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!
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!