Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is a quick and easy dinner choice. This rich and creamy dish has a delicious combination of flavors, in a fast weeknight meal!
Have you ever noticed how other people’s stuff always seems preferable to your own?? Their houses always seem a little nicer, their hair a little better, their clothes a little more stylish, their lives a little easier…? Okay, I certainly don’t feel this way about everyone…but there are just some people who seem to have it all….(and seem to have it a little better than me!)
I think it’s just part of being human – we compare ourselves to other people – and it starts young! I even notice it with my kids! Other kids’ toys always seem a little more fun, other kids’ snacks are always a little more yummy, other kids’ parents are always a little bit nicer….and eating dinner at another kid’s house is ALWAYS preferable to eating dinner at home, no matter what they are having!
A good example? The other day my kiddos came home from a friend’s house just RAVING about what they had eaten for lunch….because it was SO GOOD! Want to know what it was? Cabbage & ham. Cabbage & ham! I can pretty much guarantee that if I had made them cabbage & ham for lunch, they would have turned up their noses and demanded mac & cheese instead. But there, they loved it! That’s just the way it goes!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
It definitely makes me wonder, though, why I spend so much time trying to come up with flavor combinations I think they’ll gobble up….like this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta. Sure, they liked it….but they definitely weren’t raving about it! Because I’m not someone else’s mom making it! Oh well. I gobbled it up, and so did Jorden….and I guess, at the end of the day, that’s all I can really ask for.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 lb. uncooked pasta I used orecchiette
- 8 oz. turkey bacon chopped and cooked
- 5 oz. mushrooms quartered
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 1 large red pepper sliced
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 3 c. milk
- 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
- dried dill
Instructions
- Pasta:
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, cube chicken and saute until partially cooked.
- Add mushrooms, red onion, and red peppers and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender-crisp.
- Add chicken and vegetables to cooked noodles.
- Add turkey bacon, reserving some for the top, and stir to combine.
- Sauce:
- Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in flour, salt & pepper.
- Stir in milk; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
- Cook and stir 1 minute more.
- Add Ranch dressing mix and stir to combine.
- Pour over pasta.
- Garnish with reserved bacon and dried dill.
Looking for more quick and easy pasta recipes?
What goes better with pasta than Garlic Bread! Try this recipe from Budget Bytes!
Betty Daniels says
This looks like a great combo! I think I’d like it.
Happy Valley Chow says
Man that is making me hungry! Fantastic recipe 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Jessica says
Looks so good Cathy. And, your question on FB – about whether to go out or eat in on Valentine’s Day? I KNOW my Mister would LOVE this dish! Easy too? Sign me up! YUMMY!!!!
Jamie | Jamie's Recipes says
I would gobble that up! I looks so delicious. The added veggies are a nice bonus too.
Children are funny like that. I am intrigued by this cabbage and ham –I have never had that combination before.
northern cottage says
sounds good to me – even if I did have to make it myself at my house with my pans and my spoons and my ranch packet – still Yum!! thanks for sharing!! ♥ happily pinned!
http://www.NorthernCottage.net
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
This is soooo true Cathy! But if you made me this pasta I’d be sure to be raving about it!
Tonia says
It’s got bacon so it has to be good, right?
Jocelyn says
Forgive for asking, because I’m probably overlooking it, but when does the bacon come in? Do you just sprinkle it over the top as a garnish? Thanks! This looks great!
Cathy Trochelman says
Hi Jocelyn,
Sorry….I guess I forgot to add the bacon to the instructions! I updated the recipe accordingly….thanks for catching my mistake!! (You add most of it together with the chicken and vegetables and reserve some for the top.) Have a good day!!
Cathy
Marti says
This looks and sounds so amazing! I love the chicken with the ranch dressing combo! Thank you for sharing it with us at Sewlicious Home Decor! Pinned to the party board! 🙂
Marti
Cammie says
This was excellent, I made it sans chicken/bacon for my vegetarian daughter and then added them for the rest of the family. My only suggestion is a lil garlic in with the veggies or in dry spice form but we love garlic in our house so it basically goes on everything anyways. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
j says
Flour and milk over power the ranch seasoning it tastes more like a chicken pasta covered in a country gravy
hulkingaxle1400.jimdo.com says
Je n’ai pas terminé de regarder mais je passe dans la soirée