A wholesome family meal that is rich, cheesy, creamy, and of course, comforting is finally here to make every weeknight absolutely special.
This fabulous pasta recipe is loaded with cheesy and bacon goodness with no expensive jarred sauces and complicated food processing needed. Flavored chicken, spaghetti noodles, homemade creamy sauce, and bacon crisps, all baked to perfection and combined to hook everyone up.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This awesome Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is one of our family’s favorite dinner recipes. And, I promise that you simply cannot go wrong with this fascinating recipe if you need an easy-to-prepare dinner idea right away. How much can you argue if you’ve got all the goodness of tender chicken, perfectly-cooked pasta and bacon strips in one solid dish?
The Winning Run of Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
It’s basketball season once again, and I need to prepare a special family meal capable of feeding an army and creating lots of leftovers. Our son is attending two weeknight practices per week and playing in tournaments almost every weekend through the end of March.
With that being said, I always try to make a huge dinner casserole dish that will leave plenty of leftovers, so that on practice nights, I can heat something up for my family.
This chicken bacon ranch casserole has become my go-to-dinner option during the busy months. No wonder this cheesy-bacon-chicken meal combination has captured the heart of my family more than other weeknight meals I often make for them.
If you’ve already heard of the term “crack chicken” then you know that it’s just a made up recipe name for the flavor combination of chicken, bacon, ranch, and cheese.
It’s meant to be funny because the combination of flavors is so addicting and enticing, of course! And, although it is, I decided to name this pasta recipe Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole since the name crack chicken spaghetti sounds a little harsh for me.
What are the Best Sides to Serve with Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole?
Since this pasta recipe appears white, serving a steamed broccoli, carrots, sweet peas, or asparagus make this a fun, colorful plate. I suggest cooking these healthy vegetables, either boiled or steamed, but you can have them buttered if you want your sides to be more flavorful.
Try to make the vegetables taste bland because the side dishes should be complementary, and not to steal the attention away from the pasta casserole. Here are some of my recommended sides to match this creamy recipe:
- Garlic mushrooms
- Stir fried green beans
- Wheat bread
- Yellow zucchini
- Sweet corn
- Chopped olives
I think the vegetables should be half-cooked and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. I don’t feel like matching my chicken pasta recipe with leafy salad or potato salad would be a great idea. 🙂
First things first:
Before I get started with my recipe, I prepare my kitchen tools first that include:
- Instant Pot (intended for making shredded chicken meat)
- Boiling pot (for cooking the spaghetti noodles)
- Casserole Dish
- Large mixing bowl
- Jelly roll pan (intended for cooking the bacon)
- Parchment Paper
How Do I Make this Heavenly Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole?
This chicken bacon recipe just won’t get any easier for you as it’s a set-and-forget type of dinner meal. And, you can save time since you can prepare the casserole ahead of schedule, store it in the fridge and have it baked when you’re ready. You may create another batch and freeze it so that you can thaw and bake the second casserole later. Another busy mom tip!
To get this casserole whipped up, get a big mixing bowl, and combine all the ingredients except for bacon and cheese. Stir the ingredients well and pour into a casserole dish once you combine cream of chicken soup, chicken meat, Velveeta, pasta, dry ranch mix, chicken broth, and milk all together.
Lastly, top the casserole dish with bacon and cheese and then bake the pasta for 30 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. There’s no need to cover the casserole, so just enjoy watching how the cheese toppings turn bubbly and mouth-watering while inside the oven.
Ingredients:
1 16 oz. package spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 10.75 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz. Velveeta cheese cubed
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth warmed up
1/2 cup milk
1 1.5 oz. package dry ranch mix
3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed (I make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot)
5-7 slices of bacon cooked and diced
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
Directions for Making this Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray oil on a baking dish.
- Heat a medium-size skillet over medium high heat and cook bacon until brown (about 5-6 minutes). Drain excess fat with paper towel.
- In a large boiling pot with water and a small amount of salt, cook pasta noodles according to package instructions and then drain right after.
- Combine all of the ingredients minus the bacon and cheese over a large mixing bowl. Pour the contents into a casserole dish.
- Top casserole with cheese and bacon.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Recipe notes:
Skinless chicken breast can be replaced with boneless chicken thigh.
Cook chopped chicken breast over medium high heat with salt and pepper. Boiled chicken meat can also be used, but make sure to shred the chicken first before combining it with other ingredients.
As an alternative, leftover rotisserie chicken would be an excellent choice of chicken if you want more flavors at less effort.
I used a 10×8 casserole dish, but you could utilize a larger dish. Just make sure to keep an eye on the casserole while baking to avoid getting it burned.
