Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

This dish was completely inspired by my husband.

One of my hubby’s favorite sandwiches consists of chicken, bacon and ranch.  So I thought to myself how fun it would be to surprise him and put those things into a dinner dish.  I made a Ranch-Alfredo Sauce and the end result was super yummy!  This will definitely be going into our dinner rotation!


4.8 from 13 reviews
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
 
Super easy to make and ridiculously delicious!
Recipe type: Entrée
Ingredients
  • 10-12 oz penne pasta
  • 2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
  • ¾ cup cooked and crumbled bacon
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 cups heavy cream (milk would be fine, too)
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic salt
  • ⅓ cup ranch dressing, I used Lite House
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to its package's directions. Drain. I always add a little olive oil after I drain it and stir in around so the pasta noodles don't stick together or the pot.
  2. Toss in cooked and chopped chicken as well as cooked and crumbled bacon into the pasta.
  3. TO MAKE RANCH ALFREDO SAUCE: Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir to combine. Once you have your roux, add heavy cream (or milk) stir constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in Garlic salt, onion powder and ranch dressing until well combined.
  4. Pour ranch alfredo over pasta, chicken and bacon. Stir to evenly combine.
  5. Add in shredded cheddar cheese and stir to combine.
  6. Pour into a casserole pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: chicken, dinner, pasta

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Comments

  1. Roberta Stetson

    Add some peas or broccoli and it would be perfect for us. This is a must try recipe. Thanks !

    1. Daphne Lesh

      4

      That's exactly what I did! I added peas, and it turned out fabulously! I might try it next time with broccoli florets, sounds about right!

  2. Debbie

    Going to try this one tonight, it looks delish! But then all of the recipes I have tried from your site are awesome!! Thanks.

  3. Anna

    Hi Chef in Training. This looks delicious! I have a couple quick questions...how many chicken breasts would equal approximately 2 cups? Also, how do you prepare your chicken before you (freeze?) it for using it in dishes that require cooled chicken? Thank you!!

    1. Chef in Training

      I used 3 chicken breasts and got about 2 cups worth. It depends on the size of your chicken breasts. I do sometimes make up my chicken before hand and freeze it if I have recipes on the weekly menu that use them and then thaw them out as needed. Sometimes I just make it the day of and refrigerate it until I need it. Alternatively, if you want an even easier route, you can get a rotisserie chicken and shred it up, too.

  4. Susan

    This looks yummy. will definitely be making this for the family.

    I just have to tell you I've made several items from your website and have never been dissappointed. Thank you so much for posting recipes that are enjoyable for the whole family with ingredients I can easily purchase or have in the pantry. Your recipes make it easy to cook at home.

  5. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel

    My mouth is watering! I love chicken, bacon and ranch sandwiches! The combo of flavors are so delish together, and that was super smart to make your own homemade ranch alfredo--yummy!

  6. Kathy M.

    I cook for church suppers each Wednesday and think this would be a definite hit! Could you please tell me is the ranch dressing you use the bottled type or are you referring to the powder mix? Thank you and I enjoy your recipes.

    1. Chef in Training

      I used my favorite bottled ranch dressing. Let me know how you like it :)

  7. sally @ sallys baking addiction

    Yup pretty sure my bf would go bat crazy if I made this. Has all of his favorites! What a comforting and EASSSSSSY meal to impress :)

  8. Lynn

    This looks so good! Love your blog. Especially liked your hubby's recent post. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes.

  9. Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen

    This looks so good! One of my favorite pasta salads is a BBQ ranch pasta salad with chicken & bacon! I would be honored to have you share this recipe at Mom's Test Meal Mondays!
    http://momstestkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/moms-test-meal-mondays-7.html

    Hope you are having a great week!
    Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen

  10. Tammy

    Pinned this, less than am hour ago, to make for my son (I think I might bake it with cheese on top!) And just thought I would stop back by amd tell you that 7 other people have already repinned or liked it!

  11. Elizabeth

    A picture says a million words...!!!!

  12. Sarah

    I tried this for supper this evening, and it was yummy! The only problem was that my chicken was a little tough, but the rest was delicious!

    1. Kori

      If you want really nicely moist chicken. Sear in a pan with a little oil, then bake it the rest of the way in the oven. Searing seals in the juices.

  13. linda

    this recipe was amazing!!! my boyfriend loved it def a keeper thanks for posting!

  14. Jennie

    This was SO delicious!! My entire family of 5 inhaled this. Thanks Nikki!

  15. meghan cope

    How Do I Fix The Chicken. Boil,Bake Or Fry

    1. Stephanie

      I am very excited to be making this for the first time tonight. I'll blog the outcome and will link back here!

