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Crack chicken casserole is the one I make when I need an easy chicken dinner that everybody will actually eat. It’s elbow macaroni and big chunks of chicken in a creamy ranch sauce, with melted cheddar-jack and crispy bacon all over the top. It’s cheesy, it’s salty, it’s rich, and the sauce stays creamy right down to the last scoop.
And it earns the name, crack chicken. Ranch, bacon, and cheese are the three things nobody can walk away from, and I’ve watched this pan go from full to scraped clean at my own table more times than I’d like to admit. I use rotisserie chicken, so the hardest part of the whole thing is frying the bacon.
The sauce is what makes or breaks this casserole, and mine stays creamy through the bake instead of tightening up and drying out. That’s the part most versions get wrong. The bacon and ranch and cheese are going to taste good no matter what you do, but they can’t save you once the pasta has soaked up every last bit of the sauce.
If you love these flavors, my Crack Chicken Penne Pasta is the stovetop version, and I’ve got plenty more easy casserole recipes where this one came from.
TESTED & PERFECTED
Why I Rebuilt the Sauce on This Casserole From Scratch
The flavor on my original was right. The texture was not. It baked up stiff and dry, and the sauce turned slightly grainy on me instead of staying smooth. So I went back and rebalanced the dairy. I brought the sour cream down, kept the cream cheese, and added half and half. What comes out now is a loose, velvety sauce that clings to the pasta instead of disappearing into it.
What You’ll Need
- Cream cheese: This is the backbone of the sauce. It is what keeps everything smooth under heat instead of breaking and turning grainy. Use block-style, full fat, and let it come to room temperature first. Cold cream cheese never fully incorporates and you will be picking lumps out of the sauce.
- Sour cream and half and half: These two together are the whole fix. The sour cream brings the tang, the half and half loosens the sauce so it stays creamy through the bake. Whole milk works in place of the half and half.
- Cream of chicken soup: Undiluted, straight from the can. It does the thickening and the savory backbone so you are not making a roux on a weeknight.
- The sautéed onion: Cook the diced onion in butter until it is tender and lightly golden before it goes anywhere near the sauce. It is one extra pan and it is worth it. Raw onion in a creamy casserole stays sharp. Cooked, it turns sweet and rounds out all the salt from the ranch and the bacon.
- Cheddar-jack cheese: Shred it yourself off a block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to keep it from clumping and it does not melt as well. Colby-jack is a good swap. If you go with plain cheddar, choose mild or medium, not sharp.
- Bacon: Twelve ounces cooks down to about a cup. Most of it goes into the casserole and a little gets held back for the top so it stays crisp. If you would rather not stand at the stove, my oven baked bacon method handles the whole package at once.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Crack Chicken Casserole
Step 1: Preheat and prep the dish.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set it aside.
Step 2: Boil the Pasta to Al Dente
Cook the elbow macaroni to al dente, about 9 to 11 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water so it stops cooking. It should still be firm when you bite it.
Step 3: Crisp the Bacon
Cook the bacon pieces in a skillet over medium heat for 12 to 14 minutes, until crispy. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate so the grease drains off. You should end up with about a cup.
Step 4: Cook the Onion
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the diced onion for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender and lightly golden. Set it aside to cool. Do not skip this.
Step 5: Cream the Base
In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the ranch seasoning, onion powder, salt, and pepper until it is completely smooth. Get the lumps out now, because they will not smooth out later.
Step 6: Build the Sauce
Add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and half and half. Mix on low until combined. The sauce will look thick. Leave it that way.
Step 7: Stir in the Onions
Stir in the cooled onions until evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
Step 8: Fold It All Together
Add the macaroni, three quarters of a cup of the bacon, the chicken, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar-jack. Fold until every noodle is coated and you do not see dry patches.
Step 9: Top It and Bake
Spread the mixture into the prepared 9×13 dish, then scatter the rest of the cheese and the reserved bacon over the top. Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes. You are looking for melted cheese and bubbling around the edges.
Step 10: Rest and Serve
Let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Scatter the green onions over the top and serve. The sauce should still be soft enough to spoon, not set firm enough to cut into squares.
“This casserole is so flavorful! I actually made 2 and gave one to my uncle who helped me with a home project and the other one I took to a luncheon the next day. Everyone loved it! This comes together and can be baked the next day! I will be making this again!”
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
They will be thicker than they were the first night, for the same reason a make-ahead casserole bakes thicker. The pasta keeps pulling in moisture overnight.
The fix takes a second. Add a small splash of milk or half and half before you reheat, stir it in, and add a little more only if it still looks tight. Go slowly. Too much at once and you have gone from thick to soupy.
I do not freeze this one. The sauce is built to stay loose and creamy, and that is exactly the kind of sauce that separates on you after a thaw. I make it fresh.
More Crack Chicken Recipes
Crack Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni noodles
- 12 ounces package hickory smoked bacon cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup diced sweet yellow onion
- 4 ounces block-style cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 ounce packet ranch dressing seasoning (Hidden Valley brand used)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 10.5 ounces can cream of chicken soup (Campbell’s brand used)
- 1½ cups sour cream
- ½ cup half & half
- 3 cups cooked chicken cut into about 1-inch pieces (from a large 3 to 4-pound rotisserie chicken)
- 8 ounces block cheddar-jack cheese shredded (Sargento brand used)
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions (garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Cook the elbow macaroni noodles according to package instructions to al dente (about 9-11 minutes). Drain and rinse under cool water then set aside.8 ounces elbow macaroni noodles
- While your pasta is cooking, cook your bacon pieces in a medium skillet, over medium heat for 12-14 minutes or until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, using a large slotted spoon, to allow the excess grease to drain. This will yield about 1 cup cooked bacon pieces. Set aside.12 ounces package hickory smoked bacon
- While the pasta and bacon are cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender and lightly golden. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool while preparing the rest of the sauce.1 tablespoon unsalted butter, ½ cup diced sweet yellow onion
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese, ranch dressing seasoning, onion powder, salt, and black pepper until creamy and smooth.4 ounces block-style cream cheese, 1 ounce packet ranch dressing seasoning , 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and half & half to the cream cheese mixture. Mix on low speed until well combined. The sauce mixture will be thick.10.5 ounces can cream of chicken soup , 1½ cups sour cream, ½ cup half & half
- Stir in the cooled onions until well distributed.
- Add the elbow macaroni noodles, ¾ cup cooked bacon pieces (reserving the remaining ¼ cup to the top of the casserole before baking), cubed chicken, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar-jack cheese. Fold all the ingredients together until well combined and evenly coated with the sauce.3 cups cooked chicken, 8 ounces block cheddar-jack cheese
- Transfer the chicken mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread to an even layer. Top the casserole with the remaining shredded cheddar-jack cheese, and reserved ¼ cup bacon pieces.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.
- Allow the casserole to rest at room temperature for 3-5 minutes, garnish with the green onions and serve immediately.2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
Jenn’s Notes
- The sauce will look thick when you fold everything together and that is exactly right. The pasta keeps absorbing sauce while it bakes, so that extra richness is what is left over as sauce at the end.
- Cook the macaroni to al dente and no further. Overcooked pasta drinks up the sauce in the oven and dries the whole casserole out.
- Cook the onion in butter before it goes into the sauce. Raw onion stays sharp against all that cream.
- Two large boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ pounds, yield about 3 cups cooked and cubed. I use rotisserie chicken for the shortcut.
- Colby-jack works in place of the cheddar-jack. If you use plain cheddar, go with mild or medium for the best melt. Any short pasta can stand in for the elbow macaroni, and whole milk can replace the half and half.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They will be thicker the next day because the pasta keeps absorbing moisture. Stir in a splash of milk or half and half before reheating.
This casserole is so flavorful! I actually made 2 and gave one to my uncle who helped me with a home project and the other one I took to a luncheon the next day.
everyone loved it!
This comes together and can be baked the next day!
I will be making this again!
Thank you!
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thank you so much for the great feedback!
THANKS
This was way too rich and had competing flavors that made the dish too overwhelming. I would omit the cream cheese and maybe use 1/2 or less of the ranch seasoning. Good concept but even my cream cheese & ranch loving husband thought this was too over the top and he NEVER says that!
very good!
Thanks so much Pat! So glad you enjoyed!
I/4 “what? ??? (cup? oz? ???) half & half
1/4 of what in this recipe. I want to make it tonight, but I’m puzzled? Have all the other ingredients but the 1/4?
Did we ever figure out how much milk?
OMGosh I totally missed these comments – it is a 1/4 cup! So sorry – recipe card is updated!
Loved this and used recipe for ranch dressing packet. Two in my HH so cut chicken to 1 1/2
with Rotini 1 1/2 cups. Just a little bacon will do you. 1-2 strips. 1 cup cheese 4 oz cream cheese and no sour cream on hand. I omitted the remaining spices since my recipe had it all and using the entire amount made a very tasty casserole. Here is recipe :
Ranch Dressing:
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp Badia seasoning salt (found in the south
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powdeer
1/8 tsp thyme
I also baked at 350 deg for 25 min since it was already warm. There was plenty of cheese for us and bacon. Tasty combo.