Ranch Cheddar Chicken
The quickest and easiest baked chicken with an amazingly creamy, cheesy Ranch topping!
Who can ever say no to anything involving Ranch?
Even Butters was fully onboard with the Ranch situation, as he sits here on his coolaroo, waiting to get a piece of it.
And even though the base of the topping involves mayonnaise, which sounds completely bizarre, it actually lends off the most amazing creaminess you’ll ever experience.
Mixed in with sharp cheddar and crisp Panko breadcrumbs, you’ll never have to go back to those boring chicken dinners ever again!
Ranch Cheddar Chicken
The quickest and easiest baked chicken with an amazingly creamy, cheesy Ranch topping!
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1-ounce package Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup Panko*
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cheese, Ranch Seasoning and garlic.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken in a single layer onto the prepared baking dish and top with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with Panko.
- Place into oven and cook until completely cooked through and golden brown on top, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I just made this for dinner tonight, and I loved it! What would you recommend for a side dish to go with it? It was rich in flavor so now I’m looking for something like ice cream for dessert, hehe.. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Made this exactly as directed (table salt option) and DELICIOUS. I took a risk and served for company last night and it was a huge hit. Delightful creamy texture and the Panko is fantastic – have never used it. It was crispy still tonight when I reheated for leftovers. I think it took 10 extra minutes to cook in my oven. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for a new staple!
Thanks for this comment, I’m meal prepping and I was worried it sitting in the fridge and being reheated might not work well… I will now try it LOL.
I lived this! I added Sriracha to the mayo mixture and it was so good! Thanks for sharing!
Loved**
I made this for supper tonight and it was so good! My husband usually does not like mayo but I made it with light mayo anyway and he never knew I used it. (I have subbed Greek yogurt for mayo before and it works great, but I thought the combo in the recipe sounded really good). I was disappointed because my package of chicken thighs only had 6 instead of 8 thighs but I used the same amount of other ingredients and it still worked out well. I had rice and corn on the cob with it and it was really good with the sides too. My husband and son polished off 5 chicken thighs between the two of them. I was lucky I was able to get one piece!
Family loved this recipe first time I made it. Unfortunately the second time I went to make it my chicken thighs had gone bad and of course I had already started mixing everything for this recipe. Luckily I am the worlds worst at following a recipe and almost always turn them into my own. If you don’t have chicken use pork. I had a pork roast thawing in the frig. I cut up this time, but thinking next time I’m going to use bone-in pork chops!!!! Yum!!!! 2 thumbs up from my family!!!!
This is a huge hit every time I make it… Literally so Good! I use veganaise instead of mayo and sometimes add some chopped up bacon to the mayo/cheese topping and that really sends it over the edge! Thanks so much for posting!!!
Yes!! Great recipe and really fast to make. especially bc I got home late, & put this together real fast. my chicken were frozen so I just doubled the time. It is amazing, and great flavor. Don’t need to add salt because the ranch seasoning has it already. Thanks for the recipe!! 😉
i made this tonight it was awesome! pretty salty though….. i wont put salt on the chicken next time its salty enough with the ranch dip mix. i just used ground up pep farm stuffing in place of “panko” it was good thanks!
I tried this for the first time about a month ago. It was a big hit. Probably the best chicken recipe I’ve made. The only drawback was that the bottom of the chicken was soggy. It must have been the fat from the chicken gathering in the bottom of the casserole dish(I didn’t see much though). I made it again and put a layer of sliced onions under the chicken. Still great but surprisingly it was still soggy. I’m making it again tonight and trying to be smarter. I’ve got it on a roasting rack in a baking pan. This way there is no chance of the chicken resting in the juices. Wish me luck. Hopefully the third time is a charm for this guy
I made this tonight.. Except we are cooking low carb and instead of Panko I crushed pork rinds up and sprinkled on top. Also, I baked it on a cookie sheet with a Silpat. It was very good… thanks!!
I don’t have sharp cheddar. Would it be ok to use Colby jack?
Yes, absolutely.
Do you think this could be frozen before baking? I am in a meal swap with some of my friends and would like to try this with them but it would need to be freezable. Thanks
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
made this last night. it was amazing! best most flavorful chicken we have ever had and EASY!!!
we made a few adjustments that I thought others might want to try as well.
We used ranch dressing instead of ranch seasoning
the best part though was we sprinkled some shake n bake on top with a little bit of the panko
my family loved it!
Hi,
I’m planning to make this tomorrow for guests. I see in the photos the chicken is in a pan but in the recipe I don’t see any mention of cooking the chicken stovetop in a pan, only in a 9×13 baking dish. Did you sear the skin at the beginning or end of baking? Thanks!
Nope – the chicken is not seared at all – I simply used a pan for photographic purposes. 🙂
Was looking for a quick, easy recipe to throw together, and THIS FIT THE BILL! Didn’t have all the ingredients… subbed breasts for thighs, Ranch dressing, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash Chicken and Onion Herb seasonings for the ranch packet… Was AWESOME!!! Also held off on salt and pepper for HBP purposes. This one is a KEEPER! Thank you so much!
I’ve made this recipe so many times! Everyone in my house loves it, including my niece and nephew who are only 5, and usually very pickey eaters.
I love adding a little bit of lemon zest when I can because I love the extra freshness it adds.
Is miracle whip OK to use? Or plain Mayo is the way to go?
Plain mayo is definitely the way to go! 🙂
Looks really good! Definitely going to try tomorrow night, but had a question instead of using a package of ranch seasoning could I just go ahead and use ranch dressing?!
Ashlee, I find that this is really best when the Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix is used. But as always, please use your best judgment.
Awesome recipe! Will make this one for company as well as family!
I love your recipes. If I ever see one come up on my Pinterest new feed pins, I always check it out. You have never disappointed. I am trying this tonight. It is a gloomy rainy night in Cincinnati and I need a warm comfort food for dinner. I made an apple cobbler for dessert tonight with the apples I bought from a Pumpkin Festival last weekend!