, photo by Naomi Sherman
, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal Keto crack chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 900 g chicken breastchicken breasts
- 10 oz. (1¼ cups) 280 g (290 ml) cream cheese
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp ranch seasoning
- 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
- 5 oz. 140 g bacon, diced
- 1 cup (4 oz.) 240 ml (110 g) cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 cups (3 oz.) 700 ml (90 g) baby spinach
Instructions
- Mix the ranch seasoning, salt (if the ranch seasoning doesn't already contain salt), and cream cheese in a bowl. Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Spread out the cream cheese mix on top of the chicken.
- Cover with lid and set on low for 5 hours, or on high for 3 hours.
- Fry the bacon on medium-high heat in a frying pan until crispy. Set aside.
- Shred the chicken using two forks. Mix everything together. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon and cover with the lid until the cheese has melted.
- Sprinkle with chives and ground black pepper. Serve together with baby spinach.
Tips
What to serve with crack chicken
Great low carb ways to serve the crack chicken is on to of keto bread as a warm open faced sandwich, in a keto tortilla as a wrap, on top of a salad, on top of keto zoodles, or wrapped in a cabbage or salad leaf.
Storing
This dish keeps fresh in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. It also freezes well for up to three months. Since it contains many dairy products, it's always a good idea to thaw it on low heat to keep it from separating.
Ranch seasoning
Store-bought ranch seasoning usually contains a lot of additives and hidden sugar so we recommend making your own, trust us, it's worth it.
Cooking crack chicken in the oven
This is the perfect hack if you don't want to wait for hours before dinner is on the table or if you don't have a slow cooker at home but still want to make this dish.
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Shred the meat from a rotisserie chicken and remove the skin. OR boil the chicken fillets in chicken broth for 20 minutes under the lid and shred them using two forks when done.
3. Mix the meat together with the ranch seasoning, salt, cream cheese, and half of the cheese. Put it in a baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cooked bacon.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
5. Garnish with chives and ground black pepper.
Cooking crack chicken in the Instant Pot
Love your Instant Pot? We've got you covered.
1. Mix the cream cheese mixture as stated in step 1.
2. Place chicken breasts at the bottom of your instant pot. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top.
3. Close the lid and the vent and cook on high for 15 minutes. Let steam naturally release for 10 min. Open the lid and stir. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes.
4. Garnish with chives and ground black pepper.
Recommended special equipment
Slow cooker.
With chicken breasts, (since they have so much liquid in them already) and the cheese mixture, no extra broth was needed. If you feel more comfortable, you can add 1/4 cup of broth, but the sauce will be less creamy.
It's delicious! Going to make some keto tortillas to wrap it in.
That does sound delicious and I love the idea of making some tortillas!
The default recipe makes 6 servings, so you would simply divide the amount into 6 equal servings. Depending on how many servings you decide to make, you will divide the amounts equally as best as you can into that number of servings.
Sprinkle in the cheese and cooked bacon once the sauce has tickened.
I also love simple recipes like this one, especially when the family enjoys it as well :)
While we have not tested this recipe with canned chicken, you should be able to use roughly 3/4 of the amount that it calls for in raw chicken. It will also not need to cook as long.
I don’t usually comment but I can’t rate this enough!!
Sounds great! So glad you love it!
If your rotisserie chicken was already cooked, the chicken may have gotten overcooked. This recipe starts with raw chicken.
Hi, Robin! Total carbs are listed on all our recipes underneath net carbs on the Nutrition tab, which is located below the ingredients list.
Hi, Kathy! We haven't tried it that way, but it should work out fine.
Yes, chicken thighs would work well in this dish.
The recipe says to cook the diced bacon and set it aside. It is added with the cream cheese.
Without the ranch, this is a very neutral tasting dish. You could add any spice blend that sounds appetizing to you. We have a collection at this link:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/seasonings
Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you! You may have better luck using the oven next time. Also, just a heads up that store-bought ranch seasoning usually contains a lot of additives and hidden sugar so we recommend making your own. (Our recipe is linked in the ingredients!)
Hi, Andrew! Yes, this recipe freezes well for up to three months. Since it contains many dairy products, it's always a good idea to thaw it on low heat to keep it from separating.