Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Creamy, cheesy and comforting! Loaded with Ranch chicken, homemade alfredo sauce and bacon. Can be made ahead of time!
Ranch chicken. Rotini pasta. Homemade alfredo sauce. And bacon. All baked to cheesy ooey gooey perfection. One bite of this and you will be hooked – I promise.
Now there are a few steps to this recipe but if you’re short of time, there’s a few shortcuts that can be taken here.
For starters, leftover rotisserie chicken would be a great way to repurpose leftovers. Store-bought alfredo sauce can also be substituted. And if you are counting your calories for the new year, you can make this sans bacon.
But let’s be real here. The bacon is always a must, am I right?
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Creamy, cheesy and comforting! Loaded with Ranch chicken, homemade alfredo sauce and bacon. Can be made ahead of time!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs*, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix, or more, to taste
- 8 ounces rotini
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the alfredo sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream, or more, to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x9 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- To make the alfredo sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in heavy cream. Cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more heavy cream as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add chicken, 1 tablespoon olive oil and Ranch Seasoning, shaking to coat thoroughly. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and layer with chicken and alfredo sauce; sprinkle with cheeses and bacon. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be substituted.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this for my family yesterday, and It was a hit! I doubled the recipe and was left with just a 1/4 of the casserole. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
I don’t have a comment, just a question. Does this freeze well without leaving anything out?
We love this meal!! Easy meal that the whole family loves.
Amazing! The whole family loved it. I was out of mozzarella so I just used the cheddar blend.
One word. Yum.
My picky eater said “this is my new all-time favorite food!”
I made this ahead and froze it while preparing for a kitchen reno. I kept the cheese topping in a separate ziplock. Cooked covered with foil from frozen for 90 minutes and then added the cheese topping for 10 minutes. The flavors were delicious. It was lacking creaminess, but was still tasty to eat. It’s probably even better cooked fresh.
Love this recipe, haven’t found anyone that doesn’t love this casserole. Great make ahead meal to take on vacation
Super delicious! I put the rest of the ranch packet right into the sauce mixture, homerun in the flavour department!
I’ve made this several times and love it. I want to prepare it ahead of time as a freezer meal – baby #2 will be here in 2 weeks. My question is, how long should I bake it if coming from the freezer?
I think the sauce would not freeze and defrost well. Probably separate.
Oh, wow! I made this for my teenage son and he gobbled this up! He said that this was so good! I agreed! The garlic, bacon, ranch…yummiest! Definitely a keeper!
This was DELICIOUS!!!! Tasted like restaurant quality! Will definitely make again.
We LOVED this! Made it with evaporated skim milk that I reduced by cooking it longer to cut the fat and used sharp white cheddar. Husband and son loved it!
I made it again and added some Cajun seasoning with the ranch, added a diced shallot along with the garlic and tossed in some fresh rosemary because I had some on hand. I also diced the chicken before adding the seasoning and cooking and this worked well.
This recipe is a great jumping off point! Thank you!!
Absolutely delicious. I used chicken breasts and let sit in the ranch dressing a little longer to absorb more of the ranch flavor. Doubled the recipe to send home with my college son who loves mom’s frozen meal service. Added extra garlic! Was definitely a keeper in our house.
It was delicious! I never ended up putting it in the casserole dish. Just stirred it all together in the big pot on the stove. Used rotisserie chicken that I shredded and cooked in some of the bacon grease. Doubled the alfredo sauce–made some of my own and added a jar. *Not for those wanting to limit their carbs. 🙂
This was so damn good!! My partner and I couldn’t stop digging in for more. Thanks Chungah, your blog is my absolute favorite for recipes! If anyone’s curious about adding vegetables, I added cauliflower to the pot of cooking pasta for the last couple minutes, and cooked some green pepper with the chicken. Because of the extra ingredients I ended up using a rectangular casserole dish instead of a 9×9. I also used a small package of pre-cooked bacon pieces to save myself a step, and just added it at the end the same way you would have added the bacon if you’d cooked it yourself. This made a ton of food and I’m excited for the leftovers!
It was perfect. Thanks so much for sharing.
Made this last night because it has everything my kiddos love – chicken, bacon, alfredo, ranch, and pasta! It was delicious and they gobbled it up after baseball practice. I pretty much doubled up on everything and used a 9×13 dish and it came out perfectly. Also, I substituted pancetta for the bacon cause that is what I had on hand. Any recommendations on veggies to try with this? Thanks in advance!
Great recipe! I did add a bit of Montreal chicken seasoning to chicken as well. Fantastic flavor! My fiancée who is very picky loved this! Only criticism is sauce made by recipe isn’t as thick as we normally like so I used my own personal recipe
Please share your recipe. I also like thick sauce. Thank you!
Google ” Better than Olive Garden Alfredo sauce”… The absolute BEST Alfredo sauce I’ve ever made and I’ll never switch recipes. It’s not just parmesan but parmesan AND mozzarella made with garlic and heavy whipping cream! Thick and tasty.
Delicious! It made quite a lot so my husband took it to work and then wanted it again the next night. Has anyone tried using French fried onions on top?
My husband made this for us the other night, great recipe.
My husband likes casseroles so I made this for Father’s Day. EVERYONE loved it! From honored dad’s to my picky eater. I doubled the recipe and put it in a 9×13 Pyrex. I’ll be making it again! Thank Damn Delicious. You continue to live up to your name and help make amateurs, like myself, fabulous!!
I was looking for a quick and easy recipe to make tonight. Found this one and I had all the ingredients available so I decided to try it…IT WAS A HIT AT MY HOUSEHOLD! My husband and 10 year old son loved it! I served it with a cesar salad! 😛 Will keep in our rotation for sure!
This is the best recipe!!! Make it from memory now and I just throw everything in a bowl and mix it up and cover with more cheese!! Even better the next day!
“This is one of the best things you’ve ever made.”
“You should put this on the menu when you open a restaurant”
“Oh my god what have you done to us”
“I love you more than life itself”
^responses from my kids, ages 13 – 20 ^
Must have been damn delicious. The casserole dish was licked clean before I had a chance to sample. Will be making again.
Will not be opening a restaurant
Made this last night! I followed others’ suggestion on doubling the sauce and I’m glad I did. I also used a whole pack of bacon…because why not? The ranch was not overpowering and had just the right amount of flavor to it. This is definitely a “make again” meal! And for two people, there is plenty of leftovers.
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious. My family loved it. Will be making it again.
What a great recipe! I made it for my mother, and she and I both loved it. Made some changes, as I usually do when I make my own version of recipes. Just used store-bought alfredo sauce to save money, and I used Monterey jack cheese in the dish, and a marble cheddar across the top. Everything turned out amazing. Highly recommended!
This is AMAZING! Hands down! I did add a lot more ranch to it. I doubled the recipe and used probably a little more then half the packed. And the sauce I used a whole 16 oz half and half. I would suggest not adding so much cheese before putting it in the oven. Stick with the mozoralla cheese.
Perfection! Everyone raved about this fish and insisted upon getting a copy of the recipe.
Could the alfredo sauce be Ted with maranera sauce instead? THE family doesn’t family doesn’t like alfredo sauce. thanks
Great casserole casserole. I had it locally at a restaurant for years and decided to finally look up a recipe and make it on my own!So much better at home, great for the whole family!
This was a hit with my family.
**A tip for anyone using rotisserie chicken instead of marinating the chicken thighs in olive oil and ranch seasoning: I added the dry ranch seasoning to the Alfredo sauce just at the end. Part of the flavor comes from the ranch seasoning so I didn’t want to lose that. ** it worked great and added so much flavor!
Thanks for the tip! I think I’m gonna try that!
Can this recipe be frozen ?
That’s a great idea, Jenny. Unfortunately, we cannot answer this with certainty as we have never tried freezing this ourselves. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating. Sorry we can’t be more helpful!
Made this a few times now ….it is a family favorite! I do use jarred alfredo sauce to make it easier it is great with a salad on the side
Soo good!
How can I substitute making the Alfredo souce vs buying one already made ? I work all day and have four kids don’t ha e time to do that
Hi Brooke! You can simply skip step #2 and add your store-bought sauce where indicated in the recipe. Hope that helps!
So delicious. I just used alfredo from a jar and I used fresh bacon bits instead of making bacon fresh to simplify the recipe as I am a pretty lazy cooker. This was delicious even my picky eater of a fiancé enjoyed it and he never likes anything haha! I will definitely be making this again
To cut sodium make your own ranch dressing mix! This is delish!
Thanks, Jill!
Like it says Damn Delicious
Awesome!
I made this tonight and made a few tweaks to the recipe. I didn’t use marinara, instead I used a jarred vodka sauce. I used left over chicken I had in the freezer so I didn’t have to cook it. I wanted to season the chicken so I added basil pesto and sun dried tomatoes mixing before adding to the top of the pasta. Also, I didn’t have any mozzarella so I used a few really thin slices of baby Swiss I had along with Colby/jack and Parmesan. The dish was delicious and I will definitely make it again. I will use mozzarella though.
I made this for the first time last night and my girlfriend had a fit over it! After about two bites she told me that this is her new favorite meal that I’ve made. She works nights, so she took even more to work and was still complimenting it. 10/10 would recommend!
That’s great! We love that. Thanks, Shelby!
Where do I get ranch seasoning and salad seasoning
It is available in most grocery stores.
This was soooooo Delicious !! I did pack some onions n peppers n broccoli into the mix as I keep trying to get more veggies into my family! Next time I am going to add waaay more! After the garlic butter cream mixture I did add a Boursin round to the sauce. Wow! Is all I can say! Made it very creamy delicious! I did thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. Perfect consistency! This dish is excellent to feed a large crowd! Thank You ever so much for your ideas on what the heck to make for dinner! I look for your recipes all the time and they are of course Damn Delicious!
This was a hit! I made this for my husband and he loved it. He even asked to take it for lunch the next day and he doesn’t eat leftovers.
This recipe sounds divine, I must try it. Thankyou!
How many ounces of cubed rotisserie chicken would I use?
About 12-16 ounces.
If I wanted to make this ahead of time….. Should I bake it then put it in the fridge until later? Or cook everything… Assembe…. Then pop it in the fridge until later when I’m ready to bake it? I’m making the dish for a friend. So will be dropping it off earlier in the day to be eaten later.
You can pop it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Hope that helps, Angela!
What temp and how much time should you cook it, if you make it ahead of time?
You can actually just pop it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it (as directed in the recipe). Hope that helps, Beth!
Just made this. Smells amazing!! Can’t wait to try it.
This is an amazing recipe.
I made it incorrectly, using too much chicken and spices with the wrong kind of pasta, and it still turned out glorious. I love this thing.
Haha this is awesome!
Made this tonight. I doubled the amount of bacon and i had to make some extra alfredo sauce. It was very tasty, everyone enjoyed iit.
Extra bacon, extra alfredo – what’s not to love! Thanks Jillian!
I want to make a big batch of this for the first time today.. should I use 1 lb of chicken per batch or how much? Thank you so much!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I doubled the sauce and it was still a little dry so next time I’ll triple it. I also added more bacon and cheddar. The flavors were delicious!
Made this for dinner tonight. All I can say is this recipe is so soo good. Whole family loved it. I honestly can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for this recipe.
This looked and sounded wonderful until I got to the point of pouring the alfredo sauce over the rotini, etc. It seemed like way too little sauce, but I thought, just try it as written, surely they test these recipes before publishing them! Not. It was extremely dry, the sauce pretty much disappeared during the baking and when serving, there was nothing to hold the rotini together, it was kind of like a hot pasta salad. The alfredo sauce itself is wonderful, I will be using that again, but for this recipe I will double if not triple the amount of alfredo sauce proportionate to the rest. The flavor combination is great, it just needs a lot more sauce.
One thing I do, to save on having to cook the bacon, is that I buy a bag or the real bacon crumbles that is sold in the salad toppings isle, might not give the bacon grease for the pan, but it’s another corner cutting option. I have 5 kids (from 12years to 4months old) and I’m a girl scout leader so time is precious and sparse at this point in my life.
Definitely going to make this for the family…going to split the sauce in half and put theirs on pasta and mine on spaghetti squash! Excited to see how that tastes!
That sounds amazing! Let me know how it turns out!
I lubed up the chicken breast, and added the ranch seasoning, also used some Chipotle spice. Put that in the fridge for a few hours marinade it in all its goodness,. Fired up the grill and cooked the chicken. Did everything else by direction, but doubled the bacon and Alfredo sause. Served with french garlic bread. Everyone thinks im e man!!
can i use ranch salads’ n dips because i can’t find the ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix?
It is actually best to use the Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix!
thank you
If I am just using leftover chicken or turkey, could I just add the ranch dressing mix to the sauce somehow and still get a similar result in taste instead of coating raw chicken in mix?
If using leftover chicken or turkey, I recommend skipping the Ranch dressing mix altogether.
Fantastic, I made it as per recipe. I did 1 change and I doubled the batch as we had company. I put fresh steamed brocoli piece in it. added flavor-fiber and color and served it with garlic bread and a side salad, It was a hit and was asked to share the recipe. Thank you for the recipe. Easy to make as well.
WOW, this was YUMMY!! Thank you so much!!!
I made a double batch it was great. All the kids loved it as well as the adults…..score
I tried this recipe I used grated parmesan cheese it turned out great. Kids and hubby loved it.
Have made this a couple of times and the family loves it! The last time I made it I added broccoli florets in with the pasta in the last 5 minutes of cooking it just to add some veggies to the meal.
Chicken and bacon and ranch and pasta. All of my buzzwords have been hit and it’s official: I’m drooling. This looks SOOOO good. Cannot wait to try it out!
Have just made this. But i used creamy Ranch sauce, that i had in the fridge. Instead of ranch seasoning. Mixed a tablespoon of the sauce with the cooked bacon and chicken. Made my own white sauce using milk instead of cream. Then put another couple of tablespoons of the ranch sauce into my whitesauce.
Went down well.
I’ve made this a few times before we moved and had 7 months of chaos. We are finally back to cooking on a regular basis and I’m digging through recipies to start rotating through. I just remembered this one as we actually have bacon in the house and my husband got excited. He’s Indian so sometimes recipies the kids like bore him (but he’ll eat them anyway). This is NOT one of them. While this is absolutely healthier than most take out I do keep this on a longer rotation because it’s so rich I’m not sure it’s as healthy as other things I make. But it’ll still be on the menu pretty frequently! I love all of your recipies. We were in such chaos at Holiday time I forgot to ask for your cookbook as my gift! (Ok, I really consider the house my gift much to the hubby’s relief bc we feel like we are bleeding money, but yummy food is something else we can all enjoy) I think I’ll have to get it soon no matter what!
If using rotisserie chicken do I just coat that with oil and ranch seasoning and then layer it?
You can omit the olive oil and Ranch as it is already seasoned chicken.
We had this tonight. My husband who is often oblivious to what he is eating kept saying how good it was. I took the easy route and bought low fat Alfredo sauce and rotisserie chicken. I added some broccoli and cauliflower and followed the rest of the recipe. It was delicious and I will be making it again.
The only thing I don’t get is are you suppose to use the ranch seasoning and ranch dressing together or separately??
The Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix is one ingredient.
Can u add vegetables like broccoli to it and tomatoes?
Yes, what a great idea!
I made this last night and LOVED it. My husband doesn’t like bacon (what a weirdo), but he said he would rank this in his top 5 favorite recipes. It was so worth the time it took to make—I’m excited about eating leftovers for lunch today!
This smells soooo good as it cooks! I did it as directed except used Panko chicken and baked it everything else the same as recipe. It’s in the oven now and I can’t wait to spring it on my husband for his Birthday 🙂 Thanks so much for this recipe <3
Used chicken breasts, 2 cups milk/1 tablespoon flour and bowtie pasta. This was damn delicious! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Can you use chicken breast instead?
Yes.
Beautiful, looks great!
My family loves this dish and so do I. It has become a weekday meal or should I say at least every two weeks. 🙂
The casserole looks really appetizing, I’m going to give it a try!
If halving all the ingredients (so I can make a personal one for myself), how long to cook this for in the oven?
