This recipe for Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is a family favorite! From the first time finding this recipe and reading, “Bacon”, I was hooked. I mean, who doesn’t like bacon with cheese!? As a result, to this recipes deliciousness, there was a point that we ate this monthly.

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Published January 22, 2021
Updated March 2, 2022
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Deciding what to have for dinner

There comes a point in cooking when I am able to memorize a recipe. This delicious amazingness is burned into my brain for all the best reasons, and I could make it in my sleep. I literally had dreams about this dinner last night before I was writing this post. I don’t know if it is just because the steps are easy, or it is so yummy, or because I found a recipe that my whole family loves… But I really love making this dish!

Do you have a go-to, when you do not know what else to make for dinner and everyone says “CBRP” at the same time?
My boys love to nibble the cooked chicken, swipe chunks of bacon, and then sneak handfuls of freshly shredded cheese. Elliana is a sucker for pasta! She would be perfectly fine eating plain noodles to her hearts content, cheese too. Little miss loves cheese.

I pull out an 8-ounce block of extra sharp cheddar and the cheese grater and this little miss then decides to climb up for handouts. Please don’t judge the gross walls behind her. Oh my gosh I cannot wait to paint! Oh, these greige walls are the worst!!

The nail holes have been patched for over a year and we have not had the heart to commit to a color yet. I have been leaning towards a pale sage green with a light creamy white hoping it will tone down the turned orange 1990’s golden oak.

If you have any paint color ideas, please leave me a comment with your choices! I wish stores still handed out those color pallet flippy things, you know the ones with the 1,000 color chips?! Oh my gosh I would LOVE to get my hands on one! I would be like Lorelai telling the people of Stars Hallow how to paint their stuff. But unlike Lorelai, I LOVE to cook!

Cost Breakdown to Make this Recipe

Below is a cost breakdown for this recipe.

Chicken $6.00
Bacon $3.75
1/3 cup Ranch $0.50
2 cup Milk $0.50
1/4 cup Flour $0.03
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder $0.05
1/2 tsp Onion Powder $0.06
1/4 cup butter $0.58
Penne $0.75
8-oz Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese $1.69

Total cost for a 9 X 13-inch pan of Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta was $13.91.

I LOVE finding meals that feed our family of 6 for under $15.00.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breast
1 10-ounce package Penne
8 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 package Bacon
1/3 Cup Ranch Dressing
1/4 Cup Butter, unsalted
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Milk
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder

Pro-Tip: Use block cheese and shred it for this recipe as pre-shredded has an added powder to help it to not stick and will make the sauce not creamy but grainy. Shredding the cheddar cheese is easy with a box grater or food processor with the shredder attachment inserted.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Directions

1. Fill a 6 quart pan with water and then cook the Penne pasta for 10-12 minutes. Drain in a sink colander.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and then line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray, then set aside.
3. Place the bacon slices on the aluminum foil and cook until browned, around 5-7 minutes. Keep an eye on it so you don’t have burned bacon! Adjust cooking time depending on your oven.
Sorry for no raw bacon images… I do not find raw bacon very appealing or appetizing to look at.
4. When the bacon is done, remove the pan from the oven and use a fork to place the cooked bacon on a paper towel lined plate to soak up any fat. Let it cool before cutting. Then turn down oven temperature to 350 degrees.

5. Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray and then set aside.
6. Put the cooked and drained pasta in the prepared pan.

Cooking Chicken to Perfection

7. Heat up a pan to medium-high and then cook the chicken. If desired, sprinkle ranch seasoning on the chicken before cooking. Doing so levels the chicken flavor up from basic chef to pro! When chicken is cooked, at an internal temperature of 165 degrees, remove it from the pan and let sit for a few minutes before cutting. This pan is the greatest for cooking chicken, and additionally gives the chicken this beautiful grilled look.
How I cook chicken to perfection, is to place a ribbed pan on medium-high heat and flip it when the edges are just starting to turn white. Keep the pan on the hot burner, then turn off the heat, cover the pan with aluminum foil and set a timer for ten minutes. The chicken will be fully cooked and juicy when the time is up!

Make the Ranch Sauce

8. In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter and then add 1/4 cup flour. Stir with a whisk until all of the butter is mixed into the flour. Make sure to cook the flour in the butter for 1-2 minutes. There are a lot of reasons to not eat raw flour: bugs and bacteria are the main reasons.

9. Slowly pour the milk into the roux and whisk until blended and smooth.

10. Add 1/3 cup ranch to the roux and then whisk to mix.

11. Remove the pan from the heat and then add 1/3 of the shredded cheese and stir to combine. When combined, add the next 1/3 cheese and mix well. Finally, leave 1/3 of the cheese for topping the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta before baking in the oven.

12. Add the garlic and onion powders to the sauce and stir until combined.

Assemble, then bake the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

13. Pour the cheese sauce over the penne in the baking pan and then gently stir with a spatula to combine.

14. Slice the chicken in 1-inch strips and then place it on top of the penne in the pan.

15. Slice the cooled bacon into 1–2-inch pieces and then place on top of the chicken and penne.

16. Sprinkle the top of the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta with the remaining 1/3 cheese.

17. Finally, bake the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
18. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

This pasta is the most delicious, creamiest, and yummiest bake dish! Typically, we have a third to half a pan left over and Tyler can have leftovers for lunch the next day. Last night he was able to have two scoops for his lunch. Samuel ate three servings while Matthew ate two, and even Elliana had two scoops of pasta! Pretty soon I am going to have to double every meal. Oh my gosh that scares me as we already spend $170 a week on our grocery budget.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Recipe

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