"...these are a few of my favorite things..." This casserole recipe has it all: tender chunks of chicken, crisp-salty bacon, classic ranch flavor plus swirly pasta. Oh, and cheddar cheese. Because cheese. Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is great for dinner, and everyone in the family is sure to love it.
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Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This recipe started from a serious craving for pasta. I've been doing without pasta for a while, trying to cut back on the carbs. But you know, every once in a while, a girl has to have her carbs.
Problem? My husband is not a big fan of pasta-loaded dishes. Yes, he is an alien from Planet Meat + Potatoes.
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is loaded, y'all. We used 4 chicken breasts and 8 strips of bacon so my hubs wouldn't mind a little rotini. Casserole compromise.
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into half-inch chunks.
- Hickory-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Salt + pepper
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Ranch seasoning packet
- Rotini pasta, cooked al dente and drained (do not rinse)
- Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- Green onions, chopped for optional garnish
We opted to start with fresh chicken breasts cut into pieces. We seasoned the pieces and cooked them in butter. If you want to skip this step, you can use any type of cooked chicken and adjust the amount of salt and pepper in the recipe to your personal taste. Next time, I'm going to try this chicken bacon ranch casserole using rotisserie chicken. Yum!
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8x11 baking dish. Set aside.
- If using fresh chicken, cut the chicken breasts into half-inch size pieces. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. NOTE: You can use any type of pre-cooked chicken if you want to skip this step.
- Heat butter in a skillet to medium high. Working in batches, cook the chicken pieces for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring to cook evenly. Transfer to a dish and keep warm while you cook all the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, boil the pasta to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside (do not rinse).
- Next, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter on low. Whisk in the flour and cook and stir until smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and stir until smooth. Add the packet of ranch seasoning and whisk until well blended.
- Increase heat to medium high and bring the ranch sauce mixture to a low boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and stir until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- In the baking dish, build layers of pasta, chicken, bacon, sauce. Top each layer with a portion of the shredded cheese. Repeat layers and finish with cheese.
- Then cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve hot sprinkled with fresh, chopped green onions.
More Pasta Dishes to Try:
Spinach Alfredo Baked Ziti
Cheesy Chicken Rotel Spaghetti
Mexican Chicken Spaghetti
Brown Butter + Sage Chicken Penne Pasta
Spicy Cajun Pasta
Alternate Skillet Instructions:
If you are pressed for time and want to skip the layering and casserole baking, you can easily prepare this in a skillet.
Once your ingredients are prepared to the directions (full recipe at the bottom of this post), simply stir everything together in a skillet until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are heated through. The textures will be slightly different because of the cooking method but the taste will be so yummy either way.
Doesn't this Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole look delicious? So good. Great for weeknight dinners. Plus it makes 8 servings, so you will have leftovers for work lunch.
This is my kind of pasta recipe. Full of flavor and every bite has savory bacon and tender chicken. The sauce is just right, not too heavy or salty, with the classic flavor of ranch. Be sure to sprinkle with green onions for a fresh element.
TIP: Serve this casserole with a tossed green salad for a well balanced dinner.
Tips + Ideas to make the best Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Casserole:
- Go lightly with the salt in this recipe, if you use it at all. There is salt in the bacon, the ranch seasoning, and the cheese. You may find this turns out perfectly seasoned with zero effort.
- Swap out regular pasta for gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta to suit your lifestyle.
- Try this chicken bacon ranch casserole with Monterrey Jack cheese instead of cheddar.
- Spice it up with chopped green chiles or jalapenos and top with fresh cilantro.
- Don't overcook the pasta or it will be mushy. I like to cook mine al dente, which is usually 1 minute shy of package cooking directions.
- Make it your own by stirring in chopped tomatoes or drained corn.
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Now the only question is when are you going to make this Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole? I think your crew will love it. If not, you can send me the leftovers. I'm sure I'll have another pasta craving soon. 🙂
📖 Recipe
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless, cut into half-inch sized pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 16 ounces rotini pasta cooked al dente to package directions, drained
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ounce ranch seasoning mix 1 packet
- 4 ½ cups milk
- 8 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8x11 baking dish. Set aside.If using fresh chicken, cut the chicken breasts into half-inch size pieces. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. NOTE: You can use any type of pre-cooked chicken if you want to skip this step.
- Heat butter in a skillet to medium high. Working in batches, cook the chicken pieces for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring to cook evenly. Transfer to a dish and keep warm while you cook all the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, boil the pasta to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside (do not rinse).
- Next, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter on low. Whisk in the flour and cook and stir until smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and stir until smooth. Add the packet of ranch seasoning and whisk until well blended.Increase heat to medium high and bring the ranch sauce mixture to a low boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and stir until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- In the baking dish, build layers of pasta, chicken, bacon, sauce. Top each layer with a portion of the shredded cheese. Repeat layers and finish with cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot with the chopped green onions
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