This Bacon Ranch Chicken has juicy chicken smothered in a zesty ranch sauce with melted cheese, crispy bacon, and diced green onions! This flavorful dish pairs really well with mashed potatoes and green beans!
Bacon Ranch Chicken
This Bacon Ranch Chicken will likely become a regular in your dinner rotation! My Ranch Chicken recipe is so popular, that I decided to create a twist, adding bacon, cheese, and green onions to the mix for a flavor explosion!
This is a perfect recipe to serve with baked or mashed potatoes and green beans. And don’t worry, there is plenty of this amazing sauce to go around!
Be sure to check out my pro tips below!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Cook the bacon low and slow and set aside. Chop once cooled and reserve bacon drippings. Season the chicken and brush with bacon drippings. Sear on each side until golden and set aside.
Wipe dark spots from the skillet and add the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer, partially covered, for 5 more minutes.
Top with cheese and sprinkle with bacon. Broil until the cheese is just melted. Garnish with green onions and serve with baked or mashed potatoes.
Pro Tips
- Important! Be sure to get Ranch seasoning mix for this recipe, not Ranch dip mix, they do taste differently and have different uses. I use 2 tablespoons, slightly less than a 1 oz. package to ensure the sauce isn’t too salty.
- If you’re not a ranch lover– don’t worry. Ranch seasoning adds a lot of zesty, savory flavor to this sauce, but it doesn’t make it taste like bottled ranch dressing.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: For ultimate flavor, make this using my Homemade Cream of Chicken recipe. You can freeze it for future recipes, 1 batch is the equivalent of 2 cans. You’ll never use a can again!
- Sodium- Consider using low or no sodium cream of chicken soup to control the salt content in this recipe if preferred.
- Shred your cheese from a block for best results, it will melt and taste better than packaged shredded cheese. I love using Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese.
- Make sure you add the cheese over low heat, if the base is too hot, the dairy will separate and the consistency will be gritty. This goes for all sauces and soups.
- Chicken: If you are using smaller chicken breasts, you can use 4 instead of 2 for this recipe.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers do freeze and reheat well!
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links*)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Ranch Seasoning– I buy mine in bulk! *Do not use ranch dip mix, make sure you get the seasoning mix.
- 1 quart measuring cup with a spout– This is what I use to combine the sauce ingredients at the beginning.
- Meat Mallet– This is the one I have, I use it almost every time I cook.
- 8-inch Chef’s Knife– This is the one I have, I love it.
- Cutting Boards– I love having assorted sizes.
- Spice Rack– This is the one I have, it’s a snap to measure out your seasonings quickly and easily. (Big time saver.)
- Box Cheese Grater– Always shred cheese from a block, it melts and tastes much better. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting as well.
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Bacon Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
Sauce
- 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup, try my homemade version!
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix, see notes
- 1 teaspoon EACH: parsley, mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Chicken/Toppings
- 6-8 strips bacon, drippings reserved
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Salt/Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions, diced
Instructions
- Note: Use an oven-safe skillet for this recipe.
- Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Cut the bacon in half and place it in a deep 12-inch skillet. Cook it slowly over low heat until crispy on each side. Reserve the drippings and set aside. Roughly chop once cooled.
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise to create two thinner slices. Cover with saran wrap and use a meat tenderizer to pound it to 1/2-inch thicken. Pat dry, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then with Italian seasoning. Use a pastry brush to brush each side with bacon drippings.
- Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside. Wipe away any dark spots from the skillet.
- Add the sauce. Gradually bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken along with any juices from the plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Cover partially and allow it to heat through for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven broiler to 400°F (or a low broil).
- Top the chicken with shredded cheese and sprinkle the chopped bacon over the dish. Transfer to the oven for 2 minutes, or just until the cheese is melted. Watch it carefully during this time.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with green onions. Spoon the sauce over baked or mashed potatoes and serve with roasted green beans.
Notes
- Important! Be sure to get Ranch seasoning mix for this recipe, not Ranch dip mix, they do taste differently and have different uses. I use 2 tablespoons, slightly less than a 1 oz. package to ensure the sauce isn't too salty.
- If you're not a ranch lover- don't worry. Ranch seasoning adds a lot of zesty, savory flavor to this sauce, but it doesn't make it taste like bottled ranch dressing.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: For ultimate flavor, make this using my Homemade Cream of Chicken recipe. You can freeze it for future recipes, 1 batch is the equivalent of 2 cans. You'll never use a can again!
- Sodium- Consider using low or no sodium cream of chicken soup to control the salt content in this recipe if preferred.
- Shred your cheese from a block for best results, it will melt and taste better than packaged shredded cheese. I love using Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese.
- Make sure you add the cheese over low heat, if the base is too hot, the dairy will separate and the consistency will be gritty. This goes for all sauces and soups.
- Chicken: If you are using smaller chicken breasts, you can use 4 instead of 2 for this recipe.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers do freeze and reheat well!
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
Just made this for dinner tonight and YUM it’s a keeper! So tasty and it made plenty of the delicious sauce which I used to top some veggies and a biscuit as my side. I didn’t bother with the broiling step because the cheese melted while it was on the stovetop. Otherwise followed it exactly. Yum!
Nice work Stephanie! I’m so happy it was such a success! Thanks for the great review!
This is a question for several of your recipes (which are all fantastic,by the way). Do you have a recipe for Italian Seasoning? I’d rather make my own than buy premade
I’m soo happy that you’re loving the recipes Lynn! 🙂 Thank you! I don’t have a recipe for Italian seasoning at this time. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you SO much for putting the extra explanation on why to cook the sauce over low heat while adding the cheese. I think I’ve made this mistake several times in the past, but never again
I am soooo happy that this tip helped Gaye!! Believe me, I used to do it too, and if I can save anyone from making this mistake in the future, my job here is done! 🙂 ❤️❤️ Thank you!!
Thanks so much for the ranch seasoning tip! I made sure to get the seasoning packet and not the dip! My family LOVED this recipe. It came together fast and it was super flavorful. We basically put the sauce on EVERYTHING and it was heavenly. We are all big sauce lovers which your recipes all accommodate perfectly. Can’t wait to see what saucy creation comes out next!
Happy to hear you got the seasoning packet instead of the dip Deanna, I’ve definitely made that mistake before! Thanks so much for the great review!🩷
Hey! I’m just wondering what brand of Ranch seasoning you use? Everything I seem to find says for Ranch dip! Help! Lol
Hi Tara! I use Hidden Valley brand, they sell it at most grocery stores, Walmart, and on Amazon (affiliate link!) 🙂