Backed Crack Chicken

This Backed Crack Chicken recipe is quite easy, made out of tender chicken breasts with melted cheese, ranch seasoning, and crispy bacon. It’s a great dish-low carb and keto.

Why Is It Called Cracked Chicken?

So, what is crack chicken? It’s a combination of ingredients like cream cheese, ranch seasoning, cheddar, and bacon. These flavors so good together that you can’t help but want to eat them all. That’s how it got its name. Folks have made all sorts of “crack” dishes like crack dip, crack pasta, and crack soup. Crack chicken is comforting and easy to make, much like my jalapeño popper baked chicken, only without the peppers.

Recipe Ingredients

Here are the main ingredients for this cheesy ranch chicken, with a few substitution tips. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below to see the full recipe and instructions.

• Bacon – I like using thick-cut bacon because it chops up really well. If you want a leaner option, you can use turkey bacon.
• Chicken– Boneless, skinless chicken is best. I use chicken breasts, but thighs work well too. If your chicken breasts are large, pound them to about ¼ inch thick and trim off any extra fat.
• Cream Cheese- Either full or low fat is fine, but it must be the block type-not the soft spread. Take it out of the fridge ahead of time and let soften.
• Ranch Seasoning – I am a big fan of making your own ranch mix from garlic powder, onion powder, dill, and chives, but the store version is good, too.
• Cheddar Cheese-White cheddar or yellow cheddar-can be shredded or mixed together.

How To Make Crack Chicken

The first bite of this crack chicken is going to immediately tell you why it’s such a rage. It’s creamy, cheesy, and the best part is that I can enjoy this keto-friendly dish without guilty feelings. So good! Fry the bacon. Add the diced bacon to the pan and cook until crispy. Take out the bacon; leave the grease for added flavor. Prepare the chicken. Season the chicken breasts and sear both sides of the chicken until it becomes browned. Place in a baking dish. Add the “crack” ingredients. Combine the “crack” ingredients together. Mix the ranch seasoning into the cream cheese and spread it evenly over the chicken breasts. It should smooth out if a bit on the thick side by whisking in some chicken broth. Then, add crispy bacon and shredded cheese to top the dish and voilà. Bake. Bake the chicken at 400ºF for 15 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is melted and golden brown. While that’s baking, you can cook your noodles or zoodles to eat with the chicken. Garnish with fresh parsley or scallions and voilà!

Tips

• This baked crack chicken recipe is so simple to make it’s practically guaranteed to come out amazing. Keep these tips in mind:
• Use skinless, boneless chicken so that the dish remains lighter and less greasy.
• Use real bacon and not those bacon bits. Real bacon tastes better and isn’t as salty. Cooking and crumbling can only take a few minutes.
• Experiment with cheese. The dish needs something more than cheddar. Add some flavor by using Pepper Jack and try the melty cheeses, Colby Jack, provolone, or Swiss.
• Don’t overcook the chicken. Chicken cooked too long can dry out and become tough. Check your chicken the last twenty minutes of baking time, as ovens fluctuate.
• To be certain the chicken is done, use a meat thermometer. The USDA says it should be an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• Doubles easily for quick leftovers throughout the week. Crack chicken freezes well also.
• This dish can be cooked without the oven in an Instant Pot or a slow cooker if you do not want to use the oven.

Ingredients

4 slices thick cut bacon, diced

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 4 (1-pound, total) boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼-inch thickness

• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika

  FOR THE RANCH CREAM CHEESE

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon onion powder

• ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed

• ½ teaspoon dried chives

• 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, white or yellow – I use a little of both

  FOR GARNISH

• chopped fresh parsley

• sliced green scallions

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400˚F.

• Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

• Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the diced bacon; cook until crispy.

• Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Don’t discard bacon fat.

• Return skillet to heat and add vegetable oil to the remaining bacon fat.

• Pound chicken breasts to a ¼-inch to ½-inch thickness and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.

• Add chicken breasts to the hot oil – you may have to do this in batches if the skillet isn’t big enough – and cook chicken breasts for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

• Flip over the chicken breasts, add butter, and continue to cook for 2 more minutes or until browned.

• Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and arrange them in the previously prepared baking dish. Set aside.

• In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, and chives; mix until thoroughly combined. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly. See notes.

• Top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Spread to coat the surface of each chicken breast.

• Take half of the diced bacon and add on top of the cream cheese over each chicken breast.

• Sprinkle shredded cheese over the chicken breasts.

• Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted and lightly browned.

• Remove from oven.

• Garnish with remaining bacon, fresh parsley, and scallions.

• Serve.

Nutrition

4 servings per container  

• Amount Per Serving
• Calories524
• % Daily Value *
• Total Fat 40g62%
  • Saturated Fat 18g90%
  • Trans Fat 0.2g
• Cholesterol 161mg54%
• Sodium 668mg28%
• Potassium 585mg17%
• Total Carbohydrate 4g2%
  • Dietary Fiber 0.3g2%
  • Sugars 1 g
• Protein 37g74%

• Vitamin C6%
• Calcium244%
• Iron1%