Chicken & Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake
2x the delicious servings!
- Milk
- Wheat
You’re going to prep this big-batch baby in a flash, then let the oven do the rest of the work. Penne pasta bubbles away in a velvety cream sauce along with crispy bacon and ranch-spiced chicken beneath a golden blanket of melty mozzarella. You’ll whip it out of the oven (with mitts of course!) and add a flourish of chopped chives, then it’s straight to the table to serve family style for an easy, filling, double-protein crowd pleaser that will win you all the heart eyes you could ever need! This recipe is double the typical servings, providing 4 servings and 8 servings for a 2 person and 4 person box respectively.
Ingredients
8 ounce
Broccoli Florets
¼ ounce
Chives
1 unit
Lemon
4 ounce
Bacon
10 ounce
Chopped Chicken Breast
1 tablespoon
Ranch Spice
1 teaspoon
Paprika
8 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
4.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
12 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1.5 cup
Mozzarella Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Nonstick Cooking Spray
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust racks to top and middle positions and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces if necessary. Thinly slice chives. Quarter lemon.
• Place bacon* on a baking sheet. Roast on top rack until bacon is crispy, 10-15 minutes. • Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
• Open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces if necessary. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer. Season with half the Garden Ranch Spice, half the paprika, salt, and pepper. (You’ll use the rest of the Garden Ranch Spice and paprika in Step 5.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Set aside.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes (you’ll add more to the pot then). • Once pasta has cooked for 5 minutes, add broccoli to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente and broccoli is bright green, 3-5 minutes more. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water (1 cup for 8 servings), then drain.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cream sauce base, sour cream, garlic powder, remaining Garden Ranch Spice, remaining paprika, two packets of mozzarella, ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water, salt, and pepper. (For 8 servings, use four packets of mozzarella and ½ cup pasta cooking water.) • Add drained pasta and broccoli, chicken, and chopped bacon to bowl; stir until well combined. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.
• Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes for 8 servings) with nonstick cooking spray. • Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish (for 8, divide between prepared baking dishes). Top with remaining mozzarella. • Cover pasta bake tightly with foil; place on a second baking sheet. Bake on middle rack until bubbly, 20-30 minutes. (For 8, bake on two clean baking sheets on top and middle racks, swapping rack positions halfway through.) TIP: Careful when lifting the foil to check on the pasta bake—steam may escape!
• Let pasta bake rest at least 5 minutes. When ready to serve, stir to evenly combine. Garnish pasta bake with chives. • Divide between plates or serve family style directly from baking dish, with lemon wedges on the side.
Bacon is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the creamy, cheesy taste, though some found it bland or too heavy on ranch seasoning.
- Ease of prep: While tasty, several noted it took longer to prepare than expected and used many dishes.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more sauce, reducing pasta, and adjusting seasoning to taste for better flavor balance.
- Portions: Generous servings provided plenty of leftovers, though some felt the protein-to-pasta ratio was off.
- Texture: Some found it dry after baking; adding extra sauce or reducing cook time could help maintain creaminess.
Reviews from our home cooks
Amazing meal. This pasta bake is easy to make and so full of flavor. The sauce is so delicious. I really like the bacon and ranch on top. Absolutely delicious!
We like pasta bakes. We like all the main components chicken, bacon & ranch & broccoli. Easy prep. Nice way to feed our family of 4.
Great portion size. Flavor was excellent. I think I would add more chicken and more bacon next time.
Good quality bacon. Good flavor with simple ingredients. Easy to make. Super large portion! I froze a whole casserole for later!
OMG, I forgot that this was already a large bake and I ordered it 2x!!! Fortunately I sent a 2nd pan to a neighbor and hopefully they'll like it too. We enjoyed it! A little bit of work but when it's a casserole you expect that. I'll order this again, but not on the 2x amount!
I would say, maybe less ranch seasonings and more chicken and paprika flavor. I know it's the ranch pasta bake but it's really heavy on the ranch. Otherwise it taste really good
Really good. It was nice to have something to bake for once. Majority of the recipes I have had, I was constantly mixing, cutting, frying, etc. So it was nice to make everything and then stick it in the oven to bake and do nothing else but clean up the kitchen.
Tasted so good! It's a longer prep time than 5 min for sure, but not horrible ~ I'm thinking 15 minutes is a little closer. A little bit dry, but a little chicken broth or cream of chicken or more sour cream, would help this dish.
This would be a great meal to have in your arsenal for if you have surprise guests. It made so much that I was able to freeze it for another night.
Great flavor. My largest bowl wasn't big enough to mix the broccoli and pasta into the sauce let alone the chicken, folded it all together in the 13x9 dish.
