Crack chicken and crack burgers have taken the internet by storm lately! So we decided to put our own spin on the cheesy bacon ranch trend with some Crack Chicken Quesadillas! With marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs, a homemade ranch dressing, and freshly grated cheese, these chicken bacon ranch quesadillas are delicious and kid-friendly!
My wife was scrolling through our griddle group on Facebook one day, and she stumbled on a post that someone had made with crack chicken crunch wraps. That immediately spurred her idea for this quesadilla version, and I’m glad that it did!
This recipe gave me the opportunity to make my new favorite chicken marinade and cook some amazing boneless skinless chicken thighs on the griddle. Even if you don’t use the chicken to make quesadillas, you can cut it up for salads, burritos, tacos, or just eat the chicken by itself – it’s SO good!
If you’re looking for new and creative griddle quesadillas to make on the Blackstone griddle, or even in a skillet on the stovetop, then give these chicken bacon ranch quesadillas a try! And then be sure to check out our favorite pizza quesadillas next!
What is Crack Chicken?
If you’ve never heard of crack chicken, first off, where have you been for the last 2 years? And second, get ready to discover your new favorite way to eat chicken!
Crack chicken consists of a blend of chicken, usually breasts, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, bacon, and ranch seasoning. What’s not to love?!
The more traditional crack chicken recipe includes shredded chicken that is cooked in a slow cooker with ranch seasoning and cream cheese until it’s tender. Then, you simply shred the chicken and stir in cheese, bacon, and green onions. The juicy and flavorful chicken mixture is then served on a bun.
Ingredients for Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas
Besides the typical chicken cheese quesadilla ingredients, you will need a few basic and inexpensive items for this crack chicken recipe:
- boneless skinless chicken thighs – You can use chicken breasts if you prefer, but we chose to use thighs because they are more forgiving, especially for griddle beginners. If you overcook them a bit on the hot griddle top, they aren’t prone to drying out.
- canned pickled jalapeños, ranch seasoning mix, olive oil, and lime – These are the ingredients for the chicken marinade.
- shredded cheddar cheese – We prefer to grate our own cheese, but you can use the bagged pre-shredded if you like. Cheddar cheese is more traditional for crack chicken, but substitute whatever cheese you like.
- cream cheese – You can’t have crack chicken without cream cheese. We added a smear on the tortilla before adding the other quesadilla ingredients. This adds a nice creamy texture and it helps to hold the other ingredients in place.
- bacon – No explanation needed… everything is better with bacon!
- ranch dressing – We made our own jalapeno ranch dressing with a packet of Hidden Valley mix and some finely diced pickled jalapenos. You can also use store-bought dressing if you prefer.
- tortillas – For larger quesadillas, look for the burrito-sized tortillas. We like to use the low-carb tortillas.
More of a visual learner? Watch me make these chicken bacon ranch quesadillas on our griddle cooking YouTube channel!
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas
*NOTE – We prepared our chicken quesadillas on the griddle, but this easy recipe can also be made in a stovetop skillet. The same recipe instructions apply, just turn your stove to a medium heat.
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
Our Crack Chicken recipe starts out with our new favorite way to marinate chicken – with pickled jalapeno juice! You’ve heard the rumors that Chick-fil-A marinates their juicy fried chicken in pickle juice, so why not try the briny juice from a jar of pickled jalapeños?
*To give credit where due, we first heard of this idea from one of our YouTube channel subscribers who had seen Meat Church do something similar to make a chicken sandwich.
Simply add all of the marinade ingredients to a large bowl or a Ziploc bag with the boneless skinless chicken thighs. Then, marinate for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
While the chicken is marinating, go ahead and make the homemade jalapeno ranch dressing so that the flavors have time to marry together in the fridge.
Step 2: Cook the Chicken
Next, cook the chicken on the griddle (or in a skillet on the stovetop). Just preheat the griddle to about 400-450℉. This is probably a medium heat setting on most griddles, but since every griddle brand is different, the heat setting needed may vary.
*Speaking of griddle temperatures, hop over to this post to grab this free printable griddle temperature chart.
Place the marinated chicken down on the hot griddle and cook for about 3-5 minutes on the first side.
*TIP – The marinated chicken contains alot of moisture, which means that there will be quite a bit of splattering when you first add the chicken to the hot griddle top. You may want to wear a pair of heat-proof gloves to protect your hands from the hot oil splatters.
Then, flip the chicken to the second side and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Continue to cook the chicken, flipping so that it cooks evenly on both sides, until the internal temperature reaches 165-170℉.
*Cleaning Tip – After the chicken has cooked on the first side, flip to the second side in a new area on the griddle. Then you can use your scraper to scrape down the excess marinade from the spot where the chicken was cooking initially. Direct all of the remaining marinade into the grease tray to “clean as you go” and make clean-up easier at the end of the cooking time.
When the chicken is done cooking, transfer it to a cutting board to rest for about 5-10 minutes. While the chicken is resting, adjust the griddle temperature down to about 375-400℉. This lower griddle temp will help the quesadilla cheese to melt without burning the outside of the tortilla.
After the chicken is fully cooked and rested, dice it into small bite-sized pieces.
Step 3: Cook the Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas on the Griddle
Now that the chicken is cooked, you’re in the home stretch! And try not to eat all of the chicken before you even get to the chicken bacon ranch quesadillas… I told you the chicken is that good on its own!
Just follow these steps to make perfect quesadillas (whether on the griddle or in a skillet):
- Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese on each tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of butter to the griddle and allow it to melt briefly.
- Place the cheese-covered tortilla flat on the griddle in the melted butter with the cheese side up.
- Add some of the diced chicken, cooked bacon, and diced jalapeños on one half of the tortilla on top of the cheese. Drizzle with ranch dressing. Cook open-faced for about 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is about half-way melted.
- Then, fold the tortilla in half to form a quesadilla. Continue to cook, flipping as needed, until both sides are evenly toasted and the cheese if fully melted.
Step 4: Cut the Crack Chicken Quesadillas and Serve
When the quesadillas are nicely toasted on both sides and the cheese is fully melted, transfer to a cutting board. Allow the quesadillas to cool for about 4-5 minutes. Then, cut into triangles and serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
*Pinterest User? Do me a favor and PIN this Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla recipe to your griddle recipes board on Pinterest… This is a great way that you can support us!
Want to try some of our other chicken bacon ranch recipes? Check out these posts next:
Chicken Bacon Ranch Kabobs – These delicious griddle chicken kabobs have a similar marinade, except minus the jalapeno juice… Try this easy griddle recipe if you’re a chicken bacon ranch fan!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels – Toasting your pinwheels on the griddle is a game-changer for these classic appetizers! We’ve also done buffalo chicken pinwheels on the griddle… a must-try if you love chicken bacon ranch!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas (aka Crack Chicken)
Ingredients
For the Chicken Marinade:
- 6-7 boneless skinless chicken thighs *Or substitute chicken breasts, pounded out so they are evenly thin.
- 1 oz Hidden Valley ranch seasoning packet
- juice of ½ lime
- 7 oz can La Costena brand pickled jalapeños (juice from the can only) *You can dice up the jalapeños to use in the quesadilla and/or ranch dressing.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
For the Jalapeno Ranch Dressing:
- .4 oz packet Hidden Valley buttermilk restaurant-style ranch seasoning
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup half and half
- ½ tablespoon dried minced onion
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish optional
- 2-3 tablespoons finely diced pickled jalapeños optional
For the Quesadillas:
- 4 burrito-sized flour tortillas
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 oz shredded colby jack cheese
- cream cheese
- 4 strips cooked bacon chopped
- diced pickled jalapenos optional
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Add the boneless skinless chicken thighs to a large bowl or Ziploc bag with the ranch seasoning packet, lime juice, olive oil, and juice from the canned pickled jalapeños. Stir together well. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- Make the "kicked up" ranch dressing. While chicken is marinating, add all jalapeno ranch dressing ingredients to a medium bowl. Mix well and refrigerate covered until ready to use.
- Cook the chicken. Preheat griddle to about 400-450℉. Place the marinated chicken down on the hot griddle and cook for about 3-5 minutes on the first side. *Be careful when you place the chicken on the griddle. There will probably be a lot of hot oil splattering from the marinade coming in contact the hot surface. Then, flip the chicken to the second side and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Continue to cook the chicken, flipping so that it cooks evenly on both sides, until the internal temperature reaches 165-170℉.
- Allow the chicken to rest, and then dice. Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Adjust the griddle temperature to about 375-400℉. Dice the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
- Add cheese to the the tortillas. Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese on each tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Cook the quesadillas. Add about 1 tablespoon of butter to the griddle and allow it to melt briefly. Then place the cheese-covered tortilla flat on the griddle with the cheese side up. Add some of the diced chicken, cooked bacon, and diced jalapeños on one half of the tortilla on top of the cheese. Drizzle with ranch dressing. Cook open-faced for about 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is about half-way melted. Then, fold the tortilla in half to form a quesadilla. Continue to cook, flipping as needed, until both sides are evenly toasted and the cheese if fully melted.
- Cut the chicken bacon ranch quesadillas and serve. Allow the quesadillas to cool for about 4-5 minutes. Then, cut into triangles and serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
Video
Notes
- Store leftover quesadillas in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven for best results, or in the microwave.
- You may substitute store-bought ranch dressing if you prefer.
- We used low carb flour tortillas for a yummy carb-conscious meal.
The whole family loved these!
Just made these tonight on my Weber griddle insert and they were phenomenal! I used chicken breasts instead of thighs, and added a sprinkle of cheddar on the outside of the tortilla for a little extra crunch. These will definitely be made again soon! Love your recipes!
Great call on the sprinkle of cheddar on the outside of the quesadilla – I’ll have to try that next time! And that Weber griddle insert is awesome isn’t it – we love ours… actually performs better than some regular griddles that we have used. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes!