Easy Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta – a creamy and delicious pasta dish filled with cheese, chicken and bacon all made in one pot! This pasta can’t be beat!
Anytime chicken and bacon get together, you know it’s going to be delicious—like our bbq bacon wrapped chicken bites! Chicken + bacon are the stars of the show in this pasta recipe. Beware, it’s going to be a new favorite!
Chicken + Bacon + Ranch + Pasta
Who here loves Pasta?! It’s something our family has at least once a week since it’s loved by the whole family. We often make Fettuccine and Spaghetti and recently tried out Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta that everyone loved!
We realize you can’t go wrong when you’re combining cheese, chicken, bacon ranch and pasta. And to make it even better, this recipe took only 20 minutes to whip up AND it’s all made in one pot. That’s a dinner winner in our book.
This recipe was creamy, cheesy and simple enough for the kiddos to like it too.
Making Chicken Bacon Pasta
As mentioned, this recipe is quite simple.
SAUCE. Whisk chicken broth and ranch dressing mix in a large skillet over medium heat, until well blended. Add cream cheese and cook 1-2 minutes.
ADD CHICKEN. Add chicken, pasta and 1 cup of your cheese, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 16-18 minutes. Stir occasionally.
BACON. Once pasta is tender, top with bacon and remaining cheese and serve warm.
What is the best way to cook bacon?
- In the oven: You can use our oven baked Bacon recipe.
- In a skillet on the stove top over medium low heat or Use and electric griddle set to 325 degrees F
- Turn the bacon occasionally to get and even cook an each side. The length of cook time will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon and how crispy you prefer it.
Substitutions/Additions:
- I used rotini noodles, but any bite sized pasta works such as bowtie, elbow, shell, penne, ziti or wagon wheel
- Add veggies: such as bell peppers or broccoli florets. Add them the same time you add your chicken.
- Spice it up with red chili flakes, paprika, or chili powder
- To make this even easier use leftover rotisserie chicken
- Use shredded turkey to change it up (especially if you have leftovers from the holiday)
FREEZING & STORING
How to store pasta? Place in a tupperware and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Can I freeze this pasta? Yes! If you plan to freeze this dish you’ll want to create a little more cream base so add 4 cups chicken broth, 2 ½ tbsp ranch dressing and 10 oz cream cheese. Also, cook the pasta to al dente (about 10 minutes) and remove from the heat.
Allow the dish to cool. Place it in an airtight freezer safe container. Freeze for 1-2 months. Thaw. In a skillet on the stove very slowly bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Top with bacon bits and cheese.
We love that this can all be made in the same pot. Add the fact that it’s cheesy and delicious, and of course, we love it!
For more chicken pasta recipes, check out:
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- Favorite Chicken Tetrazzini
- Chicken Scallopini
- Easy Chicken Spaghetti
- Lemon Chicken Pasta
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp ranch dressing seasoning mix
- 8 oz cream cheese cut into 1 inch pieces, softened
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 2 cups uncooked rotini pasta
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Whisk chicken broth and ranch dressing mix in a large skillet over medium heat, until well blended.
- Add cream cheese and cook 1-2 minutes.
- Add chicken, pasta and 1 cup of your cheese, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 16-18 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Once pasta is tender, top with bacon and remaining cheese and serve warm. ENJOY!
Not sure what went wrong but it is very dry, almost like there wasn’t enough sauce/broth but I followed the recipe to a T. I even added more broth than required. Once all ingredients are in, the noodles don’t really cook because there’s not enough sauce. I feel like this would’ve been better if it was more wet/saucy.