Chicken Ranch Pasta is an amazingly easy but tasty recipe. Shredded or diced chicken is mixed with a blend of cheeses, ranch dressing and bacon. It’s a simple combination but the taste is out of this world!
This recipe is so easy to make into a low carb or keto friendly meal. Have family members who aren’t following a low carb diet? No worries. You can easily serve this recipe using traditional pasta to meet their needs. This is a recipe the whole family will love.
Often chicken ranch recipes are high in carbs. The recipe includes ingredients such as cream of chicken soup (about 25 grams of carbs for one can) and is typically served over spaghetti. I’ve swapped out these higher carb ingredients for those that are perfect for those on a keto diet who are looking for low carb meals.
Keep reading to see the ingredient swaps and why they were made.
Keto Chicken Ranch Pasta
Creating a low carb recipe was easy to do. The original cream of chicken soup was swapped out for ingredients that will help to create a creamy sauce such as chicken broth, cream cheese and the shredded cheese.
Traditional spaghetti, made with high carb wheat flour, can easily be swapped out for spaghetti squash or shirataki noodles. You can also serve this over other low carb pasta replacements such as zucchini noodles or even cauliflower rice.
We love to use spaghetti squash because it has a nice texture to it and holds the creamy sauce.
Ingredients for Low Carb Chicken Ranch Pasta
This recipe is seriously delicious. You’ll never miss the carbs. Here’s what you’ll need to make this dish:
- Spaghetti Squash – you will need the cooked spaghetti squash to serve the creamy chicken and sauce over. A small spaghetti squash (1 to 1 1/2 pounds) will serve 2 to 3 people as a main dish depending upon their appetite.
- Cream Cheese – I use regular cream cheese in this recipe but you can swap it out for light cream cheese or even fat free cream cheese. But keep in mind that those types will have more carbs in them.
- Chicken Broth – Use your favorite brand of chicken broth for this recipe.
- Ranch Seasoning Mix – you can use a store bought brand of ranch dressing mix such as those Hidden Valley Ranch packets of dry mix you will find in your local grocery store or try using this homemade recipe for ranch seasoning. It’s so easy to make and you’ll be surprised at how often you’ll use it once you have some on hand. It’s not just for making dip!
- Cooked Chicken, Diced or Shredded – you’ll need a couple of cups of cooked chicken for this recipe. You can dice or shred your chicken.
Looking to make a big batch of shredded chicken? Then check out this recipe for Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken.
For a fast and easy way to get cooked, diced chicken try using the meat off of a rotisserie chicken. I often use the breast meat for one recipe and then remove and dice the remaining meat to make Chicken Ranch Pasta.
- Diced Bacon – cook and dice 5 strips of crispy bacon for this recipe. More if you would like to crumble some extra bacon pieces on top of each bowl as its served.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – we love the taste of sharp cheddar cheese. But you can also swap this out for a combination of 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and 3/4 cup of Mozzarella cheese for a tasty cheesy flavor.
Optional ingredients:
You don’t need these but we sometimes like to add them.
Sliced Green Onions – add a sprinkle of sliced green onions on top of each serving.
Smoked Paprika – some family members like to sprinkle some smoked paprika on top of their chicken ranch pasta. It gives it a little spicy bit and a mild smokey flavor that goes well with the bacon.
How to make Chicken Ranch Pasta with Spaghetti Squash
Start by making the sauce. In a saucepan, combine the chicken broth, cream cheese and ranch seasoning mix. Cook over a low to medium heat stirring until the cream cheese has melted into the broth.
Add in the bacon bits and the shredded cheese. Continue to stir until the shredded cheese has melted.
Stir in the chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is heated through.
You can adjust the thickness of the sauce. If it is too thick stir in a bit of chicken broth until it has thinned out. If you would like it a bit thicker add some additional shredded cheese and allow it to simmer on low while stirring it.
To serve, spoon the creamy sauce over the cooked spaghetti squash. Top with additional diced bacon and sliced green onions if desired.
