Ah, comfort food, there is nothing better. Easy pasta casserole loaded with chicken, tomatoes, corn, red onion, and lots of cheese! This chicken, cheesy goodness is baked with BBQ ranch sauce for a full flavor experience.
PASTA CHICKEN CASSEROLE
It’s comfort food time!! (Clap…clap…clap!)
Now that the weather is getting cooler for many of you, it’s time to pull out all those favorite casserole. macaroni and cheese and soup recipes. You know, all the best foods meant to warm your soul as much as your body.
This BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole is definitely one of those dishes. It’s warm, cheesy, satisfying and scrumdelicious! All the flavors in this casserole compliment each other perfectly and did I mention…cheeeesy?! I love Monterrey Jack cheese, it’s so nice melted in pasta, sandwiches or even over plain chicken. The cheesier the dish, the better…don’t you agree?
And let me tell you, whoever invented BBQ ranch is a genius! Can’t tell you exactly when was the first time I tried it but it sure was a great day. Such a simple idea of combining the two but the result is something extra special. If you haven’t tried it yet, you are missing out. So run to your kitchen right now and try it. (I’ll wait…)
SOME MORE RECIPES TO TRY
Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Skillet
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BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole
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
- Cook pasta just until it is nearly done but do not overcook. Set aside.
- Cook chicken with a little salt until completely done. Let cool until it can be handled, chop and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a casserole dish.
- 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 mixing bowl. 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
Nutrition
Mel B. says
A delicious ranch and bbq combo.
SophieEV says
This is delicious! Thank you for this easy and tasty recipe!
We don’t have ranch dressing in France, so I made my own (adding the herbs to greek yogurt and milk), and it was really good! I had no idea you could mix BBQ sauce with ranch but it definitely is a good idea!
lyuba says
Wonderful!! I usually make my own ranch as well and if you are interested, I have a recipe for it here. Thank you so much, Sophie!
lyuba says
Hi there,
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you well. I’ve actually had several people make it and noone mentioned any problems. I will remake this recipe exactly this week just to make sure that there is nothing off. Sorry again for your experience!
Jeanne says
I think my college girls would like this recipe. However, I need to know if it could be made ahead in a tin disposable pan and frozen. This is the only way they would be able to enjoy it with their schedules, if I could make it for them and freeze it, to bake at a later date. Possible?
lyuba says
Hi Jeanne,
I believe that it would be possible, I’m just not familiar with freezing casseroles. You can definitely look up how to freeze pasta casseroles, I’m sure many people have done it. I wish you luck! Hope it all works out 🙂
Cathy says
Is this something I could make ahead and if so what steps do I do ahead, all or partial and if all how long would I need to cook from cold. Thanks this looks great!
lyuba says
Hi Cathy!
You can definitely make it ahead of time and refrigerate for a day or two. You can re-heat each potion individually, or the whole casserole. IF you will be re-heating the whole casserole, take it out of the refrigerator ahead of time and let the casserole dish warm up to room temperature. Then, reheat in the oven. I would suggest reheating it covered with aluminum foil.
I hope it works out!
Elizabeth says
Hi, this looks delicious! What size casserole dish should I use? Also, I was thinking of buying some already shredded chicken. Do you know how many cups I could use for this recipe to come out to the correct amount? Thank you! I also was able to pin this w/o issue 🙂
lyuba says
Hi, Elizabeth! 2 to 2 1/2 quart casserole dish should work nicely. I would estimate 2 cups of shredded chicken. The two chicken breast above come out to a pound, so check the label on the cooked chicken. It also won’t hurt the recipe if you use a little more 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!
Tawnia says
Making this tonight – looks very yummy! Came across a PIN of it and it was exactly what I was looking for (thawed chicken breasts for a crockpot meal and lost track of time…lol
lyuba says
I really hope you’ll like it!!
Thank you, Tawnia!
Jackie says
Hi
What brand of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce did you use in this recipe.
lyuba says
For the BBQ, I like two different brands, I like Jack Daniels and I like Sticky FIngers ones. Usually something a little sweet and tangy. For Ranch, I usually make my own but I do like Wishbone dressings.
I hope you like it 🙂 It’s really up to you here, what brands you and your family like best.
Alex says
How would I go about making this in the crockpot?
lyuba says
Hi there! To be honest, I don’t cook in my crock pot very often and I’ve never made a pasta dish in it. But, from the crock pot recipes that I’ve seen around, it seems that you would cook pasta and chicken separately and assemble the casserole in the crock pot instead of casserole dish. You can cook it on low for 2-3 of hours or on high for 30-45 minutes. Best of luck, I hope it helps!
D says
Since I’m not a big fan of barbecue & ranch I was a little skeptical about mixing the two.I made this tonight and it came out great.It even has a bit of spice with the barbecue.I did however use green beans instead of corn since I didn’t have corn,and I also added a bit of mozzarella on top.Great dish!!! On my way to seconds now,I just wanted to comment before I forgot… 🙂
lyuba says
Wow, that’s a great compliment! Thank you, I’m so happy you liked it!
Happy New Year!
Sarah says
Made this Tonight, delish! Used rotel, juices and all and it came out fab. Thank you for the recipe
lyuba says
Wonderful to hear! I’m do glad you like it 🙂
Nancy says
This is a seriously good casserole. We live in Florida and it’s 80 degrees but this was just what we needed tonight. Thanks for a great recipe!!!
lyuba says
I’m so glad you liked it, Nancy! Thank you 🙂
(I hear you about this weather, December and it’s been 75-80.)