Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is a well-balanced, one-pan meal full of lean protein and veggies! In less than 30 minutes, you can make this flavor-packed meal with just a few simple steps and common ingredients.
These days, it seems like every day is a busy day. This makes it even tougher to decide what to have for dinner. It always feels like there are only a few meals that usually come to mind that are quick, easy, and require minimal clean up.
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is one of those special recipes that seems to check all the boxes. It has a great balance of lean protein and fresh vegetables, requires only one pot, and is ready in less than 30 minutes — Perfect for busy weeknights!
Any time we discover a new recipe that checks all these boxes it gets added to our rotation! Another great thing about this recipe, it freezes and reheats really well. This is a great choice for meal prepping, whether you plan to freeze it or store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days to serve later in the week!
Want more easy dinners? Check out this list of one-pan pasta recipes!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- QUICK AND SIMPLE – You can have this one-pot recipe ready to serve in less than 30 minutes! It will just require a few common, simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
- COMPLETE MEAL– This a well-balanced, complete meal full of lean protein and vegetables!
- MINIMAL CLEAN UP– This recipe only requires one pot or dutch oven so you don’t have to hassle with a big clean up after the meal!
- GREAT MEAL PREP RECIPE – An ideal meal prep recipe, this pasta freezes and reheats well so you easily can make it ahead of time and still have a delicious, flavorful meal even months after you initially prepared it!
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. For exact measurements, keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card below.
- Low-sodium chicken broth, dry Ranch seasoning, and half and half: This will form the base for this recipe’s pasta sauce. You can use packaged ranch seasoning or make this homemade blend with buttermilk powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and a handful of other common seasonings and herbs.
- Dry pasta: We used gluten free rigatoni noodles for this recipe, but any dry noodle will work. Just make sure to use 8 oz of dry pasta. I think this works best with short pastas (penne pasta, rotini pasta, etc)
- Cream cheese: Helps create the creamy texture and rich flavor
- Cooked chicken, diced or shredded: Any cut of chicken will work. We recommend chicken breast if you prefer white meat and chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat.
- Frozen peas and carrots: Frozen peas and carrots are needed for the recipe cooking time to be accurate. Fresh peas and carrots would cook faster.
- Bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled: save some of the crumbled bacon for the garnish. Thick-cut bacon gives a meatier texture while thin-cut bacon gives a crisper texture. Use whichever you prefer.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: Cheddar is our personal preference given this recipe’s flavor combos, but feel free to use the cheese of your choice.
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
This recipe only requires a pot or dutch oven and a few simple steps. Below is a quick step-by-step guide to walk you through this delicious chicken pasta recipe.
Add Sauce and Pasta
First, you will make the sauce. In a large pot or Dutch oven, whisk together the chicken broth, Ranch seasoning, and half and half and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the liquid comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid the pasta sticking to the bottom. REMEMBER: check the cooking time for your specific pasta. If you are using a different shape, brand or style (gluten free, chickpea, etc.) the cooking time will vary.
Add the Cream Cheese
Once the pasta is tender remove the lid. Don’t worry, it will seem like there is too much liquid left, but this is important, it aids in creating the perfect creamy, rich sauce. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted and completely incorporated.
Add Remaining Ingredients
Stir in the cooked chicken, peas, carrots, most of the bacon, and cheddar cheese. Stir over low heat until the cheese has melted and a thick, creamy sauce has formed. Taste before serving and add any salt or pepper you might want. We found that the ranch, bacon, and cheddar had enough flavor for us. When it meets your preferences, garnish with the remaining bacon and serve!
Serve
This recipe is a great option to serve as a well-rounded stand alone dish. However, here are a few options if you do wish to serve with some sides.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Reheating Instructions: This recipe does well reheating in the microwave. Reheat in 30-second increments at 50% until reheated to your desired level.
- Refrigerator Storage: Allow to cool completely. Then place in an airtight container. You can store this recipe in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer Storage: After allowing to cool completely, place in a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t panic if it appears there is too much liquid after cooking the pasta. This will make a great sauce.
- Any kind of pasta will work, we used rigatoni. This recipe can also easily be made gluten free simply by choosing a gluten free pasta.
- Cooking time: remember, if using a different style, shape, or variety of pasta, the cooking time will vary. Gluten free, chickpea pasta, and smaller shapes will all have a shorter cooking time so you need to watch the dish closely and remove from heat when the pasta is al dente.
- Use thick cut or pepper bacon for a delicious flavor boost.
- For the best texture and flavor, use freshly shredded cheese. Pre-packaged shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents to prevent clumping which can negatively affect texture of the recipe. Freshly shredded cheese also has a better flavor.
- Use a rotisserie chicken or other leftover chicken to get the most bang for your buck! With a rotisserie chicken, you will have numerous servings of both dark and light meat that you can stretch into several meals!
- If you like spicy foods, add some heat with a little hot sauce.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta FAQ
This recipe can easily be made gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. Banza makes a gluten free rigatoni, or Barilla gluten free penne works nicely as well. Just remember the cooking time will likely be a few minutes less, so watch the dish and remove from heat when the pasta is tender.
Yes, this recipe can be stored in the freezer, in a freezer safe container, for up to 3 months.
Fresh will work, just be sure the carrots are cut very small to ensure they cook through.
No flour or cornstarch is needed because the liquid ingredients used make a lovely, creamy sauce that doesn’t need additional ingredients to make the sauce thick.
You can use the noodle of your choice. We chose gluten free rigatoni noodles for this recipe.
More easy dinner recipes:
- One Pan Shrimp Pasta
- Easy Enchilada Skillet
- Spicy Mexican Drumsticks and Rice
- Quick & Easy Taco Mac
- Asian Pork Chops and Broccoli
Get the Recipe: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp ranch seasoning
- 1 cup half and half
- 8 oz dry rigatoni pasta, choose a gluten free option if following a GF diet
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- ½ lb bacon cooked crisp and crumbled, reserve some for garnish
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, whisk together the broth, ranch seasoning, and half n half. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the pasta and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid the pasta sticking to the bottom.
- Once the pasta is cooked, uncover (don’t worry, there will seem like there’s too much liquid left, it’ll make a great sauce), add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
- Stir in the chicken, peas and carrots, most of the bacon, and cheddar cheese. Heat until warmed through and the cheese is melted, then garnish with more bacon and serve!
Notes
- You can also make your own ranch seasoning if you prefer homemade.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
