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When the kids ask what’s for dinner and you get a resounding “YESSSS!” as they jump into their seats at the dinner table is when you know you have a winning recipe on your hands. Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole with rice gets this reaction every time.
As you can guess from the name the casserole has shredded chicken and bacon and it’s mixed with brown rice, carrots, green beans and creamy ranch dressing. Top it all off with some melted mozzarella and now it makes sense why everyone is so excited when it’s on the table for dinner.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is super easy is put together although some of the ingredients take a little time to cook. The casserole calls for cooked rice, bacon and chicken. The good news is you can cook all of these ingredients ahead of time and then just mix up the casserole when you’re ready. Doing this will cut your recipe prep time down from 30 minutes to about 5 minutes. Or you can just assemble the whole casserole ahead of time and bake it when you’re ready (check out the Make Ahead Instructions below.)
About the Ingredients
Shredded chicken – about 2 1/2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. If you don’t have any leftovers in the fridge, check out the FAQ section below for how I bake and shred chicken breasts.
Brown rice – the rice gets cooked before going into the casserole. Just cook it according to the package directions and set it aside.
Bacon – the bacon gets cooked before going into the casserole too. You don’t need the drippings so however you prefer to cook your bacon works fine. Just make sure it’s nice and crispy so it’s easier to chop.
Carrots – chopped small. I like to put these into the casserole raw because they give a little bit of crunch texture that I love.
Canned green beans – one can, drained.
Ranch dressing and seasoning – one 8oz bottle of ranch dressing plus 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning from the packet. The seasoning really gives the dish that little bit of extra flavor that it needs to season all that rice.
Mozzarella cheese – shredded mozzarella for topping the casserole.
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Begin by cooking the rice according to the package directions and separately cooking the four slices of bacon. When the bacon is done cooking chop it up and set it aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients, including the cooked rice and chopped bacon. Poor the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and top it off with shredded mozzarella and fresh parsley.
Bake it in a 375°F oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations
For Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole I typically mix in green beans and top off the casserole with shredded mozzarella cheese. But one nice change up is to swap in broccoli for the green beans and shredded cheddar cheese for the mozzarella. The only extra step here will be to cook the broccoli first. Adding the broccoli raw would be too crunchy. Some simple cooking methods for the broccoli are:
- Roast it – while your rice is cooking, place the broccoli florets on a baking sheet in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes.
- Steam it – place about 1 inch of water in the bottom of a small sauce pan fitted with a steamer basket. When the water starts to boil, add the broccoli florets and steam for about 6 minutes or until tender.
- Microwave steam it – place the broccoli florets in a microwave safe bowl with 3 tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top for ventilation. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
Make Ahead Instructions
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is the perfect dish to make ahead of time and reheat at dinner time. Prepare the casserole according to recipe but don’t bake it yet. Let the casserole come to room temperature, cover it and refrigerate until ready to heat. When you’re ready to heat it up, bake the casserole covered with foil for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot all the way through.
How to Freeze Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Follow the recipe is written, but don’t bake yet. Let the casserole come to room temperature, cover it with plastic and then foil and place it in freezer up to 1 month. When you’re ready to serve it, defrost the casserole in the refrigerator overnight. Bake the casserole covered with foil (remove the plastic wrap) for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot all the way through.
FAQ’s and Recipe Tips
Brown rice tends to be a little less sweet than white rice so I like to cook brown rice in chicken stock rather than water. The chicken stock also adds some saltiness to the rice, so there’s no need to add additional salt. As a general rule of thumb, the ratio of rice to liquid as one part rice two parts liquid when cooking. The other key to my success is this awesome little rice cooker by Cuisinart. I have had this rice cooker for 14 years and couldn’t survive in the kitchen without it.
I like to use boneless chicken, either breasts or thighs, depending on the recipe. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray, and place the chicken directly on the pan. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and bake it in a preheated oven at 375°F for about 25 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. You will know the chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Then I take the hot chicken and move it to my electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn on the mixer to medium speed for about 30 seconds and you will have perfectly shredded chicken.
The Recipe for Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
The recipe is attached below for easy downloading and printing. If you test it out be sure to leave a note in the comments below. Sometimes I put out a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce with the casserole because what better combo is there than buffalo sauce and ranch? I’d love to hear what you thought. Enjoy!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 2 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 carrots
- 14.5 oz can green beans drained
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 tbsp ranch seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook rice according to package directions.1 ½ cups brown rice
- Cook bacon in a frying pan until brown and crispy.4 slices bacon
- While bacon is cooking peel and dice the carrots and drain the green beans.2 carrots, 14.5 oz can green beans
- Remove bacon to a cutting board and chop.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice, chicken, bacon, carrots, green beans, ranch dressing, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper.2 large chicken breasts, 1 cup ranch dressing, 1 tbsp ranch seasoning, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper
- Transfer chicken mixture to a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with mozzarella cheese.1 cup shredded mozzarella
- Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot.
Notes
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Looks super yummy! I love dishes that I can batch cook or freeze! And especially Chicken Casserole!
Same! It makes life so much easier
Looks yummy! Thanks you for showing the pictures and giving the details on how to make.
Pictures always help me when following instructions too ?
Looks delicious!
Thank you! ?
Always looking for easy, great recipes. This sounds delish! Great tip about the rice cooker… I think I need one!
I can’t recommend the rice cooker enough. Total game changer because the rice comes out perfectly every time without watching it, checking it, timing it… no work at all. And when the rice is done cooking the pot automatically turns itself to “keep warm” mode.