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This keto crack chicken is an easy and addictive dinner recipe that takes less than 20 minutes to make! Chicken, bacon, two kinds of cheeses, and ranch seasoning come together to create a comforting dish that no one will know is low carb!
Keto Crack Chicken
When it comes to keto chicken recipes, my favorites to make are fried chicken, chicken parmesan, and this keto crack chicken.
I’ve never been someone to really plan dinners in advance. Unless I’m throwing a dinner party or hosting some friends, I tend to do things on the fly.
Come 5 pm, you’ll find me hovering around the fridge looking through what I have in there and what I can whip up for dinner. Chicken breast, bacon, and shredded cheese are 3 ingredients you’ll always find in my refrigerator, and 90% of the time, I use them to make crack chicken.
What is crack chicken?
As the name suggests, crack chicken is the delicious combination of chicken, bacon, cheese, and ranch seasoning, all baked together to create an easy, delicious, and filling weeknight meal. It’s the kind of dish that you’d make on a weekly basis, and something even picky eaters will enjoy (like stuffed chicken breast or bacon wrapped chicken!).
What I love about this dish is that it is accidentally keto! What I mean by that is that it uses zero carb and low carb ingredients, but you’d never tell. It’s creamy, cheesy, and comforting, and requires minimal prep. I like baking it in the oven, but you can also use a slow cooker or an instant pot if you prefer.
What is crack chicken made of?
For the chicken
- Chicken breast fillets– Either four small chicken breast fillets or two large ones that have been sliced through the middle.
- Salt and pepper– To season the chicken before pan frying them.
- Garlic powder– Adds a light garlic flavor without needing any garlic.
- Butter– To fry everything in.
For the cream cheese filling
- Cream cheese– Softened to room temperature.
- Spice mix– Onion powder, garlic powder, dried dill, salt, and mustard powder are all mixed together to create a mock ranch seasoning mix.
For the topping
- Bacon– Thick cut bacon, because what else goes well with chicken and cheese?
- Olive oil– To fry the bacon in.
- Cheese– A mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheese to cover the chicken before baking it in the oven.
How do you make crack chicken?
Start by pan-frying the bacon until fully cooked and crispy. Keep the bacon juices in the pan, add the butter and once hot, and the seasoned chicken breast fillets on it. Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink. Transfer the chicken into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and pour the pan juices over it.
Now, whisk together the cream cheese and spice mix until combined. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture amongst the chicken breast fillets and spread to cover the top. Cover everything with the shredded cheese and bacon and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.
Instant pot or slow cooker option
While I prefer the oven method for cooking this dish, you can also make it in the instant pot or the slow cooker. If you choose the slow cooker option, I recommend you shred the chicken and mix everything together, for the ultimate flavor explosion!
- Instant pot crack chicken– Prepare the cream cheese mixture and chop your bacon. Add the seasoned chicken breast fillets to the bottom of an instant pot and spread with the cream cheese. Sprinkle the bacon and shredded cheese on top and cook on high for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let everything sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Slow cooker crack chicken– A little bit different to the original method, as the chicken will be shredded once it has cooked. To the bottom of a slow cooker, add the chicken breast fillets, top with cream cheese and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Remove the lid and use two forks to shred the chicken. Add the bacon and cheese and cover the slow cooker and let everything sit for 10 minutes, before mixing it all together and serving.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Do not over-fry your chicken. The chicken will be further cooked while it is baking in the oven. Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165C, it is ready to eat!
- If you don’t follow a strict keto diet, you can replace the spice mix with packaged ranch seasoning (often found in the soup or salad dressing aisle).
Storing, freezing, and reheating tips
- To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
- To freeze: Place the cooked and cooled chicken in a sealable baking dish and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Reheating: Either microwave the chicken in 20-second spurts until warm or in reheat in a preheated oven.
Keto side dish ideas to serve with crack chicken
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.
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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.
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!