Crack Chicken

Crack Chicken - scrumptious and easy baked chicken dinner topped with ranch cream cheese mixture, crispy bacon bits and cheesy melty goodness. Flavorful LOW-CARB dish that can be served in so many ways!

Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 411kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

2 pounds (907 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons (8 g) Creole seasoning blend or Italian seasoning blend
4-6 bacon slices , chopped, cooked crispy and crumbled
1-2 Tablespoon (14-28 ml) vegetable oil
1 8-ounce package Cream Cheese , cut into smaller chunks
1 teaspoon (3 g) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (2 g) onion powder
1 -2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
1 cup (113 g) cheddar Cheese
½ cup chicken broth
2 green onions , diced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease cast iron skillet or a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.
Season boneless chicken with salt and pepper, then rub both sides with Creole or Italian seasoning. Set aside.
In a large heavy sauté pan, saute chopped bacon until brown and crispy - about 6-7 minutes, remove bacon. Set aside. Leave bacon fat for browning the chicken, if desired.
Add vegetable oil to the remaining bacon fat, enough to brown chicken, depending on the amount left over from the bacon.
Once oil is hot enough, add chicken and brown for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Remove chicken from skillet and arrange in previously prepared baking dish. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder and ranch seasoning mix. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add shredded cheese. Mix again. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
Top each piece of chicken with equal amounts of the cream cheese and cheddar mixture. Evenly spread over each chicken using a fork or knife.
Top with bacon and remaining cheese. Place in the pre-heated oven , add about 1/2 cup chicken broth and bake uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through; Cheese melts and browns lightly .
Remove from oven, garnish with green onions.

Notes

You can either use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breast.
You may think twice in using the low-fat cream cheese as it doesn’t melt well unlike the regular ones.
If you don’t have ranch dressing mix on hand, you can simply add the following in to the mix to bring out that ranch flavor: 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt , 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried dill and 1 teaspoon dried chives.
To make this ahead: Brown the meat and assemble everything in the pan or baking dish, BUT DON’T BAKE yet. Cover it instead with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Remove wrap when ready to bake.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition