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Creamy crack chicken chili is an explosion of irresistible flavors! It’s loaded with shredded chicken, tender beans, corn, AND all your favorite crack-inspired ingredients. This is our new favorite chili recipe and we can’t get enough of it!
Any crack chicken recipe is just too good! You can’t go wrong with the combination of chicken and ranch in a creamy ranch sauce, smothered in melted cheese. Make this slow cooker recipe, this dip, or this delicious soup.
Crockpot Crack Chicken Chili
Talk about your tastebuds doing a happy dance! This crack chicken chili was love at first bite for everyone! It’s the easiest crockpot chili recipe that only takes 10 minutes to prep. This recipe uses a lot of canned ingredients which makes assembly super easy. Simply layer all the ingredients into the crockpot then let it cook all day. Your family will love the crack-inspired flavors! Coming home to this delicious warm chili is the best thing you will do all day!
Nothing beats a warm bowl of chili on a cold night! There’s a reason why it’s a comfort food, and this crack chicken chili is so hearty and full of flavor. I love all the many chili recipes that we have on the blog. I have chili recipes that you can make in the crock pot, instant pot, or simply over the stove. Prepare your chili any way you like!
Ingredients You Will Need
This crack chicken chili needs to be made this week, so make sure you have all the ingredients ready to go! It’s a great recipe for using up leftover shredded chicken if you have it. You can find exact measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card below.
- Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
- Chicken Broth: Chicken broth is the base of this soup.
- Pinto Beans: Drained and rinsed.
- Black Beans: Drained and rinsed.
- Corn: Canned corn, drained and rinsed.
- Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: Canned fire-roasted or diced tomatoes work in this recipe.
- Green Chiles: Green chiles add so much flavor to this chili.
- Bacon: Crumbled crispy bacon is the best part of this soup but set some aside for garnish!
- Tomato Sauce: El Pato Mexican hot style is my favorite in this recipe because it adds a little spice!
- Cream Cheese: Adds a tangy creaminess to the soup. Cube the cream cheese to make melting easier!
- Dry Ranch Dressing: The key ingredient in crack chicken is dry ranch flavoring.
- Chili Powder and Cumin: These seasonings add the perfect Mexican-inspired flavors to this chili.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Melty cheddar cheese in this chili is SO good. Use any cheese!
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste.
Crack Chicken Chili Recipe
In less than 10 minutes, you’ll have dinner prepped and ready to cook in the crockpot. Follow my full instructions below to walk you through all the steps. I also have much quicker methods for making this chili over the stovetop or in the instant pot.
- Add ingredients to the Crockpot: Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker, and add in everything except the cheddar cheese.
- Cook: Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Cook the chili until the chicken is fully cooked through.
- Shred the Chicken: When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the slow cooker to shred.
- Add Shredded Chicken and Cheese to the Crockpot: Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker along with the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir everything to fully incorporate. Season the chili with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve: Serve the chili with cilantro, limes, sour cream, or any of your favorite chili toppings!
Can I Cook it Over the Stove or in the Instant Pot?
Yes! This crack chicken chili is a fast and easy soup to make last minute when you use pre-cooked shredded chicken. It’s even faster to make this chili in the Instant Pot instead of the crock pot! You choose the method!
- Stovetop Crack Chicken Chili: Use 3 cups of precooked shredded chicken for this method! Chop and cook the bacon until crispy. Once cooked, add the rest of the ingredients except for the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Stir the ingredients together then cook and simmer for 15 minutes. Add room-temperature cream cheese to the chili and stir until melted. Using softened cream cheese is important to help it mix smoothly. Add the shredded cheese and heat until melted. Serve and enjoy!
- Instant Pot Crack Chicken Chili: To cook this in the instant pot, sauté the bacon in the instant pot on the “sauté” mode. Then, add in the rest of the ingredients except for the cheddar cheese. You can also use raw chicken breasts because they will fully cook in the instant pot. Cook on “manual” mode for 25 minutes. Then, do a slow release. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Shred the chicken and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
This crack chicken chili is perfect for meal prep throughout the week! Make a big batch for future lunches or dinners. It’s so easy to store and enjoy later.
