Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole or ‘Baked Chicken Bacon Pasta Ranch Cheese Casserole’. YUM! Freezes well, for those nights when you need dinner quick.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Since you landed on this recipe, I think you’d very much like to check out this Baked Hawaiian Chicken recipe as well. Though if it’s a casserole that you’re after, this Chicken Stuffing Bake is for you!
I was commenting to a friend last week how much I’ve been making my recipe for Baked Chicken Spaghetti . Since school started, it’s one of those great meals that can be made ahead of time and baked quickly, for whenever we can fit dinner into the evening schedule.
Plus, it freezes so well that making it, is really two meals in one – a proven life saver many times over.
In our talks, I commented how I needed more recipes like it for winter, different spins on the pasta casserole.
That’s when she introduced me to Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, a recipe that I made the next day and decided it needs to be added to the recipe box here on My Organized Chaos.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is the name we decided on, though the actual descriptive name would be ‘Baked Chicken Bacon Pasta Ranch Cheese Casserole’.
Too big of a mouthful? {pun intended}. Alright, how about just ‘One Awesome Casserole’ then? Agreed.
When making Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole the spinach is optional, because, some people just don’t like spinach. That’s ok. Just don’t omit the bacon, ok? That’s just wrong.
And if you’re a spinach fan, you simply must try my Spinach and Chicken Pasta Casserole!
Also, keep in mind that this freezes well. When adding mixture to baking dish, I separate it into two dishes and bake one and pop the other into the freezer.
This is great for an upcoming night that just screams ‘can someone please just make this for me, because I’m done?! … oh, someone has. Thank you last week Tammi.
You’re welcome. {and I’m serious about the bacon}.
What is your favourite casserole recipe? You might love our Easy Doritos Chicken Casserole.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breasts (cooked and cubed)
- 1/2 pkg bacon (cooked and chopped coarsely)
- 1/2 bag Penne Pasta {regular sized from grocer}
- 1/4 Red Onion (diced)
- 1/2 Green Pepper (chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 clove Garlic (minced)
- 1 large can Diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup bacon (cooked and chopped)
- 1 cup Spinach Leaves (chopped)
- 1 can Evaporated Milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese of choice {I used mainly cheddar and a bit of pepperjack cheese which needed to be used up}
- 1/2 cup Ranch Salad Dressing
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- If you haven’t already, cook {I pan fry} the cubed chicken breasts and set aside. Do the same with your bacon.
- Cook the pasta {el dente} according to the package directions in a large pot. Drain and pour back into pot. Add olive oil and toss. Set aside.
- Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray and saute the onion and peppers 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, chicken, bacon, and spinach to the pan and saute until the spinach leaves start to wilt. This is where I add our salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the mixture into the pot with the pasta and stir. Cover and set aside again.
- Using the same pan as the mixture, heat the milk, ranch dressing, and 2 cups of cheese until the cheese melts and becomes creamy.
- Stir milk and cheese mixture with the noodles and chicken mixture – in whichever is the largest pan {ours is the pot}.
- Spoon into a greased baking dish, depending on the sizes of your dishes, you could separate this into 2 dishes and freeze one for later.
- Top mixture with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, broil for 2-3 minutes to crisp up the top.
- Enjoy!
Making this now. My granddaughter is learning to cook and she choose this recipe. Which is fine with me because it sounds great. Only question is does it matter if we add powdered ranch dressing or liquid premade ranch dressing. I am going with liquid but please let me know what you use. Thanks.
This looks so good , thanks for sharing a must try 🙂
I’m making this for supper but with par cooked potatoes instead of noodles. Someone in my house is not a pasta lover. 🙁 But this recipe looks too good to pass up.
Nice! I’m interested in hearing how did the switch wired out!
Good! There’ supper for tonite! I was wondering what to do but we love every part of this recipe so this is what I’m trying!! Thanks!!
M
I’ve been making this for years and it’s always a favorite. Saw it on my Facebook memories and made it again last night thanks for the recipe!