Baked Crack Chicken

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. butter

4 (1 lb. total) boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼-inch thickness

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp smoked or sweet paprika

For the Ranch Cream Cheese:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp dried dill weed

½ tsp dried chives

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, white or yellow – I use a little of both

For Garnish:

Chopped fresh parsley

Sliced green scallions

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a baking dish that measures 9×13 inches.

Using a skillet, over medium-high heat cook the diced bacon until it becomes crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet. Make sure to keep the bacon fat in the skillet.

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.

In the skillet with the bacon fat add oil and cook the chicken breasts for approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they turn a golden brown color.

After removing the chicken breasts from the skillet place them in the baking dish.

Combine softened cream cheese with garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill weed and dried chives in a bowl until well mixed.

Spread 2 tablespoons of this cream cheese mixture over each chicken breast.

Sprinkle half of the crispy bacon over the cream cheese mixture on top of each chicken breast.

Finish by topping it off with cheddar cheese.

Bake this dish in your preheated oven for around 15 minutes. Until you see that the chicken is fully cooked through and that the cheese has melted and lightly browned on top.

To complete your Baked Crack Chicken experience garnish it with any remaining crispy bacon pieces along, with parsley and sliced scallions.

Now you can serve this meal. Enjoy!

Notes

To ensure that this Baked Crack Chicken recipe is gluten-free make sure to use certified gluten-free ingredients, for the following:

Bacon: Check the packaging of the bacon to ensure it does not contain any gluten containing additives as some brands may include them.

Seasonings: Check that the garlic powder, onion powder and paprika you use are labeled as gluten-free. Sometimes spices can have traces of gluten due to cross contamination.

Cream Cheese: Choose a brand of cream cheese that is specifically labeled as gluten-free. Some cream cheeses may have thickeners or stabilizers that contain gluten.

Shredded Cheddar Cheese: Opt, for a cheddar cheese that has been certified as gluten-free. Certain pre shredded cheeses could have additional ingredients containing gluten.