Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole
Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole is a whole dinner in one! All topped with melty cheese and bacon. Picky eater approved!
A DELICIOUS DINNER ALL IN ONE PAN
I am really excited to share this recipe for Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole with you today. It turned out so, so good! I mean you really just can’t go wrong with potatoes, chicken, melty cheese and bacon, right? This is definitely one of those all-in-one meals that I really think your whole entire family will love. It is easily customizable to suit your family’s tastes!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)
Yes, you can. If you forgot to pick up a bottle of ranch dressing, you can just season the potatoes and chicken with some ranch seasoning mix.
Yes. You can peel and dice russet potatoes instead of using baby gold potatoes.
Yes. Chicken thighs are a wonderful substitute as they are usually less expensive than chicken breasts. Just make sure to grab the boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
With this recipe, we are using ranch dressing to really give this chicken some flavor. In addition to the dressing, it is very important to also salt and pepper the chicken. You could also add a little garlic powder and/or paprika to the mix. This will all really infuse the chicken with a lot of flavor and save it from being too bland.
It is actually safe to put raw meat into casseroles. Once the chicken reaches the cooked temperature of 165F degrees, all the bacteria that might have been there will have been killed once the dish reaches that temperature.
This really is a whole meal in one. However, if you want to add some more vegetables to your plate, I suggest some steamed carrots or broccoli. Or serve with a delicious side salad (with ranch dressing, of course!)
Leftovers can be stored in a covered container, in the refrigerator, for 2 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Allow to come to room temperature, then microwave to reheat.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- gold baby potatoes
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Ranch dressing
- salt and pepper
- Mexican Cheese Blend
- bacon
- green onion
HOW TO MAKE LOADED BACON RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Preheat oven to 450f. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Dice potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
In a large bowl mix together the diced potatoes, salt & pepper and 1/4 cup ranch dressing. Note: It’s really important you add a bit of salt & pepper along with the ranch dressing. It makes a difference in the flavor.
Scoop the potatoes into prepared baking dish (save that bowl, we’re going to use it again for the chicken.
Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until almost thoroughly cooked (they won’t be fork tender quite yet.)
While the potatoes are cooking, start cutting up the chicken breasts.
Add the cutup chicken to the bowl you used to the potatoes and add salt and pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup ranch dressing.
Once the potatoes have cooked 30 minutes, remove baking dish from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (Warning: Baking dish will be VERY hot so use oven mitts to do this.)
Place baking dish back in the oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked.)
Take baking dish out of the oven and top with shredded cheese, bacon and green onion.
Place back in oven for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds baby gold potatoes
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup prepared ranch dressing, divided use
- 2 cups Mexican Cheese blend
- 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
- ½ cup diced green onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Spray a 9"x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
- In a large bowl mix together the diced potatoes, salt & pepper and 1/4 cup ranch dressing.
- Pour the potatoes into prepared baking dish and spread out evenly (save that bowl, we're going to use it again for the chicken.)
- Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until almost thoroughly cooked (they won’t be fork tender quite yet.).
- While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl you used for the potatoes and add salt and pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup ranch dressing (see my notes below about additional seasoning ideas).
- Once the potatoes have cooked 30 minutes, remove baking dish from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F degrees.
- Top the cooked potatoes evenly with the raw marinated chicken.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (Warning: Baking dish will be VERY hot so use oven mitts to do this.)
- Place baking dish back in the oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked and has reached 165F degrees internal temperature).
- Take baking dish out of the oven and top with shredded cheese, bacon and green onion.
- Place back in oven for 8-10 minutes (or until cheese is melted and bubbly).
Video
Notes
- Leftovers can be stored in a covered container, in the refrigerator, for 2 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Allow to come to room temperature, then microwave to reheat.
- Chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts.
- Don’t forget to also season the chicken and the potatoes with salt and pepper. In addition, try adding some garlic powder and/or paprika to your seasonings.
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: February 2016
Updated and republished: December 2021
I made this and I used just regular potatoes and I seasoned the crap out of them garlic salt garlic powder pepper and salt and then used way more ranch than called for , baked my potatoes for like 20 mins and then added my chicken seasoned the same way as the potatoes (extra ranch) and cooked it and drained the juice, added more ranch and then I put half a cup of seasoned white rice and then melted my cheese and bacon and onion on top 🙂 super good!! Thanks for the recipe
Jacey, you are my kind of cook! I season the crap out of everything too. LOL!! Love it!!
Amazing!… my boyfriend keeps asking me to make this! Tried using hash browns instead of regular potatoes because that’s all I had and it was better in my opinion.
It was great, we all loved it. Only thing is it took longer in oven. I followed recipe but let in oven for extra 20 mins.ay have been because I used golden potatoes I had on hand instead of what recipe called for. Otherwise was great definitely making again.
Thank you so very much Mony!!
I pretty much followed your recipe and my son and I were more than satisfied. I sometimes discard left-overs from casseroles but this one we finished.
That is so great to hear – thank you Rita!
Awesome recipe my family loved it.
My kids loved this dish and it was easy to make
This was great! My family loved it and went back for seconds. The only thing I did differently was that as my chicken cooked, it left alot of juice. So I drained it off before topping with cheese and bacon.
Hi Amanda! Yay! I absolutely love hearing that and thank you for mentioning about the chicken. It’s always helpful to others who might have the same issue! 🙂
We are a LCHF family, and are always looking for interesting ways to make foods NOT boring. This hit the spot. How, you ask? I replaced the potatoes with zucchini. And I only used dry homemade ranch seasoning with avocado oil. We did load it with bacon and cheese and chives, and topped it with sour cream. Absolutely delicious!!!
Sounds awesome! Thanks so much Darby!
Do you skin your potatoes? I have regular yellow potatoes
Hi Baylee – I usually don’t. If they are a soft Yukon gold yellow potato, I wouldn’t bother with removing the skin. 🙂
Does this meal freeze well? If yes, at what stage do you freeze it? Before cooking? After? After potatoes but before chicken? TIA!!
Hi Catherine – I don’t recommend freezing this one if you are using the little potatoes. However, if you switch it out with russet potatoes – those tend to hold up better to the freezing process. Don’t cook before freezing. I haven’t tested it out myself but you’ll definitely need to add on to the cooking time since you’re cooking it from frozen.
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Only thing I might do differently next time is make a cheese sauce to go over it so it soaks down to the potatoes
Sounds awesome to me! Thanks so much Becky!
I made this today, and it was really good. I was a little skeptical because I had to omit the bacon because my husband was recently diagnosed with Crohns Disease and cant have bacon. I thought it might be a little on the dry side, but it was not. Even without the bacon, it was flavorful and tender. Thanks!
My picky family loved this dish when I made it tonight.
Loved it definitely a must have! Receipe was simple, quick, and hit with the family.
Awesome! Made this tonight – substituted chipolte ranch dressing, added fresh basil to the chicken portion & mushrooms & extra bacon & cheese to the topping portion. Hubby really enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe. Will be making it on werknights often – quick, easy & scrumptious
This was really great I would make it again
My family loved this! I used peeled, diced russet potatoes as that is what I had, and left off the onions, as they are not a favorite item in my house. Tasted great and will be made again many, many times . Thank you for sharing.
Made this tonight & added some cauliflower. Definately a make again & again. So good. Thank you
This meal is so good. But I do have question. After I cook the chicken it has a bunch of juice in the dish. Am I supposed to poor that out or am I doing something wrong?
Do you rinse your chicken before you cook it?
Maybe try patting it dry with a paper towel before you throw it on top!
Brandi, after seeing the pic and recipe my husband decides that’s what he wanted for his birthday dinner! I made it and the whole family (including me) absolutely loved it!! I made it once sticking solely to your recipe as a “trail run” we all loved it, and on his birthday I added some seasonings, the way we make our loaded baked, and it definitely enhanced it!! Thank you so much for this amazing dinner idea!! It will become a routine meal in my home!!! I added:
2 tbsp Mrs. Dash
2 tbsp garlic powder
Seasoning salt to taste
Amazing!!!
I usually use a bag of frozen potoates cook them for like 15-20mins then toss the chicken in the ranch with garlic powder, onion powder, Creole seasoning, half a packet of powder ranch and a dash of red pepper.
Sometimes I add jalapeno
It always comes out super tasty and is a monthly dinner!
Usually before I make everything i cook a whole pack of bacon. IN THE OVEN, then chop that up and throw it on top!
Hi Brittany! I love how you took this recipe and made it your own!! And yay Bacon! Ha!
Adding a can of Rotel adds a kick! Thanks for the recipe.
I made this tonight and substituted rotisserie chicken, and it worked out beautifully…added a little time to the initial potato baking, and then cut out the 20 minute chicken cooking time. Just tossed the chicken in ranch, spread it over the potatoes, added the cheese, onions, and bacon bits and cooked for 10 minutes. Perfect!
This was DELICIOUS!! My son and I were looking for new casserole recipes for dinner when we found this one. I used medium russet potatoes and cut them down to small cubes, added a packet of dry ranch seasoning while marinating the chicken, in addition to the liquid ranch dressing and topped it off with a dollop of sour cream when serving. Will definitely make this again! Thank you!!
This recipe is AMAZING!!! I have made it multiple times for my family and they always love it! Will always be a favorite!
Just made this for dinner tonight, and it’s really good. Very filling. I didn’t use any bacon since my family ate the bacon before I could add it in. I used russet potatoes, and an excellent locally made ranch dressing. Oh, and I tossed in fresh organic basil from my garden, 10 leaves, chopped.
Thanks for the recipe!