CROCK POT CRACK CHICKEN RECIPE

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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.

Also, try this family favorite>Slow Cooker Hoisin Chicken

Crock Pot Crack Chicken

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 with me a few years back before I started blogging. It’s a staple in my house.

Crock Pot Chicken, Crock Pot Bacon Chicken Ranch Recipe

Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe

Crack Chicken ingredients

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 known far and wide as ‘Crack Chicken’. I did not intentionally mean to offend anyone!)

Crack chicken ingredients in slow cooker

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 have 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!

Crock Pot Crack Chicken

Why is this so dang good?

There are a few reasons why Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe is so good

  1. 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.
  2. It’s Keto friendly.
  3. Get my favorite slow cooker here.
  4. 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?

  1. Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts so you don’t have a lot of extra fat in the recipe. You can use skinless, boneless thighs.
  2. I use two packets of seasoning. Otherwise, to me, it was a bit bland.
  3. Add the mayonnaise and Colby cheddar cheese at the end and stir until melted. (I recommend this mayonnaise.)
Crock Pot Crack Chicken

Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Crack Chicken

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 which are excellent.

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.

I like to serve it with

  1. Mexican Kale Slaw
  2. Tex Mex Cole Slaw
  3. Vinegar Slaw
  4. Deconstructed Green Bean Bundles
  5. Orange Salad
  6. 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

You can use the Chicken Bacon Ranch Chicken as a filling for these recipes.

  1. Baked Crack Chicken Biscuit Bites
  2. Crack Wontons

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

Some of my most popular recipes are my pound cakes! In fact, I have a series where I have reviewed over 50 recipes for pound cakes! You can get all the recipes here

You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index 

Crock Pot Crack Chicken

Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe

Crock Pot Crack Chicken Recipe an easy ‘dump and go’ slow cooker recipe! Ten minutes of prep with ingredients you already have & endless meal possibilities.
Author: Paula
4.76 from 600 votes
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 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

Calories: 688kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 64g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 888mg | Potassium: 351mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 771IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 1mg
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402 Comments

  1. So read and re-read and I don’t see how long this is suppose to cook for and is this cooked on high temperature? All I see ingredients but don’t see amount needed if each ingredient.

  2. 5 stars
    This was really salty. Next time i make it, it will only have one packet of ranch dressing.

  3. 5 stars
    It’s good. I wouldn’t call it “CRACK” good, but it’s good. I’m going to use a Lipton Onion Soup dry mix next time instead of the ranch and see how that comes out. The rest of it, I thought was tasty. I also think this would actually make for some really great chicken salad sandwiches. Cheese, green onions, bacon, and all slapped right onto bread with some lettuce. Mmm!

    1. 5 stars
      Glad I read the description later so I could realize why it’s called “crack” chicken! Thanks for explaining!! I made this last night for dinner. It looked very appetizing after putting on all the toppings. But after tasting it, I didn’t think it was all that great, in both flavor and mostly texture. After a few hours passed though, it had cooled down considerably, and I toasted my bread a little extra for a second sandwich. It was much better that way, with the cooled (and therefore more solidified) mixture, plus the toastier bread. I also topped it with slices of provolone for the second sandwich. I’m having it just like that for lunch now, after the mixture has chilled in the fridge overnight. This is really great!! Did not expect it to taste better after chilling, but it really punctuated more of the flavors of the toppings, which proved to be essential in rounding out the ranchiness of everything else. One other thing- I used the equivalent of 3 breasts, the minimum you recommended, and felt part of its undoing on the first go-around was that 3 breasts seems to be not quite enough. It was very goopy when hot. So unless I’m planning to chill it before eating at all, I will be trying this with 4 breasts in the future. I served this on sliced ciabatta bread. I also used your homemade ranch seasoning recipe. I agree, home-cooked bacon is the way to go- and I used extra! I especially enjoyed how easy it was to shred the chicken inside the crock. Easy and delicious recipe with plenty of yield. This one is a keeper, thanks!! Unique concepts here. Wish I could attach a pic!

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