Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwiches, also sometimes referred to as “crack chicken” are made with bacon, cream cheese, chicken, cheddar cheese and ranch seasonings and they’re a family favorite!
We love using our slow cooker during the fall and winter months because the food that it makes is always so comforting, like our favorite Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast and Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken which are family favorites.
Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwiches
Crack Chicken may not be a term of endearment I’d use for this chicken but it is widely known by the name so we should at least mention it. Let’s refer to it here on out though at Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwiches, which I don’t know about you but that makes my mouth water.
The process of making this recipe is pretty hands off and fairly similar to the one used in making Buffalo Chicken Dip. The chicken and cream cheese and cheese and seasonings are all added to the slow cooker ahead of time. The only thing you have to add to your sandwich separately is the extra cheddar if you’d like it and the crumbled bacon.
Side Note: I know we’d love a dump and go crockpot crack chicken recipe but there’s no version of this that tastes good where you add the bacon to the crockpot. Just either buy crumbles or know you’re going to cook it off before making the sandwiches for the best flavors.
We love slow cooker sandwiches on the site, I’m sure you’ve probably seen them. Here’s some of our favorites!
- Ultimate Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
HOW DO YOU MAKE PULLED chicken SANDWICHES IN THE SLOW COOKER? HERE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS!
- Use skinless meat: Use skinless and boneless meat so you don’t have a lot of extra fat in the recipe.
- Season well: Since you’re adding all the seasonings in here and liquid will be a part of the results you want to season really well. in this case your packet of seasoning does the job for you but in other recipes make sure to season aggressively.
- Thicken your sauce in the slow cooker: If you’re adding sauce to your sandwiches, warmed sauce is infinitely more delicious that cold bottled sauce and the meat will stay moist in the slow cooker with the added sauce. In this case the sauce the sauce comes with the recipe, but in general be sure to manage your liquids in the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 16 ounces cream cheese 2 boxes
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 slices bacon crumbled
- 8 slices cheddar cheese
- 8 hoagie rolls
Instructions
- Add the chicken, cream cheese, ranch seasoning, cheddar cheese and garlic powder to a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Toast the hoagie rolls, scoop on the chicken and top with cheddar slice and crumbled bacon.
Nutrition
I loved the crack chicken but did mine slightly different. I used 2lbs. Frozen chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) one pack of ranch seasoning, 2 packs cream cheese, a small amount of chicken broth just to cover bottom of crockpot. I let those cook on low for 7 hours and shredded chicken, at that point I tasted and it was delicious! I added the cheese after and bacon crumbles but I almost wish I had not added the cheese bc the cheese almost overpowered the original flavor which was great.
Sounds amazing, I will be trying this soon. And I will let you know how it goes ?.
I have three chicken breast frozen that have already been shredded.. Can I throw this in with the other ingredients and maybe add some broth so it is not to dry??
I think so…let us know how it turns out!
A little more detail in the directions would have been nice, but this was fantastic! I cooked it on low for 8 hours and it wasn’t soupy nor dry as some commenters have mentioned. I used one full fat cream cheese block, and one neufchatel block to try and reduce the fat content. Will make this again!
I’m so glad you let us know how you made our “crack chicken” work for you! And I really appreciate the 5 star rating Ash!
What if I’m using frozen chicken? How do I cook it for? I’ve made it with fresh chicken and it turned out great!!
Cooking a frozen chicken breast, expect about 3–4 hours on high or 5-7 hours on low.
Don’t you need to add chicken broth to the slow cooker?
Surprisingly no!
This is a big favorite at our house! Easy meal and my grandbabies love it too.
Loved this recipe!! Used bacon bits and served over rice!!!
I made this exactly as written, but used real bacon bits vs cooking bacon. Oh my gosh!! This was a hit with us all, and I came back
To write a review bc my very picky 4 yr old who hates everything, has asked for seconds and thirds! We’ll be making again!
We love these cracked chicken sandwiches. And the leftovers are easy to heat up and enjoy again.
Fantastic flavour! I did make some changes based on the comments. I peppered the chicken once in the crockpot and added one box of Philadelphia light cream cheese instead of two. I also added 1/2 cup chicken stock but I think next time I will add 3/4 cup. I also put in 1 cup of shredded marble cheese at the end. The other ingredients went in as listed. The mixture was poured over penne pasta. I would suggest the half cup of chicken stock if you are using the mixture for sandwiches, but will make the recipe a little bit thinner for pasta next time. Family loved the flavour!
After the chicken is cooked, do you cut it up in cubes? Shred it? The picture shows whole chicken breasts. Also, after you cook the bacon separately, can you just add it to the crockpot at the end and mix it in?
Shredding it is how we prefer it, but it could also work cubed. You can mix the bacon into the chicken mixture but it will make the bacon less crispy. Hope that helps!
Tried this tonight, really easy to make. Only thing is that it could have gotten away with 8oz of creme cheese not 16 oz.
How about giving a little more direction. Do you put the cream cheese block in whole? No mention of bacon in directions. Gobs of cream cheese were too much.
All I really tasted was the cream cheese
Can you use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Is the chicken supposed to be shredded?
This was a HIT!!!! Definitely will be making it again!! I did add 1/2 cup of chicken broth, only used 14oz of cream cheese and added the cup of cheddar cheese once done. Delicious! Thank you for sharing!!!!
What a waste of perfectly good ingredients. The chicken did not create enough liquid to keep it moist. Chicken broth should have been added. The cheese should be added at the end. It hardened onto the crockpot and actually burned. I threw it away.
Can I cook this in the oven? My house uses gas and I took out my crock pot and it broke ?
We have a dairy allergy in my family. Do you think this would be ok with vegan cream cheese and no ranch seasoning while cooking? After we took a portion out, we could add the ranch seasoning and cheddar cheese. What do you think?
I haven’t tried it but I would be curious to see how it turns out!
Hi! We have a dairy allergy too. We use the Violife vegan cream cheese and cheddar cheese. And we use a homemade dairy free Whole 30 Ranch mix recipe from the pinning mama website. It is delicious and loved by people who typically eat dairy too.
I have a dairy allergy and use lactose free everything with with it. I also use gluten free bun for myself and regular buns for my family.
I can’t wait to try the chicken recipe. In the crockpot
Hope you enjoy!
wonder if this would be good with pasta ?
I have not tried that! It might be great!
Yes it is
Was a bit to wet for me. I took it from the crock pot and put it in the oven to dry out a little. Kept the sauce to pour over the meat but I don’t like the chic. so mushy. Tasted good though!
Im sorry it didn’t come out the way you expected elaine, but I am happy you enjoyed the flavor!
I haven’t tried this recipe but sounds delicious, instead of making it a sandwich I’m going to put it over Angel hair pasta, it sounds perfect for a Entree, I’ll let You know how it turns out
Thank You for Great Recipe
Can this be frozen or will it ruin the cheese
Made it today very good no problems will make it many times.
Hello! Can you make this in an instant pot also?
It looks like soup! What did I do wrong?
It’s difficult to say. you might wanna check your liquid quantities along with cook time and temperature.
What do you use for the sauce. I never seen anything about adding a liquid.
I have been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?
My picky 3 year old loves it!
After Reading the comments and I chose to only do one package of cream cheese I’m glad I did . I feel like if I did two it would have overpowered everything else. And I also added half a cup of vegetable stock and cooked on high for four hours. it seemed a little watery till I shredded the chicken and mixed it all back in and then I ended up needing a couple splashes of milk to loosen it back up to the perfect consistency . I topped it with bacon on a hoagie roll and it was amazing! Toddler approved!
This failed MISERABLY. I followed the recipe exactly, came home, timer was done, went to shred the chicken and opened it to a horrible dry mess. Cream cheese never melted, looks like tofu, chicken breast so dry I wouldn’t feed it to any living thing. Was in slow cooker on high for 3 hours and warm for 30 minutes. So disappointing as I’ve made crack chicken from other recipes before
Hi! I am so sorry you didn’t enjoy it, that is VERY odd that in that amount of time the cream cheese didn’t melt.
Can you freeze leftovers?
I made this for dinner tonight and it was not a hit unfortunately. I think maybe too much cream cheese for my taste. It resembled a dip instead!
My family prefers it with one 8 oz cream cheese. I just stir in a little whipped cream cheese at the end if I think it needs more but usually one 8 oz block is good for us.
Do you know the nutritional information without the hoagie?
It automatically calculates with the ingredient list. I’m sure you could find an online calculator to help figure it out with any substitutions. Good luck!