Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This easy Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole recipe is a creamy pasta dish with ranch seasoning topped with melted cheese and crispy bacon!
A Simple and Delicious Chicken Casserole
If you want an easy dinner recipe that your whole family will love then this is it! This Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is guaranteed to be a family favorite! It is so simple to throw together with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!
Frequently Asked Questions:
If you don’t have a kitchen scale (and I know most of us don’t), you will be using a half a box of pasta basically. Most pasta is sold in 16 ounce (1 pound) boxes so you will use half of that box.
This would be perfect with a simple side salad or a steamed veggie.
Yes. Just be careful what kind of vegetables you’re using as not all veggies will be fully cooked and tender after the 20 minute cooking time so you might need to par-bake some of them (like potatoes.) With vegetables like broccoli, just make sure to chop them up small.
Rotisserie chicken is perfect to use here. Just purchase a family-sized rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the bone and chop it up. Also some stores, like Costco, now sell pulled chicken that you can buy that’s already prepackaged and ready to go. These are such time savers!
You can also season some chicken and cook it in a skillet on the stovetop. Then proceed with the recipe.
Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- penne pasta – it doesn’t have to be penne pasta. It can be 8 ounces of any of your favorite pasta shape.
- bacon – I think freshly cooked or baked bacon works best as it gives the best texture but for ease of preparation, you could use the bacon pieces sold in bags in the salad section of your grocery store or microwaveable bacon.
- garlic – the jarred stuff works fine here but if you have time to mince up some fresh garlic then please go for it!
- sour cream – I truly don’t think you taste the sour cream as a separate ingredient here, it just adds additional creaminess. If you absolutely hate sour cream and just cannot bring yourself to use it, you could substitute for mayonnaise.
- shredded mozzarella cheese – you can certainly switch up the cheese and use what you prefer. Try a pepper jack cheese for a hint of heat.
- ranch seasoning mix – store bought or make Homemade Ranch Seasoning.
- Alfredo sauce – I think a garlic Alfredo sauce would be so good here!
- cooked chicken – see my Frequently Questions above for the best cooked chicken to use.
How To Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole:
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix sour cream, ranch dressing mix, garlic, pepper, Alfredo sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Combine the chicken and penne with the sauce. Pour mixture into pan.
Spread cheese and bacon pieces over the pasta mixture. Cover with nonstick aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
Sprinkle top with parsley and serve immediately with your favorite side.
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Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 15 ounce jar Alfredo pasta sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided use, can use more to taste)
- 2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
- 8 ounces penne pasta, cooked and drained
- 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- chopped parsley (for topping, optional, can use dried)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup sour cream, 1 packet ranch dressing mix, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 15 ounce jar Alfredo pasta sauce, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Stir in 2 cups cooked and chopped chicken and 8 ounces penne pasta, cooked and drained. Pour mixture into pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining one cup shredded mozzarella cheese along with 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped evenly over the top of the pasta mixture.
- Cover with nonstick aluminum foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle top with chopped parsley (if using) and serve!
Video
Notes
- This recipe calls for eight ounces of penne pasta. Most boxes of pasta are sold in sixteen ounces. So you’ll be making half of a box of pasta for this.
- The pre-packaged real bacon pieces can be used instead of cooking up bacon. The packages can sometimes be found where the salad toppings are located in your grocery store.
- Rotisserie chicken is perfect to use here. Just purchase a family-sized rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the bone and chop it up. Also some stores, like Costco, now sell pulled chicken that you can buy that’s already prepackaged and ready to go. These are such time savers!
- Feel free to add your favorite vegetables to this dish. I think chopped broccoli would be perfect!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: November 2020
Updated post and republished: March 2026
Comes together quickly….delicious. will definitely make again.
Thanks so very much Judy!
I made this 3 times for my family. One I made this time for a friend’s family and was requested to make it again. This recipe is very good! This is a must try. Thank you for sharing this!
I made this last weekend and it is delicious! Definately 5 stars.I used a rotisserie chicken. The only thing I did differently was to use zero fat greek yougurt in place of sour cream. This will definitely be in my Fall/Winter recipe rotation. Thanks for the recipe, Brandie!
So happy to hear that Judy! Thank you so much!
I made this last night and it was great! I used rotisserie chicken from sams club and it tasted amazing. Easy to put together, I doubled the recipe so it took longer to bake, around 60 minutes. This will definitely be made again.
Love hearing that! Thanks so much Debbie – fantastic shortcut too!
AMAZING! I had to double the recipe due to a large family. I do wish sour cream was listed at the top ingredients not just the bottom. ( I had to dash out and grab some ) every one loved and my husband and oldest son have requested it to be added to our dinner rotation!
This was the bomb diggity!!!! Suuuuperb. It was restaurant quality, deeeelicious and my family loooooved it!!!! I am storing this one and will be trying your other recipes.
Very easy to prepare and very delicious
Would this freeze well prior to cooking?
I’m guessing the pasta is all ready cooked when you add it in ?
Correct – it says it up there in the recipe card 🙂
Looks so easy to make and looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
I made this last week with linguine(didnt have penne noodles). Even the children, 4,5 and 6, loved it. Its so quick & easy. Had broccoli & cheese as a side dish but will add the broccoli to the casserole next time. Also added chopped mushrooms to it along with real packaged bacon bits.
Can’t wait to make this for the boys. 🙂
Does the pasta need to be cooked first?
This was a huge hit with family, I’ll be making this recipe again and again.
Do you just use ranch dressing mix packs sprinkle in