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.
I’m not going to lie here, I read the title of this recipe and said out loud to my husband, “Holy —-. look at this. ” Toys looks nothing short of dangerous. My only qualm about making it is that i might actually eat the entire crock pot by myself! I think it’s safe to say this will be happening in my kitchen very soon. even though tater tots are not something I’m in the habit of keeping in the house, i think I’ll make an exception for this big pot of deliciousness.
We dont eat tater tots . What else can be used ? Would like to make this recipe . Maybe thick cut fries , like steak fries or so? Or it must be tots because of the shreaded pieces?
I’m going to make this for dinner tonight but will be placing cooked, crumbled Turkey bacon, half diced Turkey ham & half diced chicken breasts instead of chicken alone, & ranch seasoning instead of salt & pepper along with the milk in the crockpot by themselves. I will bake the tater tots later & mix them in because I want to avoid the soggy complaints. Will let you know how it turns out :). Sounds delicious :). Thanks!
With the use of the Turkey ham in conjuction with the chicken no salt, pepper, OR ranch seasoning was necessary! Turned out great & will make again!! Thanks!
I’m making this for dinner! Was wondering where in the layering would I place frozen mixed vegetables?
Hi Nancy! If you’d like to add veggie in the mix, I’d put them in on top of the chicken, before the cheese.
I added frozen veggies to mine. Still cooking but looks and smells good?
I just made and ate this…oh my!!! I will definitely be making this again!!! So good and pretty easy to do.
I liked this meal overall, but didn’t feel like the chicken went well with it. Maybe would have preferred something a little more flavorful like sausage instead? The bacon in it was delicious though. Thanks for sharing!
Do you need 2 cups of cheese or 8 ounces? I thought 2 cups would be 16 ounces?
2 cups of shredded cheese is equal to 8 ounces. The ounces are by weight and the cups are by volume. 🙂
I made it with frozen turkey meatballs. My family loved it!
I made this in the oven tonight baked on 375°F for about 45 minutes. Instead of milk I just drizzled a little half and half over the dish before cooking and I used a 3oz package of bacon pieces instead of fresh bacon. It came out so good! Thank you for the recipe! I think I may try to drizzle ranch dressing before baking next time for some extra zing.
Uh…yumm!!!!
I’m making this right now! I added some ranch seasoning I hope it turns out okay. Fingers crossed!!
This meal was amazingly delicious!! I recommend this to anyone who likes cheese, chicken bacon and tator tots!!
What a great idea!! It was soo good! I use slightly more than a pound so next time I think I will cut the raw chicken into chunks.
What about chicken tenders? They would probably cook better?
I haven’t tried this yet but plan on it, I just wanted to share a helpful hint. Many people say their chicken breasts get dried out in crockpot recipes and mine always did too until I read about this helpful suggestion that works: a couple hours or even overnight , before making your recipe, soak your chicken breasts in a bowl of salty water. Before you use them rinse well. This keeps the moisture in the meat!
i am making it right now and using bone in chicken like legs and thighs instead of boneless! I will update how it turns out 🙂
We like it spicy, so am going to add some hatch green chiles to the mix! yum!