Chicken Bacon Ranch "Pasta" Bake

Print Recipe

Chicken Bacon Ranch "Pasta" Bake

A lightened up version of a classic pasta dish, guaranteed to make the whole family happy!

Ingredients

For Alfredo Ranch Sauce

28 g butter (2 tablespoons)
18 g flour (2 tablespoons)
420 ml 1% milk, warmed in the microwave until warm to the touch (use 30 second increments) (1 and 3/4 cups)
56 g Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup)
1 tsp minced garlic
15 g ranch dressing mix (1 and 1/2 tablespoons)
If not making your own sauce, choose a 15 oz jar of alfredo sauce and then combine it with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) of ranch dressing mix.

For the Bake

650 g cooked spaghetti squash strands
16 oz cooked chicken, shredded or diced
~40 g cooked and crumbled bacon (about 6 slices)
100 g shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

To cook Spaghetti Squash

Begin by preheating oven to 400 degrees. Wash and rinse a spaghetti squash, cut it in half length wise, and then scoop out the seeds from the center of both halves. Place halves of squash flesh side down in a 9X13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until tender.
Once spaghetti squash is tender, use a fork to pull out strands of the flesh. Remove as much flesh as possible from both halves and place 650 g in a bowl. Set aside.

To make the Alfredo Ranch Sauce

In a large pan or skillet, melt 28 g of butter over medium heat. Once melted, sprinkle flour over the butter, and then whisk until flour is fully incorporated into the butter. Continue whisking flour for an additional minute to take out any raw taste from the flour.
Slowly add in half the milk, and vigorously whisk the flour mixture into the milk. Continue doing that until flour is mostly incorporated and then add the other half of milk. Continue whisking over medium heat until the milk mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. You can use the back of the spoon test (sauce should coat the back of a spoon and not drip off).
Once the mixture has thickened, add in the parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and ranch seasoning. Whisk until completely smooth and the cheese has melted. Turn off heat.

To assemble the dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2.5 qt dish with cooking spray (a little smaller dish than a 9X13).
In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken (shredded or diced), cooked and crumbled bacon, spaghetti squash, and ranch sauce until the sauce evenly coats the ingredients. Once combined, pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Then top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. For the last remaining minutes, place the dish on the highest baking rack and turn on the broiler. Cook under the broiler until the cheese begins to bubble and brown. Watch carefully, however, because it can burn quickly!
Remove the oven, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then serve!

Notes

Macros for 1/6 are 15.9F/15.9C/32.7P.

Please note, macro counts may vary from item to item. If you are looking for the best accuracy, it is important to create your own recipe in MyFitnessPal using the ingredients you've used to prepare this dish.