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.
Jamee says
An envelope of dried Ranch, or the bottled, ranch dressing??
LyubaB says
Hi Jamie,
It is bottled or homemade ranch dressing.
LyubaB says
I would use the penne because it will cook the same as the pasta I used so you won’t have to adjust the cooking time. If you do use egg noodles, I think you will need to cut down the cooking time to stop them from getting soggy.
Mama Llama says
Would egg noodles work for the pasta? Or should I use a different kind? I have egg noodles, elbow pasta, and penne on hand.
Cheri says
Made this for the family tonight, my grandkids didn’t like it . They thought it was to sweet.
Laura K. says
Super good comfort food! I used shredded Mexican cheese from Costco because that’s what I had on hand and it turned out amazing! I also crushed bbq kettle chips on top! My kids loved it!
LyubaB says
Hi Laura,
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to stop by! 🙂
GrillEver says
I have tried the recipe last night. Believe me it was just wow. And looks so yummy. Now I’m the best cook to my children. It’s such a big gain for me. And it because of you.Thank you so much.
LyubaB says
Awe, thank you so much! So glad everyone liked it! 🙂
April H. says
Hey! I’m going to try out this recipe this week and can’t wait! Any ideas if frozen broccoli would be okay to add? I have some broccoli to use up and feel like it could go well, but don’t want to ruin the casserole with it, either! Thanks 🙂
Vanessa Arnold says
Made 5 recipes this weekend to freeze. This one was the best!
lyuba says
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you, Vanessa!
Katie says
I know this is an old comment, but in case anyone else sees it and is worried – I used a full package of shells (don’t like rotini) and it was the right amount/consistency. I think the OP didn’t use enough pasta 🙂
lyuba says
Thank you so much for letting me know! I really appreciate it 🙂
Emily Overton says
I dropped the onions and added black beans and rotel for a more southwestern feel. So delish!
lyuba says
Oh nice! I’m so glad you liked it, Emily!
Mel B. says
Awesome dish!