Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta (Lighter Version)

This chicken bacon ranch pasta is a lighter take on an indulgent comfort food! This recipe uses Greek yogurt to make a creamy sauce that is lower in calories and higher in protein than typical cream sauces! The lighter sauce means this is a dish I'm happy to indulge in more frequently.

When prepared with bone broth, a whole batch of this sauce has only 375 calories, but packs 38 grams protein (and a ton of flavor)!  Compare this to the popular Chicken Bacon Ranch recipe on All Recipes, where the sauce has 800 calories and only 19 grams of protein (with batch size adjusted to match). Most recipes available for this dish include heavy cream or cream cheese in the sauce.

I absolutely love how the chicken pieces come out for this dish since they are pan fried in bacon drippings. It gives them so much extra flavor!

How to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full instructions.

• Prepare the chicken. Slice it into ¼ inch thick pieces, then cut again to make bite-sized chunks.
  • Optional step, tenderize the chicken: Arrange the sliced chicken on a cutting board or plate so it’s laying flat. Dust with ~1 teaspoon of baking soda, then flip all the pieces and dust with another ~1 teaspoon of baking soda. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then thoroughly rinse the baking soda off of the chicken with water and pat dry with paper towels.
  • Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
• As you prepare the rest of the dish, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions while completing the other steps. Drain and keep warm. (I like to add the past to the water when the bacon is almost done cooking)
• Cook the bacon or over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pieces get crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate, leave drippings in the pan. (You should have a few tablespoons of oil left behind)
• Once the bacon is done cooking, ensure you have 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon grease remaining in the pan. Remove excess or add a little oil to supplement as needed.
• Bring the pan with the bacon grease to high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and toss to coat it in the grease, then arrange it so it's laying flat in the pan. Let the chicken cook undisturbed until the bottom is golden, and it's mostly cooked through, about 3 minutes. Then flip or toss the chicken and cook for about 1 more minute until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate.
• Reduce the heat of the pan to medium-low. Pick out any burnt bits but do not wipe the skillet clean. Dissolve the corn starch in the chicken stock, then when fully combined, add to the pan (be careful, this may splatter with the remaining oil).
• Let the chicken stock mixture come to a simmer, then slowly whisk in the yogurt, a few tablespoons at a time. I like to use a flat whisk for this step.
• Once combined and simmering again, add the garlic, parmesan cheese, and the ranch seasoning powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low until ready to use.
• Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the sauce, toss until it's fully coated, and remove from heat. Top with the cooked chicken, gently folding it into the pasta, then top with bacon bits, some extra parmesan (optional) and the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Key Tips - Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Tenderize the chicken.

• There are a few ways to “velvet” chicken, but this one is quite simple. All you do is lightly dust the chicken in baking soda, let it sit, then rinse it off. This step can be omitted, but it helps keep the chicken tender and will make sure the meat isn’t overcooked, so I highly recommend it.
• If you want golden brown, tender chicken like the photos, tenderize the chicken as directed, then cook over high heat. Make sure you don't overcrowd the pan.
• This technique is common for stir-fry, but I love to prepare chicken this way for pastas as well!

Use fresh Parmesan cheese.

• This recipe relies on the Parmesan cheese melting nicely into the sauce. Unfortunately, the kind of Parmesan that comes in a can may not melt down nicely, so try to grate the Parmesan yourself if possible. Bagged pre-shredded Parmesan cheese should work okay as well!

For an extra-indulgent dish, double the sauce!

• It's easy to double the sauce for this recipe if you want it to thoroughly coat the chicken as well as the noodles.
• The chicken cooked in bacon grease is delicious and doesn't need to be thoroughly coated in sauce, but this is a good option for a richer dish!

Dietary Restrictions - Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Make it Gluten-Free

• Use Gluten-Free pasta. My favorite variety is Chickpea Pasta!
• Make sure you're using gluten-free chicken stock.

A Note On Serving Sizes

Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, some people would prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2-3 large dinner portions.

If you like this recipe, you may also like...

If you like this recipe you may also enjoy my Blackened Cajun Chicken with Light Fettuccine Alfredo, Kielbasa Pasta with Light Dijon Sauce, or Light-but-Loaded Creamy Potato Soup.

Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!