You’ll be hooked from the first bite of Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole! It’s loaded with creamy cheese & crispy bacon and OH, SO addicting!
If you haven’t made cracked-out chicken before, this is the best recipe for you! Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole is crazy good and easy to make! Combine chicken, bacon, and tater tots with all the goodness of cheddar cheese, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and ranch dressing – what could be more scrumptious??
Everybody Loves this Casserole!
This Crack Chicken Casserole is everything. It’s meaty, creamy, salty, cheesy wonderfulness with an undercurrent of ranch seasoning that makes it perfect. PERFECT. Even your kids will ask for seconds!
Just trust me and add the ingredients to your shopping list right now! Then, with the leftover sour cream and cheese, you can make this Crock Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Dip! Two amazing meals and nothing wasted!
Other Recipes to Serve with Crack Chicken Casserole
- Since this chicken and tater tot dish takes care of the protein and carbs, a simple green side like this Garlic Roasted Broccoli is all you need to round out your dinner.
- Or, if your garden is still abundant with summer squash and zucchini, these Super Simple Grilled Summer Veggies are delicious!
- This Fruit Salad recipe is a cool, refreshing accompaniment if you choose to make this Tater Tot Casserole for brunch (and why not??).
Ingredients
Protein: The winning combination of chicken and bacon gives this dish its heartiness.
Carb: Tater tots! I’ve seen crack chicken pasta, cracked-out chicken over mashed potatoes, crack chicken on hamburger buns, and even crack chicken cowboy ranch dip. BUT, combining the tater tots into this casserole makes an easy one-dish meal with perfect taste and texture.
Creamy/Cheesy: Crack chicken uses four different ingredients for the “sauce” – sour cream, cream of chicken soup, shredded cheddar, and ranch dressing – my mouth is watering!
Garnish: Green onion and/or parsley finish off the look and taste of this dish.
How to Make Crack Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
STEP ONE: Spray a large casserole dish and preheat the oven to 425F. Mix the shredded chicken, sour cream, ranch, and cream of chicken soup in a large bowl. Fold in half of the tater tots and save the rest to put on top.
STEP TWO: Pour the chicken mixture into the baking dish. Top the filling with the cheddar cheese, then arrange the reserved tater tots over the top.
STEP THREE: Bake for 45 minutes until the tots are golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.
STEP FOUR: Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Top with an additional dollop of sour cream and garnish with green onion and parsley. Serve to happy people!
Tips for Success
- Even though it’s easy, don’t be tempted to use precooked frozen chicken for this recipe, as it can make your casserole watery. If you want the ultimate easy chicken casserole, use a rotisserie chicken – it adds flavor without adding water.
- If you don’t have ranch dressing, add ¾ cup more of any of the creamy ingredients and add two tsp. of dried ranch seasoning – it works!
What is Crack Chicken?
Crack Chicken is the name given to this combination of chicken, bacon & ranch blended with creamy ingredients because it’s SO good and SO addictive! Different recipes use either ranch dressing or ranch dressing mix/seasoning packets to flavor the dish.
Can I use bacon bits instead of real bacon?
Don’t plan to substitute bacon bits for real bacon because real bacon is much, much better! But, in a pinch, you could use authentic bacon bits (not fake ones) if you don’t have the good stuff.
Other Cheesy Chicken Recipes
- Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
- Cheesy Salsa Chicken
- Crock Pot Cheesy Broccoli Chicken
- Creamy Ranch Chicken Spaghetti
- Cheesy Chicken Meatballs
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Cups
- Cheesy Instant Pot Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups cooked chicken chopped (see note)
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup ranch dressing
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 6 slices cooked bacon crumbled
- 1.5 pounds frozen tater tots (6 cups)
- 2 ½ cups cheddar cheese
- Green onion thinly sliced, for garnish
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish (or 3-quart casserole dish) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the chicken, sour cream, ranch dressing, chicken soup, and half of the tater tots.
- Pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. Spread the shredded cheese over the filling, then top with the reserved tater tots.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the tater tots are golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with green onions and/or parsley and a dollop of sour cream.
Eva Greenup says
Absolutely delicious! Not too rich and the flavor is wonderful! My husband could not get enough, he said it’s addicting! Thank you for a great casserole and I can’t wait to share it.
Jean says
Where does the bacon come into the recipe?
Real Housemoms JK says
Hello Jean! Looks like I missed that in the recipe. Sorry! You can mix it in with step one, into the chicken mixture. Hope this helps!
Mich says
FOOD PORN! Thank you! Can’t wait to make – this looks so good!!