      I cooked my chicken last night in my slow cooker using my go-to basic chicken recipe. It is so easy, frugal, and the chicken shreds incredibly easily when it is done. http://sureisgood.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/easiest-chicken-ever/

      Anytime I make a casserole, chicken salad, or anything requiring pre-cooked chicken I use this recipe because it is just foolproof and so flavorful.

  16. Vera

    Love your site! I've enjoyed several of your recipes, this one being the most recent. The whole family enjoyed it. I posted it on my blog... http://pintheredidthat.blogspot.com/2012/09/chicken-bacon-ranch-pasta.html. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!

  17. Kiley

    I was wondering how many people this will feed.

    1. Mac

      I doubled the recipe and almost had an overflowing 9 x 13 pan. I would say at least 5-6 people but I have all boys so you know ; ).

  18. Mac

    I made this for dinner tonight, it was sooo goood!

  19. alayna guthrie

    seems yummy! before i try it... how many does it serve?

  20. Hilary

    This was SO good... thank you for sharing your recipe! I'll be making this again and again :)

  21. Candis Bishop

    I made this and it was soooooooooo good! I will make it again and again!

  22. Courtney

    Instead of ranch dressing, could a packet of dry ranch mix work as well?

    1. Jessica

      This looks so good.... I will try w Greek yogurt and dry ranch mix! Adds a lot of protein and no fat!

  23. kayla mutch

    this looks awesome an ill be making it for dinner tomorrow... i have a couple questions what size dish like a 9x13? an about how much does this make

  24. Pamela

    Omg I made this last night! It's awesome!!! I made a couple of adjustments ... I used a pound of turkey bacon and added more ranch dressing! My husband it not a one pot kind of man but he loved it! Thanks for sharing!

  25. Real Cook

    Just looking at the recipe I knew the sauce was going to be very bland - and sure enough, it was! My husband and I tried it before coating the pasta and neither of us liked it - we both made the "yuck!" face. I trashed it and went with my gut - use some of the pan drippings. You get a MUCH more flavorful sauce just by using half butter and half drippings (from cooking the chicken & bacon) in your roux. Any roux that starts out with butter and flour when you have perfectly good pan drippings is a waste of beautiful flavor. I ended up adding some chicken broth, more garlic, sauteed onion, and other flavors as well. The end result was a wonderfully smooth sauce just bursting with flavor. Now I know some people with chime in with "omg that makes it SO unhealthy" and that's fine - but that's why you don't make this dish every single week! Everything in moderation, I say. (I also seasoned the chicken very well before cooking, yet still managed to add NO salt.) I don't believe in sacrificing flavor for a few grams of fat. Oh and also, DO NOT add olive oil to your pasta! The pasta is SUPPOSED to be sticky (from the starches) - that is what grabs on to the sauce. Never ever ever rinse pasta or coat it in olive oil when you plan on covering it in sauce.

    All in all, the idea of this recipe is creative but the recipe itself is very bland and full of errors.

    1. Jen

      I thought this was very rude. I know we have freedom of speech, but I was raised to be respectful, with Christian values, and you are doing nothing but degrade her. If you were trying to help her, you failed.....it was just rude.

    2. Sausha

      Oh please. She was simply stating her opinion. I'm sure the writer of this article is used to constructive criticism. Which btw healthy. Assuming, because she doesn't like the recipe, that she is not 'Christian' or have values is absurd. Learn to ingest feedback. It'll get you far.

    3. Ann

      I totally agree with you!!

    4. Heather

      You're the only one that didn't enjoy it. It sounds like you were interested in making yourself feel good by this post. Hope it worked, you sound like your confidence might need a boost.

  26. Christy

    I made this tonight for my family and my Mom, Dad and sister. ALL of us LOVED it! My 4 and 5 year olds even loved it! I used half heavy cream and half milk but I think next time I'll use all milk and maybe half the bacon just so it's a little healthier. It's delicious with all of it but we're just trying to cut stuff where we can. It's nice that this recipe can be flexible and will still be delicious. I had no doubt that we'd love this since every recipe of yours that we've tried has been a hit. Thanks! :)

  27. Molly

    I made this last night and it was yummy. Will make this again. Thank you.

  28. ashlee

    This was so good!!! I just made it, me and my husband are in love with it :)

  29. Elizabeth

    I made this for the first time the other night - AMAZING! I'm so glad I found this website. My husband is a picky eater and literally every recipe I've made on here has been so simple and SO good! Kudos to you guys for creating a great list of recipes!

  30. Jennifer

    I made this last night finally, I've been dying to do it for ages but finally got around to it. I cooked the chicken in the bacon grease and added a bit more ranch and it was PERFECT! Just to die for, my husband approved so it's going on our dinnertime rotation. I featured it on my blog as well and linked the original recipe back to you:

    http://www.cupcakesandcombatboots.com/2013/03/chicken-bacon-ranch-pasta.html

    Thanks so much for a wonderful dinner, it was heavenly!

  31. Tana

    I am making this tonight, I tasted it already and its delicious. I cant wait for my family to try it! Thanks for the recipe, I found it on pinterest

  32. Kaylee

    Making this right now! We had your chicken cordon bleu pasta dish last week and LOVED it, so I am excited to taste this one when it's finished! Thanks!

  33. Ashley

    Did you use ranch powder or liquid ranch dressing?

    1. Mikayla

      liquid :)

    2. Tiffany

      I would say 5-6, depending on if there are any heavy eaters.

  34. Brooke

    About how many people will this serve? My family loves chicken bacon ranch pizza so I figure this will be a definite hit at our house!!

  35. Richard Blevins

    My son is a very picky eater, and he loved this dish. I didn't add olive oil, just personal preference. Thanks for posting it.

  36. Mikayla

    I made this for my boyfriend and he could not stop talking about it! He's obsessed with my cooking now and brings his fellow Marines over to show off his new favorite dish on a near weekly basis.

  37. Tiffany

    This came out insane. My fiancé loved it. And not to mention it was probably the easiest thing to make., especially since you can prep most of it in advance. I used milk instead of the cream, and the sauce came out to be the perfect consistency for us.

  38. Faith

    Hello just thought i would put my .02 in this recipe is amazing but you should try adding peas

  39. Jamia

    This was huge hit at my house!!! It is on the regular rotation, fast and simple! I used Wish Bone Ranch dressing.

  40. Shell

    Made this one tonight as a family cooking night! It was really good. Next time I think I'd mix up some hidden valley ranch first and use it because the bottled stuff I had on hand left an aftertaste. Will definitely make it again, so thanks for sharing!

  41. Nicole

    Looks Yummy D' Lish! How many does this recipe serve?

  42. amanda

    I tried this recipe for my family and they loved it. Just needed more sauce.I'm sixteen years old and I am also a chef in training so this is an awesome site in general:D

  43. Valerie Rivera

    I found this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago and had to give it a try. My hubby and I LOVED it!! Also a very simple recipe which I love. I will be making this again tonight!

  44. Catherine

    This was delicious! Thank you for sharing! Even my picky eater ate it!!

  45. Jennifer

    Getting ready to make this. Cant wait. I will report back how I did!

  46. Briana

    Here to leave a review! :) I doubled the recipe (feeding five kids, plus mom and dad)! This dish was terrrrrrrific. It was creamy and flavorful. Even our picky one said "I think I could eat this all...and I've never even had it before". Thanks for the great recipes! I love this site!
    Briana

  47. Lacee

    This was very good! It's a keeper!!

  48. Janet

    This sounds so good! I will add veggies to it to make it a complete meal but willbe trying this one soon!

  49. Marlo Newman

    Hello!
    I made this dish last night, and having a family of 5 (3 of which are very particular eaters) this was a HUGE hit! I made a double recipe, and the very little that was left (we have 3 boys... and they can eat!) was taken to lunch today.

    I cant wait to try more of your recipes! Keep up the great work!

  50. Veronica

    I made a few changes (as I always do with any recipe): Made with whole wheat pasta, about 1/3rd pound of pork bacon, added 1/3rd pound of frozen peas to the pasta while cooking, sauted a white onion and some minced garlic in the bacon grease instead of the onion powder and garlic salt, and used the couple Tbsps of bacon grease and added 2 Tbsp butter to that for the sauce. We thought it needed more ranch dressing. Baked it in an oven-proof skillet instead of a 9x13 pan. Overall, it was delicious and everyone ate their fill, but it did dirty a lot of dishes!

  51. Erika

    Just discovered your site and I am hooked!!! Found you through a post on Facebook by six sisters for your easy pizza dough - can’t wait to see what you make with that!

  52. Happy

    This was AMAAAAAZING!! The first time I made it, it was perfection. The second time I made it, I had guests coming over so I left it in the oven for a while on "warm" and it dried it out terribly. Be careful not to dry it out!

    1. Bethannie

      If it dries out add extra ranch ad it comes back to life!!!

  53. Alisha

    Does this freeze well?

  54. Jacquie Dolce

    4

    It's a " must try" ! Looks yummy! A combo of spaghetti carbonara and a take off of chicken catchatori without tomato sauce. Can't go wrong when it's pasta!!

  55. Bethannie

    5

    Made this for the Fourth of July picnic my family had and it was an instant hit! Now it is a "mandatory" rotation in our dinner schedual!!! T was super easy to make and beyond delicious!

  56. Mariah

    My man looooved this recipe. Very happy it turned out well :)

  57. Stephanie

    This looks yummy and I think my kids would love it. I am planning to try it this weekend but was wondering if this could be done in a crockpot?

  58. Sheila

    Girlfriend, you have the best recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  59. Jenn Every

    Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! I think next time I will add some broccoli to it. Thanks for the recipe! :)

  60. Ann

    Can I use corn starch instead of flour? Thank you very much!

  61. Trixi

    My husband is also a huge chicken/bacon/ranch lover & I have to make this for him! Sounds absolutely delicious & looks super easy to make....thanks for sharing! :)

  62. Terri

    5

    Made this tonight and it was a hit. I love ranch but have tried this type of recipe before but it was a little to much ranch, it was to rich. This is just right. I will make this again. Thanks!

  63. sean kevin

    5

    Best pasta recipe ever! The family loved it and we finished it all up. THANK YOU!

  64. Shannon

    I was wondering if you could tell me approximately how many people a single batch of this recipe would serve. I am planning on making this for my Wednesday night dinner at church and need to get an idea of how many batches I need.

  65. Ahorsesoul

    5

    Made this tonight. It converted to a gluten free menu with corn starch instead of floor and pasta from Aldis. Excellent.

  66. Karley Giles

    This recipe is fantastic! We are pasta lovers in our home and we needed a different dish to spice up our menu, and this was the perfect dish to do it. It has become a family favorite of ours, and it will most definitely be a keeper.
    I have tried it with both heavy cream and regular milk. For me, I personally like it a lot better with the heavy cream, to me the milk made it a tab bit too sweet. I’m so glad that I came across it, thank you for sharing!
    -Karley

  67. Maria

    4

    Good recipe. Personally though I prefer to add the garlic salt and onion powder while the milk and butter are cooking. I feel it's too overpowering adding it after I've removed it from heat

  68. Joyce

    I'm gonna try this tomorrow

  69. Susan

    Looks so delicious I had to Print it,.You have the Best Printable ! recipe that I have seen, it does not take 2 or 3 pages and has a perfect size picture included within the recipe, I will be printing many more from you! Thank you so much!

  70. Ashli

    5

    I love this recipe, but this time I didn't have milk. I used chicken broth and I think it's better than both the cream and milk. Tastes great!

  71. Melissa

    I love this recipe! The whole family loves it, even my picky husband lol. Definitely a keeper. Thanks!

  72. Ashley

    I love this recipe soo much. I use it for my kids lunches and appatizers for my family gatherings!

  73. Katie Kelly

    This looks so good! Can you serve this cold? I'm thinking this would be such a great side dish for the summer to go with burgers.

  74. Catlien

    What is ranch dressing? Can you leave it out or substitude it with something else? Can,t get that over here in Indonesia. Tq

  75. Christine

    5

    This was stuck in my printer queue on my Ipad from who knows when, so I considered it act of divine intervention and decided to make it for dinner (how convenient that I had a bag of cooked chicken and some precooked bacon on hand!)

    This is one of my husband's favorites. I don't bother with the oven, and serve it right from the stove. (we like it extra saucy) but I'm totally going to try peas next time.

  76. Elissa

    5

    Really not an Alfredo sauce... more correctly ranch mac'n cheese... but just referring to the directions, it makes no claim in the name... Not to take away from how absolutely fantastic this is. A huge favorite in my house. One of the few recipes I've not tweaked at all (except to maybe add a few peas).

  77. Charles Krautbauers

    We made this tonight. 5 stars all the way.

  78. Heather Andrews

    5

    This was really good!! I added fresh spinach to it just before baking and doubled the recipe due to family size. Not even one single bacon crumble left! Simple to prepare. Adding this to the books!! WOW!

  79. Kim

    5

    Found recipe on Facebook. Made this tonight. Added a little Parmesan to the butter, flour and cream mixture and salt and pepper. So yummy! Chopped up and sautéed bl/sl thighs while I had the bacon cooking in the oven. Would make again!

  80. Anita

    A must try, looks delicious

  81. edward miller

    Great easy recipe. Turned out really well.

  82. Gayle

    Adding oil to your pasta prevents the sauce from sticking as it should.. The recipe sounds delicious..

  83. Linda

    Excellent recipe for my left over chicken! Made it a couple of times and it's amazing.

  84. Alexandra Largen

    5

    Thank you so much for this! It was added to our dinner rotation a couple years ago and has become a family favorite.