Chicken Bacon Ranch Tater Tot Casserole combines crispy bacon, succulent chicken and dry ranch seasoning mix. This hearty casserole is sure to be a hit with your family. It is so easy to make and my guys love it.
If you love a crispy tater tot, try my recipe for the duggars tater tot casserole and my bacon tater tot appetizer.
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Why this Chicken Bacon Ranch Tater Tot Casserole Recipe is a Keeper
This recipe is the perfect family friendly dinner. The creamy ranch, cheese and bacon is what makes this casserole irresistible.
- Ultimate Comfort Food: This casserole is the epitome of warm, cheesy, and satisfying comfort food. The combination of creamy chicken, savory bacon, tangy ranch, and crispy tater tots is simply irresistible.
- Crowd-Pleaser: It’s a guaranteed hit with both kids and adults, making it perfect for family dinners, potlucks, and casual fun gatherings.
- Customizable: The core components (chicken, bacon, ranch, tater tots) are flexible, allowing for easy variations and additions to suit different tastes and dietary needs.
- Freezer-Friendly: It can be assembled ahead of time and frozen, making it a convenient option for busy weeknights.
- Utilizes Pantry Staples: Many of the ingredients are likely already in your pantry or are easily accessible.
Why Are my Tater Tots Soggy?
The tater tots could be soggy if they were not cooked long enough, or if they were added to the casserole too soon before baking. To ensure tots are crisp, add them right before baking and cook until they’re golden brown.
Pro Tip for Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Garnish for Appeal: Sprinkle with fresh chives, green onions, or extra crumbled bacon before serving.
Ingredient Notes and Variation Suggestions for this Easy Chicken Casserole
To make this tater tot casserole with chicken recipe, there are just a few easy ingredients that are needed. They can all be found in the kitchen, at the store or can be substituted.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are best for this recipe. however, you can use chicken thighs or canned chicken if you’d like.
- Ground Beef or Turkey: Browned and drained ground meat can be substituted for chicken.
- Pulled Pork: Adds a smoky and sweet flavor.
- Leftover Ham: Diced ham works well for a different flavor profile.
- Veggie Boost: Mix some veggies into this cheesy chicken casserole.
- Frozen Peas or Green Beans: Stir in thawed or frozen veggies for added color and nutrients.
- Corn: Adds sweetness and texture to tater tot casseroles with chicken.
- Chopped Onions or Bell Peppers: Add sliced green onions or bell peppers. Make sure they’re sautéed beforehand to soften.
- Mushrooms: Sautéed mushrooms add an earthy flavor to teh shredded cheese and ranch.
- Spinach: Wilted spinach can be mixed into the chicken mixture.
How to Make Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
This recipe comes together in 4 quick and easy steps. This cheesy tater tot casserole is so good, it quickly became one of my family’s favorites.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Preheat Oven and Prep Pan: Start by preheating your oven to 400℉ and place the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts with ranch seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Season and Cook Meat: Cook the bacon in the skillet until done. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Then, cook the chicken until done. Remove from heat, shred the chicken and crumble the bacon.
3. Make Sauce: In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and milk. Add the mix to the shredded chicken and bacon in the cast iron pan.
4. Assemble and Bake: Stir in ½ cup of cheese, then spread the remaining shredded cheese on top in an even layer. Arrange the frozen tater tots in an even layer on top. Bake until tater tots are golden and crispy.
Prep Ahead Suggestions to Make Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
I like to prepare ingredients ahead of time so that I don’t have to do all of the steps at once when I’m making dinner.
- Cook the Chicken: You can cook and shred or dice the chicken a day or two in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut for this step!
- Cook the Bacon: Cook the bacon until crispy, crumble it, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Shred the Cheese: Shredding your own cheese (if using a block) can be done a day in advance and stored in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator. Pre-shredded cheese works too, but freshly shredded often melts better.
- Mix the Sauce: If your recipe involves a creamy sauce base with ranch dressing and other ingredients (like cream of soup or sour cream), you can often mix this together a day in advance and store it covered in the refrigerator.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftovers
- Storing: Store cream of chicken tater tot casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave, or most of the pan in the oven until warm.
- Using Leftovers: Gobble up leftovers topped with extra cheese and ranch for lunch. You can also make any remaining tater tots for on the side.
