Chicken, bacon, ranch and cheese are combined to make one of the most flavorful and easy dinner recipes that your whole family is sure to love! This is the perfect recipe for an quick weeknight dinner.
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You know when you find something that works for you. It is like a weight off of your shoulders and a huge sigh of relief! That is what happened when I accidentally made our first chicken bake one night for dinner!
I needed something easy and quick and really had to just work with what I had in the fridge. The fajita chicken bake was born, and we were hooked! My family loved it because it is SO delicious! I loved it because it took mere minutes to prep and get in the oven for a hot and fresh meal on a busy weeknight. It entered our regular meal rotation and I started cooking up even more ideas! {You can see all of my Easy Chicken Bake Recipes here!}
I have always loved creating in the kitchen. It is really one of my favorite ways to spend my time. So I started brainstorming and came up with an almost endless list of yummy chicken bake ideas to feed my family. The one I am sharing today has definitely been a favorite with its rich savory flavors.
The Bacon Ranch Chicken Bake is probably one of the quickest dishes to put together since it requires only 4 ingredients and about 5 minutes of prep. And I mean really? Who doesn’t LOVE the flavors of bacon, ranch and cheese?! It is a match made in HEAVEN! I am telling you… this is a major husband pleaser right here.
In my opinion these chicken bakes are even better than freezer cooking since it is all of the ease with fresh from the oven textures! To make this baby, just grab your four ingredients and get started.
Grab a baking dish. Any ol’ dish will do, but my FAVORITE for chicken bakes is this 2 QT Pyrex dish. It is about 11×7, so a little smaller than their normal baking dish and absolutely perfect for 3 chicken breasts which is what I usually make.
Trim the chicken and lay it flat in the dish. My family eats about 1/2 breast each so making 3 gives us about 6 servings which will feed us for dinner plus give a couple of left overs for lunches that week. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts and your appetites you can easily adjust the recipe for more or less.
Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of ranch dressing on each chicken breast and then top with bacon strips. I used one whole strip cut in half for each piece of chicken, but again, use more or less for your taste.
Next place the chicken in an oven preheated to 400ËšF for 25-35 minutes or until it is just cooked through and no longer pink. Remove it from the oven and sprinkle cheese over the top and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. The cook time can vary based on how thick your chicken breasts are, so make sure you cut into them and check them to make sure they are cooked though. Also, if you want to speed up the cook time, you can cut the chicken into strips and use a larger baking dish.
When you take the chicken out of the oven, you are going to have a steaming hot, incredibly delicious dinner that your family will devour in no time flat!
I like to serve my bacon ranch chicken bake over wild rice which conveniently cooks in just the time it takes to bake the chicken. It is also absolutely amazing served over greens for a healthier option. Or if you have a picky family, it is easy to let each person decide what they want their chicken served over without really causing you any extra time or effort.
***Scroll to bottom for FULL PRINTABLE recipe!***
If this sounds awesome but a bit to calorie rich, check out my new lightened up version of the Bacon Ranch Chicken Bake. 5 ingredients, one dish, and much lighter!
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Bacon Ranch Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 3-4 Chicken Breasts
- 6-8 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing
- 6-8 Slices Bacon
- 4 Ounces Cheddar Cheese or Colby Jack Cheese
Instructions
- Place your chicken breast in a baking dish
- Spread 1-2 tablespoons of ranch dressing on each chicken breast
- Slice bacon to fit chicken breast and layer on top of ranch
- Bake in oven preheated to 400?F on top rack for 25-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
- Top with cheese and return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with rice or over greens.
- Enjoy!
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
linda says
are these boneless breasts
Sara E McCracken says
I’m trying this recipe with thinly cut chicken breast, rolled with ranch insode, and wrapped with bacon with more ranch as the glue. Hoping it works out!!!
Tampa says
I love bacon and ranch, chicken is not my favorite have you tried it with other meats?
Alycia says
Trying this tonight! Will come back and let you know!
Mailisha Chesney says
Thanks for all of the great easy chicken bake recipes! I’m totally sucking as a SAHM (the mom part I’m finally doing well, but the cooking-n-cleaning housewife part… not so much), so your recipes might just be saving me from divorce! (only a slight exaggeration… sort of)
THANKS!!!!!!
Nia says
That comment made me sad. Please do not reduce yourself to confined gender-typed roles and equate not doing well as a housewife with the reason someone wants to remain married to you. Women are superheros-not people who need to please a man to have them stay around. Please be kind to yourself – there’s no such thing as perfect housewife. Be genuine and kind to yourself and do your best!
Mailisha Chesney says
Wow, Nia. Your comment made a lot of assumptions about me and where I was coming from! So sorry to “make you” sad. I find it sad that someone would choose to judge and comment in such a manner, but that’s just me. I’m actually married to a woman so there’s no issue with me feeling like I need to “please a man” to have them stay around. Wow, I bet you feel just a little bit sheepish right about now, yes?
And BTW, my wife and I made a deal ahead of time that she would keep her job to pay for our life and I would quit my job and have the babies and stay home with them, doing most of the daily “mommy” duties and most of the daily “housewife” duties, such as cooking and cleaning. When I wrote this, I was feeling that she was fulfilling her end of the bargain quite well, but I felt that I wasn’t quite measuring up on my end. That’s all I was saying. Perhaps your judgement is misplaced?
Jenn says
I have made this twice now and it came out all soupy. What am I doing wrong, or is supposed to thicken up?
Michelle Chase says
Made this recipe last night for the family, the chicken was filled with flavor and the family loved it. What an amazing 4 ingredient recipe, will definitely make it again
Heather lawson says
How many servings is in this bacon ranch chicken?
Diana says
My family love this dish. Can it be frozen before it’s cooked? Wasn’t sure how it would freeze with the ranch.
Megan E Wagner says
My family absolutely loves this, but I found that by using dry ranch packets instead the bacon gets more crispy then with the dressing and my family definitely prefers the crispy bacon. One of our favorite meals!!