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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
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.
Your comment gave me my first laugh of the day!
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!