Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

If you’ve got a ranch packet sitting in the cabinet or cupboard (it seems like we always have that, right?!), I’ve got the perfect recipe for you to use it in. Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta is a quick and easy way to use up that packet, and have a lot of delicious flavor in a healthy pasta dish. 

Normally a big bowl of pasta with this much flavor will cost you a lot of calories or points. But not my healthy version. One serving is only 7 points, which is perfect for a filling dinner. It’ll save you some points to use on dessert. You get a lot of protein, covered in bacon and ranch flavor – no more boring, dry chicken. And a bed of healthy, whole wheat pasta for some carbs and nutrients. Top the casserole with some freshly chopped parsley (zero points) and it’ll really bring the finishing touches to the dish. 

Three reasons why you need to make this recipe! 

Bacon and Ranch and Pasta…but in a healthy way – no other reason is needed! 

This casserole is filled with one of the best flavor combinations, bacon, and ranch. The two flavors come together to cover the moist chicken, so you’re getting your protein in the most fun way possible. You’re going to love it. 

There are 20 grams of protein per serving. 

For a lunch or dinner meal, 20 grams of protein is fantastic. You’ll be able to stay satisfied for hours because of the filling protein and high fiber spaghetti. 

It’s basically a one pot dish! 

You mix everything together in the same dish that you make the pasta in. Then transfer it to a casserole dish. While it’s baking, you can clean the one pot you used to prep the casserole. Super easy to make, and super easy to clean up. 

Ingredients you need to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta: 

• 164 g whole wheat spaghetti, measured dry
• 8 oz (about 2 cups) shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup 1% low fat milk 
• 1 (28 g) package ranch dip powder mix
• 2 oz light cream cheese
• 5 oz light shredded mozzarella cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand, 5oz = 6SP)
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp real bacon bits crumble or 2 slices of Oscar Mayer Center Cut bacon (same points)
• Green onion for topping which is optional and doesn’t add points. 

How to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta (step by step): 

1. Preheat oven to 350F, spray a 9×13 dish with some nonstick cooking spray.
2. Boil the pasta till it is cooked then drain and return to pot over low heat.
3. Add the chicken, cream cheese, milk, sour cream, ranch mix, and 2 oz of the mozzarella (leave the other 3 oz for topping) to the cooked pasta. 
4. Stir well till everything is mixed together and the cheese is melted.
5. Add the pasta mixture to the casserole dish.
6. Top with the remaining cheese, bacon bits, and green onion.
7. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
8. Cut into 6 equal servings. Each serving is approx 7.5 oz. 

Makes 6 servings. Nutrition info for 1 serving: Calories 255,  Fat 7 g, Saturated fat 3 g,  Carbs 27 g,  Fiber 2.4 g, Sugars 4.4 g, Sodium 899 mg, Protein 20 g. 

WW Points 

• Whole wheat spaghetti (measured dry) 13 points 
• Shredded cooked chicken 0 points 
• 1% low fat milk 4 points 
• Ranch dip powder mix 3 points 
• Light cream cheese 5 points 
• Light shredded mozzarella cheese 13 points 
• Fat free sour cream 1 point 
• Real bacon bits crumble 2 points
• Green onion 0 points 

7 points per serving based on the WW app recipe creator.  

If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below. 

Points- 6

Personal Points- 3-7 depending on your 0PP foods 

SP Freestyle- (blue) 6 using WW recipe builder

Smart points- (green) 7 using WW recipe builder

Smart Points- (purple) 3 using WW recipe builder

Points plus- 7 using PP calculator

Different ways to change up this recipe: 

• This is such a flavorful recipe, adding veggies to it is a great way to increase the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) without messing with the taste. You can add sauteed mushrooms, chopped broccoli, or even spinach or kale. It’ll still bake up great. 
• For a very lightened up version, use cooked spaghetti squash instead of pasta. It’ll lower the points to about 4-5 points per serving. 
• If you’re not a fan of cream cheese, you can use non-fat greek yogurt instead. It helps keep the dish creamy without adding extra points.  
• Using ground chicken, ground turkey, or extra lean ground beef would work. Any kind of lean meat works well in a casserole. 
• For a protein and fiber boost, use Banza pasta. It’s gluten free too! 
• If you try the spaghetti squash version, turkey pepperoni and black olives would be a great addition, for a bacon ranch chicken pizza flare. 

Tips and Tricks for Making Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta: 

• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta freezes really well – it’s a casserole after all! 
• It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, so it makes a great meal prep lunch for the work week. 
• You can prep the casserole ahead of time, and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Baking it is just for the cheese to melt since the chicken and pasta are already cooked, so you can do that right before you’re ready to eat it. 
• If you have low point bacon like Oscar Mayer center cut bacon, you can cook 2 slices and use that instead of buying bacon bit crumbles. 
• If you don’t have time for it to bake, skip putting it in the casserole dish. Just mix in the rest of the cheese until it melts fully, then divide into six portions. It saves time and dishes! 

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