Crack Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
One bite of this Crack Chicken Spaghetti and you’ll be hooked! This easy and delicious dinner recipe is creamy, cheesy and addictive. It’s loaded with chicken, bacon, veggies and spaghetti noodles in a flavorful cream cheese based sauce.
What I Love About This Recipe
Crack Chicken Spaghetti. It’s got a catchy name and an amazing taste you won’t soon forget. I always get major compliments when I make this dish.
Crack Chicken is basically a combination of these ingredients: Ranch seasoning mix, bacon, chicken, cheddar and cream cheese. Together, they are magical.
You may know it as Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti or Chicken Bacon Ranch Spaghetti. Whatever you call it, just know that it’s so darn good! And easy to make, too.
Did I mention it’s a one-pot meal? Yep, it is. You won’t have a million pans on the go during the prep work or a big clean-up to tackle after dinner is over.
Creamy. Cheesy. Savory. Easy to find and inexpensive ingredients. I use real cheese (no Velveeta!) in my Crack Chicken Spaghetti.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this yummy family dinner recipe.
Note: The full printable recipe card can be found at the bottom of the post.
- Cooked chicken that has been shredded – use up your leftovers!
- Can of cream of chicken soup
- Chicken broth
- Cream – I used 10% cream. You could substitute milk in its place.
- Celery
- Carrots
- Onion
- Bacon – Cook it and chop it up.
- Cream cheese
- Ranch seasoning packet – I find it in the salad dressing aisle in the grocery store. You can also use my homemade ranch seasoning.
- Salt
- Cheddar cheese
- Spaghetti noodles – Break them in half before putting them into the pot.
- Fresh chives – This ingredient is an optional garnish.
How to Make
1. Add chicken, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, cream, carrots, celery, onion, bacon, cream cheese, Ranch seasoning, salt and pepper to a large pot. Bring to a boil on medium high heat.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to medium high and add spaghetti noodles. Cook for 9 to 11 minutes, or until noodles are done.
4. Stir in cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with chives. Serve hot.
Recipe Tips
- Buy the can of condensed cream of chicken soup that you have to add water to when you are making the stop. You DON’T add water for this recipe. I wanted to clarify in case this question comes out. I like Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup.
- Stir LOTS when the noodles are cooking in the sauce. You don’t want the sauce to burn or the noodles to stick to the bottom of the pan. It will be more soup-like when the noodles first go in, but it will thicken as the noodles cook.
- For a more saucier spaghetti, use less noodles.
- Leftover chicken is great for this recipe. You could also use leftover turkey. If I don’t have any leftovers, I will bake chicken breasts. Two small chicken breasts or one large chicken breast will work. Season your chicken with some salt and pepper or your favorite spices before you cook it if you like.
- I use regular cream cheese and not the low fat version. I love the creaminess it adds to the recipe.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Round up these kitchen essentials to help you make this recipe.
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Storage Tips
Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for to three days. Simply add some of the recipe to a bowl and heat in the microwave for a couple minutes when you want to enjoy. It won’t be as “saucy”, but it will still taste amazing!
It’s a hard recipe to freeze because of all the dairy. I find it takes a weird consistency after it’s been frozen and thawed.
Recipe Variations
- Try a different type of pasta. Some ideas are linguine, fettuccine, rotini or even simple macaroni.
- Leave out the meat if you want to make it vegetarian.
- Can’t find cream of chicken soup? Try another cream based soup like cream of mushroom or cream of celery.
- Bring out the Velveeta cheese instead of the shredded cheddar for a super creamy and cheesy texture.
- Save time by using a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
What to Serve with Crack Chicken Spaghetti
Serve with a fresh side salad. I love this Greek Chicken Salad or Winter Detox Salad.
Add some Easy Garlic Twists or Cheesy Garlic Biscuits on the side.
For a nice cold drink, try my Citrus Bliss Infused Water or Shirley Temple for the kiddos.
After dinner, enjoy a sweet treat like this Coconut Pie or Earthquake Cake.
More Easy Spaghetti Recipes
Have you tried Crack Chicken before? I’m planning to make more recipes. I think a Crack Chicken Noodle Soup is next!
Try Impossible Chicken Pie, One-Pan Spaghetti, Chicken a la King, Stovetop Mac and Cheese and Crack Chicken Casserole.
Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, on Facebook at Simply Stacie, and on Pinterest @SimplyStacie and let me know how you liked this and my other recipes!
If you make the recipe, tag me on Instagram and use #simplystacie. I like sharing the photos on my Instagram stories!
Crack Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken cooked and shredded
- 1 can cream of chicken soup 284ml/10.5oz can
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup cream
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 package cream cheese 250ml/8oz package
- 1 packet Ranch seasoning mix 28g/1oz packet
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 cups spaghetti uncooked, broken in half
- 1 tbsp fresh chives chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Add chicken, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, cream, carrots, celery, onion, bacon, cream cheese, Ranch seasoning, salt and pepper to a large pot. Bring to a boil on medium high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Increase the heat to medium high and add spaghetti noodles. Cook for 9 to 11 minutes, or until noodles are done. Stir frequently to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with chives.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Perfect with 16oz angel hair pasta (all I had on hand). Omitted cream cheese, bacon, carrots, cream, & grated cheddar (didn’t have) used milk instead of cream & only 3 cups broth (all I had). Added 27oz undrained can of mixed greens & only 1/4 cup dry ranch salad dressing mix. It was perfect after pasta cooked through, although I then layered it all into a large baking dish & generously sprinkled dry parmesan over both layers. Baked at 350 convection til parmesan melted & got a golden crunch (could be microwaved in smaller batches)
Made recipe exactly as stated, soupy. I noticed all other recipes of this is baked. How much is 2 cups spaghetti, Google said 8 oz.
About 14-15 ounces. There is a note at the end of the article that says that.
I made this recipe ,somewhat disappointed.Very soupy, did not thicken. I did recipe exactly. Question how much is 2 cups spaghetti? Google says 8 oz.
Can you use something other than the cream cheese – do not like it at all.
As soon as it touches my mouth makes me sick. So what else could I use.
You could use an extra can of cream of chicken soup or sour cream in its place.
Very, very good. It got my “I would buy this at a restaurant ” rating. Very rich. I fried the bacon and cubed and fried chicken so took a lot longer. Good enough to meal prep for it next time. Added dry parsley and Colby jack because that’s what I had. Left out the added salt. Sprinkled garlic powder and Italian seasoning just because…I’m sure it didn’t need it. Thanks!
This was absolutely delicious. I made it Saturday. It looks just like your photos. I used wheat spaghetti. I used two-percent milk. I can’t imagine this dish being any creamier than it was, but I know it would be with the cream. The only downside is it was salty, but, in a good way, ha ha. I made my chicken broth with bouillon cubes, so I think that was the reason. Still, I would advice not to add any salt to this dish. It gets enough from the rich ingredients.
Thank you for this yummy dish. Can’t wait to share it on my Instagram page. I will tag you.