Easy Crack Chicken Casserole

What is Crack Chicken? This Cheesy Bacon and Chicken Casserole is loaded with tender chicken, creamy sauce, ranch seasoning, bacon and topped with a buttery cracker crust. This dish will be a new favorite for family dinners. And it’s also a great recipe for feeding a crowd! Make sure to read below for some fun tips and variations to this recipe.

What Is Crack Chicken?

If you’ve been frequenting recipe websites, you may have run across the term “Crack Chicken”. What is Crack Chicken? It is simply what you get when you start to combine ranch, cheese and bacon together. Often times, other ingredients can be added, such as onions and celery. Traditional Crack Chicken is awesome just on its own. But you can also use it to make sandwiches, wraps, dips or even a lettuce wrap.

We’ve now been seeing other version of Crack Chicken, like Crack Chicken Noodle Soup and Crack Chicken Pasta. So, we thought it was only natural to take this one step further and make our version of Crack Chicken Casserole!

Crack Chicken Casserole

Our Crack Chicken Casserole has all the cheese, bacon and ranch flavor bursting at the seams that you love. But, as if that wasn’t even enough, we’ve added soft buttery noodles and a crispy, Ritz Cracker topping! I LOVE casseroles with a crispy topping, like this Ritz Chicken Casserole or this Dorito Chicken Casserole! So you’ll get the creamy ranch sauce, the salty bacon, the soft noodles and the crispy crust, all in one bite! It’s like a symphony in your mouth!

Ingredients For Crack Chicken Casserole

As always here at Bubba Pie. We keep things simple, straightforward and easy. Here’s what you will need:

• Egg noodles, cooked and drained
• Cooked chicken, cubed
• Cooked and chopped bacon
• Sour cream
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Cream of chicken soup
• Milk
• Ranch Seasoning Packet
• Ritz crackers, crushed
• Butter, melted
• Green onions, chopped
• Salt and Black Pepper – If desired to taste.

How To Serve

This casserole is just fine all on it’s own. But it would also go perfectly with a nice, healthy Grilled Vegetable Salad. Or, you could also serve with a bread offering, like these 7-Up Biscuits, Garlic Cheddar Biscuits or Drop Biscuits! Oh my! Yum!!!!!

Can You Make This Recipe In A Slow Cooker?

There are several Crack Chicken Casserole Recipes that I’ve found on the internet that look great out of a slow cooker. Honestly, I wouldn’t try this one it. First of all, I don’t think we’ve added enough liquids to work for the slow cooker. Second, one of the best parts of this recipe is that crust on top. And you just wouldn’t get that in a Slow Cooker. Let’s keep this one in the oven!

Instant Pot Crack Chicken

But we do have an Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe at our sister site, amomsimpression.com. This is actually one of our most popular recipes on that website! Check it out here!

Can You Freeze This Casserole?

Yep, like most casserole recipes, you can freeze this Crack Chicken Casserole. Simply allow it to cool down fully. Wrap it tightly with aluminum foil. If you can also fit it into a freezer bag, then great! Make sure you right the date that you froze it on the aluminum foil. It should be good in your freezer for about 3 months. Just take it out the night before to thaw in your fridge before you bake it!

We love to use these gallon sized freezer bags. They are tough, durable and have new grip and seal technology that makes them super easy to open and close.

Can You Make This Ahead Of Time?

Yes. You can assemble the ingredients in a prepared baking dish to the point just before you would put it in the oven. Do not put the cracker crust on top. Cover it and it should be fine in the refrigerator overnight. I wouldn’t make it more than 24 hours ahead of time.

Storage and Leftovers

As far as storing your casserole. Just keep it in the fridge and it should be good for about 3 days. We love to bake casseroles in our Le Creuset Casserole Dish because it comes with a lid! You can just keep your leftovers right in your casserole dish in the fridge! Otherwise, any airtight container will work 
Or, if you are looking for something a little less expensive, this one works great too!

Notes, Tips and Variations:

This is my favorite part of writing up these recipes. There are so many fun ways to tweak and twist up comfort food recipes. Here are some ideas:

• Pasta- Try different kinds of pasta. Spaghetti, Penne or a shell-shaped pasta would be fun!
• Reduce Some Calories?- Don’t even ask how many calories are in this dish. Who cares?!?! But, if you want to trim some of the guilt, you can sub Greek Yogurt for the Sour Cream. And you can use Turkey Bacon instead of regular Bacon. You can also use Low Fat Cheese.
• Fun with Cheese- We used Cheddar Cheese and it was great. But feel free to mix it up a bit. Colby Jack, mix in some swiss, or pepperjack to add some kick!
• Add Some Kick- Speaking of adding spice, stir in half a cup of buffalo sauce into the mixture if you like a little heat!
• Chicken- We used boneless skinless chicken breasts. But using Chicken Thighs may add some moisture to this dish if desired. We also love to make casseroles with Rotisserie Chicken. In fact it’s a great idea to buy a couple Rotisserie Chickens from the store, break them down and keep them in the freezer. Another great idea is to use Leftover Turkey for this recipe. A great option for leftovers after the holidays!
• Alternative Topping- Try using Panko Bread Crumbs instead of the crackers.
• Fun Additions- Try adding peas for some color. Other veggies you could add would be spinach or mushrooms. Or one small can of Green Chiles or Jalapenos for some heat. Make sure you drain the can before adding.

We hope you enjoy this Crack Chicken Casserole Recipe. Let us know how it turns out in the comments section!

ALSO, MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR:

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Crack Chicken Casserole

Course Main Course

This Cheesy Crack Chicken Casserole is loaded with tender chicken, creamy sauce, bacon and topped with a buttery cracker crust. This will be a new favorite for family dinners. And it's also a great recipe for feeding a crowd! This dish is seriously addictive! And make sure to read below for some fun tips and variations to this recipe. 

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Ingredients

  

• 8 ounces egg noodles cooked and drained
• 4 cups cooked chicken cubed
• 1 cup cooked and chopped bacon
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can 10.5 oz, cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 packet dry ranch dressing
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• chopped green onions

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Cook pasta according to directions on box.
• Add chicken, bacon, sour cream, shredded cheese, soup, milk and ranch dressing to a mixing bowl and mix well.
  
• Add Pasta into the bowl.
  
• Spread into prepared pan.
  
• In a small bowl, combine crackers and butter and sprinkle on top of chicken. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Serve topped with green onions
  

Notes

Pasta- Try different kinds of pasta. Spaghetti, Penne or a shell-shaped pasta would be fun!

Reduce Some Calories?- Don't even ask how many calories are in this dish. Who cares?!?! But, if you want to trim some of the guilt, you can sub Greek Yogurt for the Sour Cream. And you can use Turkey Bacon instead of regular Bacon. You can also use Low Fat Cheese. 

Fun with Cheese- We used Cheddar Cheese and it was great. But feel free to mix it up a bit. Colby Jack, mix in some swiss, or pepperjack to add some kick!

Add Some Kick- Speaking of adding spice, try mixing in half a cup of buffalo sauce into the mixture if you like a little heat!
Chicken- We used boneless skinless chicken breasts. But using Chicken Thighs may add some moisture to this dish if desired. We also love to make casseroles with Rotisserie Chicken. In fact it's a great idea to buy a couple Rotisserie Chickens from the store, break them down and keep them in the freezer. Another great idea is to use Leftover Turkey for this recipe. A great option for leftovers after the holidays!

Alternative Topping- Try using Panko Bread Crumbs instead of the crackers. 

Fun Additions- Try adding peas for some color. Or one small can of Green Chiles or Jalapenos for some heat. Make sure you drain the can before adding. 
Serve with Some Bread- These would go great with our Quick and Easy Drop Biscuits!

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