Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is an easy ‘dump and go’ slow cooker recipe that is so good you’ll be addicted to it! Ten minutes of prep with ingredients you probably already have and it has endless meal possibilities.
Hey, hey, it’s also a keto-friendly recipe! It’s filled with bacon, cheese, cream cheese, and ranch dressing mix.
My best friend Lisa shared this recipe years and years ago before I started blogging. It’s a staple in my house.
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Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
First things first…What is ‘CRACK CHICKEN’?
Crack Chicken is the name of the combination of chicken, cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and bacon. These ingredients combined are so good ‘It’s addictive, you can’t stop eating it!’ (For those of you that want to slam me for naming it ‘crack’, when I titled this recipe, I didn’t even think about the drug. I only thought about the combination of ingredients that is known far and wide as ‘Crack Chicken’. I did not intentionally mean to offend anyone!)
There are variations of the recipe but the basic ingredients are the four noted above. Some people add cheddar cheese, garlic powder, onions, mayonnaise, etc.
I for one think chicken, cream cheese, ranch, and bacon has a really good flavor. However, to kick it up and make it even tastier I like to add a cheddar/Colby mix and mayonnaise. Now we’re talking!
Why is this so dang good?
There are a few reasons why Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is so good
- Primarily, this is a ‘dump and go’ slow cooker recipe. I say primarily because you do not want to cook the bacon in a slow cooker. Hence, you will either need to cook the bacon, crumble it, then add it to the Crock-Pot at the end of the cooking process. Or, you can use store-bought bacon bits. While real bacon, cooked and crumbled is much better and cost a lot less per ounce, store-bought bacon bits save a lot of time.
- It’s Keto friendly.
- Get my favorite slow cooker here.
- As well, Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is perfect by itself, it’s also great on a sandwich, in a tortilla, over nachos, as a dip, in quiche, on pizza, over pasta, rice, or potatoes, or on a lettuce wrap for another low carb option!
HOW DO YOU MAKE CRACK CHICKEN IN THE SLOW COOKER?
- Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts so you don’t have a lot of extra fat in the recipe. You can use skinless, boneless thighs.
- I use two packets of seasoning. Otherwise, to me, it was a bit bland.
- Add the mayonnaise and Colby cheddar cheese at the end and stir until melted. (I recommend this mayonnaise.)
Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Crack Chicken
Can I cook Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe on the stove?
Simply brown the chicken in a skillet. Next, add the remaining ingredients and cook them all in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. When the chicken is cooked through, shred it then follow the instructions in the original recipe.
Can I make Crock Pot Crack Chicken in an Instant Pot?
Yes, absolutely. Although I don’t have an Instant Pot I have friends that do. Check out Instant Pot Crack Chicken.
You can eat this by itself, on a bun, or in a tortilla wrap. I also made Bacon Chicken Ranch Sliders that are excellent.
I like to serve it with
- Mexican Kale Slaw
- Tex Mex Cole Slaw
- Vinegar Slaw
- Deconstructed Green Bean Bundles
- Orange Salad
- Wedge Salad
Can I freeze Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe?
This chicken recipe freezes well. Freeze it in an airtight container (<my favorite freezer containers) and let it thaw fully before reheating, you can definitely make this cooked chicken days ahead of time and store it in your freezer.
Can I use chicken thighs?
Yes, absolutely. Chicken thighs have so much flavor.
Can I use frozen chicken?
The FDA does not recommend using frozen chicken in the slow cooker because of the length of time it takes to cook. If you do use frozen, check the internal temperature of the chicken breast with an instant-read thermometer. The safe internal temperature for chicken is 165°F.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Chicken breasts
- Ranch dressing seasoning store-bought or my homemade recipe
- Cream cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Colby/Cheddar cheese (or you can use just cheddar)
- Bacon
- Green onions
Stock up on boneless, skinless chicken breasts when they are on sale. There are plentiful chicken recipes on my site for boneless, skinless chicken.
You can use more than 2 pounds of chicken without changing the other ingredients and it’ll still be good. As well, you can double the recipe and it will still be good. It’s a very versatile recipe!
Also, you can omit mayonnaise if it’s not your thing. I like the tang mayo that gives this recipe but it’s good without it too.
Furthermore, if you don’t want it as creamy, you can half the cream cheese and keep the other ingredients the same.
What to serve with Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
- Crispy Roast Potatoes
- ‘Baked’ Sweet Potato
- Napa Cabbage Ramen Slaw (Salad)
- Vinegar Based Slaw (wonderful with the creamy sauce of this chicken!)
- Best Cobb Salad for a crowd
- Green Goddess Salad
You can use the Chicken Bacon Ranch Chicken as a filling for these recipes.
While you’re here, check out these delicious slow cooker recipes!
- Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
- Crockpot Green Chile Chicken
- Slow Cooker Creamy Buffalo Chicken
- Slow Cooker Zesty Italian Chicken
- Stove Top Cajun Butter Chicken Bites
- Copycat Cajun Cafe Bourbon Chicken Bites
- Slow Cooker Zesty Italian Chicken
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Slider
- Slow Cooker Creamy Buffalo Chicken
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Roast and Pepper Hoagie Sandwiches
- Healthy Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken Soup
- Hash Brown Slow Cooker Potato Soup
- Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
UPDATE 11-12-19: I read your comments and a lot of you thought the recipe as written is too salty. Therefore, I created a Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix Recipe so that you can control the salt in this recipe. You can substitute this homemade ranch seasoning for the packs listed below in the recipe. (3 tablespoons of this mix = 1 packet of store-bought seasoning mix) CLICK HERE FOR HOMEMADE RANCH SEASONING RECIPE
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Some of my most popular recipes are my pound cakes! In fact, I have a series where I have reviewed over 50 pound cake recipes! You can get all the recipes here.
- Old School Southern Butter Pound Cake
- Five Flavor Pound Cake
- Sour Cream Dark Chocolate Pound Cake
- Hummingbird Cake Pound Cake
- Woodford Reserve Pound Cake
- Fig Preserve Pound Cake
- Citrus Pound Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake
- Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake
- Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Homemade Melted Vanilla Ice Cream Pound Cake
- Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake
Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
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Save To Your Recipe BoxIngredients
- 3 to 4 medium chicken breasts boneless, skinless (about 2 pounds)
- 2 {1-ounce packages} Ranch dressing mix *SEE HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING RECIPE IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR SEASONING AND CONTROL THE SALT.
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut into cubes
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 pound bacon cook and crumbled
- 2 cups Colby cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 to 3 tablespoons green onions sliced (optional ingredient)
- 2 tablespoons jalapenos diced (optional ingredient)
Instructions
- Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe - Slow Cooker, fast, easy, keto recipe. See 'what to serve with crack chicken' in the post above.
- Please read the post above as well as the comments if you have a question.
- Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Sprinkle ranch dressing mix and cream cheese over chicken.
- Cook on high 3 hours or low 5 to 6 hours.
- With 2 forks, shred chicken and stir. Stir in mayonnaise. Sprinkle cheese, bacon, green onions, and jalapenos over chicken. Serve on buns, lettuce leaves, or soft or crunchy tortilla shells
Nutrition
You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index or and Meal Plan Monday
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Kasey Van Groll says
This recipe is way to salty and tastes like garbage. My kids wouldn’t finish it and I had to try to had hot sauce to make it bearable. 0 stars. Waste of money
Paula says
Did you read the post? I stated some people say it’s salty and gave a substitution.
Margie Warren says
Wondering if you could cook this for 8+ hrs. Leave for work at 7…don’t get home until 4:30….
Paula says
Yes, on low.
Kristen says
I found your recipe about 1.5 months ago I am making it for the 4th time today. It is so delicious and easy. My young kids ask for me to make it. Thank you for sharing, it is going to be a twice a month meal or more.. Cant wait to try your other posts.
Paula says
I’m so happy you and your kids like it. With 2 very different boys myself, it’s not easy finding recipes the whole family likes.
Angie says
Can you use bacon bits?
Paula says
Yes
Rebecca says
Can you put the bacon in to cook with the chicken in the crockpot?
Paula says
Yes, it’ll cook but it won’t get crisp.
David Baker says
Why can’t anyone put the instructions at the top of the page with ingredients instead of at the end?
Paula says
click ‘jump to recipe’
Angie says
Can you use bacon bits?
Paula says
Yes, you can.
Mercedes Davis says
What about using bottled ranch instead of the seasoning pack?
Joyce M says
Very, very good…loved the flavor. My husband approved also.
Thank you
Jim Anderson says
How is it? I tried scrolling down to the recipe but my battery went out before I got there.
Jennifer Bero says
You can just click “Jump to Recipe”
imsen says
This is the best recipe I have found for chicken in the slow cooker. And the tip for using your stand mixer to shred it is so good! It worked perfectly. All of your tips and suggestions are great, thank you for sharing.
DC says
I am new at cooking. What is a stand mixer?
Paula says
A stand mixer is like this https://amzn.to/3wHRlHU
vs
a hand mixer which is like this> https://amzn.to/3MPBwWs
A stand mixer usually works better, well, for me it works better. I just never got used to holding a hand mixer.
Jordan Russell says
Whoo! I tried this one today and as we say where I come from, girl, you put your foot in it! We loved it! I did add a bit of milk to get things started and a bit of paprika. It was so good. It’s sure to become a regular at our house.
Paula says
🤣 – At first, I wasn’t sure if putting my foot in it was a good thing or a bad thing! lol
So happy you like it!
Sasha says
Way too salty! I definitely should have just done one packet of ranch seasoning or followed the tip to make my own mix. I’ve had to add some heavy whipping cream to try to take away from the saltiness. Otherwise it came out pretty good. I think for sure if you’re using pre made ranch seasoning packets my recommendation would be to just use one. I think you’d still get the ranch flavor without too much salt.
Kristy says
Hi, this dish sounds so so delicious!! I was wondering if it would be okay to put some chopped potatoes in it? I have read that people love putting it over a potatoe. I’m cooking this in a few hours.
Paula says
Yes, you may want to increase the sauce though is you use a lot of potatoes.