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You just need 5 minutes of prep, 5 ingredients, and 1 dish for this easy dinner: Dump-and-Bake Smothered Chicken with Bacon! It’s cozy, comforting and super easy to put together. Best of all the whole family will love it too!

Lifting cheesy chicken breast from baking dish

How about an easy dinner that’s guaranteed to make everyone around your table smile?

This tender, juicy Ranch-seasoned chicken is baked in Alfredo sauce and smothered with cheese and crispy bacon. Most importantly, it’s a recipe that you actually have TIME to make! This Dump-and-Bake meal only requires 5 ingredients (hello, quick grocery store run!), 5 minutes of prep, and 1 dish. Can’t beat that!

Overhead shot of baked chicken breast in white dish with bacon and cheese

How To Make Smothered Chicken With Bacon

You’ll start by placing the chicken in a baking dish and sprinkling Ranch seasoning over top.

Raw chicken breasts with ranch seasoning in white dish

Add a jar of Alfredo sauce, cover it with foil, and pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Alfredo sauce covering raw chicken breast in white dish

Once the chicken is cooked through, it’s time for the good stuff! The meat is smothered with provolone cheese and a little bit of chopped, cooked bacon.

I like to break the cheese slices into a few pieces so that they fit neatly on the chicken before finishing with the bacon.

Overhead shot of chopped bacon and cheese over raw chicken in baking dish

Then the dish goes back in the oven for about 5 more minutes so that the cheese melts and the bacon gets crispy. Then…BOOM! You’ve got a restaurant-quality dinner to serve your family with practically ZERO effort involved.

Baked chicken in casserole dish topped with cheese, bacon and green onions

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this chicken on top of spaghetti squash for a lighter option, but regular pasta, rice, or crusty bread would also be perfect. You want to make sure that you’ve got something tasty to soak up that cheesy, creamy sauce! My Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes would be perfect, too!

Tips For Making Smothered Chicken

  • Cooking for Two? You can easily cut this recipe in half and bake it in an 8-inch square dish.
  • Want to Prep Ahead? You can add all of the ingredients to the dish, cover, and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
  • I prepare my bacon ahead of time by baking in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 13 minutes. You can also use the microwave or just take a shortcut and buy the precooked bacon at the grocery store, crumbling it with your fingers as you sprinkle it over the chicken (that saves a step and doesn’t require any dirty dishes)!

Close overhead shot of half of a white casserole dish with smothered chicken

I hope that you’ll add this 5-minute dinner to your next meal plan. Even my little guy can tolerate the shopping trip for just 5 ingredients!

More Chicken Recipes You Might Like:

Overhead shot of baked chicken breast in white dish with bacon and cheese

Dump-and-Bake Smothered Chicken with Bacon

5 from 7 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 470 kcal
You only need 5 minutes prep and 5 ingredients to make this delicious and comforting smothered chicken with bacon. All made in one dish, it couldn't be easier!

Ingredients
  

  • 6 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large breasts thinly sliced, about 24 ounces total)
  • 1 tablespoon Ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix (just the dry seasoning)
  • 1 (15 ounce) jar (about 1 ¾ cups) Alfredo pasta sauce
  • 4 slices cooked, chopped bacon*
  • 3 slices provolone cheese
  • Optional: fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven the 375F (190C). Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Place chicken in prepared dish and sprinkle both sides of the meat with Ranch seasoning mix.
  • Pour Alfredo sauce over top of the meat, toss to coat, and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
  • Remove chicken from the oven; top with cheese slices, breaking the cheese to fit on each piece of meat. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and return the dish to the oven (uncovered) for 5 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
  • If desired, garnish with fresh herbs just before serving.

Notes

*I prepare my bacon ahead of time by baking in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 13 minutes. You can also use the microwave or just take a shortcut and buy the precooked bacon at the grocery store, crumbling it with your fingers as you sprinkle it over the chicken (that saves a step and doesn’t require any dirty dishes)!
  • Cooking for Two? You can easily cut this recipe in half and bake it in an 8-inch square dish.
  • Want to Prep Ahead? You can add all of the ingredients to the dish, cover, and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipeCalories: 470kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 45gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 193mgSodium: 1377mgPotassium: 656mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 235IUVitamin C: 2.1mgCalcium: 167mgIron: 0.7mg
Keyword: Baked Creamy Chicken, Chicken with Bacon, Smothered Chicken
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: Blair Lonergan
blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

Read More

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Comments

  1. This looks amazing, Blair! My husband and I eat chicken a lot,so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it. I love the choice of cheese in here, and of course, the bacon! What a perfect weeknight meal. Can’t wait to try this!

    1. Thank you, Gayle! As far as I’m concerned, you can never go wrong with the combo of chicken, bacon, and cheese! 🙂

  2. Yum! One question…I love everything about this dish except for the ranch. I just hate ranch dressing and ranch flavor. Any suggestions for a replacement that would pair well with the other ingredients?

    1. Hey, Lauren! No problem! You have a few options instead of the Ranch: you can keep it simple and just season the chicken with salt and pepper (there’s plenty of flavor in the sauce, so it will still be delicious), or you could substitute some Italian seasoning instead of the Ranch (usually a combo of basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, oregano, and sage). Hope that helps!

  3. Chicken and BACON?!? OMG YUM! I need to try this friend. Love your dump and bake recipes. They are so fun.

        1. Hi, Regina! It’s just the dry Ranch seasoning mix that you use to season the chicken — the instructions are in Step #2 of the recipe instructions above. 🙂

          Enjoy!

  4. 5 stars
    Yay! Another yummy, quick and easy dinner recipe! Made your Garlic Parmesan Chicken Broccoli Potato bake and it was delicious!!

    1. Awesome! So glad that you enjoyed the Parmesan Chicken, Kelly! Thanks for letting me know, and I hope that you’ll give this one a try too! It’s a keeper! 🙂

  5. Wow ! That is for sure a lovely and comforting dinner 🙂 Who doesn’t love cheese ,chicken and bacon 😉 This is must make in my list !

  6. I tried this tonight and I was iffy at first, but it actually turned out DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for posting this recipe, I will make it again!

    1. Hey, Lisa! If you want less sodium, you can start with a homemade Ranch seasoning mix. That would help. I don’t have any specific ranch recipes on my website, but I know that you can find a bunch of options on Google. Also, the nutrition information includes all of the sauce in the pan. If you want to lighten it up a bit, I would focus on eating more of the chicken, and leaving any excess sauce in the dish. That will also help eliminate a lot of extra sodium. Hope that helps! 🙂

    1. Yes! That’s such a great idea, Stephanie! I think it would work well! I would try 4-6 hours on low (or 1 1/2 – 2 hours on HIGH), and add the cheese and bacon to the top at the end (allow cheese to melt, and then serve). Cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken and on your individual slow cooker. Let me know if you give it a try!

  7. This looks SO good! But i was wondering, is there any way i could use pepper jack cheese instead of provolone? Would it change the taste? We love pepper jack in this brand!! Would love to try this out!

    1. Hi, Shelly! If you have time to thaw the chicken, that’s ideal. If not, then I would just sprinkle the ranch seasoning over top of the chicken in the exact same way that you would if it was thawed. 🙂

  8. 5 stars
    This recipe was delicious. We thought it was so good we would try it on pork chops using an Italian/Pizza seasoning instead of the ranch dressing and prosciutto instead of bacon (out of bacon) and served it over penne with a caprese salad. My family loved it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try others.