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This keto crack chicken recipe is a weeknight family staple. It features shredded chicken breasts, crispy bacon, and a creamy ranch sauce, all topped with melty cheese. Only 2 grams net carbs!
If you need more weeknight keto dinners, I guarantee you’ll love my keto stuffed peppers, keto pork chops, and keto pizza!
Table of Contents
I’ve never been someone who really plans dinners in advance. Unless I’m throwing a dinner party or hosting friends, I tend to do things on the fly.
Come 5 PM, my family can usually find me hovering around the fridge, looking for inspiration to see what I can make for dinner. If I have chicken, bacon, and cheese, you better believe I’m making crack chicken!
Why I love this recipe
- It doesn’t taste low carb. I’ve made this for just about everyone in my friend group, and none of them believe me when I say it’s low-carb.
- Easy to customize. From the cheese to the mix-ins and cuts of chicken, every ingredient can be customized.
- A weeknight staple. The two things I crave most during the week are comfort foods and easy dinners…and this casserole checks both boxes.
- Convenient. Like my keto chicken casserole, this recipe is FAST, and you can even prep it 1-2 days before you need it.
- Multiple cooking methods. While the oven is my preferred method, I also tested it using the slow cooker and pressure cooker, if that’s your preference.
Key ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast fillets. Use either four small chicken breast fillets or two large ones that have been sliced in half.
- Salt and pepper. To season the chicken.
- Garlic powder. For aroma and flavor. I used powder for convenience but fresh garlic would be even better.
- Butter. To pan-fry the chicken.
- Cream cheese. Softened to room temperature.
- Spice mix. I used a mix of onion powder, garlic powder, dried dill, dried parsley, salt, and mustard powder to make a mock ranch seasoning mix. If you have a ranch packet, use that instead.
- Bacon. I prefer thick-cut bacon for maximum crispiness.
- Olive oil. To fry the bacon.
- Cheese. I used a mix of sharp cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese to cover the chicken before baking it in the oven.
How to make keto crack chicken
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven and grease a baking dish. Pound the chicken until they’re equal in thickness, then season each fillet.
Step 2- Cook the meat. Cook the bacon in an oiled skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, then remove the bacon, melt the butter, and cook the chicken until golden.
Step 3- Assemble. Place the chicken in the baking dish and pour the butter mixture on top. Stir together the cream cheese and spice mix in a bowl and pour on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the bacon and shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Step 4- Bake. Bake until the chicken is fully cooked, then serve warm and enjoy!
Arman’s recipe tips
- Only sear the chicken until golden. The oven will take care of fully cooking the chicken, and you don’t want it to overcook. Once it’s golden brown on both sides, you can remove it from the heat.
- Add a splash of chicken broth. Depending on the brand of cream cheese I’m using, sometimes the sauce can be pretty thick. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add a splash of chicken broth.
- Garnish with green onions or fresh chives for a pop of color.
Frequently asked questions
Crack chicken gets its name from the popular crack dip. It uses the same ingredients, with the addition of chicken, and something you’ll definitely request a second helping!
While chicken breasts are preferred, skinless chicken thighs can also be used.
Keto Crack Chicken
Video
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 ounces shredded cheese
For the cream cheese filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- Pound the four chicken breasts until ¼ inch in thickness. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add olive oil to the non-stick pan and place over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon and keep the bacon grease in the pan. Add the butter and when hot, and the chicken breasts and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until golden.
- Transfer the chicken breasts into the baking dish and pour the pan juices over them.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and spices until combined.
- Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture on top of each chicken breast. Sprinkle half the cooked bacon on top, followed by the shredded cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
This crack chicken is sensational!
Love it
i love this recipe so much!! one of my favorite recipe. Easy, Keto and delicious!!
Wow so easy and delicious ! I had 1 lone chicken breast and leftover bacon grease.
I winged my own version based on your recipe. Yum! Thank you
Delicious
Very easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Soooo gooood
This looks delicious! But before I make it, I need some clarification: Only half of the bacon is mentioned in the recipe instructions. What’s done with the other half?
Sorry, it’s added on top!
AMAZEBALLS… No onion, garlic or ranch seasoning here, so improvised with dill, mustard powder and a dash of cayenne pepper… Have already shared to my keto tribe 😋
Wow so amazing. My husband wants it once a week.
I don’t even LIKE chicken breasts, but this was excellent…and super quick! And THAT is a win-win for me!!!!
My new favorite way for cooking chicken
Thanks, Kelli!
Easy to make, low carb, high protein and very tasty! Definitely will make again.
The top section says there is ranch seasoning in here but the steps don’t include adding the ranch. Is there ranch supposed to be in it and how much?
Will fix it!
The ranch is the spice mix that you fold in the cream cheese.
So delicious. Will make again
Yummy! The whole family loved it. We aren’t doing keto but I am doing low-carb and it is hard to find recipes that are full of protein but no carbs/starches. This recipe is perfect! It was easy to make a few tweaks to lower the fat content but maintain the deliciousness. I served it with rice for the family, steamed cauliflower for me. Thanks for sharing something that we could all enjoy.
This was incredible!!!!
Straight up AMAZING!!!
Where’s the other half of cooked bacon go?
Sorry on top!
I highly recommend you only cook the chicken to 165F, not 165C.
ahaha sorry will fix!
looks delicious
The sauce is amazing. I wasn’t sure about the dill but that is actually what made it amazing.
Thanks Natalie!
Delicious recipe that is quick and easy to make!
I made this tonight for dinner and it turned out deliciously. Most, flavorful, and easy peasy to make. I especially like the healthy nutritional value you included.
I haven’t made Crack Chicken before, your recipe will be my go to.
Thanks Deanna!
Delicious recipe that is quick and easy to make!
Love that!
I made this this evening and it was simply delicious, exactly or maybe even better than I hoped for. I used turkey bacon and ghee instead of butter. I was very happy with the results and will be using this recipe regularly.
The recipe didn’t say what to do with the other half of the bacon, unless I missed it somewhere. It’s delicious! I topped the rest of the bacon on the cheese.
Delish!, thank you for sharing awesome recipes 👍🏾
Awesome dinner!
Love this.
My husband said this might be his new favorite chicken dish, even more than mozzarella chicken, and that’s saying something! This recipe was so yummy! I doubled it, which was about 4-5 Texas entree sized servings. I left out the butter and added half an onion, chopped and cooked in the bacon grease. Next time I would probably spoon out some of the bacon grease instead of putting all of it in the casserole dish. There was a decent bit of grease floating at the end… tasted excellent, but by personal preference a little oily. We are bookmarking this as a favorite recipe. I am astounded that something so hearty and comfort foodish could fall within our Keto diet!!!
quick great dish. Just where is the ranch dressing used.
Delicious. Really rich and easy to make.
Excellent
this recipe was a total success! we’re definitely adding it to our kitchen repertoire
This is really good, I will make it again.
Easy and tasty! And very different from how I usually cook chicken breasts. Nice change. I will be making it again.
Really good and flavorful.pretty easy to prep as well. We had it with brown rice and broccoli.
These recipes are fantastic. I’m hooked on the peanut butter mousse. They can be adapted for coeliacs too which means I can really enjoy my meals.
So rich and creamy! My whole family loved this recipe. I served it with cheesey cauliflower rice. Will definitely be making this over and over.
Absolutely loved it. I took it upon myself to go a bit further with some seasonings and ultimately it was a tad bit salty however, that was completely my fault and I know exactly how to fix that next time. After having gastric sleeve the need to eat mostly protein makes finding ways to dress up chicken a must and you killed it.
P.S. My dogs and I decided to snack the other half of the bacon. They enjoyed too.
Never disappoints! Can’t wait to try the slow cook variation, SO good.
I made this dish yesterday and it is amazing ! I almost couldn’t stop eating it !
It was delicious. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Oh my goodness! This was amazing. I used 1/2 pepper jack and 1/2 cheddar. The chicken was super tender too.
