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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.
- 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.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup with Chicken
- Chicken Orzo Soup
- Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Thai Chicken Soup
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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
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.
We love this soup. My husband likes a little more substance so we add gnocchi to it. So good.
That’s great! I’m very glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Can I freeze this?
Hi!
Yes, you can, but keep in mind that cream-based soups tend to separate when frozen. So, when you’re reheating it, make sure to give it a really good stir several times and that should definitely help with combining it all together again.
Is there a dairy free option for the heavy cream. I don’t believe heavy cream comes lactose free.
Thanks
Hi!
While I have not tried to make this soup without cream, I think you can try using coconut milk, instead, to make it lactose free.
Wish we could of liked this but is was just to bland
You may just need to add a bit more salt. Salt not only gives foods a salty flavor, but it enhances the other flavors and aromatics, too.
Hi Katrina, ok I looked up a recipe that I was going to make tonight but when I went to find it, this was (was different but seemed faster because it had no carrots and celery to cut and I was in a hurry now )on my phone so I went with it! I added extra pepper and garlic, didn’t see where it said to add the ranch so I didn’t and didn’t add the cream either! It was absolutely delicious! I make soups all the time and mine are always delicious! Very comforting, I love keto recipes but we are this ciabatta bread and oh my!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! We’ve made it many times and I’ve changed it up a little…added ground sausage, chicken sausage, cabbage, kale, etc. It’s super versatile, we love it!!
That’s great! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Loved this soup. It was so delicious!!
I followed all instructions but I doubled the recipe and did not double the spices but added one full package of hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning packet along with the spices. Because Im busy I went to Costco and got their cheap but heavenly rotisserie chickens and it takes 2 whole chickens for the doubled recipe. At the very end of cooking I drained 2 cans of Rotel and threw that in and Velveeta has new fresh packs that come in little blocks and I threw one block of that in as extra to the fresh cheddar cheese that I also added extra to.I also added the listed bacon right into the soup while it was cooking and then made extra for topping along with the extra cheddar and Green onions in little bowls for anyone who wants extra.
Just so you know I won a soup competition with this recipe!!
Thank you so much for sharing this gem!
That’s wonderful! I’m very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Loved the soup I put some leftover carrots in mine and served it with bread.
I made this tonight. I added carrots, celery, mushrooms and some wide egg noodles. I used half light cream cheese and half regular. I used 1 Tbs of the Hidden Valley Ranch dip, but found it way too salty. Maybe I would try it with the individual spices instead of the dip mix.
What a fabulous & filling recipe! Made it for company last night. What a hit! I added asparagus, but otherwise followed your instructions. Most excellent. Thank you for taking the time to share it with us all.
P.S. I was asked to keep this recipe & make it again!*!
Thank you so much! I’m very happy you loved it! 🙂
Made this tonight and added sun-dried tomatoes oh my God it was the bomb absolutely delicious
That’s wonderful! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Oh my goodness this was heavenly! I am so glad that I tried the recipe! This will definitely be one of my favorite keto recipes! Thank you so much 😊
I’m very happy you loved it! Thank you so much! 🙂