Creamy Crack Chicken Soup
Jan 10, 2020, Updated Jun 06, 2023
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This Creamy Crack Chicken Soup recipe is loaded with incredible cheesy flavor! It is a delicious soup with bacon, chicken, cheese, spinach, and ranch seasoning. Low carb and Keto-approved, too!
Are you looking for more crack chicken recipes? Try this baked crack chicken breasts or my Instant Pot crack chicken recipe!
Crack Chicken Soup
Warm up to a big bowl of this creamy crack chicken soup! Judging by the popularity of my slow cooker crack chicken and this cozy and delicious chicken noodle soup, me thinks you will absolutely LOVE crack chicken in soup form.
SO good, so comforting, and really easy to make, this soup is by far my favorite homemade chicken soup. Ready in less than 30 minutes, you will enjoy every spoonful of it. Like a good ol’ split pea soup, this chicken soup also makes an ideal meal for cold winter nights, but we enjoy it year round, no matter the season.
Why It’s Called Crack Chicken
I get this question on ALL my crack chicken recipes; the basic internet explanation is that the flavors of dry ranch seasoning mix paired with the creaminess of cream cheese and cheddar cheese make this chicken 100% addictive, just like crack.
How To Make Crack Chicken Soup
Just pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken, and let’s get on it! Or, you can use leftover cooked chicken breasts or even boneless chicken thighs. It’s a tasty and creamy soup, and also a keto chicken soup, and it will have you drooling while simmering away in that pot.
- Cook the bacon. We start with cooking some bacon in a Dutch oven or a soup pot; cook the bacon until crispy, then remove it from the pot.
- Cook the aromatics. Melt butter in the pot; add onion and garlic until soft.
- Stir in the broth and seasoning. Add chicken broth and homemade Ranch mix and boil for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken. Add shredded chicken, and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add the cheese. Stir in softened cream cheese until melted, then add cheddar cheese.
- Add the spinach. Mix in baby spinach and heavy cream. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Serve. Garnish your creamy crack chicken soup with scallions and cooked bacon to serve.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Veggie options. In this crack chicken soup, you can swap out the spinach for kale or zucchini noodles. Or, take a cue from my chicken vegetable soup and add your favorite mix of veggies to make it your own!
- Add pasta. For those not following a low carb/keto diet, add pasta noodles to the boiling chicken broth and cook for 8 minutes. Then, continue to add the rest of the ingredients per the recipe directions. You can also add gnocchi, like I do in my chicken gnocchi soup recipe.
- Chicken recipes. If you don’t have any leftover cooked chicken to use, I suggest making my oven baked chicken breasts. Use these shredder claws to shred afterward.
- Use store-bought Ranch seasoning. If you’re using store-bought ranch seasoning mix, substitute with about a tablespoon. Start with two teaspoons, taste, and adjust as needed since the mix already contains salt, which could make the dish too salty if you add too much.
Serving Suggestions
This crack chicken soup recipe is everything you need on a cozy night—loaded with bacon, chicken, cheese, and ranch-seasoned goodness. To round out your meal, pair it with a crisp and refreshing radish cucumber salad, or keep it hearty with my chicken cobbler. Need bread for dunking? My dinner rolls are perfect for soaking up all that cheesy, creamy broth. It’s comfort food at its best!
How To Store Leftover Soup
- Fridge. Store soup leftovers in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Freezer. To freeze this keto soup, store it in freezer bags and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving. Reheat on medium heat without boiling.
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Creamy Crack Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 to 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 8 ounces package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 to 4 cups baby spinach
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- sliced green scallions, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Cook diced bacon to a crisp in a Dutch Oven or soup pot. Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon, leaving bacon grease in the pot.
- Saute the aromatics. Add butter to the pot and melt over medium-high heat. Stir in onions and cook for 3 minutes; then stir in garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir in the broth and season the soup. Add chicken broth and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, chives, salt, and pepper.
- Cook the soup. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil; lower heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and cheese. Stir in shredded chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and whisk it continuously until completely melted and combined. Stir in the shredded cheese; whisk until melted and thoroughly combined.
- Stir in the spinach and cream. Add baby spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 1 minute.
- Finish. Taste the soup for seasonings and adjust accordingly. Remove the bay leaf.
- Serve. Remove your crack chicken soup from the heat and top it with scallions and previously prepared bacon before serving.
Equipment
Video
Notes
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.
I loved this! I used 3 whole chicken legs, thigh and drumsticks because I like dark meat. I added way more garlic, and I only had half of a white onion, and I used two large shallots. I used the whole packet of ranch powder, a huge tablespoon of fresh dill, and extra salt with fresh CRACKed pepper. I didn’t add the heavy cream because of the fatty cream cheese. Oh ya, and I added neufchatel cheese which is like a lower fat cream cheese. I will definitely make this again! Thanks!
That’s great to hear! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
LOL I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE LOL IM DYING… I WILL DEFINITELY BE TRYING THIS TODAY
Looks yummy! Does it freeze well?
So good! I added extra chicken broth and a large can of petite diced tomatoes!
Thank you! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Yes. She left directions in the body of the text.
Oh my gosh! This is amazing! I just started eating low carb and needed something good! HIT THE SPOT! I added Roma tomatoes and green and red peppers! So good! Thank you !
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
This soup is fantastic! I made it per instructions but did not use ranch mix. I used sour cream and chive reduced fat Whips cream cheese, and added red peppers, green chili’s, and mushrooms.
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Can this soup be frozen?
I have a question…I don’t see Ranch dressing mix in the ingredients, is that an oversight?
Asking because you explained the reasoning behind the name is the Ranch dressing mix.
Just want to be sure I get the recipe right.
Thanks!
Hi!
This recipe includes a homemade ranch seasoning mix prepared with garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill weed, dried chives, etc.. But, if you want to use the store-bought Ranch Mix, you’ll only need to use 1 tablespoon of it.
Is this recipe gluten free? My girlfriend has wheat, soy, msg and maltodextrin allergies. Everything looks ok except for the ranch dressing mix. Looks delicious !!
Hi!
I’m certain that ranch seasoning/mix is gluten free, and on the ranch packet it says that it has no msg. However, I am not sure about the rest that you mention.
Thank you, Lisset. Very well stated.
Looks delicious & I’m gonna try it this weekend. Btw, nothing wrong with the name. Not everyone associates the word “crack” with drugs.
My family loves soups and we plan to try this! This may seem like a weird question, is there a suitable sub for the bacon, I know, who sub’s bacon, ha! But, we are pork-free and need a decent substitute or I could leave it out all together 🙂
Hi!
Can you use turkey bacon? You can definitely leave out the bacon, but if you can have turkey bacon, I’d go for it. 😊
Thanks! Could definitely try it with turkey bacon!
I just made this I added in about 2 TBLS of dry ranch mix. This soup is amazing. Love it and so keto friendly
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Love this soup. I added zucchini and fresh mushrooms because we like a lot of veggies. The entire family loved it! I will definitely be adding this to our soup rotation, thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
I am happy to hear that! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