Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole {Make Ahead} - RecipeMagik (2024)

Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is a satisfying, healthy, low carb dinner recipe that the family will love.

My Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix makes this taste all the more amazing. Topped with crispy baked bacon this easy chicken casserole has every reason to be listed in your favorite comforting casserole recipes for dinner.

Also try this readers favorite Ranch Cheddar Chicken Bake (So Cheesy)

💭 Why You'll Love This?

• There is every reason to like this casserole with chicken and broccoli. Ranch, Chicken, Broccoli Florets, Bacon, and so much cheese.
• Ranch Seasoning is what makes this worthwhile.
• Oozy, Creamy, Cheesy Casserole is just what you need after a long day.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

• Chicken Breasts - Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts works best for this recipe. Soaking in all the juicy sauce and the goodness of ranch.
• Broccoli - Steamed Broccoli Florets acts as a healthy, keto-friendly base for this casserole dinner.
• Olive Oil - We'll need olive oil to cook chicken breasts in the skillet before transferring them to the oven.
• Dried Chives - For a fresh herby taste, I like to use some store-bought dried chives.
• Onion Powder - We'll add onion powder to get a whole-some and a well-rounded taste in our keto casserole with chicken and broccoli.
• Garlic Powder - You could substitute this with freshly minced garlic cloves. But, I think garlic powder saves so much time.
• Salt - as per taste
• freshly ground black pepper - as per taste
• Ranch Dressing - The secret ingredient. The flavor Bomb. The One Man Show of this recipe. Homemade ranch is simply the BEST.
• Heavy Cream or low fat half and half - I wouldn't recommend replacing this with almond milk since its thinner in texture.
• Cheddar Cheese (shredded) - Fresh shredded sharp cheddar cheese is what you'll love when you have this baked chicken casserole recipe.
• Mozzarella Cheese (shredded) - We love Mozzarella Cheese for that mile-long cheese pulls. In our home, when we are making a casserole recipe for dinner, we cannot think about it without mozzarella.
• Parmesan Cheese (shredded) - I like to add some shredded Parmesan cheese for that sweet and slightly nutty flavor which you get in the end.
• Serrano pepper or jalapenos - When I was testing this recipe, I found the flavors were creamy, cheesy and sort of sweet. So, just to balance out the flavors, I preferred adding some chopped Serrano Peppers. You can replace this with chopped Jalapenos.
• Bacon cooked and crumbled - The final ingredient. But, the most important ingredient for this casserole recipe, in terms of taste.

See recipe card for quantities.

🔪 How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

This is a step by step clear explanation for chicken bacon ranch casserole recipe. See the recipe card for more details.

STEP 1: Steam Broccoli Florets in a bowl for 2-3 minutes. You can do it on stove top or in your oven at full powder. Immediately drain and rinse well. Keep aside.

STEP 2: Combine chicken breasts with dried chives, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Toss well to coat evenly.

STEP 3: Cook Chicken in a skillet with some olive oil. Cook until completely cooked through.

STEP 5: In the same pan, add heavy cream, cream cheese, and ranch dressing. Cook on Medium-Low heat until the mixture thickens.

STEP 7: Pour this thickened sauce over broccoli and chicken.

STEP 9: Bake in a PREHEATED OVEN at 375°F for 15-20 minutes.

STEP 4: Place Broccoli florets in a greased 9x9 inch casserole dish. Add cooked chicken and mix well.

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STEP 6: Add Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Shredded Mozzarella Cheese in the pan. Mix well.

STEP 8: Toss with cooked and crumbled bacon and Parmesan.

STEP 10: Allow the casserole to rest for 5-minutes before serving.

🥗 Substitutions

• Spinach - In case you don't have broccoli or you don't want to use broccoli you can substitute it with freshly or frozen baby spinach.
• Pepper-jack Cheese - For additional flavors you can substitute cheddar and mozzarella cheese with shredded Pepper-jack cheese.
• Cauliflower - If you want you can replace broccoli florets with cauliflower florets. Check out Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Casserole and Keto Cauliflower Rice and Chicken Casserole for more inspo.
• Grinded Spicy Pork rinds - You can substitute crumbled bacon with grinded spicy pork rinds.

📖 Easy Variations

• Rice - If you want to make this an easy rice casserole you can add some cooked rice as well while layering the broccoli and chicken.
• Pasta - You can turn this into a pasta bake by adding a pasta of your choice.

How to Make this Casserole Ahead of time?

Yes. As mentioned in the title of this recipe you can make your chicken bacon ranch casserole ahead of time.

All you have to do is:

• Prepare as per the directions until the point of baking.
• Cover with a plastic wrap and an aluminum foil.
• Transfer to the freezer.
• When ready to bake, transfer to the fridge one day before baking.
• Bake for few minutes longer.

Do I need to thaw prior to baking?

Yes you do need to thaw your unbaked Chicken Bacon and Ranch Casserole one day prior to baking.

Leftovers?

Have got some leftovers? Store it for the next day or day after using these easy techniques.

• Transfer to any air-tight container.
• Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• If you want to store in the freezer, then double wrap with a plastic wrap and an aluminum foil. This will help you save your chicken and broccoli casserole from freezer burns.
• BUT, BUT, BUT make sure your casserole cools down completely before transferring it to the fridge or freezer.