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Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Soup is filled with tender shredded white meat chicken, real crumbles of crispy bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, homemade ranch seasoning, and kale. It’s cozy comfort in a bowl!
Cozy Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Soup
You might be wondering what in the world “crack” chicken is. If so, you’re not alone! I always get emails and comments asking about this odd recipe name! Honestly, it’s a reference to how absolutely addictive the combination of chicken, bacon, ranch, and cheese is in this soup!
This is a soup that I just love to pull together at this time of year, when you’re waiting for spring but still getting lots of cold and cloudy days. It’s warm and comfy, but with a lightness thanks to the chives, dill weed, and cream cheese. The baby kale adds a nice green touch, and the white meat chicken tastes divine along with the bacon crumbles.
This is the perfect cozy weekend dinner to serve up with a loaf of crusty bread, and the leftovers make a super-easy lunch that you can microwave in a mug, if you like!
What You’ll Need
One of the best things about this recipe is the seasoning mixture, which is basically a form of homemade ranch seasoning. If you like, you can double or even quadruple the recipe, and set aside the extra seasoning mixture in a small jar for another use.
- Chicken: You’ll need two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Onion Powder: I use a whole tablespoon of this tasty spice to make my soup extra flavorful.
- Garlic Powder: Two teaspoons of garlic powder adds an intense flavor to the spice blend.
- Dill Weed and Chives: One teaspoon each of dried dill weed and dried chives bring out the ranch taste in this soup.
- Salt and Pepper: Start with ½ teaspoon each, and adjust as needed when the soup is done.
- Broth: I use about 6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth; you could substitute homemade chicken broth, bone broth, stock, or even vegetable broth.
- Bacon: You’ll need 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, plus more for garnish.
- Bacon Grease: Save the bacon grease to add extra flavor to the soup.
- Cream Cheese: This recipe uses one 8-ounce block of cream cheese, cut in cubes.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: You can use the amount that suits your taste. Anywhere from one to two cups is good.
- Baby Kale: I add 3 to 4 cups of chopped baby kale, but you can also use baby spinach, or leave this out entirely if you’d rather.
- Chopped Scallions: For garnish.
How to Make Crack Chicken Soup in the Crockpot
This super-easy recipe requires only your slow cooker and a skillet for cooking up the bacon. You’ll love how simple it is to make this cozy meal!
- Season the Chicken. Place the chicken breasts inside the slow cooker. Then season the chicken breasts generously with onion powder, garlic powder, dried dill weed, dried chives, salt, and pepper. Rub the seasoning all around the chicken breasts. Wash your hands.
- Add Broth, Bacon, and Cream Cheese. Pour the chicken broth around the chicken breasts, and cook up four slices of bacon. Remove the bacon to a plate and cool; then crumble into bits. Add the bacon bits and the bacon grease from the skillet into your slow cooker. Finally, add the cream cheese cubes.
- Cook. Cover your slow-cooker and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Shred the Chicken. Remove the slow-cooker lid and transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board. Using two forks or shredder claws, shred the chicken. Then return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add Cheddar and Kale. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, followed by the kale; cover and cook for about five more minutes, or until the kale has wilted and everything is heated through. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
- Enjoy! To serve, ladle into soup bowls and garnish with more bacon crumbles and scallions.
Tips for Success
This is almost a no-fail recipe, but even so, I do have a few tips to share! These are some of my top ideas for making the recipe your own, as well as making sure it comes out perfect every time.
- Don’t Overcook: Since we’re working with chicken breasts here, it’s important not to overcook it or the chicken will become dry and mushy. Not appetizing, right? I recommend setting a timer to half the cooking time, just so you can check in. Then set it again to ¾ of the cooking time. You can always turn the slow cooker off, if the chicken is done sooner than you expected.
- Substitute Thighs: Boneless, skinless thighs also work well in this recipe, and I often find them less expensive than white meat. It’s totally up to you!
- Add-Ins: Sometimes I like to stir cooked egg noodles, cubed potatoes, zucchini noodles, broccoli, or even macaroni elbows into the soup. If you do use pasta or zucchini, try cooking and storing separately, so that they don’t absorb too much liquid or become mushy in the soup.
What Goes with Crack Chicken Soup?
So what goes with this ultra-creamy, garlicky soup? Well, I do have a few ideas! Some are carb-y and some are not. I hope you enjoy!
- Bread: I like to serve any soup with bread! This one tastes especially good with some delicious homemade No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread, but you could also warm up some pita breads, naan, or even make biscuits! Whatever you love, just go for it!
- Fritters: If you’d rather skip the bread, you could make a batch of these super-tasty, deliciously textured Crispy Zucchini Fritters! They are low-carb and full of nutrition, packing in protein from the egg and plenty of veggie goodness.
- Salad: Soup and salad, anyone? Um, yes! I love combining a warm and hearty soup with the fresh crunch of a garden salad. Try my Tomato Avocado Salad for a healthy dish that will leave your tummy happy!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- To refrigerate leftover soup, cover tightly or store in airtight food storage containers. Keep in the fridge for up to three days.
- To reheat, place the desired portion in a saucepan and set it over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through completely.
Can I Freeze Extras?
- Yes, you can definitely freeze leftover Crack Chicken Soup! Let the soup cool completely, and then pour into airtight freezer containers or freezer bags. Make sure to leave a little bit of room (¾ inch or so) at the top for the liquid to expand while freezing.
- This soup lasts for about three months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge, before reheating.
SLOW COOKER CRACK CHICKEN SOUP
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 6 to 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 slices bacon,, cooked and crumbled, plus more for garnish
- Bacon grease
- 8 ounces cream cheese,, cut in cubes
- 1 to 2 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups chopped baby kale,, optional (you can also use baby spinach)
- Chopped scallions
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts inside the slow cooker.
- Season chicken breasts with onion powder, garlic powder, dried dill weed, dried chives, salt, and pepper. Rub seasoning all around the chicken breasts.
- Pour chicken broth around the chicken breasts and not over them.
- In the meantime cook 4 slices of bacon to a crisp. Crumble the bacon and add to the slow cooker. Add in the bacon grease, too.
- Add cubed cream cheese.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours OR Cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove lid and transfer chicken breasts to a cutting board; using two forks or shredder claws, shred the chicken.
- Return shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Stir in the chopped kale.
- Cover and cook for 5 to 8 more minutes, or until cheese is melted, kale is wilted, and everything is heated through.
- Taste for salt and pepper; adjust accordingly.
- Ladle into soup bowls.
- Garnish with more bacon crumbles and scallions.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This soup is by far my favorite soup I have ever tried, I highly recommend it to everyone!
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Meh… at best… noodles didn’t even help… it was so bland
Yummy! This looks amazing and so delicious! Can’t wait to give this a try!
Thank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Is there a InstaPot version or recommended modifications for an InstaPot?
I just made this in the instapot! Huge success and thumbs up for the whole family. I cooked the breasts first under pressure with about half of the broth and seasonings. Mine took 8 minutes and 10 minute natural release; they were perfect for shredding at that point. After shredding and putting back in the pot, I add the cheeses until melted. I didn’t have any kale on hand when I decided to make this so I cooked some spiral pasta and threw it in with the cheeses. I also don’t eat pork so no bacon. I’m sure you could just precook diced bacon on the sauté setting before cooking the breasts. I really hope this is helpful 🙂
Edit: also add the rest of the broth (heated) when you take the chicken out to shred.
Love how creamy and flavorful this soup is! It’s perfect for me – I love using my Slow Cooker!
Thank YOU! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly. The bacon did not stay crispy because it was in the slow cooker for hours (obvious this would happen, not sure how the creator gets hers crispy in her photo unless she added it after the soup was done). Also the cream cheese clumped. I had to separate the broth/cream cheese chunks from the soggy bacon and chicken, then run the broth through the vitamix to remove the cream cheese chunks. Still giving the recipe 2 stars because the flavor was good, but I’m super confused how others haven’t had issues with soggy bacon or clumpy cream cheese 🤷🏻♀️
Hi! I just made this today and I read your comment before starting and I totally understood what you were saying. So what I did was add the cream cheese at the same time I added my greens instead of right away. Which was 4 hours later (I used the crockpot on high)
I recently made another soup recipe that also called for cream cheese and that one had the cream cheese at the end so I tried that with this one and there was no clumps 🙂 it was delicious! The bacon I did add it right away just because I didn’t want it to affect the flavor if I didn’t. Although as you said, they did end up soggy, I did prep some other crunchy ones on the side and added them as toppings when I served it to the family. Overall it was delicious!! My husband and toddler loved it💕
Thanks for your comment.
And also thank you Katerina for the recipe!
I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
My was clumpy and soggy too. I just want to throw it out!
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out as expected. The clumpy texture is due to not whisking in the cream cheese long enough, but I don’t know what you mean by soggy? If you’d like, I’m here to help troubleshoot.
When should I whisk in the cream cheese? I don’t see that step in your instructions.
My cream cheese was clumpy also and I followed the directions from the recipe. I cooked mine on slow in my crock pot. I used a whick to blend the cream cheese inially, I questioned adding the cream cheese at the start but since I had never made this soup I thought the author knew best. It was tasty.
Great flavor.
Thank YOU! 🙂
It was delicious.
I’d like to add noodles to this. When do you recommend adding them? Thank you in advance!
Wow! This soup shot right up to the top of my must-must-again list. It was DELICIOUS! I served it to friends who asked for the recipe and I was delighted to share it. I think next time I’ll follow your suggestion to add noodles. Wonderful recipe!
That’s great to hear! I’m very happy everyone loved it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂
It sounded like a great recipe but basically just tasted like chicken broth with onion powder. Was able to make it better by adding some heavy cream, more garlic and some crushed red pepper. Also sautéed some uncooked ramen and added that as topping for texture. Overall just bland!
This soup looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I just have 2 quick questions:
1. Is the cream cheese a strong taste or does it mainly just add creaminess? I ask because my family isn’t a huge fan of cream cheese.
2. One of your suggested additions was cubed potatoes – do you add them in raw at the beginning or do you add cooked potatoes once the soup is done?
Thank you so much!
Hi!
The cream cheese adds creaminess, but if you’re sensitive to the taste of cream cheese, then you might be able to taste it. 🤷♀️
Add the raw potatoes at the very beginning.