BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole is an easy pasta bake that’s loaded with chicken, tomatoes, corn, red onions and plenty of cheese! This cheesy goodness is baked with BBQ ranch sauce for the most mouthwatering flavor.
Enjoy more of my favorite chicken casserole recipes like Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake and Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pasta Casserole.
Table of Contents
This BBQ ranch chicken casserole is such a comfort food. It’s warm, cheesy and oh so satisfying! All the flavors in this casserole compliment each other perfectly… and have I mentioned it’s cheesy? I love Monterrey Jack cheese, it’s so nice melted in pasta, sandwiches or even over plain chicken. The cheesier the dish, the better!
What really ties this chicken casserole together is the combination of BBQ and ranch. Such a simple idea of combining the two but the result is something extra special! It helps that both of those flavors are so famously kid friendly. Even the pickiest of eaters love this pasta casserole recipe.
I’m also pretty in love with how easy this casserole is to toss together. You really only need about 15 minutes out of your day to prep everything. The ingredients are also delightfully simple – if you’re anything like me, you likely already have almost everything you need in your kitchen right now.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken – I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken breast meat, although, you can use chicken thigh meat instead if that’s what you like. Or, make it easy on yourself, and use rotisserie chicken.
Pasta – Rotini is my go-to pasta for pasta casseroles and pasta bakes. Feel free to swap it with another short and textured pasta like farfalle or gemelli if preferred.
Corn – If you wish to use fresh corn off the cob, make sure to cook it first and then cut the kernels off the cob. If you wish to use frozen corn, make sure to thaw it first and strain off any excess liquid. When using canned corn, make sure to drain off all the liquids well.
Red Onion – It’s a great onion for the pop of vibrant color, bold flavor, and a touch of sweetness. Note, if you don’t like stronger onion flavor, you can always sauté them first.
Ranch – I love using Homemade Ranch Dressing whenever I have the chance. It always tastes so much better than store-bought. If you do want to use store-bought, make sure to use your favorite brand.
BBQ Sauce – This is another condiment that’s best when homemade. Check out my easy Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe! Or, use your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce. (My go-to store bought brand, that I personally like, is Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet BBQ sauce.)
Monterrey Jack Cheese – Remember, it’s ways best to get a block of cheese and grate it yourself. It will create the very best flavor and consistency. Pre-shredded cheeses contain separators and other powder coating that affects the textures of sauces and the way it melts.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole
Cook the pasta. Cook pasta just until it is nearly done, al dente. Do not overcook it. Set aside.
Cook the chicken. Cut chicken breast in half, widthwise, to cream two thinner chicken breast filets. Cook the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper until fully cooked (1). Let it cool until it can be handled, chop, then set aside.
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a casserole dish.
Mix it all together. In a large mixing bowl, add chopped chicken to the pasta (2) and add diced tomatoes, diced onion, and corn (3). Add some salt and cracked peppercorn, mix well.
Make the sauce. Whisk ranch and BBQ together and add it to the mixing bowl (4).
Make it cheesy. Mix the sauce until evenly distributed (5), then add 1 1/2 cups of Monterrey Jack cheese and mix well (6).
Add cheese on top and bake. Transfer the mixture into the casserole dish and spread it evenly . Top with remaining cheese (7) all over (8) and bake for 15-20 minutes (9).
Tips for BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Cook your pasta al dente. Since you will be cooking pasta twice, you want it to have a little undercooked bite right in the center. It will finish cooking in the oven with the sauce.
- You can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken to make the process even easier. That’ll also cut down on cook time.
- Trust me – there’s not too much BBQ ranch sauce! After you mix the ingredients, it will look pretty saucy, but note that pasta will soak up quite a bit of it as it bakes. Then, it will soak up even more as it sits there and rests.
- Remember that for the best melted cheese texture, you should grate the cheese off the block yourself. This way, there won’t be any separators or additives affecting the texture.
- If you want to make this casserole vegetarian, you can omit the chicken and increase the amount of vegetables to supplement the missing meat.
Storing and Reheating
It’s important to let the casserole cool down completely to room temperature prior to storing. Feel free to store this pasta casserole in the very same dish it was baked in! Just make sure to cover it airtight with plastic wrap, foil, or a fitted lid. It’ll keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can reheat individual portions in the microwave until just heated through. Or, reheat the entire casserole in the oven at 350°F. Cover the casserole dish with foil when reheating so it doesn’t dry out. Note that you may need to add a little milk to reinvigorate the pasta if it’s dried out a bit.
Recipe FAQs
I highly recommend using rotini! The more textured the pasta, the more sauce it will hold. You can also use another textured pasta like fusilli, radiotore, gemelli, farfalle, and many others.
There are parts that you can make ahead of time, but don’t assemble it until you’re ready to bake. You can make the BBQ ranch sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’s also easy to cook the chicken ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator as well.
Unfortunately, this one is not a good one to freeze! The BBQ ranch sauce will not stand up well to freezing and thawing. While it is technically possible, the results won’t be very good.
More Casserole Recipes To Try
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BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 lb uncooked pasta
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 3 Roma tomatoes chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion diced
- 1 1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
- salt
- fresh cracked peppercorns
- 1 1/4 cups ranch dressing
- 3/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and lightly grease a casserole dish.
- Cook pasta just until it is nearly done, al dente, but do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
- Cut chicken breast in half, widthwise, to create two thinner chicken breast filets. Cook chicken with a little salt until completely done. Let cool until it can be handled, chop and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine diced tomatoes, diced onion, corn, cooked pasta and chopped chicken. Add some salt and cracked peppercorn, mix well.
- Whisk ranch and BBQ together and add it to the pasta mixture. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of Monterrey Jack cheese and mix well.
- Transfer the mixture into the casserole dish and spread it evenly. Top with remaining cheese all over and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Cook your pasta al dente. Since you will be cooking pasta twice, you want it to have a little undercooked bite right in the center. It will finish cooking in the oven with the sauce.
- You can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken to make the process even easier. That’ll also cut down on cook time.
- Trust me – there’s not too much BBQ ranch sauce! After you mix the ingredients, it will look pretty saucy, but note that pasta will soak up quite a bit of it as it bakes. Then, it will soak up even more as it sits there and rests.
- Remember that for the best melted cheese texture, you should grate the cheese off the block yourself. This way, there won’t be any separators or additives affecting the texture.
- If you want to make this casserole vegetarian, you can omit the chicken and increase the amount of vegetables to supplement the missing meat.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in August 2014.
Julie says
What is the calorie count per serving on this dish? Thanks!
lyuba says
Hi, Julie! I’m so sorry but I don’t have a way to calculate calories here.
I hope you make it and like it anyway 🙂
jen says
I have everything but tomato’s and want to make tonight. Any opinion on using rotel?
Tawnia says
You should be able to used canned tomatoes just be wary of the salt and make sure you taste before you add any 🙂 We live very rural and I often have to replace fresh tomatoes with tinned! 🙂
carol says
Hi, I absolutely loved this recipe I made it with potatoes instead or noodles just dice them up, boil, then use and follow the rest of the recipe.turned out amazing!
rachel says
Made this tonight. The only change I made was I did canned diced tomatoes instead of the roma tomatoes since they are out of season right now. It was really good. Next time I will add some tortilla chips on top to give it a little crunch. Thanks for the recipe!!
Kisha says
Hi Lyuba,
Do you cook the chicken before you put it in the oven?
lyuba says
Hi Kisha! Yes, you should cook the chicken before adding it to the casserole mixture.
Mike@TheIronYou says
Looks amazing Lyuba, comfort food at its best!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Mike!!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
I have yet to find a recipe that I don’t like or a photo that is less than perfect. You are so talented I always look forward to your posts and recipes.
lyuba says
You’re going to make me cry, Marisa! Thank you!!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
I have two grandchildren in my life who crave crave ranch dressing on everything. I can’t believe how perfect this recipe is. I pinned it and printed it. It’s on my hit list.
lyuba says
I understand your grandchildren 😉 I love ranch!!
Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy it!!
Liz says
All your recipes are the best. Thanks so much.
lyuba says
Awe! Thank you so much, Liz!
Samantha @ Five Heart Home says
This looks amazing, Lyuba! It’s still 99-degrees in Texas, but I’m definitely feeling ready to move on to comfort food! 🙂
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Samantha! It’s still pretty scorching here, in FL, so I crank up the AC 😉
I am so ready too
Hana says
Found your post on this lovely comfort food on IG, this looks delicious!
am planning to make this soon! ^^
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Hana!!
Janelle says
I wish you would allow us to pin your recipes without hassle. I try it on my bloglovin…no picture. I can’t pin on your site. So I’m through trying. I really love your recipes too! I DO not have the time to hunt around trying to pin one blog. I have to love the recipes I pin. I’m sorry I won’t be pinning yours anymore.
Janelle
Samantha @ Five Heart Home says
Hi Janelle! Just a suggestion, but do you have a Pin It button on your toolbar? This would allow you to pin just about any photo from any site, even if there aren’t individual Pin It buttons on photos that you would like to pin. 🙂 If you’re interested in doing so, just Google “how to install a Pin It button to your browser” and there should be easy tutorials to walk you through the process step-by-step. Hope that helps…I just don’t want you to miss out on any of Lyuba’s good recipes! 🙂
lyuba says
Hi Janelle!
I’m sorry, I’ve had issues with bloglovin showing my photos and I can’t get it to work. I do have a “social media share bar” right at the top of the post, before the words begin. You can use that pin button if you don’t want to install the plug in on your browser. I’m sorry you feel like I’m discouraging you from pinning, I would never do that! I absolutely love it when people pin my recipes!
lesley says
Do you follow her on pinterest?
I personally use the pin it button on my toolbar ,as Samantha mentioned above. It is very easy to use.
lesley says
I can pin directly from the pin it on this page with no problem
lyuba says
Thank you, Lesley and Samantha!