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Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole. “How do you like it?”….. Silence. The only sound I was hearing was the kids and the hubby gobbling down dinner. That is a rare occasion. My almost 6 year old son ate two huge servings. Hubby ate 3. Those are definitely the signs of a winning recipe in my house! Â It did take a bit longer to make than I would have liked but was worth it!
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Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole
What you need:
2lb chicken, cooked and cubed
1 box (10oz) Rotini noodles
7-8 slices of Bacon cooked and chopped up
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 cup of Milk (I used 2%)
3/4 cup of Ranch Dressing (I used Kraft)
3 tbsp of butter
2 cups of Mexican Cheese Blend
1 small can of Green Chile (I used Hatch Green Chile)
How to make Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole
Cook your chicken thoroughly, I tossed it in the oven covered at 375 for 45 minutes, but time will vary depending on the size/thickness of your chicken.
During the last 10 minutes of the chicken cooking, make your bacon and make the noodles per directions on the package. Set both aside once done. Oh, and chop up your bacon.
Chop your chicken into bits.
Mince your garlic cloves.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Keep a small bit of your bacon drippings in the pan.  Cook the garlic cloves and butter just  until melted (don’t brown). Toss in the chicken and the flour and cook for about 1 minute mixing it all together. Dump in the milk and ranch. Mix over medium/low heat for about 2-3 minute until slightly thickened.
Add in 1 cup of cheese. Mix EVERYTHING all together throughly. Then fold it in with the noodles. Get it all mixed up together.  At this point you can add the green chile — I actually used half a can of green chile as I did half the casserole with the green chile and half without.
Dump the casserole in a large casserole dish. Pour the remaining cup of cheese over the top of the casserole. Cook for 15 minutes at 350 until cheese is nicely melted.
Enjoy! We had it with salad. So good!
Love this one? Check out my ALL TIME Â the Italian Sausage Mac & Cheese — seriously the best Mac & Cheese you will ever have!
OR other great ones: Cheesy Chicken Doritos Casserole or Doritos Taco Pie Recipe!Â
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- 2lb chicken, cooked and cubed
- 1 box (10oz) Rotini noodles
- 7-8 slices of Bacon cooked and chopped up
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup of Milk (I used 2%)
- ¾ cup of Ranch Dressing (I used Kraft)
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 2 cups of Mexican Cheese Blend
- 1 small can of Green Chile (I used Hatch Green Chile)
- Chop your chicken into bits.
- Mince your garlic cloves.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Keep a small bit of your bacon drippings in the pan. Cook the garlic cloves and butter just until melted (don’t brown). Toss in the chicken and the flour and cook for about 1 minute mixing it all together. Dump in the milk and ranch. Mix over medium/low heat for about 2-3 minute until slightly thickened.
- Add in 1 cup of cheese. Mix EVERYTHING all together throughly. Then fold it in with the noodles. Get it all mixed up together. At this point you can add the green chile — I actually used half a can of green chile as I did half the casserole with the green chile and half without.
- Dump the casserole in a large casserole dish. Pour the remaining cup of cheese over the top of the casserole. Cook for 15 minutes at 350 until cheese is nicely melted.
During the last 10 minutes of the chicken cooking, make your bacon and make the noodles per directions on the package. Set both aside once done. Oh, and chop up your bacon.
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Looks super yummy!!
Hmmm I have chipotle ranch at home…does anyone think that would be good or gross? Trying to avoid the grocery store ha! It’s just a tad spicy so maybe that could eliminate the green chili??
I would try it! Sounds like that would be good! Let us know 🙂
Why does it not tell you when to put the bacon in?
At step 5, when you mix everything together 🙂
I used bacon ranch and it was yummy
That would be really good I put hot sauce on mine
Im making this tonight and eating it all its good
This looks incredible! (Jaw drop!)
This looks AMAZING! Yumm, the perfect comfort food!
-Jennie
http://thediaryofarealhousewife.blogspot.com
This looks AH-MA-ZING! Adding to my Pinterest food board right now. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I love the combo on chicken and bacon.
Wow! This looks so yummy! Thank you bunches for linking up and partying with us this week!
We will just love this Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole, a delicious combination! Hope you have had a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
This is my kind of dinner! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thanks for sharing this recipe at the #WWDParty.
Making this tonight smells great
Yum! How many does this serve! And can I use precooked chicken? Thanks!
You definitely could use pre-cooked chicken! It will serve 6-8 people
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
How do i cook the chicken? Do i just cook it by itself or add an ingredient?
Do you use cooked noodles or put them in uncooked? Also, did you use green chilies like the diced pepper kind or green chile like you would find smothered on a burrito? Thanks.
1) I sliced my chicken raw and heated in a skillet; its quicker 2) I used a 12 oz box of TriColor Rotini 3) I used 1 cup buttermilk instead of 2% 4) I left out the green chiles 5) I tossed together chicken, bacon, and pasta in dish, then made cheese sauce separate and poured over top and mixed in. There is no need to cook the chicken in the flour as the recipe states. The purpose of the flour is to create a roux with the butter and garlic.
This. Was. Awesome. My only problem came with the amount of pasta. I had a 16oz box – the size I most often see, unless it’s a whole grain or other specialty pasta – and didn’t realize the directions called for a 10oz box. I only read as far as “1 box”, so it was a little drier than I would have liked. But yummy anyway! Delicious with some Red Hot sauce. And great reheated, too!
This was awesome! Prepared this a bit different, cooked the bacon (the whole pack 🙂 ) cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces then cooked it in the bacon grease. Used minced garlic (yep, the jar stuff) 1/2 of the green chile’s, 1 cup of buttermilk ranch dressing, cup of milk, little bit heavy cream (I don’t worry about calorie intake, as you can tell) added a can of peas also. Loved this, the hubby was happy, which makes me happy. Garlic bread to so up the creamy goodness……..5 stars all the way.
How much minced garlic did you use?
I have got to try this recipe! It sounds wonderful.
Just a thought….you mentioned that this took longer to make than you’d like…..how about cutting raw chicken into bite sized pieces & cooking it in the bacon fat while the noodles are boiling instead of pre-cooking it. That would save time & add flavor. This also sounds like a good recipe to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. I’m always looking for good recipes for that!
Thanks for the yummy goodness…….
Do you need to have bottle ranch or home made also does the ranch need to be made or just use the seasoning
I used bottled Ranch dressing. You could do homemade Ranch and I am sure it would taste fabulous with that too!
I am going to make this….but did you use a can of Rotel and not green chilies? I see tomatoes in the picture, I think. 🙂
Thank you!!
never mind…I think that is the bacon….
I used s can of rotel. An cut the green chilies. It was good.
Could you substitute green beans for green chili? I have never heard of it.
Hi Donna, You should be able to find green chili in the jalapeno section in the grocery store. If you don’t want any spiciness, I would just leave it out (I did for my daughter).
Just tried this recipe for 6 of my family members… It is not always easy to cook for three generations of people. My father, 92 years young, has been ill and is eating very little. He finished everything on his plate. My 5-year-old grandson finished up the chicken dish before eating anything else on his plate. The 14-year-old twin grandsons ate until they could eat no more, said it was definitely a dish they wanted again. My husband and I also enjoyed it very much.
I followed the directions as indicated with only two exceptions. The boys finished the last of the milk for breakfast, so I used powdered milk ; second change was I cooked chicken in skillet. Very minor changees to an extremely delicious meal.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
So glad you liked it! Definitely a favorite around here 🙂
Would this work with shredded chicken, too? I want to try it, but with two kiddoes playing rec league sports…practices at the same time and in opposite places…plus teaching out of town, etc…I have to use my crock pot a lot to prepare the meat. It would save so much time. The crockpot usually shreds the chicken , though.
Go for it and don’t worry about it. I’d boil the pasta separately and stir it in last with the cheese just before putting it in the oven (or not) just because the slow cooker tends to make pasta gummy and cheese split!
Mad this as specified except used precooked rotisserie chicken, everybody loved it! Served 4 adults and 2 kids with just one serving left. This is awesome, must make.
I added a small head of broccoli to ours – just steam or boil it tender-crisp at first because it cooks more in the casserole and is done perfectly tender after the last 15 minutes in the oven 🙂 Bit of a healthy boost – really, you could add any vegetables you like 🙂 Thanks for the recipe – I found it quick and easy, and my kids loved it! They even took heated leftovers in their thermoses for lunch at school. Nice change from sandwiches 🙂
im not a fan of ranch dressing; is there a good substitute that i could use instead? thanks!
I don’t care for ranch dressing either. I won’t eat it on anything, but I made this recipe exact (minus the green chilies) and with the other flavors you aren’t overwhelmed by the ranch and don’t really taste that ranch flavor. I loved this dish, as did my family. If you need to, just add more bacon to mask the flavor 😉
As a cook myself I would switch to an Alfredo sauce if not in the mood for ranch bacon and chicken ( classic mixture)
I have a question – is the ranch used actual dressing or is it the dry packet?
I used Ranch dressing from the bottle. You could make the Ranch dressing from a packet and use that, but not just the powder.
How many does this feed and what size of dish did you cook it in?
When do you add the bacon?
Found this recipe and within day made it for my family. It was a huge hit, everybody loved it! Can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe!
Made this tonight….very tasty. My picky eaters loved it! Thanks!!
This may seem like a silly question but can i pre-make this? I found this recipe on pinterest and thought about making it for a friend who just had a baby but I will need to do everything tonight except put it in the oven, she will be finishing it up tomorrow.
And has you or anyone tired this as a freezer meal, i’m new to that world as well. Thanks! 🙂
I haven’t but it is definitely worth a shot!
I think pre-making is fine overnight for her to bake herself but freezing noodles in a dish like this…..not so sure it would be good unless AL dente. And that’s iffy.I have frozen tettrezzini and lasagna but AL dente .
I have pre-made this once and it definitely MUCH tastier if you make it fresh 🙂
This was delicious! I even made it gluten free by substituting rice rotini and 2 tbsp of rice flour and it still turned out amazing! I made this dish for me and two college boys and we were stuffed at the end!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’m making this ahead of time and taking it to some relatives who just had a baby. Question, how long should I bake it if it’s cold? I’m going to add the rest of the cheese and bake it when we get to their house.
Maybe an extra 10 minutes? The chicken is pre-cooked so it is really just a matter of rewarming and melting the cheese.
This looks yummy and if I’d love to make it, but there is an annoying ad for Audible for Android tight over the ingredients list that won’t go away, even after clicking the X. Help?
If I wanted to make this in the crock pot, do I just throw all the ingredients in and cook 4-6 hrs?
This recipe was a big time hit, my 2 yr. Old & my 6yr. Old absolutely loves this for dinner. I always look for new recipes & make at least 4 new recipes a week this one is a keeper! ( my kids never noticed the chilies )
How do i cook the chicken? Do i add any ingredients to it?
Tried this tonight. Everyone loved it. It does take long. Which you should add the time it takes on here. Also I didn’t see where you mixed in the bacon unless I missed it while making. I just put in with noddles. I made without the chili’s and cooked chicken in skillet. Wish there was a faster way to make so I could make it more often. Delicious!
I actually made this again with a cooked Rotisserie Chicken from Costco, made it a bit quicker.
I would also think that 1 could buy the frozen pre-cooked chicken chunks. Let them thaw in frig the night before and add them. They will heat while in the oven & would save the time of frying/baking the chicken.
I’m going to guess that the noodles should have been pre-boiled despite the recipe not specifying this, because after 15 mins in the oven the noodles are still stone hard.
how do i just print the recipe thank you
I did a screenshot and printed that.
I basically did the same thing that Alexandria did last Novemeber 25th. Cut and seasoned it raw with salt, pepper, and onion powder; cooked it in a pan with butter and olive oil; drained my off brand Rotel of green chiles and tomatoes and added it to the pan with the chicken, minced garlic. I added the two tablespoons of flour to thicken it up along with a half cup of milk (Acidophilus since that’s all I drink) and another two tablespoons of butter with nearly half a bottle bacon ranch dressing. It helped that I had a box of Hamburger Helper Crispy Bacon Chicken to add to it all where it could fit. Delicious!!! I’m munching on it now, actually and I’m happy.
I looked over your recipe several times and you don’t say when exactly to add the bacon but I guess just dump it in with everything else?
I don’t see when to put bacon or bacon greese in.
When do you put bacon and greese in?
Looks good, but I’m not really a fan of ranch (or chile). What would you suggest I use in place of them?
Do you think this would freeze well?
My grandson is a senior in high school and sent this recipe to me on fb on his lunch break….made it for dinner tonite and it was a hit?thank you!!!
Save time with the chicken by chopping/cubing while still semi frozen, then when you cook it it will take less time….I also just put a little water and oil in a sauce pan and cook the chicken on ,the stove…..I like the flavor from a little pan browning…about 20 minutes to do it this way….either way this sounds awesome…
To cut down on time when making this meal, buy a roasted chicken already cooked. They sell them at Walmart and Albertsons etc. And I am going to try it with linguini or maybe spaghetti noodles.
We made this last night and it was delicious! And it made plenty, we had enough left overs for the whole family today.
It’s definitely a recipe worth saving! Thank you.
Great recipe. My family loved it. I added onion salt, garlic salt, pepper and heavy cream when mixing in the casserole dish before topping with cheese and baking.
I buy chicken breast in bulk when they are sale. I get them home, season them ( usually 2or 3 breasts per seasoning) and then roast them at 350 for about 45 minutes. After they cool I freeze them in bags of about a pound each. For a recipe like this I just grab a pack, cut it up and add about ten minutes to the baking time. Love the recipe! My three boys ate it all!
i would add green pepper, red pepper and onion, the peppers for color
So good! I added some onion and mushrooms, and used cilantro dressing and pepper jack cheese to add a little more spice and flavor. Incredible. http://www.onemissingingredient.com/cheesy-ranch-bacon-chicken-casserole/
My picky daughter is coming to our house for the weekend. She has even cooking dinner the last couple of times she has come. She just posted Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole and said this is dinner for Saturday night. If she likes it then it’s gotta be yummy. Can’t wait.
I made this tonight it’s pretty good ….. But I must have did something wrong it was a little dry won’t let me add a picture
Can u make a video on how to make it on YouTube
Mmmm and maybe some broccoli in their to! Making this for dinner tonight lol
I’m not seeing an answer to whether the pasta is precooked or not. 15 minutes at 350 with the small amount of liquid doesn’t seem like enough to cook dry rotini, but Hubby doesn’t like overcooked pasta, so I want to do this right. Do we use the pasta dry, par-boiled, or fully cooked?
_pre cook the pasta…it is in her directions. Good luck
Looks so good! My sister and I are going to do a little trial of this tomorrow. Going to cut it in half. We want to see how it will taste as a possible side dish for Thanksgiving. But I’m curious as to about how many it will feed on average. Wondering if we should maybe double it for a holiday dinner.
We substituted the chicken for steak and it tasted amazing great recipe
Ooooh! That sounds good!!
Many people have asked if the noodles should be precooked. Some have even made this recipe with uncooked noodles that remained rock hard because your recipe does not specify cooking the noodles first.. Please take a look at ALL of the comments, not just compliments. Please clarify with an answer, before another person throws their hard earned money and family dinner in the trash due to a poorly written recipe. Thank you.
Hi there! I do actually say in the recipe:
“During the last 10 minutes of the chicken cooking, make your bacon and make the noodles per directions on the package. Set both aside once done. Oh, and chop up your bacon.”
Yes…you do say to cook the noodles. Some people are not reading the instructions thoroughly. Great job you are doing here. 🙂
Love love love this. I cook my chicken in the crock pot all day then shred it when ready to make. Everyone loves this!
Is it possible to leave the flour out n what would be a good substitute for the butter trying to turn this into a more healthier recipe
I just made this, just a lil different! I added cheese to the sause mix, and added extra cheese and bacon to the topping! forgot the chilli’s on accident but it turned out amazing! Thank u, this saved dinner tonight! My daughters ate 2 plates full!!!
Made this tonight and loved it!
Do you cover when you put it in the oven?
No I didn’t. I did cover the chicken while cooking that but not the casserole.
i use this recipe alot now! its super delcious! i made half without thw green chile since my younger cousins dont like spicy and ive also used it on a whole one for other company! super delicous! one of me faves on here and i went searching for it after the first
time i tried it because i lost it now i have it printed! thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!!!
We absolutely love this meal. The kids who are picky eaters even eat it. The only thing that I do different is add onion with the garlic and saute it. I cook the chicken in the drippings from the onion and garlic. Quick and easy meal and never gets old.
We made this tonight and it was delicious. My children love it. We will definitely make it again.
This recipe was the inspiration for one of the most requested meals at our house. I originally made it once as close to the posted recipe as my pantry allowed (I think no chili’s was the only deviation) and it was a hit. The next time I had to improvise to what I had on hand so I figured I’d share in case it helps anyone. I need to feed a small army so I use a shredded rotisserie chicken, a box of rotini, 2 cans cream of chicken or mushroom (or even a combo), a packet of dry ranch, some milk, a squirt or 2 of ranch (only if I remember), cheese, and the bacon. I just dump everything over the cooked noodles, stir and pop it in for 20+ min. It is probably the only meal that gets zero complaints. Obviously the cream soups are less than ideal but hey, sometimes we just deserve an easy, quiet mealtime! And I want to make clear that I’m not suggesting this is better than the posted recipe in ANY way. This is just the way I adapted it to the things I had in my pantry after I’d made it as posted, and to encourage you to make this even if you have to figure out a few substitutes!
liquid ranch or powdered?
Do you think this recipe could go in the crockpot?
I made this tonight my family loved it I will be making this again for sure
We made this tonight for supper and it was a huge hit. We will be making this a few times a month. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My whole family loved it! I made it just like the recipe instructed and it was delicious! Then since it was a good base, I tweaked it and added some goodies to it. I sauteed some mushrooms, diced up some roasted red pepper, and sprinkled in some frozen peas, and it took it up to another level. One of my family’s favorites and my college kid always asks for it when he comes home on breaks! Lol!
Tried this & loved it! Thanks for sharing!
If i want it to be less thick/creamy & bit more juicy, would you recommend adding 1/4 cup of dices tomatoes?