In the directions Arman says he makes his own version of Ranch dressing powder with the garlic and onion powders, celery salt and dried dill weed. I’m not entirely sure why HVR isn’t considered Keto (I’ve never looked at the macros on it) but I’m “dirty” keto anyway because I’ve had bariatric surgery, so I’m allowed a bit more carbs than strict keto. They DO prefer those carbs be heavy fiber items like a tiny amount of brown rice though. Looking forward to trying this.
My main comment about the InstantPot is that mine REQUIRES a minimum of 1 cup of water in the bottom or it stops and says “burning” so I’ll have to see how I can adapt this for that. Thinking I can pre-cook the chicken a bit in the IP, then transfer to a baking dish and add all the rest in. I’ll likely use some of the chicken stock at the bottom and melt the cream cheese with that and make a sauce to pour over the chicken before adding the bacon and cheese.
OMG this is delicious! I follow the recipe to a “T” and it turned out amazing.
Hi! How much a in a single serving? 1 whole chicken breast?
This hands down my favorite recipe trying to lose weight on a keto diet. I added actual onion and garlic, mushrooms and spinach and it is AMAZING. The most hilarious thing I can say after reading the recipe over many times is that half the bacon is not used in the recipe? Sooo realistic lol. However, I just use it all. <3
The description has ranch dressin but it is not in the recipe at all! I made it as shown (did not use dill) and it was good. I drizzled a TBS of ranch dressing over my piece and it was really good!
It says ranch dressing in the title but I do not see any on the recipe. Also what do I do with the other half of bacon? Thank you
I had some of the leftover ingredients and spread it over a piece of Haddock! Baked it in the oven….. the only difference is I poured the juice of one lemon on the haddock first. Then spread the “crack” on top! It’s superb!
What do you do with the other half of the bacon? I’m so confused. Shall I just eat it😄?
Hahaha my bad. Add it on top or snack on it 😉
Amazing! Definitely a keeper.
Can boneless skinless chicken thighs be used instead of chicken breast?
Hi Ronda- I don’t see why not! just pat them dry and reduce the cooking time slightly 🙂
Wow!
This chicken dish is delicious!
I forgot to hit the 5 stars, omg it was so good!!!!
20 stars omg it’s so good. I did add diced tomatoes on top along with the rest of the bacon and scallions
omg, you are right this chicken is crack! There are few recipes that go into my recipe box after the first cooking with no alterations but this is a perfect recipe! Easy, quick to make and fantastically yummy! My husband was emphatic that it should be a regular on our dinner list. Thank You! I am going to try the Hunan Shrimp next. 🙂
The dish was absolutely the best crack chicken recipe I’ve tried. Thank you for posting it on line!
You mention mustard powder yet none in the ingredients?
Hi there- You can add 1/4 teaspoon to the cream cheese 🙂
Thank you! I made this and it was a hit!!
Yummiest
Just checking – is it mustard powder or celery salt you mix for the seasoning? Both are referenced but not together. The mustard is referenced in the paragraphs but no amount given and the celery salt is listed in the ingredients. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry, it is celery salt 🙂
I made the crack chicken tonight for dinner. As a type 2 diabetic, I am always looking for new, tasty recipes. This one fit the bill. It was really good. I will make this next week for company. I made the recipe as written with the exception of, I thought I had some frozen chicken breast in the freezer but all I had was, chicken tenders. I butcher the chicken breast myself and take the tenders off. I like mine a little bigger and use the bones and leftovers for stock. Thanks for this recipe. Looking forward to making more.
Thank you for your kind words, Mary- My father is a type 2 diabetic too and he enjoys this recipe! 🙂 More chicken dishes to come soon!
Truly appreciate the way you made this crack chicken recipe. Everything is so nicely described that really helped me. Looking forward for more such yummy recipes in future too.
Thank you so much!
Very good eating. Calories and carbs just like I need them to be for each meal. You need to make a cookbook about the meats and veggies you cook upup, just like your sweets Books.
I loved it, my husband loved it. This was easy and I would make it again and again.