BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole is a quick and easy dinner loaded with chicken, cheese, and pasta, tossed and baked with BBQ sauce and ranch.
Do you love casseroles?? I know my family does. My grandmother loved making them for so many occasions so I definitely grew up on casseroles.
I think it was the era, of ways to make dinner easier. But the trend sure stuck around. Probably because life hasn’t slowed down at all. In fact, it seems it is busier than ever.
You can enjoy this recipe cold by making our BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad. Don’t miss our Chicken and Rice Casserole and our Easy Chicken Pot Pie recipes too.
So it really is no surprise that casseroles are more popular than ever. Who can turn down a simple dinner that is made by tossing favorite ingredients and baking?
I love this one because our family is crazy for bbq and ranch. So why not put them together?
ranch chicken casserole
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What I love about this recipe is its versatility. You can change up the flavors depending on your crowd.
I love to change things up so we aren’t always serving the same thing – even when life gets too busy for a whole lot of creativity.
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can I use fresh chicken?
You sure can. Just cook it beforehand. You can do this by either cutting some boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1″ pieces and sauteing in a skillet until cooked through. Or you can cook the chicken breasts whole, either on the grill, baked or boiled, and then shred once cooked.
Can I use a different type of pasta?
Absolutely! I choose bowties because that is not only what I had on hand at the time, but I like the look of them in a casserole. But spirals, elbows, or penne would be great too.
Can this casserole be frozen?
I have never had much luck with freezing pasta, so I don’t personally recommend it. I find that cooked pasta tends to get soggy when thawed. But if you have had a better experience with this, go ahead and give it a try.
How many can this serve?
This recipe fills a standard casserole dish so it should feed at least 8 people. Or if you have a lot of large appetites, there is enough for at least 4-5 people with some second helpings involved.
bbq chicken bake
Can this recipe be doubled?
You can, when it comes to the ingredients and the mixing. But the original recipe will fill a casserole dish. So you will need to use 2 pans and just bake them side-by-side.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole?
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta to al dente, drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the cooked chicken, chopped bacon or bacon bits, cheese, corn, Rotel, diced green chiles, ranch dressing, bbq sauce, and minced onions. Toss to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and top with additional cheese if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.
What is the best way to store leftover chicken casserole?
I like to either use my casserole dish that has a plastic lid, so I can just pop it on and get it into the refrigerator OR I top the pan with foil and refrigerate.
You can also transfer any remaining casserole to an airtight container before refrigerating. This recipe should keep well when refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Can I use another type of meat?
You bet. If you would prefer using ground sausage, leftover holiday turkey or even ground beef – all of those are just fine.
To make BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole you will need…
- bowtie pasta
- cooked chicken
- chopped bacon or bacon bits
- cheese
- corn
- Rotel
- diced green chiles
- ranch dressing
- bbq sauce
- minced onions
leftover bbq chicken recipes
Products I love when making BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole…
This BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand.
OR maybe you have never made a casserole like this before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this casserole recipe.
- casserole dish
- stockpot
- mixing bowl
- this BBQ sauce
- bottled ranch dressing or homemade ranch dressing
- ranch dressing powder
- ROTEL Mild Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
- spatulas
- Diced Green Chiles
If you love this Easy BBQ Chicken Casserole recipe, you’re going to love these other dinners too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
leftover bbq chicken recipe
Other Easy Casseroles
Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
Instant Pot Tuna Noodle Casserole
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BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces bowtie pasta
- 3 cups chicken breast cooked, shredded – such as rotisserie, leftovers or cooked & shredded chicken breast
- ½ cup bacon CHOPPED – use cooked bacon or REAL bacon pieces. No imitation bits – it alters the flavor.
- 2½ cups cheese cheddar shredded blend is great
- 15 ounces corn canned, drained
- 10 ounces Rotel don't drain
- 7 ounces diced green chiles don't drain
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- ¾ cup bbq sauce
- 1 tbsp minced onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta to al dente, drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the cooked chicken, chopped bacon or bacon bits, cheese, corn, Rotel, diced green chiles, ranch dressing, bbq sauce, and minced onions. Toss to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and top with additional cheese if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
This will be the 4th time I’ve made it and YUM! There are so many flavorful ingredients in it that each bite tastes different. Big hit at my house. Thank you!!!
Can ground chicken be used and if so how much?
I suppose that would work, I have never tried it. You would need to cook it through before tossing with the casserole ingredients. This recipe calls for 3 cups of pulled chicken, so the amount would have to be equivalent to that in volume. As far as the exact pounds, I couldn’t say since I have not made it that way – but I would imagine at least 2-3 pounds since it will cook down.
This recipe is so good! I followed the recipe using 1/2 of all ingredients since I was only fixing for 2. I don’t like foods too spicy so I omitted the green chiles and used the entire 10 ounce can of mild Rotel. The casserole is being added to my list of favorites! Sooooo Good!
Used smoked chicken breast and it became my favorite casserole. Whole family including grandkids love it.
This is amazing! I use leftover chicken and my kids love it! It’s so easy to make👍
Do you have to use the bow tie pasta. Can you use another kind of pasta.
You can use another type – however the ratios might be a little off based on the size. (It may end up dryer or more saucy)
This was very good I shared it with my brother’s family and they loved it 😊
Can you substitute rice for the pasta?
I have not tried that before. I would think that it would work, but because rice absorbs moisture more than pasta, it could be dry. Maybe have extra sauce on hand in case you need more.
Can you make it with out ranch dressing.
I suppose. You’d have to then replace that moisture with either more bbq sauce or something else. I have not tried it so I can’t say what the final result would be or how it would taste. The whole flavor profile is based on the bbq sauce and the dressing being mixed together.
Being a mere male what the heck is Rotel?
It’s a brand – they offer canned tomato products. You want their Ro-tel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles – found here – https://rstyle.me/+eJ3QmjpoK0Pq5MTHBScYdQ
This was excellent!Whole family liked it!
I make this recipe every few weeks! It is so delicious and easy to throw together.
I hate this website. So many stupid photos, ads, and unnecessary information that I just searched for “ingredients,” and even then Chrome had a hard time. How can you have a Q&A section before the recipe is even seen? That’s illogical. Need a link to “jump to recipe.” One star recipe because you can’t find it in the first place!
The “the jump to recipe” button is at the very top – right under the title. The recipe card is DIRECTLY above the comment section – which I see you found just fine. Also – a chrome search for the word “ingredients” produces 6 results – one of which jumps you directly to the recipe card as well.
This casserole is in our rotation for dinners! I actually just made an extra one to turn into a freezer meal for my mom who is having surgery. We love it!
This looks and sounds amazing!
Sounds great Gina. We don’t have Rotel in Australia, but I could substitute it with for something else.
Thank you for sharing your BBQ Ranch Chicken Casserole recipe at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at today’s party and pinning too.
Made this for something different for supper. I wasn’t sure about all the ingredients but let me tell you that this was AMAZING. My family and I loved the flavor and I actually divided this into 2 dishes and froze one for later. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!!!