This Chicken Bacon Ranch dinner is a proven flavor combination and the ultimate comfort food! Crispy cooked bacon, tender chicken, fresh veggies, and ranch dressing combine on a sheet pan for a yummy weeknight dinner that will result in an enthusiastic, “Yes!” when you ask if anyone wants seconds. Make an extra batch to store and reheat yummy leftovers to enjoy throughout the week, too.
Recipe Highlights: Chicken Bacon Ranch
One of our favorite easy recipes, this Chicken Bacon Ranch dish …
- features a proven delicious combination of flavors
- comes together with minimal prep time and a total time of under an hour
- gets baked on a single sheet pan, meaning cleanup is quick and easy
- is a high-protein, low-carb dinner that’s sure to be in your regular rotation
Ingredients For This Chicken Bacon Ranch Recipe
We use our Homemade Ranch Dressing to add the best flavor to this recipe! Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Peeled and cubed sweet potatoes – any kind will work including yams, garnet yams, and sweet potatoes. Use what you have available or what you prefer
- Fresh green beans – use 12 ounces of green beans, and trim the ends
- Red onion – may sub a thinly sliced yellow onion
- Bacon – use 3 slices bacon, and chop them into pieces. Look for no-sugar bacon to keep this recipe Whole30-friendly
- Avocado oil – may sub olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme – or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – for sheet pan recipes like this one, we prefer chicken thighs, because they cook tender and stay juicy. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts, though the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the breasts
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Ranch dressing – we use our Paleo Ranch Dressing. However, traditional Homemade Ranch Dressing or store-bought Ranch also works
Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.
Ingredient Highlight: Chicken
As Registered Dietitians, we recommend that you consume an ample amount of protein to help increase and maintain muscle mass, boost metabolism, lower blood pressure, and keep us full! And chicken is our go-to protein source for a variety of main dish recipes.
Not only is it more budget-friendly than other proteins, but chicken is also extremely versatile and nutritious, too! For example, chicken:
- Has virtually no trans fat on its own, and can be low in saturated fat, depending on the cut
- Is rich in niacin, selenium, and phosphorous
- Is an excellent source of B vitamins
How to Make This Chicken Bacon Ranch Bake
Here are the steps to make this recipe today:
- Preheat the oven, and grease a large sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the sweet potatoes, green beans, red onion, bacon, and fresh thyme to the sheet pan. Drizzle the mixture with avocado oil, and toss to coat.
- Soak up as much liquid from the chicken as possible using a clean paper towel. Then, arrange the chicken in between the veggies, and brush the tops with the remaining oil.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the ingredients, and add extra thyme leaves or twigs of thyme if desired.
- Bake until you have crispy bacon and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, and drizzle Ranch on top. Serve warm!
For serving size and the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition information, listing calories (kcals), protein, carbohydrates/carb, fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and more per serving.
Thin Out the Chicken
For even cooking, pound the chicken into equal-sized pieces. This is particularly helpful if you’re using thick chicken breast pieces. To do so, place the chicken in a sealable bag, and use a meat mallet, rolling pin, or a small skillet to pound the thighs until they’re roughly 1/4 inch thick.
Serving Suggestions
You can easily serve this recipe as a complete meal on its own. Or, pair it with crusty bread or Gluten-Free Garlic Cheddar Biscuits and a side salad if you want to add a little more bulk.
How to Store and Reheat
Once cooled, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Or, freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Then, reheat in the microwave, the oven, or in a large skillet over medium heat just until warmed through.
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Chicken Bacon Ranch Sheet Pan Recipe
Featuring a favorite combination of flavors, our Chicken Bacon Ranch with Sweet Potatoes is an easy sheet pan recipe that comes together quickly for easy weeknight dinners. High in protein and fiber, this dish is both nutritious and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3–3 1/2 cups small cubes)
- 12 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1 small red onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 3 slices bacon, chopped (use no-sugar added for Whole30 option)
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4-6 chicken thighs)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼–½ cup purchased or homemade ranch dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mist one very large sheet pan (about 18×26, or 2 regular size sheet pans) with nonstick spray. (NOTE: Spreading the ingredients out among a very large sheet pan or two sheet pans helps to prevent overcrowding and reduce moisture).
- Add the sweet potatoes, green beans, red onion, bacon, and thyme to the sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon avocado oil and toss to coat (because of the bacon, you just need a little oil).
- Pat the chicken thighs with paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. Spread out veggies to make a space for each chicken thigh. Place the chicken thighs on the pan and brush them with the remaining 1 teaspoon avocado oil.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over all ingredients. Add a little extra dried thyme or sprigs of fresh thyme, if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove from the oven, drizzle with ranch, and serve.
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Notes
*May use boneless/skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. If using chicken breast, you may need to add more time, depending on the thickness of the breasts.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 480
- Fat: 27 g
- (Sat Fat: 7 g)
- Sodium: 709 mg
- Carbohydrate: 25 g
- (Fiber: 4 g
- Sugar: 8 g)
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 149 mg
Dietary
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe does not contain any pasta. However, it is a nutritious twist on a classic American casserole recipe that typically features cooked pasta such as penne along with a mixture of mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese baked in a casserole dish or baking dish.
Skip the store-bought packets of seasoning mix, and combine herbs and spices instead. For our Ranch dressing, we use a blend of dried parsley, dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, dried chives, salt, and pepper. Then, we combine the mix in a large bowl with mayonnaise and full-fat canned coconut milk. Although some people like to use sour cream, which also works well.
Sure! Just roast the veggies without the chicken on the pan. Roast until the veggies are tender and the bacon is crisp then serve with the rotisserie chicken and drizzle all with ranch.
The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel Cook of Half Acre House.
For ultimate success, we highly recommend reading the tips in the full blog post above. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words. Link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
Is it ok to make this with white meat chicken? If so, do I need to change proportions? Thanks in advance!
Hi Mary! Yes you can also make this with chicken breast using equal portions. You’ll just want to watch the baking time as it may take a little longer. Enjoy!
Thanks again – I love this website and you guys are awesomely more responsive that anyone else! As a general question, do you guys have a list of substitutes so in case there’s a vegetable or two that you don’t like, you can side to still make a recipe work? Or are suggestions included in individual recipes?
Hi Mary! Thanks for the great feedback! We appreciate it. We do our best to respond as quick as possible 🙂
We don’t have a specific list but you can certainly substitute vegetables that you like. For example, in this recipe you could use broccoli, brussels sprouts, potatoes, cauliflower, asparagus. etc. For softer vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini – you would want to add those halfway through the baking time. Hope that helps!
Is the bacon cooked first? Or put in raw?
Hi Karen – the bacon is added in raw. It cooks along with the other ingredients and adds so much flavor!
Where does it say to add the ranch dressing??
You drizzle the top with ranch. It’s the last step of the recipe 🙂
This is one of our favorites!!!
SO great to hear!!!
could you use potatoes instead of sweet potatoes
Absolutely!
thanks a lot
thanks a lot