Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole (2023)

Feed a crowd or eat delicious leftovers with this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake! This hearty entree is pan-fried and loaded with bacon and chunky ranch-flavored chicken breasts on roast potatoes!

Lately I've seen requests on a few meal prep Facebook groups for meal prep recipes that serve more than four servings.

I saw someone write that she has six people in her house and serves four meal recipes that just don't work for her family (I'm assuming there were two grown adults with at least a couple of teenagers in the house).

This request makes sense, and it's a reality I haven't given too much thought to until now. It's not always clear which recipes make good leftovers or which recipes are easy to duplicate.

That's where this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake comes in. This dish makes eight hearty servings, enough for a hungry family of six with a helping or two of leftovers for lunch.

If you are not a family of six then you will beLunch set for the week. I cook something like this for dinner on Sunday, then 5-6 portions are left over.

That sounds like a lot, but for two people it ends up being about 3 lunches a week. Turns out I'm a big fan of leftovers! Of course you already knew that!

Check out how to make this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake recipe (2 min 3 sec):

What are the ingredients in the Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake?

These ingredients scream comfort food to me! No not the most vegetarian dish but oh so good.

• red potatoes– Potatoes are the main part of this recipe. I prefer russet here, but you can use Yukon Gold potatoes too. The potatoes are roasted in the oven for 45 minutes before we add the chicken.
• Avocadoöl– Helps roast all the ingredients until golden and spread the spices.
• hot sauce- This casserole isn't hot or spicy, but that small amount of hot sauce adds a nice little background heat flavor. Use your favorite hot sauce. I like Frank's Red Hot or Chipotle Tabasco for this recipe.
• garlic powder– Garlic is a must for seasoning potatoes and chicken!
• Ranch Spice Pack– A packet of spices is about 1 ounce of powder, which is about two tablespoons.
• Salt & black pepper– For the best taste, I prefer to use freshly ground black pepper in my kitchen and fine sea salt for this recipe. Keep salt to a minimum as ranch powder also contains salt.
• boneless, skinless chicken breast- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. This also helps it cook much faster than whole chicken breasts.
• bacon cubes– You can use or use store bought oneshomemade bacon bitsfor this recipe. My favorite thing to do is make bacon bits at home with my butcherbox bacon delivery service.
• Cheddar cheese- I have a feeling that cheddar cheese is the best compliment to this bacon chicken ranch goodness we've created!
• Topping Ideas:Green onions, sour cream, ranch, buffalo sauce, more cheese!

What equipment do you need to prepare this dish?

The most important thing you need to prepare this meal is a deep one9×13 casserole dish! It doesn't fit into anything smaller.

I don't have any particularly strong recommendations, but I do use glass or ceramic dishes. Anything that can withstand a bit of grilling is always good to have.

How do you make this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole?

First, preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Start with some good ol' red potatoes, medium, about 3 pounds (yes, that's a big dish). Chop into bite-sized pieces no larger than 1 inch and place in a large mixing bowl.

Add oil, hot sauce, ranch powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then mix until all potatoes are evenly coated.

Next, using a slotted spoon, add the seasoned potatoes to the casserole dish from the large mixing bowl.

Roast these potatoes in the preheated oven for a total of 45 minutes, but stir every 15 minutes so the potatoes cook evenly.

Once the potatoes are in the oven, take out the chicken.Cut the chicken breastinto 1-inch pieces (about the size of your potatoes) and toss in the potato mixing bowl.

Once the whole chicken is cut,Throw in the remaining ranchremove from the pack and stir. You shouldn't need to add any extra oil or salt and pepper as there will be plenty left over from the potatoes. Let the chicken sit in the bowl while the potatoes continue to cook.

After 45 minutes in the oven, the potatoes should be soft but not quite done(photo above left in grid below). At this point, grab your bacon bits, cheese, and marinated chicken.

Then stir the potatoesAdd a layer of bacon bits(about 2/3 of it), followed by about 1/2 cupCheese(photo above right).

Add beyondALL raw chicken, if possible in a single layer (photo below left).

Add the remaining pieces of bacon and the rest of the cheese to the top of the chicken (photo below right). baking in425F degree oven for 15-20 minutesuntil chicken is fully cooked through and all cheese is melted.