Common Questions About This Easy Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Yes. Assemble the casserole, wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and freeze before baking. When ready to bake, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.
Use turkey bacon to help cut down on fat. You can also opt to use other reduced fat ingredients like sour cream and milk.
Yes, add the chicken and the soup mixture to the crock pot and cook on low until the chicken is cooked through (about 4-6 hours). I still recommend cooking the bacon and tater tots separately and adding them at the end.
Cook chicken breast for 4-5 minutes per side in the skillet, until they reach an internal temperature of 165℉. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the biggest piece to accurately read the temperature.
Yes. You can either pan fry or bake the chicken and bacon, and then layer all of the ingredients in a 9×13 inch baking dish. You may need to adjust the cook time, so keep an eye on it.
Expert Tips for Making Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Another Way to Serve: You can make and pour the chicken mixture over the tater tots to serve it a different way.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Casserole Dish: This ensures the casserole cooks evenly and prevents a soggy bottom.
- Crisp the Tater Tots: For extra crispy tater tots, consider baking them separately according to package directions for the last 15-20 minutes and then placing the tater tots on top of the casserole.
- Quality Ranch Mix: The flavor of your ranch dressing mix will significantly impact the overall taste of the casserole.
- Layer Ingredients Evenly: Distribute the chicken, bacon, cheese, and tator tots evenly for consistent flavor in each bite.
- Season Well: Taste the chicken mixture before assembling and add extra salt, pepper, or other seasonings as needed.
- Let it Rest After Baking: Allow the casserole to sit for 5-10 minutes after removing it from the oven. This helps it set up and makes it easier to serve.
- Adjust Baking Time Based on Depth: Deeper casseroles may require a longer baking time to heat through completely.
- Serve this Recipe With: Serve with Iceberg Wedge Salad, Air Fryer Butternut Squash or Cherry Jello Fruit Salad.
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Chicken Bacon Ranch Tater Tot Casserole
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Ingredients
- 6-8 strips Bacon
- 1 pound Chicken breasts, approximately 2 breasts
- 3 Tablespoons Ranch seasoning, divided
- ½ teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
- 10.75 ounces Cream of chicken soup, 1 can
- 1 cup Sour cream
- ½ cup Milk
- 2 cups Shredded Colby jack cheese, as needed
- 32 ounces Tater tots, 1 bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Season chicken breasts with 2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning and all purpose seasoning.
- Cook the bacon in the skillet until done. Remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. crumble the bacon.
- Cook chicken breast for 4-5 minutes per side in the skillet, until they reach an internal temperature of 165℉. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cheddar soup, cream of chicken soup, remaining ranch seasoning, sour cream and milk. Stir to combine completely.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred using forks or meat shredders.
- Combine the chicken, 1/2 the bacon and soup mixture in the cast iron pan.
- Stir in ½ cup of cheese and then spread the remaining shredded cheese and remaining bacon in an even layer on the top of the chicken mixture.
- Arrange the tater tots in an even layer.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until tater tots are golden and crispy.
Christina’s Notes
- Another Way to Serve: You can make and pour the chicken mixture over the tater tots to serve it a different way.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Casserole Dish: This ensures the casserole cooks evenly and prevents a soggy bottom.
- Crisp the Tater Tots: For extra crispy tater tots, consider baking them separately according to package directions for the last 15-20 minutes and then placing the tater tots on top of the casserole.
- Quality Ranch Mix: The flavor of your ranch dressing mix will significantly impact the overall taste of the casserole.
- Layer Ingredients Evenly: Distribute the chicken, bacon, cheese, and tator tots evenly for consistent flavor in each bite.
- Season Well: Taste the chicken mixture before assembling and add extra salt, pepper, or other seasonings as needed.
- Let it Rest After Baking: Allow the casserole to sit for 5-10 minutes after removing it from the oven. This helps it set up and makes it easier to serve.
- Adjust Baking Time Based on Depth: Deeper casseroles may require a longer baking time to heat through completely.
- Serve this Recipe With: Serve with Iceberg Wedge Salad, Air Fryer Butternut Squash or Cherry Jello Fruit Salad.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
the recipe doesn’t have the cheddar soup in it yet its in the directions?????