BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole

Name: BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
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)

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.

BBBQ ranch chicken pasta bake scooped out on a spoon and the rest in a casserole dish,

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

Labeled ingredients for BBQ ranch chicken pasta bake on a wood surface.

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

Collage of four photos of cooking chicken in a pan, adding dice chicken to the bowl of pasta, adding veggies and sauce to the bowl.

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).

collage of four images of mixing the ingredients together and adding them to a baking dish, adding cheese on top.

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).

BBQ ranch chicken pasta bake in a casserole dish on a wood surface.

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.

BBQ ranch chicken pasta bake being scooped out with a serving spoon.

Recipe FAQs

What’s the best pasta to use in a chicken casserole?

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.

Can I make it ahead of time?

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.

Can I freeze this pasta bake?

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

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in August 2014.

Categories:

30 Minute Meals, Chicken, Dinner, Pasta,

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

4.46 from 102 votes (99 ratings without comment)

65 Comments