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You are here: Home / Recipes / 30-minute Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac ‘n’ Cheese

April 5, 2017

30-minute Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac ‘n’ Cheese

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This Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac ‘n’ Cheese is full of creamy alfredo-like ranch sauce, delicious grilled chicken and ready in under 30 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

This easy, cheesy 30-Minute Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac ‘n’ Cheese is a quick and easy, delicious dinner for any night.  It’s full of penne pasta, a creamy, cheesy alfredo-like ranch sauce, and packed with delicious grilled chicken.  It’s made in ONE skillet, start to finish and is ready in under 30 minutes. It’s kid-tested (and approved) and will leave everyone happy and satisfied.  If you’re a ranch lover and enjoy creamy, cheesy mac ‘n’ cheese, you’ll love this skillet chicken ranch mac ‘n’ cheese.

My 3 little ladies LOVE macaroni and cheese.  They would eat it 3 times a day if I’d let them.  They loved this dish but that was really no surprise to me.

This recipe came about a couple weeks ago when we had cousins over to play.  We had grilled chicken the night before and had a couple pieces leftover in the fridge.  I figured pasta would be a “no picky eaters here” safe choice for the kids.  Why not add the grilled chicken in with it, right?!  A little extra protein and flavor.  No argument here.

I’ll be perfectly honest with you.  I’ve never made mac ‘n’ cheese in one pan before this.  I’ve always boiled the pasta, made the sauce, then added them together.  I wasn’t feeling like creating a lot of dishes when I made this for lunch that day, so I decided to try it in one skillet… and it was AWESOME!  This mac and cheese recipe is quick and easy to prepare (in ONE skillet) AND soooo delicious.  The kids gobbled it up and even asked for a little more!  But then again, who wouldn’t.  With all those yummy ingredients, you really can’t go wrong.

Click for a delicious Recipe | Kitchen Cents

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

This white sauce pasta dish can be a speedy choice for lunch or dinner and everyone will love it (unless they’re like Ryan 😉 ).  I started by cooking the pasta right in the skillet.  You can find the full printable recipe here.

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

I simmered the penne pasta for about 14 minutes until the pasta was al dente. At that point, almost all of the water was absorbed into the pasta and the pasta was cooked almost all the way through.

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

Over medium-high heat, I added the cream.  You could lighten this dish by adding milk instead of cream but this will make your sauce a little runnier.  I gave the pasta a quick toss before adding the next ingredients.

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

The ranch dressing, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese were next to go in.  I heated these over medium heat until the cheeses were melted and the sauce began to thicken.  It only took a few minutes for that to happen. Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

Last but not least, in went the delicious, moist grilled chicken.  I will try to post the recipe for my grilled chicken and marinade soon.  It’s the BEST!  My grilled chicken tasted almost like bacon in this.  It totally made this dish!

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

Once the cubed chicken was in, I gave it a toss.  That was it!  A sprinkle of salt and a dash of pepper and this delicious chicken ranch mac ‘n’ cheese was done.  Just look at it.  Doesn’t it look so yummy?!

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

We all loved it so much. It’s become a frequent flyer on our kitchen table (except for Ryan my husband who can’t stand anything cheese :'( ).

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

What’s your favorite kind of mac ‘n’ cheese or pasta?

Click for a delicious Recipe | Kitchen Cents

Easy Cheesy Skillet Chicken Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese | KitchenCents.com

Click for a delicious Recipe | Kitchen Cents

*This post contains affiliate links. In order to support this blog and continue providing free content, I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post.

**Original post: 4.5.17  Updated: 1.31.18

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pastas, Recipes Tagged With: Cheese, cheesified, chicken, Family favorites, kid-tested and approved, Pasta, Quick & Easy, under 30 min

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Comments

  1. Rachel says

    April 11, 2017 at 9:29 am

    Hahaha… that is exactly why meals like this are great. Some weeks we don’t get breaks and can only survive on meals like this.

  2. Rachel says

    April 11, 2017 at 9:27 am

    Thanks for the pin Ashley! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

  3. Rachel says

    April 11, 2017 at 9:27 am

    You are a woman after my own heart! LOL I totally agree!

  4. Rachel says

    April 11, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Hi Kristina! Thanks for the pin. I hope you enjoy!

  5. Rachel says

    April 11, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Excellent idea! We love leftovers. With only three in your home right now, leftovers would make fabulous leftovers for an easy dinner. Thanks for stopping by Kim!

  6. Carly says

    April 10, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    Mac and cheese is one of my favorites! Definitely trying this recipe.

    Carly | http://www.thecarlycollective.com

  7. Kimberly @ Berly's Kitchen says

    April 7, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    This sounds incredible and so easy to make! I bet it would feed us for at least two meals (I hope!). Maybe we can give this a try next week and have leftovers for an easy dinner.

  8. Maggie Unzueta says

    April 7, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Who doesn’t love Mac n Cheese?! Looks delicious.

  9. Rachel says

    April 7, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Yup- I want that for dinner this weekend! The best part is the hubby can’t eat cheese, so more for me 🙂

  10. Sharon says

    April 7, 2017 at 3:22 am

    I am sitting here, drooling as I read this! Holy crap! Oh so cheesy and creamy. I need all of this STAT!

  11. Kristina says

    April 6, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    mhmm looks easy to make & sounds delicious! I’m pinning for later! Thanks for sharing!

  12. Katherine Turro says

    April 6, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    Yum! You can never go wrong with mac and cheese!

  13. Jen says

    April 6, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    Oh my goodness – i’m drooling! I love mac n cheese and it’s great that the addition of chicken gives this dish some protein oomph.

  14. Ashley Stephenson says

    April 6, 2017 at 11:33 am

    My two favorite things Ranch & Mac n Cheese in one dish!! I need to try this!! I pinned for later!

  15. Julie Torres says

    April 6, 2017 at 9:40 am

    This just looks incredible, I am saving to make this week. I love quick and tasty recipes for weeknights when we are all stretched just a little too thin!

  16. C. Gibson says

    April 6, 2017 at 9:01 am

    That looks so good, and I love quick and easy dishes, I’ll definitely be pinning this recipe.

  17. Madeline says

    April 6, 2017 at 8:52 am

    Perfect comfort food right here! Love anything mac and cheese and this is such a good weeknight meal. Yum!

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Rachel is a mom to four cheeky girls, wife to a smarty pants computer geek, and lover of all things chocolate and cheesecake! Read more…

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