I would still recommend keeping the same cooking time, but as always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
thiiissss WAS SOOOOO GOOOOOODDDDDD! UGH! SO DELICIOUS
Hello, this recipe looks like it would give delicous results. Would you know whether it could be altered by substituting the alfredo sauce for marinara? Our family is lactose intolerant.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Huge fan of your recipies. I got your cookbook the day it came out. Using ranch powder is new to me….if I have leftovers from the ranch mix can I stir in in with the Alfredo (which I think is amazing by the way you have the best recipie yet ) How prominent is the ranch flavor where adding some to the sauce would be a good move? Any and all advice would be Appreciated.
I think that’s a great idea! But I’m also obsessed with Ranch. The more the better! 🙂
This was delicious. The whole family loved it and are fighting over who gets the last portion for lunch tomorrow. The sauce did not thicken but I feel too much is being made of this. I think it would have eventually but with so much other cheese in this recipe I felt it would thicken during cooking and it did.
I made this for dinner tonight and it took me forever, but it was well worth it! I honestly didn’t think there would be enough sauce, but it was perfect and well distributed after it baked. So good! Will be making this again 🙂 Thank you!
When you say ranch seasoning and salad dressing mix, what is salad dressing mix? Is there a certain type I should get? Just want to make sure I get all of the correct ingredients. I don’t like to guess the first time I make a recipe
This is a dry seasoning mix sold in 1.0-ounce packets.
Great dish. Next time I will double the amount of alfredo sauce. It was a little on the dry side.
Made this casserole for my family and they devoured it! Just sent this recipe to everyone I know! I used tri-color rotini, store bought alfredo and added a bunch of cheese on top and it turned out perfect. Will definitely be making this casserole regularly.
I’m not sure if it was asked, but is the Ranch necessary? I’m not exactly the biggest fan of it and was wondering if it was just something I could skip on. It looks delicious!
Joey, the Ranch is actually a key ingredient in this recipe. I do not recommend omitting, but as always, please use your best judgment.
Can I use any kind of pasta?
Yes, absolutely.
This dish was a huge hit with my family, its absolutely yummy! I did make my own alfredo sauce and may have added a little more than the recipe asked for. The ranch dressing for the chicken was delicious, gave the whole dish a great taste. Will make it again soon!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING!! Everyone wanted seconds! My only issue was I wanted more of the Alfredo sauce so maybe I’ll try doubling the sauce recipe and adding more to the pasta before baking. Thanks so much for this recipe!
This is a new family favorite in my household! My husband and 2 girls (age 1 and 3) always ask for seconds and there are rarely leftovers! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Absolutely love this dish. Both my kids, ages 3 amd 6, gobbled this up! I will definitely be making this again. I added chopped broccoli and it was delicious. Felt like more of a complete meal. Thanks for sharing!
I plan on making this tonight and I was wondering if this can be made ahead, refridgerated, then baked for dinner later in the evening. Thanks for sharing, this sounds delicious. My husband found this and is requesting it, so I’m excited to try it.
Yes, absolutely!
Love your recipe, what a beautiful dish with plenty of colours and I love the parmesan you have added. Nice, nutritious and filling 🙂 Great for any day of the week.
For the Alfredo sauce if you use the one from the jar do you still at the parmesan cheese in sauce
No, you can omit the Parmesan.
Do I still cook the chicken if using rotisserie or just season in the bag? I’m making this tonight!
Nope – there’s no need to cook the chicken again.
Corrections: not a big alfredo sauce person is it OK to use 1 of my homemade white sauces? And if I don’t add any sauce what can I add to this so that it doesn’t dry out? do you think it be okay if I added mushrooms.
Yes, you can certainly add homemade white sauce as well as mushrooms.
Looks divine! Suppose I wanted to assemble this on a Friday and keep it in the fridge for a few days before baking it. Do I need to do anything differently?
It may be best to let it come to room temperature prior to baking.
This recipe came up under Gluten-Free. The ranch seasoning is NOT gluten-free. It has maltodextrin as first ingredient. I did not know this as I am NEW to gluten-free diet. Now, what am I supposed to feed my daughter who HAS to have gluten-free? UGH
Jammye, I am sorry that you are frustrated – however, this recipe is not classified as gluten-free by any means.
I am gluten free and follow the advice given on “Glutenfreeliving.com”. On their website it gives “Top 10 ingredients you really don’t need to worry about”, maltodextrin being one of them. There is other research that confirms this information. I have to avoid all gluten and I use the ranch packet. Here is what they say about it..
MALTODEXTRIN
WHY IT’S ON THE WORRY LIST: Maltodextrin can be made from a variety of starches, including corn, potato, rice or wheat.
WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY: The source does not matter because maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the protein is removed, rendering it gluten free. If wheat is used to make maltodextrin, “wheat” will appear on the label. This might give you pause, but even in this case, the maltodextrin would be gluten free. In Canada, maltodextrin made from wheat was tested with one of the most sensitive tests available and no gluten was detected.
I want to make this tonight, but I’m a little confused on the chicken. In the ingredients list it says that the chicken is supposed to be cut up into “1-inch chunks” and then, in the cooking directions, it says “Add chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side.” So by one inch chunks, do I pretty much cube it, or cut it into one inch strips or what? I don’t really cook much, and this looked pretty simple… I’m just not sure what’s going on with the chicken.
Todd, you can keep the chicken cubed or stripped – it’s really up to you!
Made this tonight and it was DAMN DELICIOUS!!! I have made a lot of your recipes and they don’t disappoint. This is one of your best. Thanks for sharing!
I just made this recipe, and it turned out fabulous. We raise our own chickens and can the meat, so I used a quart of canned chicken breast and added that into the bacon drippings along with the ranch seasoning. I doubled the bacon and used 12 ounces of rotini. I did cheat this time and used canned alfredo sauce as well. Delicious!
Can you make it ahead of time and freeze.
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.
This recipe says serve immediately. Would this be okay to take to a potluck? I’m only 15 mins away from the potluck… I’m guessing it would stay warm. Or are there other reasons to serve this dish immediately?
It’s certainly best to serve immediately when hot, but it should still keep for 15 min.
Made this for dinner last night and it was A-Maz-ing!! My boys all went back for seconds. I’m wondering if it needs that much butter though? Trying to think of ways to make it ‘skinnier’?? I know the recipe says you can omit the bacon to make it lower fat but c’mon, the bacon makes the dish SOO much better!! Maybe use less butter or sub for coconut oil or something? I also added about 1-2 cups of cut up and blanched cauliflower to make it a bit healthier, no one was the wiser because it all tasted so good! I just have to say, so many times I pin something to my ‘yummy meals’ board on pinterest and then I go to make it and it comes from your site! You’re recipes are wonderful, i’ve made several of them and they are all good! Thank you so much!!
Holly, I used a low-fat canned alfredo sauce, and it was delicious! Love the idea about adding cauliflower!!
Doubled the recipe and 4 of us almost finished it off. Thank for another yummy recipe!!
Just finished this for dinner, and my husband already asked me to make it again sometime. That is huge coming from him. I did use chicken breasts instead of thighs because I had some on hand. And I added a little bit of flour to the alfredo because mine wasn’t thickening up. But followed everything else and it was amazing! Will make this again!
What if I don’t have ranch seasoning and just ranch, will that work?
There are many DIY Ranch Seasoning recipes available online.
Hi, can someone please tell me what ranch seasoning is. I dont live in America and havent a clue what this is. I need to be able to find a suitable substitute as the recipe sounds scrummy. Thanks in advance
Carol, there are many DIY Ranch Seasoning recipes available online.
Recipe me want and I did it and it’s really good.
I’m making this for dinner tonight!! Excited!!
WOW! This recipe is amazing 🙂 My two year old loves pasta and although she’s picky when it comes to eating protein (and more often than not picks around it!) she LOVED this pasta dish! Not only that, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish as well and it’s being filed into my favorites 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I made this two nights in a row because the first batch went QUICK! As a rookie in the kitchen this was super easy to make and it’s delicious! The second night, I decided to layer it in pan so that everything isn’t just on top. My boyfriend loved it that way because it was cheesier! Excellent recipe!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was a big hit! Your recipes are always delicious. Love your site!!
Does the bacon need to be cooked or can it be raw?
Please refer to step #3:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
I am considering making this tonight for dinner- and was planning to blog about whatever I make for dinner, too. If I do I’ll be sure to give you credit- making my boyfriend dinner and I don’t normally cook. Wish me luck!
I’ve been putting this one off a bit because I just don’t buy prepackaged stuff much, and the ranch seasoning mix — well, I just don’t trust it. Call me crazy. Anyhoo, just yesterday, I ran into a recipe for the ranch seasoning, and your lovely meal is on my list for this week! I haven’t tried the Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing or the seasonings yet, but it sounds like it has promise. Thought you might be interested in it as well.
This was so good made it last night. I love your recipes
Hi! I made this for my boyfriend last night and it was amazing. Simple and flavorful. I’ll definitely make it again. 🙂 I love your recipes! They’re clear and easy to follow and the pictures are enticing. Thank you!
Everything on this website looks damn delicious!
Hard to know where to start.
I did make this last night for dinner and husband and I had it again for breakfast!
Couldn’t find ranch dressing/dip stuff today because I will be making it again
and didn’t seem to miss that ingredient
It was still great
I am going to try freezing it.
Thank you very much for sharing
We made this last week and it was awesome! Even for a person as useless as myself in the kitchen. Question: you mention it can be made ahead of time…could I make it Sunday afternoon and leave it until Monday night in the fridge before cooking?
Yes, absolutely!
Made this tonight and OMG it was soooo good!!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I have a question on the sauce. I made this tonight for dinner and since I didn’t have any heavy cream I used whole milk. My problem was that it never thickened. Will it not thicken if heavy cream is replaced with whole milk? Thanks! (oh, I did fix the problem by adding a little flour!)
Yes! For a more thicker consistency, it is best to use heavy cream but milk + flour is also a great substitute!
It was a delicious recipe and am so glad there were leftover for the weekend! Thanks!
Would doubling this be as simple as just doubling all the ingredients, or would the sauce be more fiddly than that? We’re having guests next week, and I’m trying to find something their young kids will be likely to eat readily.
Yes, you can double all ingredients.
If using store bought alfredo, how much should one use?
1 (15-ounce) jar should be more than enough, but as always, please use your best judgment.
This looks great! One question: if you use leftover rotisserie chicken instead, how would you get the ranch seasoning in there? I.e., Would you have to adjust the amounts? When would you add it?
You can add the Ranch Seasoning to the chicken prior to assembling the casserole. You can choose to adjust the amounts as needed, to taste.
This looks awesome! The ingredients (minus the pasta) remind me of a pizza I used to make back in the day when I used to work at a pizza place. It was our top seller. Yum.
Made this last night and my kids loved it! We had just enough leftover for them to pack up in a thermos for lunch at school…perfect comfort food for rainy, cold days! My hubby was bummed there wasn’t any left for him. Will be making it again. Only modification was an additional 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Next time I think I’d better double the recipe!
Can this, by chance, be made in a crock pot?
It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
Love everything about this. Especially the bacon!
hi, could this be made ahead and frozen?
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.
Yes you can! I make a double batch when I make it. Eat one and freeze the other so I can just pull it out the night before we want it, thaw it in the fridge over night and bake it for dinner!
Sarah, do you adjust the recipe at all for it to be frozen? Do you freeze it before you bake it? Thank you!
I made and froze it so my husband could pop it in the oven when I was out of town and it worked great. I am making a batch now to put in freezer so I can take on vacation in a couple of weeks. I want to spend all of my time on the beach, not inside cooking!
This. Looks. Phenomenal.
Aweful lot of sodium content in one serving I’d use my own Italian seasoning no salted ranch mix..
Way to be a Debbie Downer there, CT. There’s one in every crowd.
Good idea to reduce the sodium. So many people have to watch their sodium intake.
Then cut down or cut out the salt. Duh
Yum! it looks really delicious.
Just made this for dinner tonight! It was a hit. It was easy and so delicious.
Made this tonight. Used chicken breast instead of thighs, and doubled for a 9×13 pan. Definitely a winner!