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 400˚F 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.)
Grubbcandi says
I made this tonight. Everyone ate every bit of it so it was pretty good. My 3 breasts were near a lb each- and thick, so I butterflied them. I should have added more ranch than what the recipe called for knowing they were so huge- we could barely taste the ranch at all. That being said, I had added the garlic powder, salt and pepper like someone said and it at least had some flavor. The bacon and cheese topping made it. I did cook the bacon separate and then added with the cheese in the last five min like another review suggested. Very good and had some crisp. So other than me needing to add more ranch, or buy smaller breasts next time when I make, it was an all around awesome meal that will be under my quick and easy section in my recipe catalog. Can’t go wrong with bacon!
Carrie Stone says
Do you cover the bacon chicken ranch with foil when you bake it?
Grubbcandi says
No, if you are cooking with the bacon on it, it won’t crisp. It gives the chicken a nice color even if you are doing bacon separate.
Kimber says
I don’t because I want the bacon to get as much crisp on it as possible, some prefer to cover it and cook the bacon separately to get it crispier then add it at the end. Hope that helps!
Jay Ren says
Dang, this looks good. I think I might try it tonight! I would just have to pick up some bacon on my way home from work. I can’t keep it on hand…I’m too tempted to eat it all!
Jen W says
Thanks for the easy recipe! It was so good! I do think next time I’ll either cook the bacon a little before hand or leave it in the oven longer to really cook the bacon. But it was cooked enough to enjoy tonight!
Sarah says
Dinner tonight! I added onions to mine, and it was delicious!
Beth says
Nutritional info??? Calorie intake?
Thomas says
Just finished making this. Boy, is it good, lip-smakin’ in fact! After reading the reviews, I decided a couple of changes…I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut into pieces, and dredged in some cornstarch. (1 tablespoon = 2 thighs) I boiled down the sauce a bit before adding the chicken (approx. 15 minutes), and once I added chicken it cooked very quickly. (20 minutes). Other then that, I did everything else the same and it was Awesome with a capital
Katie says
I LOVE this recipe, along with my hubby! We eat this a lot. Its the perfect weeknight meal. Soo delicious. Thank you for sharing! I have to say I love your blog and everything else you share. I recently posted a blog post about my top 10 favorite tried and true recipes found on Pinterest and included this one 🙂 http://www.meshkomoments.com/tried-true-pinterest-recipes/