- In the Refrigerator: This crack chicken chili will be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To Reheat: Reheat gently in the microwave in 30-second intervals or on the stovetop over medium heat.
- To Freeze: To freeze this chili, cool it completely then transfer it to a large freezer bag or two. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat on the stovetop on medium heat until warmed through.
More Delicious Chili Recipes
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Crack Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 15 ounces pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces corn drained and rinsed
- 14 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces diced green chiles
- 8 slices cooked bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato sauce, El Pato Mexican or regular
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softend and cubed
- 2 packets dry ranch seasoning
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker, and add in everything except the cheddar cheese.
- Cook the chili until the chicken has fully cooked through Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the slow cooker to shred.
- Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker along with the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir everything to fully incorporate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the chili with cilantro, limes, sour cream, or any of your favorite chili toppings!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is definitely a recipe that you can use substitutions easily. “I didn’t have this so I used that”. “I didnt have tomato so i used bruchetta”…… That said, the Ranch seasoning is a must to capture this recipe. (I only used one packet because that was all I had). Very yummy and versatile.
Good recipe base. Here’s what I changed:
–Full can of El Pato tomato sauce as recipe creator recommends but I used the whole can (7 oz). This is spicy so adds flavor vs plain tomato sauce.
–2 large husks of fresh corn (versus canned)
–added 1/2 large sweet onion
–add 1 red bell pepper
–used a pre-cooked roisserie chicken (versus raw chicken cooking in slow cooker)
–used 1 package of low sodium taco seasoning versus 2 packs of ranch dressing seasoning
This recipe is very good. I used 2 cups chicken broth instead of 3 due to comments about being soupy and I’m glad I did. I also used 1 packet of ranch instead of 2…once the chicken is shredded, this chili thickens up and add the condiments for a real wow bowl of chili! Will definitely make this again!! Hubby loved it!!
Such a good recipe! The flavors blend so well and it’s such a tasty spin on chicken chili! Definitely going to be added to our recipe book so we can make over again!
So salty and soupy I hated it sorry
I made this but it curdled from the cream cheese, any idea how to salvage it? It’s also pretty runny more like soup less like chili. Do you have any suggestion for thickening it up by chance? Thanks in advance!
Update: It all worked out and came together really nicely, in the end! Haha Thanks for the recipe 🙂
My wife and I really enjoyed this recipe. It’s something different and let’s not forget about the prep time…there isn’t any! Also, you can tweak your personal bowl however you like. Sour cream, lime, tortilla strips etc Will be making again
I would guess that it wouldn’t be very flavourful if you left out ingredients that were meant to season the recipe. I found this to be delicious
Just made this today as her recipe is written. No changes, except I didn’t add salt. Since ranch seasoning is so high in sodium I only added pepper. This is just okay. I expected big flavor with the ingredient list, but it just wasn’t there. I wouldn’t make it again.
It’s not fair to critique a recipe if you didn’t make it as written. You can’t expect it to be very flavorful when you leave out so many seasonings!
@jenny
You ONLY added Ranch and pepper? Please clarify if you see this.
Of course that would be meh compared to full seasoning.
I’m trying to decide if to make and unclear critics are neither helpful no fair to the poster or those making decisions based on reviews.
I gave full stars so as not to negatively impact but full disclosure I haven’t yet made this. The seasoning reminds me of a chicken ranch spaghetti I have made and liked as well as other Mexican-style casserole dishes.
This looks awful.
It’s amazing. If you haven’t tried it and/or don’t like the ingredients then save your commentary. Made it for the Super Bowl and the whole family loved it. The only items I scaled back were the green chilies – used a 4 oz can and only one packet of ranch as the supermarket delivery was short. No compromise on flavor. I will make it again and again.