Chicken, Bacon, Buffalo Ranch Pasta
Get ready to fuel your week with this scrumptious Chicken, Bacon, Buffalo Ranch Pasta! Packed with protein and bursting with zesty flavors, this meal prep delight combines tender chicken, crispy bacon, and a creamy buffalo ranch sauce that will have your taste buds dancing. Perfect for batch cooking, this dish serves up to 10 hearty portions, making it a go-to for busy days ahead!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
10
people
Level
beginner
📝 Ingredients
Serves 10🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- Pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 1 bag of real bacon bits
- 3 pounds chicken breast (1.36 kg)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 3 American cheese slices
- 1 bag, fat-free cheddar cheese
- 1 bag of fat-free mozzarella cheese
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 16 ounces of protein pasta (454 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt
📦Other(1)
- 1 half bag dried tomatoes
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Season 3 pounds of chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- 2
Before your chicken is done, boil 16 ounces of protein pasta.
- 3
Chop your chicken breast and add them to a large mixing bowl.
- 4
Add the dried tomatoes, bacon bits, fat-free mozzarella, fat-free cheddar, ranch seasoning, fat-free ranch, and Frank's RedHot sauce to the bowl.
- 5
Mix everything together and let the cheese melt.
- 6
Prep evenly into 10 meal prep containers and enjoy.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook chicken to exactly 165°F internal temperature, then rest 3-4 minutes before chopping to retain 15-20% more moisture in the final pasta dish.technique165°F, 3-4 minutes
- ✓Reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water before draining because the starches will help emulsify the buffalo ranch sauce and prevent it from breaking when mixed with hot ingredients.technique1 cup reserved water
- ✓Add the hot pasta directly to the mixing bowl while it's still 180-200°F so the residual heat properly melts the fat-free cheeses, which require higher temperatures than regular cheese to achieve smooth melting.timing180-200°F
- ✓Bloom the ranch seasoning packet in 2-3 tablespoons of the hot pasta water for 30 seconds before adding other ingredients to activate the dried herbs and prevent gritty texture.technique2-3 tablespoons, 30 seconds
- ✓Let the mixed pasta cool to 140°F before portioning into containers because fat-free cheeses will seize and become rubbery if portioned while too hot, affecting reheating quality.timing140°F
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
10
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Chicken, Bacon, Buffalo Ranch Pasta
Get ready to fuel your week with this scrumptious Chicken, Bacon, Buffalo Ranch Pasta! Packed with protein and bursting with zesty flavors, this meal prep delight combines tender chicken, crispy bacon, and a creamy buffalo ranch sauce that will have your taste buds dancing. Perfect for batch cooking, this dish serves up to 10 hearty portions, making it a go-to for busy days ahead!
📝 Ingredients
Serves 10🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- Pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 1 bag of real bacon bits
- 3 pounds chicken breast (1.36 kg)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 3 American cheese slices
- 1 bag, fat-free cheddar cheese
- 1 bag of fat-free mozzarella cheese
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 16 ounces of protein pasta (454 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt
📦Other(1)
- 1 half bag dried tomatoes
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Season 3 pounds of chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- 2
Before your chicken is done, boil 16 ounces of protein pasta.
- 3
Chop your chicken breast and add them to a large mixing bowl.
- 4
Add the dried tomatoes, bacon bits, fat-free mozzarella, fat-free cheddar, ranch seasoning, fat-free ranch, and Frank's RedHot sauce to the bowl.
- 5
Mix everything together and let the cheese melt.
- 6
Prep evenly into 10 meal prep containers and enjoy.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook chicken to exactly 165°F internal temperature, then rest 3-4 minutes before chopping to retain 15-20% more moisture in the final pasta dish.technique165°F, 3-4 minutes
- ✓Reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water before draining because the starches will help emulsify the buffalo ranch sauce and prevent it from breaking when mixed with hot ingredients.technique1 cup reserved water
- ✓Add the hot pasta directly to the mixing bowl while it's still 180-200°F so the residual heat properly melts the fat-free cheeses, which require higher temperatures than regular cheese to achieve smooth melting.timing180-200°F
- ✓Bloom the ranch seasoning packet in 2-3 tablespoons of the hot pasta water for 30 seconds before adding other ingredients to activate the dried herbs and prevent gritty texture.technique2-3 tablespoons, 30 seconds
- ✓Let the mixed pasta cool to 140°F before portioning into containers because fat-free cheeses will seize and become rubbery if portioned while too hot, affecting reheating quality.timing140°F