Crack Chicken {Stove, IP, or Slow Cooker!}
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Crack chicken is super easy to make. Do it on the stove top, or in the instant pot, or even in a slow cooker, but just do it! This is one our whole family LOVES!
Our crack chicken recipe is so easy to make and is the perfect quick dinner that no one will fight about. Serve it in a bowl or on a bun alongside some easy sauteed vegetables, red roasted potatoes or shaved brussel sprout salad!
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Crack Chicken
Crack Chicken {Stove, IP, or Slow Cooker!}
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Crack chicken ingredients
- Chicken breasts – The recipe as written calls for raw chicken, but you could totally use canned chicken or pre-cooked chicken to make things faster.
- Chicken broth – See how to make your own chicken broth.
- Cream cheese – Cubed.
- Dry ranch seasoning – You can typically find this in the salad dressing aisle.
- Bacon – Cooked crispy and crumbled.
- Cheddar cheese – Shredded.
- Green onion – Chopped.
How do you make crack chicken? (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, add chicken broth, chicken breasts, cream cheese and ranch seasoning to cooking vessel.
⭐ Next, cover and cook until chicken shreds easily. Remove chicken and shred.
⭐ Then, whisk the liquid in the bottom of the cooking vessel, then return shredded chicken to sauce.
⭐ Finally stir in bacon, cheese, and green onions.
Preparation
Can it be made on the stove top?
Crack chicken can be made on the stove top. You’ll want to boil the chicken first (or use pre-cooked chicken), then add the the remaining ingredients to your pot on the stove to finish. Full directions for making it on the stove are included in the recipe card below.
Can it be made in the instant pot?
You can definitely make this in the instant pot! The chicken takes about 15 minutes to cook on manual (high pressure), followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. Full directions for making instant pot crack chicken are included in the recipe card below.
Can it be made in the slow cooker?
Slow cooker crack chicken is also easy to make! It takes about 4 – 5 hours on high, or 6 – 8 hours on low to make this in a crock pot. Full slow cooker directions are included in the recipe card below.
Can you make crack chicken with canned chicken?
Absolutely. You’ll want to use about 36 – 48 ounces of drained canned chicken in place of the chicken breasts for this substitution.
Can you make crack chicken ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare it 2 – 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator, or several months in advance if stored in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Storage and Leftovers
How long does crack chicken last?
The leftovers, when properly stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, will last 3 – 4 days. If the chicken was left out at room temperature in excess of 2 hours, it should be discarded.
Can you freeze the leftovers?
You can freeze crack chicken. Allow the chicken to cool (you don’t want to lower the temperature of your freezer by adding hot chicken to it!), then store in a sealed freezer safe container. It will last in the refrigerator for several months.
How do you reheat crack chicken?
Leftovers can be easily reheated in the microwave on high for 2 – 3 minutes, or simmered on the stove top until warmed through. If the chicken has thicken too much, whisk in some milk or water until you reach your desired consistency.
Nutrition
Is crack chicken keto?
Yes, it would qualify as keto-friendly. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet and this recipe satisfies those parameters.
Is it gluten free?
Make sure to check all your individual ingredients just to be perfectly safe, but this can absolutely be made as a gluten free crack chicken recipe!
Variations
🟢 Try making it with pulled pork. I would use a loin to mimic the texture of chicken breast most closely.
🟢 Add a splash of red hot sauce or sriracha for a kick!
🟢 Stir in a pound of cooked noodles for some crack chicken pasta.
🟢 Whisk in a cup of sour cream and serve it with chips and homemade crackers as a dip!
Complete this meal with our recipe suggestions
We know exactly what to serve with crack chicken! Try it alongside a pan of crispy roasted cauliflower, oven baked fries, or an easy baked sweet potato. Finish the meal off with a quick peach dump cobbler, strawberry poke cake, or a batch of s’mores fudge. Yum!
Amazing instant pot recipes to try next
- Instant pot Italian sausage soup
- Instant pot bbq ribs
- Instant pot Mississippi pot roast
- Instant pot broccoli cheese soup
- Instant pot loaded potato soup
- See all our instant pot recipe ideas!
More awesome slow cooker recipes
- Slow cooker Italian beef
- Slow cooker honey garlic chicken
- Slow cooker bbq chicken recipe
- Slow cooker spiral ham
- Marry Me Chicken Slow Cooker
- Slow cooker corned beef
- See all our easy slow cooker recipes!
Tools we love
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker – This electric pressure cooker, and my gas grill are the saving graces in our home. A delicious roast with carrots and potatoes in 45 minutes? Yes, please! You’re seriously going to love this one!
- Classic Kitchenaid stand mixer – My favorite things to make in ours are ginger cookies, no churn ice cream, and shredded chicken. Yup, seriously. The Kitchenaid shreds chicken like no ones business!
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How to Make Crack Chicken
Crack Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 pounds chicken breasts 3 - 4 breasts
- ½ cup chicken broth (not needed for stove top method)
- 16 ounces cream cheese cubed
- 2 packets dry ranch seasoning
- 8 ounces bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped green onions
Instructions
INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS
- Add chicken broth, chicken breasts, cream cheese and ranch seasoning to your instant pot.
- Close instant pot and set to manual (high pressure) for 15 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes. (If you frequently get the burn notice on your instant pot, you can add up to a full cup of water).
- Remove chicken and shred.
- Whisk together the liquid in the bottom of the instant pot until the cream cheese is fully incorporated. (If you added a full cup of water at the beginning, turn your pot to 'saute' function and allow some of the liquid to simmer off).
- Return shredded chicken to pot. Add bacon, cheese, and green onions. Stir until combined. The sauce will thicken as it stands.
SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS
- Add chicken broth, chicken breasts, cream cheese and ranch seasoning to your slow cooker.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or high for 4 - 5 hours.
- Remove chicken and shred.
- Whisk together the liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker until the cream cheese is fully incorporated.
- Return shredded chicken to slow cooker. Add bacon, cheese, and green onions. Stir until combined. The sauce will thicken as it stands.
STOVE TOP DIRECTIONS
- Bring a pot filled with water to a boil. Add chicken and simmer about 15 minutes, until chicken shreds easily. Reserve 1/2 cup of boiling liquid and drain remaining.
- Shred chicken and set aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of reserved liquid, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning to pot. Bring to a low simmer and whisk until everything is incorporated. (You can use a an electric mixer or immersion blender to speed this up.)
- Return shredded chicken to pot. Add bacon, cheese, and green onions. Stir until combined. The sauce will thicken as it stands.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Love chicken? Try this smoked chicken legs recipe!
Crack Chicken {Stove, IP, or Slow Cooker!}
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Wondering if anyone has made this using dairy free cream cheese? I’m lactose challenged. Also it looks like it could be served as a cold chicken salad but the recipe talks of reheating leftovers. Has anyone eaten it cold?
Very good! Used a light cream cheese and it worked fine for anyone who is watching fat intake. I used it as a hot sandwich filling on croissants. Had some left over, heated it up, added some taco seasoning and put it in burritos the next night for dinner.
It was okay .. We found it really salty and rich. maybe 1 packet of dressing and 1/2 the cheese ?
Or maybe bacon made it too salty ?
Going to try this week. I’m going to use low sodium broth and half the bacon
very aggregated with this page. All I want to do is find the dang recipe and you have so much other information, I keep scrolling getting more frustrated, all i is a list of ingredients and how to make it. Moving on to different site.
Hi Cindy – We provide the additional information for the folks who want/need it. If you prefer to skip straight to the recipe, we have a “Jump to Recipe” link at the top of every article. Hope that helps!
This is a great recipe! I added water instead of chicken broth, and used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. My husband is allergic to mammal meat, so I used uncured smoked turkey bacon. It is very rich, but oh so delicious! If you are watching your carbs, you can put some in half of a Joseph’s lavash bread for a leftover sandwich.
How many cups of shredded chicken does 3 pounds equal?
How many sandwiches does this recipe make?
Your recipe only says “two packets of ranch”… what size packets? I don’t buy the packets, only the big container from the bulk warehouse so I need a measurement of some kind.
Can you freeze this? I made it for a sporting event and it is now cancelled. Ugh I tripled the recipe.
Yes, absolutely!
Made for my pregnant wife and invited my parents over for this one, and everyone loved it.
I used a rotisserie chicken and chicken broth on the stovetop in a cast iron pan. I’ve made crack chicken before but this recipe is by far the best!
There’s definitely a lot to know about this
This is on our monthly rotation. Love love love.
can you do this with frozen chicken breasts?
Yes, this can be done with frozen chicken breasts using the stove top or instant pot cooking methods. We do not recommend using frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker.