Throw together a quick meal using only a few simple ingredients. It’s cheesy and covered in ranch dressing for a delicious cheesy chicken and ranch dinner.
My dad was usually the one who cooked for the whole family in our house. And one of his go-to meals was Cheesy Chicken & Ranch. This was a dinner that came about when we desperately needed to go grocery shopping but just hadn’t been yet.
We looked in the refrigerator to see what we could find and threw it together. The meal started with some chicken that we had thawed out the night before and seasoned with whatever we had in the pantry at the time. Once the chicken was cooked he threw on some cheese.
At that point, we called it a quick and easy dinner. I decided it was missing something. So, back to the bare kitchen I went and found a bottle of ranch salad dressing. It sounded good, so I put some of that on the top.
The meal was so simple, yet so delicious. Of course, we named it cheesy chicken and ranch. Yes, we made it often enough after that to give it a title. And even though I haven’t lived at home for over 10 years, it’s still something that I make on busy nights when we don’t have a lot of time for dinner.
I can usually pull this together in about 20 minutes. 15 if the chicken is already cut up. When we get home from the grocery store and divide the chicken, we also go ahead and cut off any fat and cut it into strips or chunks if we know we are making meals that need it.
You can use any seasoning that you like, but I typically throw on some onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and pepper. The cheese is usually Colby Jack, but I’ve also done the Fiesta blend or sharp cheddar cheese. The final ingredient, ranch dressing, has to be Hidden Valley for me. That’s the only thing I am really picky about when it comes to this meal.
Serving Suggestions & Tips
- Serve with a side of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli.
- Try this with other cheeses such as Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, or mozzarella cheese.
- Sprinkle with crispy bacon to make this cheesy bacon ranch chicken.
- Replace the boneless skinless chicken breasts with other juicy chicken such as chicken thighs. Or, try with shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Mix in some sliced green onions or garnish with them.
Cheesy Chicken and Ranch Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese (shredded)
- 4 tbsp ranch dressing
Preparation
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cut each piece of chicken into bite-sized chunks and place them in the pan. Sprinkle with the seasonings.
Sauté the chicken until it is completely cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese to the top of the chicken breasts.
Stir immediately so the cheese doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Coat the chicken meat with the melted cheese.
Drizzle with ranch dressing and serve warm.
Cheesy Chicken and Ranch Leftovers
Storage: Let the chicken leftovers come to room temperature then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you know you will have leftovers, wait to drizzle the tops of the chicken with ranch dressing until serving again.
​Reheating: The best way to reheat the leftovers is in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through. Stir often so the cheese doesn’t stick to the pan. Drizzle with more ranch dressing if desired.
Recipe
Originally Published On: February 21, 2019
Last Updated On: October 15, 2024
Cheesy Chicken and Ranch
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese (shredded)
- 4 tbsp ranch dressing
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan
- Season the chicken with the onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and pepper
- Sauté until the chicken is cooked through
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese
- Stir constantly so the cheese doesn’t burn to the pan and coats the chicken
- Drizzle with ranch dressing and serve immediately
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
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Family Recipes
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- Chicken a la Gurnham
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- Cheesy Chicken and Ranch
- Southern Fried Chicken
- Milnot Cheesecake
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Chocolate Strawberry Cake
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THIS IS SOMETHING MY HUSBAND WOULD TOTALLLYYYYYY run to the kitchen for!!! THIS IS GENIUS! Pinning this right now!
I hope he tries it sometime! This recipe came from trying to make something out of whatever we had left and it became a favorite for a long time!
Oh goodness this looks amazing! Especially because its cold outside and I want things like this
I never thought about it being a great meal for the colder months because we tend to eat it year-round!
The best thing is that this can be added to so many dishes too, so it’s really versatile. Totally trying this recipe out.
I hope you enjoy it! We make this meal a lot at our house. It’s so easy and delicious.
I have all these ingredients right now! Will make it for lunch today as it sounds delicious!
Perfect for lunch! I hope you had a chance to make it and liked the meal.
This recipe looks great and delcious and I really chicken recipe <3 I will to cook this recipe 🙂
It’s such a simple meal, I hope you like it!
Yum!! I love ranch with everything, pizza, salads, chicken, bread, you name it! I can’t wait to share this recipe with my family and give it a try!
I love ranch, too! I don’t think I’ve had it on any kind of bread, but have on all the others you mentioned!
My husband would absolutely love this recipe! I’ll have to keep it in mind for this week’s dinner options.
It’s such a simple recipe, and great for making during the week since it’s quick.
This seems the fastest and tastier way to prepare chicken ever! Thank you for the tips!
You’re so welcome! It’s perfect for crazy weeknights since it can be made so quickly.
Quick and easy to make dishes that need whatever you have in the house are always great to fall back on. Your dish looks quite tasty.
Thanks! This tends to be how we come up with a lot of our meals… what can we make with what we have in the refrigerator/pantry.