Ranch Chicken Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

This easy baked ranch chicken recipe is sure to become a family favorite. Chicken breasts are topped with homeamde ranch, mozzarella cheese, and crispy bacon. What’s not to love about that? And the best part is that this creamy ranch chicken needs just 4 common ingredients (that you probably have in your fridge) and takes minutes to prep. Win-win.

Ranch chicken recipes are definitely reader favorites here at Wholesome Yum (who doesn’t like a chicken bacon ranch or crack chicken?!), so this one fits right in. With such a popular flavor combo, the whole family is going to love this dish.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for baked ranch chicken, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

• Chicken – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you can use chicken thighs if you like. You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on their thickness, and whether you use bone-in chicken thighs or boneless.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper
• Ranch Dressing – This is the main component for flavor and makes the creamy ranch chicken sauce. I like to make my own homemade ranch dressing for the best flavor, but you can use store-bought as well. For an extra ranch flavor, sprinkle the chicken with homemade ranch seasoning mix or a store-bought packet.
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese – The fresh variety gets perfectly melty, but you can also use low-moisture shredded mozzarella instead. Feel free to esperiment with other cheeses. Cheddar, parmesan, or Monterey Jack would also be delicious here.
• Cooked Bacon– My favorite way to cook bacon is in the oven, but you can cook bacon in the air fryer, on the stovetop, or make microwave bacon. It does need to be precooked to be crispy in the final dish. For a shortcut, use 6 tablespoons of store-bought bacon bits instead.

How To Make Ranch Chicken

This section shows how to make baked ranch chicken, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Season the chicken. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken into alarge baking dish or on a baking sheet.
2. Add the ranch and cheese. Spread the ranch dressing over each chicken breast, then top each one with slices of fresh mozzarella.

3. Bake covered. Cover the baking dish with foil, making sure that the foil is not touching the cheese. Bake the creamy ranch chicken recipe until it’s just slightly undercooked.
4. Add bacon. Remove the foil. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top of the chicken. Bake until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Rest and garnish. Let the chicken rest, then drizzle with more ranch and a sprinkle of parsley, if you like.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
• Meal prep: You can prep ahead for lunch by making the entire dish ahead of time and portioning into meal prep containers with your favorite healthy side dish. If you want to meal prep baked ranch chicken for dinner, make the ranch dressing and cook bacon in the oven, and keep them in the fridge. Assemble and bake right before serving.
• Reheat: This chicken stays pretty juicy even when reheated in the microwave, but it tastes even better if you reheat in a 350 degree F oven.
• Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this dish, since the texture of the ranch will change.

What To Serve With Baked Ranch Chicken

This creamy ranch chicken feels like comfort food, so it goes well with starches, but it’s also very rich, so veggies and low carb side dishes are good ways to balance that out. Try it with:

• Noodles – Make your favorite pasta to soak up all that creamy sauce! For a healthier alternative, try zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
• Rice – Choose from white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice. Like noodles, these are great options to soak up the sauce.
• Roasted Veggies – You can make roasted brussels sprouts or roasted cauliflower in the oven at the same time as the ranch chicken, since the cook times are similar. (Just swap the positions of the pans halfway through, and take the veggies out a little earlier if needed.) If you’d rather roast your veggies separately, quicker options like roasted green beans with garlic or asparagus in the oven work well.
• Sauteed Veggies – Prepare sauteed broccoli or sauteed zucchini on the stovetop while cooking ranch chicken breast in the oven.
• Salads – If you have extra bacon, use it to top a classic wedge salad or crunchy broccoli salad with bacon.

More Cheesy Chicken Recipes

From gooey melted cheese toppings to creamy sauce, these chicken recipes will add a little something special to your dinner:

Recipe Card

4.65 from 31 votes☝️ Click stars to rate or click here to leave a review!

Ranch Chicken Recipe (4 Ingredients!)

This easy, creamy baked ranch chicken recipe needs just 4 ingredients + 10 minutes prep! The whole family will love this flavor combination.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Total: 40 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Recipe Video

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See Also

Pastrami Hash With Confit Potatoes, Parsley and Shallots Recipe

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Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.

• 4mediumBoneless skinless chicken breasts▢
• 1/2tspSea salt▢
• 1/4tspBlack pepper▢
• 6tbspRanch dressing(divided into 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp)▢
• 8ozFresh mozzarella cheese(sliced into 8 slices)▢
• 6slicesCooked bacon(chopped)▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).

2. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

3. Place the chicken into a baking dish, so that the pieces are just barely touching, but not crowded. Spread 1 tablespoon ranch dressing over each chicken breast. Top each with 2 slices of fresh mozzarella.

4. Cover the baking dish with foil, so that the foil is not touching the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

5. Remove the foil. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top of the chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 10-15 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

6. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of ranch over the chicken.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 ranch chicken breast

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories554

Fat41.4g

Protein41.1g

Total Carbs2.5g

Net Carbs2.4g

Fiber0.1g

Sugar0.7g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:American

Keywords:bacon ranch chicken, baked ranch chicken, ranch chicken recipe

Calories: 554 kcal

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Ranch Chicken Recipe

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