keto Shredded Chicken Recipes ( Crack Chicken Keto )

Keto-baked Crack Chicken, additionally referred to as Ranch Chicken, delicious dish that gets its name from the habit-forming of the ranch, cheese, and bacon. It's a low-carb and keto-friendly. However you don't ought to air a keto diet to get pleasure from the instruction. The entire family loves it.

My family had already been enjoying Crack Chicken made with shredded chicken and served over spaghetti noodles or traditional noodles for the non-keto people. This is a twist on that dish.

I like to prep some of the recipe steps ahead of time. This helps to save me time when I make the final meal.

Often, I plan to make more than one recipe that uses bacon so I can cook up a couple of packages at the same time. You can choose to freeze some of the bacon for a later date or keep it in the refrigerator until you make the next recipe. Check out some of the meal prep tips below.

You can also prep the ranch cheese mixture several days ahead and keep it stored in the refrigerator until it's needed. I sometimes will make a double batch of the ranch cheese mixture because some family members use it on bagels.

I’ve also provided some other great meal planning and meal prep tips to help save you time in the kitchen. If you have tried meal planning in the past and struggled with it being too time-consuming or a hassle then check out this meal planning course that will help show you how to quickly pull a meal plan together to save both time and money.

P. S. Before I begin, let me quickly introduce a Weight Loss Planner at Simple & Pretty Store which I think could be useful to you! Ketogenic meal planner: 

This Weight Loss planner can be super useful to anyone who’s ready to BLOSSOM like never before! You can use it to track your stats and to solidify healthy food and daily workout habits, track your fitness goals for a new body shape and most importantly – stay committed to your goal of massively glowing up! Check it out here:

Now let’s get in shape, shall we?

You can also steal my other keto chicken breast dinner recipes.wait,  I give them to you.

Ingredients for Keto Baked Crack Chicken: 

FOR THE CHICKEN:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika

FOR THE RANCH CREAM CHEESE:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning mix
• 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, white or yellow
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

FOR THE GARNISH:

• sliced green scallions

Directions for Keto Baked Crack Chicken:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Prepare the cream cheese mixture. In a small bowl combine cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of Ranch Seasoning mixture. Set aside. 

• Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add in the diced bacon and cook until crispy. See notes below for more information about the bacon.
• Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Do not discard the bacon fat. It will be used to brown the chicken breasts.
• Return skillet to heat and add vegetable oil and butter to the remaining bacon fat.
• Pound the chicken breasts until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
• Depending upon the size of your skillet add 2 to 3 chicken breasts to the hot oil. Do not crowd them. Cook the chicken breasts for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are golden brown.

• Flip over the chicken breasts and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove chicken breasts from the skillet. Arrange them in the previously prepared baking dish and set them aside.

• Top each chicken breast with about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Spread to evenly coat the chicken breast.

• Sprinkle half of the diced bacon on top of the cream cheese mixture.

• Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the chicken breasts.

• Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted and lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and garnish with remaining bacon and sliced scallions before serving. 

 

NOTES:

You can prepare the bacon ahead of time. Cook strips of bacon in the oven or a large skillet until they are crispy. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb excess fat. Once cool you can dice the bacon. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

FREEZER TIP:

You can also make the bacon, place the strips on paper towels, roll the paper towel to wrap the bacon, place in a freezer bag and freeze the strips until needed. I often make a double or triple batch of oven-cooked bacon and freeze it in smaller batches to use in recipes. This will save you a lot of time and you’ll have fewer dirty dishes to deal with as well.

MAKE-AHEAD CRACK CHICKEN:

You can easily prep the entire dish and cook it several days later. Prepare and assemble everything in the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. When it’s time to make the baked crack chicken simply remove wrap and bake as directed.

HOW TO FREEZE CRACK CHICKEN:

You can freeze crack chicken two ways. You can freeze it before it is cooked and you can freeze it after it is cooked.

To freeze before cooking use a freezer-safe dish or foil pan:

Prepare the recipe up to the point before baking the chicken. Cover or wrap your pan with foil, write the recipe name and date on the wrap covering the pan, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When you want to make the chicken remove the pan from the freezer the night before, allow it to thaw, and continue to follow the baking instructions. If you are planning on cooking the chicken while frozen you will need to bake it for longer due to the chicken being frozen. Try baking for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the center of the chicken is hot.

You can easily freeze individual servings of baked crack chicken:

Start by browning the chicken as instructed. Place a single browned chicken breast in the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil. Top the chicken with the cream cheese mixture, diced bacon, and cheese. Carefully wrap the chicken in the foil. Place in a large freezer bag, write the recipe name and date on the bag, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To make the chicken remove however many pieces you need from the freezer the night before. Allow thawing in the refrigerator overnight. What makes these individual servings so easy to make is that they can be baked in the foil that was used to wrap them. Simply place the foil packet on a baking sheet, open them up and follow the directions for baking the crack chicken.

To freeze after the chicken has been cooked:

Transfer the cooled crack chicken to a large freezer bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer the night before and let thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat and serve.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  and don’t forget to grab that Ketogenic meal Planner to stay organized and motivated through your “getting fit” journey!

      Keto Actives