Low Carb Pasta Replacements
To keep this dish keto friendly and low in carbs the traditional high carb pasta is swapped out with one of these delicious low carb pasta replacements. The ones most often used are:
- Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini Noodles
- Shirataki Noodles
Traditional pasta is made with durum wheat and is high in carbs. Here’s the nutritional information for 1 cup of spaghetti (pasta):
Calories: 221
Total Carbs: 43
Fiber: 3 grams
Net Carbs: 40 grams
Protein: 8 grams
Net grams of carbs are the total carbs with the grams of fiber subtracted. This is due to fiber not affecting blood sugar levels. The net carbs would be the amount of carbs that remain in the food that would affect the blood sugar level. This is the number of carbs that many people count when they are on the keto diet or if they are using the lazy keto diet method.
Spaghetti Squash:
Besides being lower in carbs, spaghetti squash also contains beta-carotene and vitamin C. Both of these work as antioxidants in the body and help to reduce damage to the cells in your body. It also contains a good amount of fiber which helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Personally I prefer to use it for this particular dish because it picks up the flavors from the sauce so well.
Here’s the nutritional information for 1 cup of cooked spaghetti squash:
Calories: 42
Total Carbs: 10 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Net Carbs: 8 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Zucchini Noodles also known as Zoodles
Zoodles are simply noodles made from zucchini. This can be done using a vegetable spiralizer. This is a small device that resembles a grater. The zucchini is placed inside and the handle is turned creating long, thin zucchini strips.
You can also use a vegetable peeler to create long but wide strips of zucchini that are then cut in half or thirds creating extra wide noodles.
If you don’t want to make them yourself Green Giant brand sells Vegetable Spirals in the freezer vegetable section. You can get bags of frozen zucchini noodles there.
Here’s the nutritional information for 1 cup of zucchini noodles:
Calories: 19
Total Carbs: 5 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Net Carbs: 3 grams
Protein: 1 grams
Shirataki Noodles:
Shirataki noodles are thin, translucent noodles made from a fiber from the konjac yam. They are a traditional Japanese food that became a popular low carb pasta replacement once people realized that the fiber they were made from left them with zero net carbs.
The low carb and keto communities quickly picked up on these noodles and suddenly there were a wide range of companies producing them in various shapes.
Here’s the nutritional information on 1 cup of shirataki noodles:
Calories: 28
Fat: 0 grams
Total carbs: 4 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Net carbs: 0 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Check out this page for lots of other information about low carb pasta replacements, how to prepare them and much more.
How to store leftovers:
Store any remaining leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you have mixed in the spaghetti squash you may notice that the sauce mixture may become a bit watery. Don’t worry. Once you heat the leftovers up and stir them the extra moisture from the spaghetti squash will mix into the sauce making it creamy and not watery.
If you love the flavor in this recipe you might also enjoy one of these easy recipes:
What to serve with this one-pot meal:
Make this recipe a complete meal by serving it with these delicious low carb Keto Cheddar Biscuits. They are so easy to make and freeze well. Try making a double batch and freeze the extras for other meals or to toss into a lunch bag.
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Chicken Ranch Pasta Recipe (Keto, Low Carb)
Equipment
- Large pot
- Mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Spaghetti Squash
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 1/5 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons Ranch Seasoning mix
- 2 1/2 cups Chicken cooked, shredded or diced
- 5 strips Bacon cooked, diced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Start by making the sauce. In a saucepan, combine the chicken broth, cream cheese and ranch seasoning mix. Cook over a low heat stirring until the cream cheese has melted into the broth.8 ounces Cream Cheese, 1 1/5 cups chicken broth, 2 tablespoons Ranch Seasoning mix
- Add in the bacon bits and the shredded cheese. Continue to stir until the shredded cheese has melted.5 strips Bacon, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Stir in the chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is heated through.2 1/2 cups Chicken
- To serve, spoon the creamy sauce over the cooked spaghetti squash.16 ounces Spaghetti Squash
Notes
Nutrition
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This post has been updated to include new photos and information. Here’s the old photos for reference. In the past I would put all the ingredients into the pot, add the chicken broth in and heat it until the cream cheese melts.
Old recipe picture once all the cream cheese and cheddar cheese had melted into the broth.
Served over cooked spaghetti squash and topped with a bit of chives. Now I prefer to use green onions.
