Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, & Tater Tot Bake
This Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, & Tater Tot Bake takes everyone’s favorite ingredients and combines them to make one tasty meal!
With a list of ingredients like this, it doesn’t take a food critic to know that Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, & Tater Tot Bake will be a smash hit at the dinner table. Layer all of these delicious ingredients into your crock pot, set it and forget it for three hours, and come back to the perfect family dinner indulgence. This is probably the ultimate easy casserole recipe.
LONG NAME, SIMPLE DISH
Chicken, cheese, bacon and tots- oh my! When a recipe title lists its ingredients out like this, you know that they are all equally important- and delicious! This tater tot bake recipe has the added bonus of being ridiculously easy to make too!
If you love creamy chicken and bacon, you won’t be able to resist Crock Pot Crack Chicken or Crack Chicken Sliders.
OTHER RECIPES TO SERVE WITH A CHEESY TATER TOT BAKE
- Broccoli Salad – This sweet and crunchy Broccoli Salad is my go-to side for carb-heavy dishes.
- Green Beans with Bacon – It’s easy to make a little extra bacon and add it to this delicious (and still healthy) side dish!
INGREDIENTS
Chicken: This chicken bake recipe calls for 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Bacon: You’ll need 6 slices of cooked thick-cut bacon. You can use ready-to-serve bacon if you want to save time.
Tots: Don’t forget the most important part! A 32-ounce bag of frozen tots.
Dairy: You’ll need a package of shredded cheese and some milk. I usually use cheddar or a Colby Jack cheese.
Seasoning: Season this cheesy chicken bake with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT CHEESY CHICKEN, BACON, & TATER TOT BAKE
STEP ONE: For this cheesy chicken and bacon bake, start by coating the inside of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Dump half of the bag of frozen tater tots into the crock pot and spread them evenly along the bottom. Top the bottom layer of tots with 1/3 of the cheese and 1/2 of the crumbled bacon bits.
STEP TWO: Place the uncooked chicken cubes on top of the tater tot layer. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Top the chicken layer with 1/3 of the cheese.
STEP THREE: Spread the remaining frozen tater tots over the chicken layer and top them with the remaining bacon and cheese. Finally, pour the milk over the top of the crock pot contents.
STEP FOUR: Once assembled, cover the crock pot and bake this Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, & Tater Tot Bake on HIGH for 3 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked through. Serve warm and enjoy!
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- If you don’t feel like frying bacon, try cooking it in the oven!
- Remember, chicken is safely cooked once it reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and is no longer pink in the middle.
HOW REHEAT A CHICKEN TATER TOT BAKE
If you end up with leftovers, transfer them from the crock pot into an airtight container and store them in a fridge for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to reheat, I suggest transferring leftovers to a casserole dish and reheating them in the oven. Reheating in the oven is the only way you will get back some of the crispiness from the tots! Cover the dish with foil and reheat it at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
CAN YOU USE COOKED CHICKEN IN A CROCK POT TATER TOT BAKE
I have used chopped-up rotisserie chicken in this recipe before. If you opt to use pre-cooked chicken, you can cut the cooking time in half, which is a great way to save time in a pinch!
OTHER CROCK POT MEAL IDEAS
- Lemon Italian Chicken with Capers
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- French Dip Sandwich
- Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Pizza Casserole
- Pork Chops
*This post was originally posted on 09/16/2013
Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, & Tater Tot Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen tater tots (1 bag)
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces cheddar or Colby jack cheese shredded
- ⅔ cup 2% milk or whole milk
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once the bacon had cooled, crumble it into small pieces. Set aside.
- Coat the inside of your slow cooker pot with non-stick cooking spray.
- Dump half the frozen tater tots into the crock pot and spread into an even layer. Top the tots with 1/3 of the cheese and 1/2 the crumbled bacon.
- Place the uncooked chicken piece on top of the cheese and bacon. Sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Top the chicken with 1/3 of the cheese.
- Spread remaining tater tots over the chicken layer. Then add the remaining bacon and cheese over the tots. Pour the milk all over everything.
- Cover your crock pot and cook on HIGH on 3 hours (or LOW for 6 hours) until the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm.
Ok Thanks for the advice won’t pre cook then 🙂
how many does it serve ??
This may be silly question but is bacon and chicken cooked first?
Not silly at all. The bacon is precooked but not the chicken. If you have thick chicken breasts you may want to cut them in half to make them more thin.
Do you think if I pre cooked the chicken then added it would turn out the same? I dont like cooking raw foods with others, just my thing….or do I need the juices from the chicken to help with it cooking the tots?
Mary I think if you pre cook the chicken it will be dry by the time you take it out of the slow cooker.
I made this tonight after work and the loved it. It cooked in 3 hours and it was inexpensive. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad you liked it Joylynn!
Made this tonight and both my husband and I liked it! I’m thinking next time I will add vegetables and cook longer at a lower heat. I WILL be sharing this recipe with family and friends 🙂
Thank you ladies! I need these type of meals for the “mom’s running around with her head cut off today” days ~~ and tomorrow just happens to be one of those days 🙂
Making this as we speak!! =) TY for posting this!!
