Crack Chicken Spaghetti Squash with an Easy No-Cut Hack
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Creamy crack chicken spaghetti squash with bacon and ranch—an affordable, fully loaded spaghetti squash dinner that’s easy to make with my secret hack! It’s one of our favorite air fryer chicken recipes! It’s called crack chicken because you can’t get enough!
- Learn the easy no-cut hack for cooking a whole spaghetti squash in the air fryer—no struggling with a knife while it is still hard.
- Make a creamy, cheesy bacon-ranch chicken dinner with tender spaghetti squash for a satisfying lower-carb meal that serves six.
- Discover how to layer ranch-seasoned chicken, crispy bacon, cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar into one rich and flavorful skillet meal.
Crack Chicken Spaghetti Squash
Crack Chicken Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 Spaghetti Squash approximately 2lb
- 5 slices Bacon
- 3 cups Chicken chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Ranch Seasoning
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Extra shredded cheddar optional garnish
- Chopped Green Onions optional garnish
Instructions
- Wash the spaghetti squash and put it in the air fryer on 400 degrees. (it will take about an hour but you can prep the other ingredients while it cooks.) Yes, the secret hack is putting it in there whole. Once it is soft, you can cut it in half and scoop out the seeds without losing a limb trying to cut a rock hard squash.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken pieces and drizzle with olive oil, add to air fryer.
- When chicken reaches 165 internally, remove and allow to cool, leaving the squash to keep cooking for the rest of the hour.
- Chop the bacon into bite sized pieces and in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon to your preferred level of doneness.
- Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, season half of the ranch seasoning, then add to the hot bacon grease and cook until warmed through.
- Remove the chicken to a clean plate as you prepare the ranch sauce.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a simmer, then add the sour cream and cream cheese and stir as the cream cheese melts. Add a bit more broth or milk to achieve a smooth consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- Add the other tablespoon of ranch seasoning to the sauce.
- Scrape the seeds out of the spaghetti squash and discard. Scrape the squash out of the shell and into the skillet with the sauce. Stir until completely coated with the sauce.
- Add the bacon and chicken back to the skillet with the sauced squash. Stir to combine and continue to cook until chicken is reheated through.
- Sprinkle with the shredded cheddar and stir through as it melts into the sauce.
- Serve with additional garnishes of bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions or whatever you like.
Nutrition
Tips for Chicken bacon ranch spaghetti squash
You can easily make it without an air fryer too, but the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer oven makes it easier to cook the chicken and the spaghetti squash. Check out my tips to make spaghetti squash cooking a breeze.
This crack chicken can go over regular spaghetti noodles as well, but no matter what you put it on, you’re going to love it. And you can use this awesome homemade ranch seasoning to flavor it instead of using store-bought and it will take the flavor up about 10 notches! Making homemade seasonings is the key to really flavorful food. They aren’t full of fillers, just flavor.
This creamy and cheesy dish is so easy to make, and if you love spaghetti squash this is a new recipe to try out. My whole family loves crack chicken, so this dinner idea was already a home run.
Air fryer spaghetti squash
So, cooking a spaghetti squash in the air fryer or regular oven could not be easier. Just wash it off and toss it in. I bake mine at 400 for about an hour, then take it out and let it cool a while. Next, slice it in half, it’s a breeze compared to risking life and limb trying to cut it raw. Then you can easily spoon the seeds out of each side and then scrape it out of the shell into your skillet to make the crack chicken.
You can season the chicken with some salt and pepper and put it on another tray of the air fryer, after about 15-25 minutes depending on the side of your chicken (whatever pieces you’re using), check it for doneness, and pull it out when the internal temperature is 165. Once it cools for a few minutes, you can chop it up for the recipe.
If you love cheesy food, don’t forget about our Cheesy Rotel Dip without Velveeta. So good!
How do you know when spaghetti squash is cooked?
Spaghetti squash is cooked when it is fork tender. If you scrape the “strings” out they should be tender but firm like al dente spaghetti noodles.
Can you freeze spaghetti squash
Spaghetti squash does freeze great. So this is a great recipe to make ahead and freeze. It doesn’t sog up after thawing like spaghetti noodles do.
For more great dinner ideas all things spaghetti (squash and regular), check out these yummy meals:
- Stuffed spaghetti squash lasagna
- Meatless stuffed creamy spinach spaghetti squash
- World’s best homemade spaghetti sauce
- Leftover spaghetti pie
And for more great Ninja Foodi Air Fryer oven recipes, check these out.
For more chicken recipes:
One of our favorites that is similar to this but with pasta is chicken rotel spaghetti. We call it crack chicken. Without velveeta so we know the ingredients are healthy too!
And for more easy frugal family dinner ideas, check this out.
If you have grown a ton of summer or winter squash in your garden, find out what to do with excess squash here.
Serving Suggestions
Serve crack chicken spaghetti squash hot with extra shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions on top. Since it is rich and creamy, pair it with something fresh and simple, such as:
- A crisp green salad with vinaigrette
- Roasted broccoli, asparagus, or green beans
- Creamed peas or glazed carrots
- Fresh tomatoes or cucumber salad
- Gluten-free garlic bread or dinner rolls
- Fresh fruit for a light, refreshing side
Free Printable Air Fryer Cooking Times Cheat Sheet
Download this free printable air fryer cooking times cheat sheet and hang it up in your kitchen to use with your air fryer every day.