Velveeta cheese can be substituted, but it might not be quite as creamy as suggested in this recipe.
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
Spaghetti
A full sixteen ounce box, cooked and drained. Pull it a minute early. It spends thirty more minutes in the oven soaking up sauce.
Two cans of cream of chicken soup
Two cans, not one, because a pound of pasta and three cups of chicken need that much sauce to stay creamy.
Velveeta
Sixteen ounces, cubed small. It melts in the oven into a sauce that never breaks or goes grainy, which is why it beats shredded cheese in a casserole this size.
Warm chicken broth and milk
A cup of low sodium broth, warmed, and a half cup of milk. Warm broth starts melting the Velveeta cubes in the bowl so the sauce is smooth after thirty minutes.
Ranch seasoning
One packet of dry ranch mix is the seasoning for the whole dish. The bottled dressing is not a swap here. It thins the sauce and tastes wrong hot.
Chicken, bacon and cheddar
Three cups of cooked chicken, five to seven slices of cooked bacon, and a cup of sharp cheddar. The cheddar and bacon go on top, so every square has a crispy, cheesy lid.
Step by Step, With the Details
Cook the pasta and the bacon
Start the pasta water, then lay the bacon on a parchment lined sheet at 425 for twenty minutes while the pasta cooks. Both finish around the same time.
Mix the sauce
In your biggest bowl, stir the two cans of soup, the Velveeta cubes, the warm broth, the milk, and the ranch packet. It will be lumpy with cheese cubes, and that is fine.
Add the chicken and pasta
Fold in the chicken and the drained spaghetti until every strand is coated. Use tongs. A spoon fights you with a full pound of spaghetti.
Into the dish
Spread it in a sprayed nine by thirteen and level the top. Scatter the cheddar over it, then the chopped bacon.
Thirty minutes at 350, uncovered
Bake until the cheddar is melted and the edges bubble. Let it rest five minutes so the sauce settles before you cut it.
How to Tell When It Is Done
The edges are bubbling, the cheddar is fully melted, and a spoon pushed into the center comes out hot. The Velveeta cubes should be gone, melted into the sauce.
If you see a cube that has not melted, give it five more minutes. It means the broth went in cold.
Easy Variations
Different pasta
Penne, rotini, or egg noodles in the same amount. Short pasta is easier for kids and scoops cleaner than spaghetti.
Broccoli
Two cups of small broccoli florets, steamed for three minutes, folded in with the chicken. It adds color and a vegetable nobody argues with.
A little heat
Pepper jack in place of the cheddar on top, or a diced jalapeno in the sauce.
Cream cheese
Swap half the Velveeta for eight ounces of softened cream cheese for a tangier sauce. Whisk it into the warm broth first so it melts.
Make Ahead and Feeding a Crowd
Assemble the casserole without the cheddar and bacon, cover it, and refrigerate up to a day. Add the topping and bake from cold, adding ten to fifteen minutes.
One pan feeds eight. For a team dinner, make two pans rather than one deep dish, which never heats through in the middle.
Leftovers, Reheating and Freezing
In the refrigerator
Leftovers keep covered for four days. The pasta keeps absorbing sauce, so it is thicker on day two.
Reheating
A serving in the microwave with a splash of milk, stirred halfway through. For a whole pan, cover with foil and warm at 325 for twenty five minutes.
Freezing
Freeze baked squares in containers for up to two months. Thaw overnight and reheat with milk. The sauce comes back creamy because of the Velveeta.
Questions I Get About This Casserole
Why did mine come out dry?
The pasta was overcooked or sat in the strainer too long and drank the sauce. Pull it early and mix it in warm, and add a splash more milk if the sauce looks tight.
Can I use real cheddar instead of Velveeta?
You can use two cups of shredded cheddar, but the sauce is less smooth and can go a little grainy. Velveeta is in there for a reason.
Can I make it in the crock pot?
Yes, and that version is my crockpot crack chicken pasta. It uses the same flavors with the pasta cooked right in the sauce.
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. One rotisserie chicken is about three cups once the skin and bones are off, which is exactly what this needs.
Is it spicy?
No. Ranch, bacon, and cheese is as mild as it gets, which is why every kid at the table eats it.
More Chicken Pasta Dinners
- Crockpot Crack Chicken Pasta
- Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Crockpot Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. package spaghetti cooked and drained
- 2 10.75 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
- 16 oz. Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth warmed up
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1.5 oz. package dry ranch mix
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed I make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot
- 5-7 slices of bacon cooked and diced
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients minus the bacon and cheese.
- Pour into a casserole dish.
- Top casserole with cheese and bacon.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes