Bacon thyme ranch chicken is an easy all-in-one dinner recipe. This dinner uses two main steps to create crispy flavorful chicken.
Bacon Ranch Chicken Overview
This chicken recipe is cooked in a pan on the stove in a delicious creamy sauce. First chicken pieces are seared to create crispy outsides, bacon is cooked crispy and crumbled, and then everything is mixed in a creamy sauce made from ranch dressing, sour cream and milk.
It’s such an easy recipe! Family members will love this ranch-flavored recipe. Add some cooked rice and it’s a full meal.
Recipe Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skiness chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp for cooking
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 1½ cups ranch dressing
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
Toppings:
- ¼ cup crumbled bacon – about 4-5 bacon strips
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
How To Make Creamy Ranch Chicken
Full ingredients and instructions are also in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post.
STEP 1: Slice 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips. Pound with a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin) until each one is about ½” thick.
STEP 2: In a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook 4-5 bacon strips until crispy. Blot with a paper towel then crumble or use kitchen scissors to snip into bite-size pieces. Measure ¼ cup of bacon for the recipe.
STEP 3: Add the chicken to a bowl and drizzle with 3 Tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Toss together until the chicken is evenly coated.
STEP 4: In a separate medium bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups ranch dressing, 1 cup sour cream and ½ cup milk. Set aside.
STEP 5: Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil.
STEP 6: Once the pan is hot add enough chicken to fill the pan in a single layer. Saute the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, letting the chicken get golden brown and crispy. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
STEP 7: Repeat with the other half of the chicken until all chicken cooked.
STEP 8: Add in the cooked chicken and sprinkle ¼ cup crumbled bacon, and 1 Tbsp fresh thyme over top. Let this simmer for 1-2 minutes until everything warmed through. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- Bacon adds saltiness and crunch. You can cook the bacon in advance and then crumble it (this is what I did), or buy pre-packaged crumbled bacon.
- GREEN ONION – Add fresh chopped green onion on the finished meal.
- MUSHROOMS – Try sauteeing mushrooms in the pot just before adding the creamy sauce.
- ONION – Carmelized onion slices would be lovely served on top.
- PORK – Switch things up and use pork chops instead of chicken breasts.
Storing Leftovers
- REFRIGERATE – Store the chicken with sauce in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped in plastic for 3-4 days.
- TO FREEZE – I don’t recommend freezing the cooked meal because the creamy sauce will change in texture and turn a bit grainy.
- TO REHEAT – The chicken can be reheated for a minute or two in the microwave, heated in a skillet on the stove, or in the oven until warmed through.
Common Questions
If your chicken breasts are already thin, you can probably get away with skipping this step. I used chicken breasts from Costco and they were thick and huge. I only needed three because they were so big. You can use a rolling pin to pound them into thinner pieces. The thin slices will cook more evenly and you’ll get crispy outsides and tender insides.
No definitely not, but the flavor and aroma are amazing! You could also add dried thyme and mix it with the creamy sauce.
No. But fresh bacon will provide the most flavorful results. Store-bought crumbled bacon will also work great here.
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Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skiness chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp olive oil - + 1 Tbsp for cooking
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 1½ cups ranch dressing
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
Toppings:
- ¼ cup crumbled bacon - optional
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme - optional
Instructions
- Slice 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips. Pound with a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin) until each one is about ½" thick.
- Add the chicken to a bowl and drizzle with 3 Tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Toss together until the chicken is evenly coated.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups ranch dressing, 1 cup sour cream and ½ cup milk. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil.
- Once the pan is hot add enough chicken to fill the pan in a single layer. Saute the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, letting the chicken get golden brown and crispy. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
- Repeat with the other half of the chicken until all chicken cooked.
- Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wood or plastic spatula. Next, pour the cream sauce into the pan and heat through for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the cooked chicken and sprinkle ¼ cup crumbled bacon, and 1 Tbsp fresh thyme over top. Let this simmer for 1-2 minutes until everything warmed through. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving.