Crack Chicken Soup

Creamy crack chicken soup with onions, carrots, garlic, and spinach in a cheesy chicken broth sprinkled with crisp bacon.

Course main meal soup, Soups, soups/stews/chili

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken crack soup, crack chicken soup recipe, how to make crack chicken soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 365kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Cook the diced bacon over medium-low heat in a large Dutch oven until brown and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon and put it on paper towels using a slotted spoon or spider strainer. Remove all but 1-1½ tablespoons of bacon fat from the pot.
Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the hot bacon fat over medium heat and cook until the onions and celery are soft. Remove any excess grease. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic. Cook for a minute while stirring.
Stir in the chicken broth and ranch seasoning packed. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are tender. Then, stir in the cooked chicken.
Reduce the heat as low as possible. Stir several ladles full of the hot broth into the cream cheese and stir until smooth. Stir the blended cream cheese mixture into the soup. Add the shredded cheese in several increments. stirring to combine.
Add several tablespoons of the hot soup mixture to the sour cream and stir to combine and warm. Stir the warmed sour cream into the soup and stir to combine.
Stir in the baby spinach and cooked bacon. Cook over low heat until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You don't have to add the bacon to the soup but it adds a lot of flavor.
Remember to temper the cream cheese and sour cream. It is an important step to make sure it does not curdle in the hot soup.
If you desire, sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.