I used Hormel Real bacon bits. Made this last night for dinner. It was excellent!
Also, if you work all day like me, I put my crock-pot to low (instead of high)
cooked for 6-8 hrs (instead of 3-4 on high)Mine actually cooked for 8hrs, and turned out
excellent!!
I’m so glad you liked it Gabby! Thanks. 🙂
I still would like to know, when using real bacon, do you have to pre- cook the bacon?
Yes, the bacon is precooked Andrea.
Yes precook the bacon.
Awesome! thank you! i was actually reading the comments, wondering if anyone made it on low for 8 hours because that works better for people who work 🙂 thanks!
Does this get Crispy??
On the pictures, the tater tots look crispy….Do they really get crispy in the crock pot?
Yes they do, not quite the same crispiness you would achieve in the oven but as long as you don’t excessively stir and break them up you will get a great consistency from them.
i wonder if you can use chicken broth in place of milk i think it would turn it into i nice creamy gravy sauce yum i will be making this tonight for dinner . thx for the post
We used cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup…just thinned out out a bit…made nice creamy gravy to it..
Can the bacon be put in uncooked, or should it be precooked?
We used the precooked crumbles you can get at the store. If you use your own I would cook it first so that it’s crispy. 🙂
Do you cook the bacon first?
Yes, Midori. We use cooked bacon in this recipe.
Do you cut up the chicken breasts or leave them whole?
Beth, I left the chicken breasts whole.
We just tried this I diced up about 6 brests and it turned out great. She also added frozen peas, corn and carrots. And we’re bacon lovers so I cooked and diced 1 lb of bacon we also used a 8 qt. crockpot.
I’m so glad Bryan!!!
Sounds yummy even with changes. I found that if you thin out the size of the breast it is not so thick in the middle.
Great thanks Shirley!
This looks great!! I love it even better that you can make it in the crockpot!
Thanks! Aren’t crock pots the best! 🙂
Did you use frozen chicken breasts or thawed?
Caitlin, I used thawed chicken breasts!
I made it with frozen chicken breasts…by the time the chicken was cooked the rest was extremely overcooked. Still edible, but dry. Next time I’m starting with thawed chicken breasts.
I was really good, my picky eater loved it!! I cooked it all the same way but I did the chicken alittle different. After I cut up my chicken in cubes I mixed the chicken in cream of mushroom before adding it in the crock pot. Was awesome thanks for sharing!
I’ll have seconds please! =) LOVE all the yummy flavors in this easy dish. So glad you shared at Weekend Potluck. We’d love it if you’d link back to the party within your post…(that qualifies you for being featured). Please do come back soon.
Thank you so much The Better Baker!!! It is so yummy! I will add a link in my post!!!
Do you put the bacon in already cooked then?
Yes, the bacon should already be cooked. If you want to save a step you can buy bacon already cooked at the grocery store now. Usually, near the salad stuff or I’ve found it at Costco.
Do you think it would work on low for 8 hours?
The recipe says 3-4 hours on high, and 3 was perfect for me, so if on low, a little less than 8 might work. I would check it after 6 or 7 hours. I always find that my crock pot cooks faster than what recipes say.
Do you put the tater tots in frozen or let them thaw first?
Hi Jessica,
I put them in frozen! 🙂
Hi I am from Ireland, I have never heard of tater tots, what is it?
it’s basically a form of french fries except i would say its more similar to hashbrown? thats the best way i can think to descibe it 🙂
I believe that is the website address. Ore ida makes French fries, potato crowns, tater tots, sweet potato fries, hash browns and various other potato products that we can find in the frozen food dept at our grocery stores here in the U.S. You can make a variety of recipes with them in your oven or your Crock Pot / Slow Cooker that are delicious! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️?????
They are like hash browns except that instead of being grated potatoes, they are riced potatoes that are then formed into little bundles the size and shape of marshmallows. They are then fried to a crispy brown outside and soft inside. Frozen tater tots are already fried and just need warming up.
Do u put the chicken breast in thawed raw or precooked?? Does it gal about our should u cut it up first? ?
The chicken goes in raw. If you’d like to reduce the cooking time, you can cut it into bite sized pieces first.
Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Bacon Tater Tot Bake – were the chicken breasts cooked prior to putting them in the crock pot. Whether raw or already cooked, did you cut them into pieces before layering? Thanks
They were raw going into the crock pot but not cut up. I have heard from other readers that had better luck cutting them up. I think the cooking time is affected if the breasts are thick.
Read the recipe please…it says right there in black and white…bite size raw chicken breast.
My boy loves Tots! I think he’d enjoy this. Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.
Thank you Cindy! My whole family loved this meal, so I think your boy would too! Enjoy!
Looks delicious!! I’ll be adding this to the menu! Thanks ladies! Pinning, too!
Thank you Cindy and thanks for pinning too! It is really yummy!
Do you cook the chicken first before you put in the pot?
Nope.
Nope, but depending on your show cookery 3 hours may not be long enough.
Do you think this would work with cubed pre-cooked chicken and putting in oven? 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so?