A rich and delicious breaded, baked chicken casserole dish topped with ranch, bacon, and lots of melted cheese. This Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is sure to please your family.
It may be August, but here in New England, but it sure has been chilly and damp these past few days. I am thinking Mother Nature might be trying to skip right to Fall already!
It has been so reminiscent of cooler Autumn days that I have already been thinking of reverting from my grill to my oven on a daily basis. The comforts of smelling sauce recipes, casseroles, and bakes has me warm and cozy inside.
I decided that the first recipe I was going to bring back to my monthly menu plan was my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole Recipe. We tried this last Winter and it was such a hit with my kiddos that I couldn’t wait to try it again.
This time around I used the new and improved Kraft Pourables Ranch Dressing. After reading that it is now creamier, with more buttermilk and savory herbs, I couldn’t wait to finish off my bake with it.
While I was at Walmart picking up the ingredients for my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, I also picked up an additional bottle of Kraft Pourables Zesty Italian, (now with even more herbs and spices) for my heirloom tomatoes.
I found both the reinvented Kraft Pourables Ranch, and Zesty Italian Dressing (with better tastes) in the condiments aisle of my local Walmart store.
Now, onto the most delicious baked meal ever! If you family loves oven baked, coated chicken with tons of ooey gooey cheese, crispy bacon, and cracker crumbs–this recipe is for you!!
The buttered crackers and cheddar melt together and give the chicken a mock fried taste. Since I LOVE crispy bacon, I actually put the bacon crumbles, ranch, and additional cheese on during the last 10 minutes of baking time.
This recipe is the perfect meal for cool days, parties, and for days when you just want to splurge.
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
I am really loving my decision to use Kraft ranch dressing because it gave my crispy chicken the perfect kick! All I needed was a nice glass of water with lemon and the laughter of my family to enjoy this delicious meal!
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of chicken tenders
- 10 ounces of cheddar cheese sprinkles
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup milk
- Kraft Pourables Ranch Dressing
- 6 slices of crispy cooked bacon
- 1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz Crackers-crushed
Directions:
Prepare 3 bowls; one for the milk, 6 ounces of cheddar, and the last for the crushed crackers.
Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray
Cook your bacon on a microwave safe plate until crispy.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dip the chicken tenders into the milk, then cheese, and finally into the cracker crumbs. Be sure to firmly press the mixture onto your tenders; repeat.
Once all your chicken tenders are coated, and lining the casserole, place them into your warmed oven.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven, and add a layer of ranch dressing, then the remaining cheese, and finally the bacon crumbles. Place bake in the oven for 8 minutes.
Serve your Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Dressing warm, and gooey! This recipe is definitely one of the splurges that makes life wonderful! I am sure your family will love it, so be sure to give it a try!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken tenders
- 10 ounces cheddar cheese sprinkles
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup ranch pourable dressing
- 6 ounces bacon cooked until crisp
- 2 cups Ritz Crackers crushed
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Prepare 3 bowls; one for the milk, 6 ounces of cheddar, and the last for the crushed crackers.
- Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Cook your bacon on a microwave safe plate until crispy.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dip the chicken tenders into the milk, then cheese, and finally into the cracker crumbs. Be sure to firmly press the mixture onto your tenders; repeat.
- Once all your chicken tenders are coated, and lining the casserole, place them into your warmed oven.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, and add a layer of ranch dressing, then the remaining cheese, and finally the bacon crumbles. Place back in the oven for 8 minutes.
- Serve your Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Dressing warm, and gooey!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
You had me at bacon. I would have to make two of these because I know the boys would devour it and I wouldn’t get any.
Lori Popkewitz Alper says
I’m guessing my kids would love this. Always looking to mix it up over here and this is something very different from our norm. Looks pretty simple too- which works for me!
Heather G says
That looks so yummy!! We love everything chicken bacon or ranch so I’ll have to make this for my family. Thanks!
Jessica says
WOW this looks good! I am ready to go to the store and get the ingredients NOW. This is something my whole family would eat, even my picky daughter.
Liz Mays says
Good gosh, that looks fantastic! When you throw bacon on top, I’m completely sold too!
Milena says
Great party recipe! Seriously, who doesn’t like all those flavors? Bacon, ranch -YUM!
Julie Wood says
This recipe looks so delicious. I have everything but the bacon. I am going to make this amazing dish.
Vicky says
This is recipe inspiration right here. I am totally going to use the gf bread crumbs I have instead of the ritz crackers (man, I miss those!) and make this one night. Thanks so much!!
L,
Vicky
TheMummyChronicles.com
Lois Alter Mark says
You’ve just combined all of my favorite foods! This looks amazing!
Kelli says
I really want to make this for dinner tonight. Looks delicious and sounds simple! But the best part is I think my whole family would eat it!
Debbie Denny says
Cheese, chicken, and Ranch. You can’t beat that., Awesome combination.
Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? says
Did you say bacon? Because everything is even better with bacon! This looks delicious!
Caroline Murphy says
Wow, this looks delicious! Bacon, cheese…you’ve got all my favorites!
Drew Bennett says
Well, I’m hungry now, who’s with me? That looks delicious.
Tracie says
This looks great. Especially the crispy bacon – it has my mouth watering.
Diane N - Philzendia says
It has bacon in it so it has to be good!
Pilar says
Nom. I’m going to have to try my hand at making this gluten-free :-)
Trisha says
This looks super tasty and a meal that would be a hit at my house! Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to give this a try!
Chrishelle Ebner says
My family would love this dish. It cannot be bad if it has cheese, bacon, and ranch. I think my kids would eat it up. Thanks for the tip.
kimberly @ red shutters says
I love casseroles! Thanks for the new recipe!
lisa jones says
Looks So Delicious I Can’t Wait To Make This For The Family!!
Wendy says
All my favorite things in ONE PLACE! YUM! This is goig into my “have to try” stack!
Amanda says
Yummy! This looks so good and I know my kids would love this!
Debi says
That looks so good. I think all of my kids would like this
Mama to 5 BLessings says
That sounds great, I buy Kraft dressings too. My favorite is Kraft Creamy Italian.
Ann BAcciaglia says
That looks so good! I love bacon, chicken and cheese. What a delicious combination. Thanks for sharing.
mommy2jam says
THis looks so good! I really want to make it and the best thing is that there is bacon! LOL
Rebekah says
Love ranch and bacon ANYTHING. This sounds quick and delicious. Thanks!
Mariana says
Ooooh, this looks SO good, but so so BAD, haha! Comfort food to the max!
Elizabeth Towns says
I like this recipe because it is doable. Also, because I can do half and half for the folks in my life who don’t eat bacon. Of course for the die-hards I’ll have to do a separate dish completely with turkey bacon. Either way, it works.
Stephanie says
This looks like the perfect comfort food! And hey, how can you go wrong with Kraft Ranch dressing and bacon!? Thanks so much for sharing #client
Lisa says
This looks so easy and yummy!
Toni says
Just made this and added chives and just used bacon crumbles. Soooo good. My two yesr old gobbled it up.
Emily says
I work at a residential care facility and I stumbled upon this recipe because I had no clue what to make for dinner. I am making this tonight, and I will comment back with the results! It smells delicious though. It is currently in the oven
Scott says
That looks really good but the serving size seems quite small. Is 1 gram correct.
Amy Desrosiers says
Sorry, that is not correct!
Sam says
One bowl for the milk in step 1? I didn’t see milk in the ingredient list…
Amy Desrosiers says
Hello Sam, 1 cup. It was listed in the recipe body, but not the printable version. Thank you for catching that!