Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake is an easy casserole ready in under an hour with creamy Alfredo sauce that will feed a crowd. Try it today!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake has a creamy cheese sauce with pasta, chicken, and bacon all baked together in one delicious casserole perfect for a weeknight meal. If you love easy Dinner Recipes for a crowd be sure to check out my Baked Million Dollar Spaghetti or creamy Swiss Chicken Casserole.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake Recipe
I love this recipe because it creates an amazing meal with simple ingredients and feeds the whole family! I’ll pretty much always have some Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix in the cupboard because it’s used with so many other recipes. It’s a hearty, belly-filling recipe and the combination of chicken, bacon and ranch is a favorite that everyone goes crazy over. You’ll love how easy this recipe is to make and your family will love the delicious creamy, tangy, smoky flavors in every bite!
Ingredients
- Meat: I’m using 8 slices of Bacon for that smoky flavor and crisp texture along with 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts which absorb the ranch seasoning well. Thighs can be used, but you may need to adjust the cooking time as the dark meat takes a little longer.
- Coating: 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (olive oil or canola oil are good) will be rubbed on the chicken and then 2 tablespoons of Ranch Dressing Mix will be sprinkled all over. You can make a Homemade Ranch Mix version if you don’t want pre-made.
- 12 ounces Rotini Pasta: The twisted shape holds onto the sauce and cheese well. You can use another smaller pasta if preferred.
- Sauce: 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter will be the base of the sauce along with 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic and 1 teaspoon Ranch Dressing Mix for flavoring. Mix 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese with 1 cup Shredded Jack Cheese for the perfect blend for this. 1 cup Heavy Cream mixed with ½ cup Milk together helps create that deep rich sauce.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Baking Dish: While I usually just bake it in my 9×13 rectangular baking pans, it’s a great dish to make in your nicer casserole dishes too. The decadent pasta recipe baked in a fancy casserole dish makes a regular dinner feel extra special.
- Cast Iron Skillet: I cook the bacon and chicken in a cast iron skillet and make the sauce in it too. The heavy skillet crisps the bacon and browns the chicken perfectly.
How to Make
Time needed: 45 minutes
- Preheat and Boil
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Set a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until just shy of al dente.
- Cook Bacon
In a cast iron skillet, cook the bacon until not quite crispy, then remove and chop into small pieces. Leave some bacon grease in the pan.
- Prepare Chicken
Using a Sharp Knife, score the chicken with shallow crisscross cuts. Coat with your vegetable oil and ranch dressing mix, then brown in the same skillet. Cut into bite-sized cubes.
- Make Sauce
Melt the butter in the skillet and add the minced garlic. Cook until fragrant. Then stir in the cream, milk, ranch seasoning, and both cheeses. Cook until slightly thickened
- Assemble
Combine the cooked pasta, chicken, and half of the cheese in the pan. Pour the sauce over and mix. Top with remaining cheese and bacon.
- Bake
Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and golden. Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 chicken breasts , boneless, skinless
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons ranch dressing mix
- 12 ounces rotini pasta
- 1 cup cheddar cheese , shredded
- 1 cup jack cheese , shredded
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk , or additional heavy cream
- 1/2 cup jack cheese , shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon course ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set your pasta water to boil (make sure to salt your pasta water).
- Cook your bacon in a skillet to an almost done stage, about 20 seconds before it would actually be done, it will also bake in the oven.
- Drain most of the fat from the pan and chop the bacon into small pieces and set aside.
- Cut ½ inch deep crisscross patterns into the chicken to score it so the flavors can have more ridges to settle into.
- Coat the chicken with the vegetable oil and ranch dressing powder.
- In the same pan you made the bacon in, brown the chicken on both sides until it is almost done (again we are going to bake this so it will continue to cook in the oven).
- Cut the chicken into one-inch cubes and set aside.
- Cook your pasta according to package directions minus one minute. The pasta will finish in the oven too.
- To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in the pan and add in the chopped garlic.
- Cook for 30-40 seconds or until you start to smell the garlic becoming very fragrant, but not browning.
- Add in the heavy cream and the milk and whisk.
- Add 1 teaspoon ranch dressing mix, ½ cup jack cheese, salt and pepper and whisk again, cooking for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.
- Add the pasta to your pan, top with chicken.
- Add ½ cup each of the jack cheese and cheddar cheese, then pour on the sauce.
- Top with the remaining cheese and bacon.
- Bake uncovered in your oven for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
- Change Serving Size: Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Conversion: To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
- Kitchen Timer: Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Partially Cook Ingredients
I par-cook, or partially cook, a lot of the ingredients (bacon, chicken, pasta) because it is only going to bake this in your oven for 25 minutes. Chicken breast meat can easily dry out in the time it would take to fully cook in the oven. Pre-cooking the bacon lets me drain the grease so the sauce isn’t greasy and the bacon doesn’t get rubbery. Finally, if you use uncooked pasta, you would need to add a lot of liquid to the casserole and the sauce wouldn’t be as thick and creamy.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Actually, yes, you can prepare this dish ahead! Simply assemble it up until the baking step. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, just remove it from the fridge and bake uncovered as directed. You might need to add an extra 10-15 minutes or so to the baking time just to make sure that it’s properly heated through.
Nutritional Facts
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Cutting the Chicken: I score the chicken breasts so the ranch dressing has more surface area to adhere to. If you are trying to picture what that means think of a holiday ham. You know all those squares cut into the ham where the cloves are stuck into it? Aside from looking pretty those squares are there so the sauce poured on top before baking has a place to stay and bake into the ham.
- Pasta: The rotini I bought comes in a 12-ounce box, if you are using a full pound of pasta you may notice your sauce is minimal or your bake is dry if you don’t increase the sauce as well. Make 1 ½ times the sauce portion, more sauce is always better than less sauce.
How to Store
- Storing: Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat covered in the microwave a minute at a time. Stir, then repeat once again if needed.
- Freezing: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Stovetop: Cook the bacon, chicken, and pasta as directed. Instead of baking, mix all ingredients in the same pan you used for the sauce. Stir everything together over medium heat until the cheese is fully melted and the dish is heated all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. While this way will save you some time, note that it won’t have the crispy top achieved from baking, but it will still be yummy!
- Instant Pot: Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and cook the bacon until crispy then remove and set to the side. Add the seasoned chicken and saute until browned. Then add the uncooked pasta, cream, milk, and a cup of water or chicken broth. Set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 4 minutes. Quick release the pressure, then stir in the cheese, bacon, and the rest of the ranch dressing mix. Once the cheese is melted, serve immediately. Again, it won’t be crispy but it will still be a great meal.
Frequent Questions
Sure! You can easily substitute with similar short pasta like penne, fusilli, or farfalle. These are good because they all hold the sauce well.
Overcooking can lead to dryness. To avoid the chicken getting too dry, make sure it is slightly undercooked when browning at the beginning. It will finish cooking in the oven.
You can easily make your own by following the directions for my own version of Ranch Dressing Mix.
Variations
- Cheese: Feel free to change up the cheese if you’ve got something else in your fridge. Mozzarella is great, Provolone or Parmesan would work well too.
- Southwestern Ranch: Add 1 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning to the filling and 1 teaspoon to the sauce for a zesty Tex-Mex version. Serve with sliced avocado and crushed tortilla chips.
- Spicy Buffalo Style: Add 3 tablespoons of Buffalo Sauce to the sauce mixture for a fun and spicy kick. You can also add in Pepper Jack cheese instead of regular Jack cheese for an extra kick. No significant cooking adjustments are needed.
- Herb and Garlic Style: Swap out the ranch seasoning for an Italian seasoning blend. Keep one teaspoon for the sauce but only use one tablespoon for the chicken. Double the garlic. Use Parmesan instead of Jack cheese for more flavor. Cook as directed.
Related Recipes
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Photos used in previous versions of this post.
My family LOVED this recipe and my 7-year old asked to have leftovers for his lunch. No higher praise really. Though, while cooking it I did feel like it could be done in a more weeknight friendly way mostly meaning fewer pots. Like, making the sauce on the chicken or doing it more chili mac style where the pasta and all gets cooked together. I am definitely going to play with these flavours given how much we enjoyed it. Thank you!
High praise indeed! Your comments made my day :). Thanks so much Jen.
A yummy main dish! I made this for dinner last night, and husband and son (and me) loved it.
Yay!! So glad everyone enjoyed it, Vicki!
This looks so good and my son and daughter-in-law would love this. I do have a question though, In the cheese sauce it calls for Ranch Dressing Mix, but in the directions it doesn’t say where or when to add it? My guess is with cheese, salt & pepper. Thanks for any help you give me. Really can’t wait to fix this for the family. Have a wonderful day! 🙂
You’ll want to add the dressing mix with the oil and coat the chicken with it (step 5).
I hope you all enjoy it!
My sciatic nerve tells me what I can/cannot do and tends to change her mind mid-recipe. I’m going to double the recipe and use toss it aluminum pans so I can bake one and freeze one for later. Thanks for sharing!!!
I have flare ups of sciatica too. It is AWFUL, anything that helps you minimize standing in pain the better!
can you use pepper jack cheese along with the cheddar? or would Parmesan work better?
You could definitely customize the cheese to what your family enjoys!
Cheese and bacon with pasta is pretty much the best thing to eat, ever.
I know, right?!
Such an awesome flavor combo! My family would love this!
Thanks Cathy!
Loving the ranch addition to this!
Thanks Brandy!
Oh yum! My family would love this dish!! It looks SO delicious!!
Hellooooo comfort!! That looks SO good!
Thanks Kimberly!
This is a perfect Sunday dinner! Everyone in my family loves pasta! But baked pasta is the best!
Thanks Catalina! Enjoy!!
Love this! Look delicious — perfect comfort food for a weeknight meal.
My family will love this meal! All of their favorite flavors in one place!