A crack chicken casserole with crispy bacon, tender cuts of chicken, loaded sharp cheese and a creamy ranch sauce with rice. Made to be super filling and easy for the entire family to love this dinner recipe.
Crack chicken recipes have been the craze for some time now. Something about the ranch, bacon and cheese. Honestly, the chicken is just a bonus but the flavor comes from all of the other ingredients. In this easy casserole I try to make it as simple as possible for the beginning baker. Using rice not only for the nutritional benefits but to make it better for the gluten free diets. Below, you’ll find directions to make it keto friendly as well.
Why Is It Called Crack Chicken
Crack chicken gets its name from it being so tasty it’s addictive, like crack. Due to the combination of ranch, bacon and sharp cheddar it’s really good. Chicken is the best meat for this recipe due to the bland taste chicken has. Naturally the chicken excepts and absorbs all the flavor. So good it’s addictive like crack. Typing it really makes me laugh.
Can I Put Uncooked Chicken In A Casserole
Yes you can as long as it is cooked and comes up to a done temperature. In this recipe I cook the outside of the chicken for color and taste. A quick sear makes a difference trust me, but you can simply chop up the chicken and stick it in raw. The casserole cooks long enough to cook the chicken all the way through.
How To Make Crack Chicken Casserole With Rice
First, chop the bacon into pieces and cook it all the way through. In a frying pan on high heat with a little oil sear the chicken. Don’t cook it all the way through just give it a quick sear for color then remove from the pan.
Then, in a small pot start to make the cream sauce. Using cream cheese, heavy cream or milk and cook those two together. Just heat enough so they melt together. Avoid letting it boil at all. Toss in ranch seasoning then slowly add in chicken stock. A little bit at a time to make sure it combines smoothly.
In a casserole dish add chicken and raw, rinsed rice. Pour cream sauce on top and mix sauce into rice and chicken. I used a 8×8 baking dish for ease of nutritional facts breakdown. Top off with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and bacon. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Lastly, remove foil and bake for a remaining 20 minutes. Allow to cool then serve.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Do not cook rice before adding into oven. To add, be sure to rinse in cold water to remove excess starch. You can skip searing the chicken if you’d like. Bacon must be cooked prior. It’s easy to cut bacon up before cooking than after. Or, you could cook bacon to super crispy then just crumble.
- How to make for keto. No rice for the keto diet option. Also skip using the chicken stock in the cream sauce as well. The stock is meant to soften the rice. If you use it the sauce will be runny when you pull it from the oven so skip that. Be sure to use heavy cream and not milk. I wouldn’t recommend using cauliflower rice but I do suggest chunks of broccoli. It’ll be very similar to my keto chicken bacon ranch casserole.
- How to store crack chicken casserole, you can freeze for later in a freezer storage container. Store in the refrigerator 4-5 days only but you can freeze for a few months.
- Ranch seasoning, note which ranch seasoning you use. You may need to add more salt. I used Hidden Valley in this recipe and it is salted every well.
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Crack Chicken Casserole With Rice
Ingredients
- 16 ounces skinless chicken breast
- 4 ounce full fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon ranch seasoning
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 cup white or brown uncooked rice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- First, chop up and cook bacon. Cut chicken into chunks and season with the salt and pepper measurements above.
- Preheat oven to 350°F, in a frying pan on high heat sear the chicken quickly. Brown a little just for color do not try to cook all the way through
- In a pot on medium heat add cream cheese and milk. Allow to heat enough to mix the cream cheese and milk together. Do no let it boil, just hot enough to blend together. When smooth and combined move to next step
- Add in ranch seasoning. Then, slowly pour in chicken stock a little at a time while whisking the sauce. Once combined, remove from heat and set to the side
- Rince rice in cold water to remove excess starch and drain well. In a casserole dish add rice and chicken. Pour cream sauce over rice and chicken and mix together.
- Top the dish off with shredded cheese and bacon. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- At 45 minutes remove foil and turn the oven to 400°F for for 20 minutes. Once time is up remove from oven and dust with ranch seasoning. Allow to cool then serve.
Notes
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Do not cook rice before adding into oven. To add, be sure to rinse in cold water to remove excess starch. You can skip searing the chicken if you'd like. Bacon must be cooked prior. It's easy to cut bacon up before cooking than after. Or, you could cook bacon to super crispy then just crumble.
- How to make for keto. No rice for the keto diet option. Also skip using the chicken stock in the cream sauce as well. The stock is meant to soften the rice. If you use it the sauce will be runny when you pull it from the oven so skip that. Be sure to use heavy cream and not milk. I wouldn't recommend using cauliflower rice but I do suggest chunks of broccoli. It'll be very similar to my keto chicken bacon ranch casserole.
- How to store crack chicken casserole, you can freeze for later in a freezer storage container. Store in the refrigerator 4-5 days only but you can freeze for a few months.