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!
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.