Fast bacon chat!

You can either choose to buy pre-made bacon chunks at the store, which is quick and easy, OR you can go fancy and make your own bacon chunks at home. The use of pre-made bacon bits also keeps this recipe limited to one pan.

I prefer to use the best bacon I can get and that my friends haveMetzgerBoxSpeck (Affiliate-Link!).

The bacon is completely sugar free, which most store bought bacon is not. The bacon is also organicanimals kept in a sustainable and species-appropriate manner, and you can really taste the quality. Also without preservatives, hormones, nitrates or nitrites. It's good stuff.

To make my own bacon chunks, I open up a whole package of bacon (ButcherBox's are 10 ounces I think) and just use a sharp knife to cut the bacon into small pieces. The pieces don't even have to be as small as store-bought—they taste great either way!

I heat up my Dutch Oven and then toss in all the pieces at once. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, you can cook all the bacon bits at once until browned and crispy to your liking. Remove the bacon bits, place them in a bowl lined with paper towels, and save the rendered bacon grease for another dish.

How to store this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake:

Store in an airtight container and enjoy within 4 days of cooking.

How to Freeze this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake:

Cooked potatoes freeze much better than raw potatoes, so I think this recipe would freeze in airtight containers for up to 1 month. Please note that I have not tested this recipe in the freezer.

Did you do this?I want to see how it turned out! Tag me in your social media post@project meal planand use#Project meal planif you share!

Recipe

4.7 out of 12 ratings

Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Casserole

Yield: 8portions1X

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Preparation: 10 minsCook: 60 minutesIn total: 1 hour 10 minutes

Feed a crowd or have delicious leftovers for lunch of the week with this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake! This hearty entree is pan-fried and loaded with bacon and chunky ranch-flavored chicken breasts on roast potatoes!

Scale:

Ingredients

• 3Poundred potatoes(one6–7medium), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 Tax Avocadoölor olive oil
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1(1 ounce)Ranch Spice Pack(divided)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2Pound fresh boneless skinlessChicken breast, cut into1inch chunks
• 1 Tax bacon cubes(homemade bacon bitsare great!)
• 1 TaxshreddedCheddar cheese
• chopped spring onions for sprinkling (optional)

instructions

Video

1. Prepare potatoes:Preheat oven to 425F. Place the potato chunks in a large mixing bowl, then add oil, hot sauce, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning packet, salt and pepper to bowl. Mix well until oil and spices are evenly distributed. Using a slotted spoon (do not pour in), scoop the potatoes into a 9" x 13" casserole dish. Save the bowl and leave any oil/seasoning that has collected in the bowl there for the chicken.
   

2. Boil potatoes:Roast the potatoes in the preheated oven for a total of 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes so the potatoes cook evenly.
   

3. Prepare chicken:Cut the chicken into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces, if you haven't already done so, then place in the same bowl that the potatoes were mixed into. Add the rest of the ranch seasoning packet to the chicken and stir until combined and the chicken is coated in oil from the bowl. Set aside until potatoes have cooked, 45 minutes.
   

4. Put it together:After the potatoes have cooked for 45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and give the potatoes a final stir. Add a layer of bacon bits (about 2/3 of them) onto the potatoes, followed by about 1/2 cup of cheese. Next, add all of the raw chicken to the casserole dish, as much as possible in a single layer. Place the remaining pieces of bacon and remaining cheese on top of the chicken.
   

5. Bake & Serve:Bake in 425F degree oven 15-20 minutes until chicken is fully cooked through and all cheese is melted. Serve with a salad or a side vegetable, if you like. Store in an airtight container and enjoy within 4 days.
   

equipment

ButcherBox meat delivery service

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8 Piece Mixing Bowl Set with Pyrex Sculptures

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Remarks

For a 4-serving meal, cut the recipe in half and bake in an 8×8 baking dish for the same amount of time. Nutritional information estimated using My Fitness Pal.

Nutritional Information

• Serving size: 1/8 of the court
• Calories: 572
• Zucker: 3g
• Fett: 26g
• Carbohydrates: 53g
• Protein: 34g

© Author: Danielle

Kitchen:AmericanMethod:Baked

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