon dried chives.

Cheese – I use cheddar cheese to complement the cream cheese well.

Chicken Broth –  This makes our chicken extra juicy as it gets baked. And as always, choose the low-sodium one.

Green Onions – For garnishing. You may swap it with chopped parsley, if desired.

Can I Use Chicken Breast Instead?

 Yes, you can! As long as it’s boneless and skinless chicken breast.

Can I Make this Using a Slow Cooker?

Absolutely! Simply add the chicken meat, chicken broth and the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the cream cheese, cheese and bacon. Set it on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Then once it’s cooked through, shred the chicken using 2 forks. Finally, stir in the cream cheese, shredded cheese and crumbled bacon bits. Now you can serve it as stuffing to your burgers or sandwiches or with some steamed veggies on the side.

Can I Make Crack Chicken Ahead of Time?

Well, yes, you can! Brown the meat and assemble everything in the pan or baking dish, BUT DON’T BAKE yet. Cover it instead with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Remove wrap when ready to bake.

How Do I Serve Crack Chicken?

There are just so many ways to serve this flavor-packed baked chicken dish. You can serve it exactly as it is or shred it and serve it with any of the following:

• as burger or sandwich filling
• served over pasta
• stuffings to baked potatoes
• in lettuce wraps, flatbread o tortillas
• or chop them and serve as pizza toppings
• with warm rice
• with steamed veggies like broccoli (as seen in the photo), cauliflower and green beans

More Easy Dinner Recipes

• Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Easy Cassoulet
• Arroz con Pollo
• Chicken Fajitas

 

How to Make Crack Chicken

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease cast iron skillet or a 9×13 baking dish. Set aside. Season boneless chicken with salt and pepper, then rub both sides with Creole or Italian seasoning. Set aside.

In a large heavy sauté pan (preferably a cast iron skillet), saute chopped bacon until brown and crispy – about 6-7 minutes, remove bacon. Set aside. Leave bacon fat for browning the chicken, if desired. Add vegetable oil to the remaining bacon fat, enough to brown chicken, depending on the amount left over from the bacon. Once oil is hot enough, add chicken and brown for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet and arrange in previously prepared baking dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder and ranch seasoning mix.

Mix until thoroughly combined. Add 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix again. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.

Top each piece of chicken with equal amounts of the cream cheese and cheddar mixture. Evenly spread over each chicken using a fork or knife.

Top with bacon and remaining cheese. Place in the pre-heated oven , add about 1/2 cup chicken broth and bake uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through; Cheese melts and browns lightly. Remove from oven,  garnish with green onions.