Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta (One Pot)

At a glance

What stands out: Creamy, cheesy, and loaded with crispy bacon, this chicken bacon ranch pasta will get your family running to the dinner table! Even better, it’s a one pot recipe where the pasta cooks with the sauce.

How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet or Dutch oven
Servings: 4

Another winning One-Pan Dinner

Chicken, bacon, ranch, and pasta is a combination that few people would argue with, and the fact that it all cooks in one pot makes it even better.

This is the kind of recipe we pull out on busy nights when we want something comforting and satisfying, but we absolutely do not want a pile of dishes waiting for us afterward.

Which…if we're being honest, is pretty much every night.

What makes it special:

• Family-friendly flavors: Ranch, bacon, and chicken? With pasta??? Say no more.
• One pot recipe: Everything cooks in one pan, including the pasta. Yeah! (American goulash and one pan spaghetti are two more one pot pasta recipes to try.)
• Rich and creamy: Using heavy cream along with ranch dressing mix results in a thick, creamy ranch sauce that clings to the pasta and chicken in a most rich way!

What goes in

For a complete list of ingredients, scroll on down to the recipe card. Here, you’ll find a few notes on the heavy hitters.

• Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts make things straightforward but you can swap in thighs if you prefer, as long as they’re boneless and skinless.
• Bacon: Thick-cut bacon gives a standby crispy texture and smoky flavor but if you happen to have regular sliced bacon, that’s fine, too.
• Onion and garlic: It’s important for both of these to be finely diced and minced so they blend into the sauce.
• Pasta: Penne, rotini, or small shells all work beautifully and have the nooks and crannies to hold onto the sauce.
• Chicken broth: The pasta cooks in the broth you add to the pan (using broth to cook pasta instead of water adds more flavor). Using low-sodium broth helps control the salt levels.
• Ranch seasoning mix: You can use a store-bought packet, such as Hidden Valley, which is usually found by the salad dressings at the market. Our from-scratch ranch seasoning is a good alternative.
• Heavy cream: Let the heavy cream warm up before adding so it doesn’t curdle. We usually measure out what we need before we get started cooking. By the time we're ready to add the cream to the pan, it’s the correct temperature.

How it comes together

Cook the chicken. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, season with black pepper (no salt!), and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until it’s cooked through. Transfer to a clean plate.

Crisp the bacon. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until it’s crispy. Transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease. Then, drain off some of the grease from the pan, leaving about a tablespoon for cooking the aromatics.

Cook the aromatics. Add the onion to the pan with the bacon grease and cook until it’s softened, but not browned. Then stir in the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant, about one minute.

Simmer. Add the chicken broth and stir in the pasta and ranch seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pan, and simmer until the pasta is tender and the liquid is mostly—but not completely—absorbed. This should take about 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally to make sure the pasta isn’t sticking.

Make it creamy. Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the heavy cream, followed by the chicken and bacon. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Finish. Let the chicken bacon ranch pasta cool for 5 minutes before serving, which will thicken the sauce a bit more. YUM!

Ways to change it

• Make cheesy bacon ranch pasta. Stir in a handful of shredded cheddar or Parmesan at the end of the cooking time or sprinkle some on top of each serving after plating.
• Veg it up. Fold in steamed broccoli or frozen peas before the 5 minute resting time.
• Switch up the finishing garnish. Instead of chives, you can use sliced green onions or parsley. You can serve shredded cheddar or Parmesan on the side. Sometimes we save a little of the cooked bacon to sprinkle on top.

Serving Ideas

Side salad. A fresh green salad complements this rich pasta dish well. Our house salad is always a favorite around here, or buy a bag of greens at the grocery store and toss it with this kid-friendly honey mustard vinaigrette or a simple white wine vinaigrette.

Vegetable sides. Make a straightforward side dish like air fryer broccoli, sautéed spinach, or honey-glazed carrots.

Dessert. For a sweet finish to your chicken ranch pasta dinner, try blueberry cobbler or Kool-Aid pie. Funfetti cookies are always a hit, too.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store leftover chicken bacon ranch pasta in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Because this pasta is made with heavy cream, we don’t recommend freezing it, as the sauce can separate.

Reheat: Warm gently in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of chicken broth or milk to loosen the sauce. Individual portions can be heated in the microwave, in 30-second intervals, stirring between each until the pasta and chicken are warmed through. Don’t overheat the pasta.

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized cubes)
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
• ½ cup finely diced onion ( 1 small yellow onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth (more as needed)
• 8 ounces uncooked pasta (penne, rotini, or shells work well)
• 1 packet (1 ounce) dry ranch seasoning mix (see note)

Optional add-ins

• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (see note)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives (optional garnish)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional garnish)

Method

1. Measure out heavy cream so it can come to room temperature. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven (with lid available) over medium-high heat. Add the cut-up chicken, season with pepper, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove to a clean plate and set aside.
3. Add the chopped bacon to the same pan and cook until crisp, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.
4. Add onion to the pan with the reserved bacon grease, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
5. Pour in chicken broth. Add uncooked pasta and dry ranch seasoning mix. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.
6. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
7. Lower heat to medium-low, and stir in heavy cream. Return chicken and bacon to the skillet, stir well, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes, until heated through, and the sauce has thickened slightly. If you'd like to add cheese (see note), stir it in until melted.
8. Cool for an additional 5 minutes, covered. Add optional garnish, if desired, and serve chicken pasta warm.

Notes

Ranch seasoning: Look for ranch seasoning packets, such as Hidden Valley, in the salad dressing section of the store; if you prefer from-scratch, try our ranch seasoning mix (you’ll need 3 tablespoons). Bottled ranch dressing cannot be substituted for the ranch seasoning mix.

Salt: You may have noticed that salt isn’t in the list of ingredients. Ranch seasoning can be salty, along with the bacon, and when we tested this recipe, we found that the pasta didn’t need any additional salt at all. We recommend tasting the pasta and adding salt if needed at the end of the cooking time.

Make it cheesy: Stir in ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese OR ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese at the end of the cooking time, or serve it on the side.