Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole- this easy dish is packed with flavor- ranch, bacon, green chilis, and cheese make a perfect comfort food.

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This might be my latest favorite recipe. Not only does it taste good, but it’s easy to make. Very easy. And since I’m currently juggling a baby, easy dinners are becoming more common around here. (My poor husband hasn’t gotten our complicated Chicken & Wild Rice Soup or White Chicken Enchiladas in ages.)

I got the original recipe from Wheel ‘N Deal Mama. You might want to check out her original version. It’s lighter on the noodles (in fact, I thought there was WAY too much chicken without almost double the noodles…but I like my noodles). Ratios are a bit different. Way less garlic. And most importantly, hers is less spicy. In fact, hers doesn’t include any spices at all and half the amount of green chilis. She even made half of her casserole without any green chilis at all.

Two dark blue stoneware bowls of casserole with red cheesecloth on side. Vertical image

Notes about Recipe

This recipe calls for rotini noodles (or small closed spiral noodles). But really any heavy noodle would work for this dish. So don’t worry if you can’t find the right pasta.

We use Wright’s bacon. Wright’s bacon is large, thick-cut slices. If you’re using a smaller size bacon, I would use 10-12 slices instead of just 8.

While I use Hidden Valley ranch, I suggest you use your favorite ranch. Ranch is a large portion of the flavor in this dish. And if you’re using a ranch you don’t like, you’re going to hate it. For example, I can’t stand Kraft ranch (but each to their own). I can’t imagine eating this made with that!

I highly, highly suggest getting the ghost pepper salt. We get ours from The Spice & Tea Exchange.

Two dark blue stoneware bowls of casserole with red cheesecloth on side. Horizontal image.

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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Easy dish packed with flavor- ranch, bacon, green chilis, and cheese make a perfect comfort food.

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Ingredients

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 slices bacon thick-cut
16 oz. Rotini pasta noodles
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 C. milk
1 C. Ranch dressing
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/8 tsp. smoked paprika
2 C. shredded Mexican cheese divided
2 4.5 oz. can chopped green chilis
Dash ghost pepper salt optional

Instructions

Mise en place. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
Place chicken in oven-safe dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Chop into bite-size pieces. (Leave oven on.)
While chicken is cooking, pan-fry bacon in a large pan. (Do NOT discard bacon grease or clean pan.) Press grease out of bacon. Allow to cool. Chop.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Set aside.
While noodles are cooking, take pan of bacon drippings. Discard all but approx. 2 tsp. of bacon drippings.
Add butter and garlic to pan. Sauté for 1 minute over medium heat.
Add chicken. Sprinkle flour over chicken. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, until all the bacon drippings and butter soaked up.
Add milk, ranch, chipotle chili powder, and smoked paprika. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is slightly thickened.
Add 1 cup of cheese. Stir and cook for 30 seconds-1 minute or until cheese is melted.
Add cooked noodles. Mix thoroughly.
Add chopped green chilis and chopped bacon. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Sprinkle with ghost pepper salt.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot.

Notes

For the bacon, we use Wrights Applewood or Hickory Smoked. Both are thick, large pieces. If you’re using smaller pieces, I would use 10-12 slices of bacon instead of just 8.

Ranch dressing- I use Hidden Valley for this recipe.

Ghost pepper salt- this is hard to find. We order is from The Spice & Tea Exchange. It’s optional, but it adds a wonderful kick to this dish.

Let me know what you thought…

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Would you like to see more easy recipes? Now that I’ve had a baby, I’ve noticed that I’m picking the easy recipes for cooking. Haha.

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