Crack Chicken Bird Dogs – my FAVORITE sandwich! Crispy chicken fingers, bacon, cheese, and ranch dressing served in a warm hot dog bun. Great for a quick lunch, dinner, and parties! We love to take these for tailgating before football games and warm them up on the grill before the big game. Everyone LOVES this delicious sandwich.
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Pin This RecipeCrack Chicken Tenders Sandwiches
Stop what you are doing and add these Crack Chicken Bird Dogs to your menu. OMG! Loaded with chicken, cheddar, bacon, and ranch. My favorite flavor combination!
Now, you might be asking, what is a bird dog? It is like a hot dog but with chicken tenders. YUM! These chicken sandwiches are great for lunch, dinner, and especially game day! Everyone gobbles these up! Serve with some chips or french fries and you are set!
What does CRACK mean?
If a recipe has “crack” in the title it means that the recipe has cheddar, bacon, and ranch in the ingredients. It all started with my Crack Dip way back in 2007. I made the dip for a Titans football game. Everyone went crazy over it. We couldn’t stop eating it and said it was like crack. The name stuck.
According to the dictionary, the definition of crack is “of superior excellence or ability”. We think the flavor combination of cheddar, bacon, and ranch fits this definition! These Crack Chicken Bird Dogs are most definitely of superior excellence!
How to Make Crack Chicken Bird Dogs
These sandwiches are SUPER simple to make with only 5 ingredients. Take hotdog buns. Layer chicken fingers, chopped bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet. Place the pan in the oven to melt the cheese. Finally, drizzle ranch dressing over the melted cheese and enjoy! I like to garnish the sandwiches with parsley or fresh chives.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- My favorite store-bought chicken tenders are in the deli section at Publix.
- Here is our recipe for The Ultimate Chicken Fingers: https://www.plainchicken.com/ultimate-chicken-fingers/
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing: https://www.plainchicken.com/copycat-outback-ranch-dressing/
- Can substitute turkey bacon.
- I like to chop up the chicken meat before adding it to the buns. Sometimes the chicken strips are too big for the hot dog buns. You can leave them whole if you prefer.
- Can Bird Dogs be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the sandwiches and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Bake the sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil until heated through.
- Can Bird Dogs be frozen? Yes! Assemble the sandwiches. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- When ready to eat, thaw and bake coved in aluminum foil until heated through.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Chicken Finger Sandwiches for Tailgating
These sandwiches make a fantastic tailgating recipe. Buy some chicken fingers on the way to the tailgate and assemble them in the parking lot. Wrap the buns in foil and heat them up on the grill. No grill? You can use the blow torch to melt the cheese and heat up the chicken and bun. These are my new favorite way to eat chicken fingers!
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Crack Chicken Bird Dogs
Ingredients:
- 8 breaded chicken fingers cooked
- 8 slices cooked bacon, chopped
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup bottled ranch dressing
- 8 hot dog buns
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Place chicken fingers in hot dog buns.
- Top each chicken finger with one slice of chopped bacon.
- Top bacon and chicken with 2 Tbsp cheese.
- Place sandwiches on a baking sheet and cook until the cheese has melted, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Drizzle sandwiches with ranch dressing.
Notes:
- I baked the sandwiches for a few minutes until the cheese melted. You can also place the sandwiches under the broiler.
- My favorite store-bought chicken tenders are in the deli section at Publix.
- Here is our recipe for The Ultimate Chicken Fingers: https://www.plainchicken.com/ultimate-chicken-fingers/
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing: https://www.plainchicken.com/copycat-outback-ranch-dressing/
- Can substitute turkey bacon.
- I like to chop up the chicken meat before adding it to the buns. Sometimes the chicken strips are too big for the hot dog buns. You can leave them whole if you prefer.
- Can Bird Dogs be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the sandwiches and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Bake the sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil until heated through.
- Can Bird Dogs be frozen? Yes! Assemble the sandwiches. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- When ready to eat, thaw and bake coved in aluminum foil until heated through.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
Now why didn’t I think of that??? That’s why we have you. Great idea. These were really good.