Crack Chicken Cooked 2 Ways
Crack Chicken Cooked 2 Ways – perfect for a Super Bowl party because it’s so easy. Make it in a big pot like a dutch oven or oven safe casserole dish. One of my favorite ways is to make it in a Dutch oven because you can can cook the bacon and chicken, then finish the recipe in the same pot. The second way Crack Chicken can be made is in an Instant Pot or a Slow Cooker.
If you don’t want to cook the chicken yourself or don’t have the time to cook it, get a rotisserie chicken, then all you have to do is chop the chicken and cook the pasta, then combine all the ingredients together until well combined.
Ingredients
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 Packet of Ranch Dressing
8 oz. cooked pasta of your choice
3 1/2 Cups chicken broth
4 oz. block of cream cheese
2 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Dutch Oven Method
Cook the bacon in the large Dutch oven until crispy, then remove the bacon from the pot and drain off the bacon fat, but leaving about 1 tbsp of fat. Chop the bacon into bits and set aside.
In the same pot add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes over medium-high heat, until it starts to brown. It will still be pink inside and under cooked. Don’t worry – it will finish cooking in the pot!
Add the Ranch Dressing and stir well to coat chicken.
To the pot, add the pasta and broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and stir often to prevent it from sticking.. Cook pasta until al dente or to your liking.
When the pasta is done cooking there should still be some liquid in the pot. Add more broth if needed. This will help melt the cream cheese and cheddar.
Add the cream cheese to the pot and stir it in, until the sauce is creamy and most of the cream cheese has melted.
Add about 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir until well combined. The cheese should melt nicely. Toss the bacon back in and stir to distribute.
Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top and cover the pot with the lid. Cook for about 30 seconds more, turn off the heat and remove the lid. The cheese should have melted. For a nice golden top, place the Dutch oven in the oven under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.
Insta Pot Instructions
- Chop the bacon first into small pieces then set your Instant Pot to the saute mode. It will default to 30 minutes. Add the bacon and fry until it starts to brown. Transfer the bacon to a plate and drain some of the fat if necessary. Add the chicken and saute for 3 minutes until the chicken starts to brown. Add the ranch seasoning and stir to make sure the chicken is covered in the seasoning mix.
- Add the pasta, chicken broth and stir.
- The biggest difference is that you only need about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of broth.
- Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Poultry setting and set the timer to 5 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese until it melts. Add the bacon and all of the cheese to the Insta Pot and stir everything together.
Slow Cooker Method
- Fry the bacon as instructed in step 1 above. Add the chicken, ranch seasoning mix, cream cheese and chicken broth to your slow cooker.
- Note you only need about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of broth.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
- Turn the setting to High and add the pasta 30 minutes to cook before the time is up.
- Stir in the bacon and cheese until well mixed. Serve!
