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This baked ranch chicken delivers crispy, cheesy comfort food in just 30 minutes. It’s the kind of dinner that works when you need something reliable, delicious, and ridiculously easy. Five ingredients, one dish, zero stress.
The Secret Ingredient Might Weird You Out
Did I beg my husband to trust me as he stared in horror while I slathered mayo on raw chicken breasts the other day?
Sure did.
Then I watched in amusement as he happily devoured my baked ranch chicken without a peep – he was too busy shoveling it in to apologize for doubting me. 😉
The mayo and ranch mixture might feel like an odd combo, but it keeps the chicken super moist during baking. Just have a little faith in me here.
The panko creates this golden, crispity little topping that’s honestly addictive. Such an easy way to add some crunch without doing the whole breading process.
We love a 5 ingredient chicken recipe that is both completely easy to whip up and 100% kid approved.
Serve it up with my mac and cheese casserole and some sauteed broccoli for an easy family meal.
Why You’ll Love This Baked Ranch Chicken
It’s stupidly simple. Five ingredients you probably already have, mixed together and baked. No marinating, no complicated steps, no special equipment.
The texture is perfect. The mayo-ranch base keeps the chicken incredibly moist while the cheese and panko create a golden, crispy coating that doesn’t get soggy.
It works for everyone. Kids love the familiar ranch flavor, adults appreciate how moist it is, and it’s easily adaptable if someone wants to swap the cheddar for pepper jack or skip the cheese entirely.
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken – We’re using boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe. You could swap that for boneless chicken thighs, but adjust the cook time accordingly.
Mayonnaise – Be sure to use real mayo and not Miracle Whip. This won’t taste like mayo after baking but it does add tons of juiciness to the chicken.
Dry Ranch Seasoning – Be sure to use the ranch seasoning mix and not the dip mix. The dip has a lot more sodium.
Cheddar Cheese – We’re keeping it easy with a bag of shredded cheddar.
Panko – Our favorite breading for chicken recipes! It’s so flavorful and it gets perfectly crispy when baked.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
What is Panko?
Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that is light, airy, and crispy. It can be found in most any grocery store. We highly recommend using Panko over traditional bread crumbs in any breading recipe where you want a crispy finished product.
How To Make Baked Ranch Chicken:
While your oven preheats mix together the mayonnaise, ranch seasoning, and cheddar cheese.
Place the chicken into a baking dish and spread the ranch and cheese mixture over the top.
Sprinkle the panko over the top. Spray the panko topping lightly with cooking spray and bake for uncovered for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to a safe temperature.
When the topping is golden brown and the chicken cooked through top with chopped parsley and serve it hot!
My Favorite Thermometer!
I love using this meat thermometer for making sure the meat is fully cooked! Easy for beginners & absolutely worth the low cost.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store leftover baked ranch chicken in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
Freezing: You can freeze cooked chicken for up to 3 months. Let it thaw completely in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: For best results, reheat in a 350°F air fryer for about 5 minutes to help the panko coating get crispy again. Microwave works too, but the topping won’t be as crunchy.
Make-ahead tip: You can prep the chicken with the ranch mixture and cheese up to a day ahead. Just add the panko and bake when ready to eat.
Baked Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing seasoning
- 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup panko
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the chicken in a large baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ranch, and cheddar cheese. Spread on top of the chicken breasts.
- Sprinkle the panko on top and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in July of 2012. It was updated with new photos and video in January 2021.
Cindy Geilmann says
It’s in the oven right now.
Karly says
Enjoy! 🙂
Sharon Markey says
This is very similar to the Parmesan Crusted chicken recipe from Hellmans, but it has the added flavor of the ranch and cheddar that I love. Thank you for sharing.
CRains says
What an aweaome recipe! Made this tonight and the family loved it! I’ll be honest though: I have never used Panko bread crumbs before, and the little guy and I thought they smelled pretty boring, so we used crushed Ritz crackers instead. Yum!!! Though I might go with a low-sodium Ritz cracker next time. Will definitely be making again!!
Karly says
@CRains,
Glad to hear you liked it! Panko doesn’t have a ton of flavor, but it’s very crunchy. With all of the flavor from the Ranch seasoning, it works nicely. 🙂 I’m sure Ritz were great too!
Claire says
Just made a variation of this – swapped out the ranch seasoning for dry french onion soup mix (as ranch seasoning is not readily available in Australia), used multigrain breadcrumbs instead of panko, and diced the chicken instead of baking the fillet whole. Served it up with some home-made potato and sweet potato fries. Delicious! Thanks for an easy meal idea!
Jenae says
I made this and it was absolutely delicious. My husband and son loved it too. I had the left-over piece for lunch the next day and it was even better!
Amy says
This was delicious! I would not change proportions. YUM!!!
Star Davis says
I made this tonight — it was delicious! Just wanted to say thank you for the recipe!!!! 😉
Karly says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cori says
Made this tonight with Greek yogurt and it turned out wonderful. Thanks!
Susie says
Hey! I was wondering if I could substitute pork chops for chicken? Any thoughts? Thanks! Can’t wait to try 🙂
Karly says
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would work! Just adjust the baking time if needed.
Pam says
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and now your blog, you have a new follower! I made this for dinner today, hubby and I loved it! It was very moist and flavorful, there was just enough crunch from the Panko. I will definitely be adding this to my monthly meal plan. Thanks!
Karly says
So glad you liked it!
Becca Anderson says
I made this recipe tonight for dinner & it was a huge hit even with my picky eaters. I would recommend everyone make this recipe. You won’t regret it. Delicious!
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
Whoa – so making this for dinner tonight! Jason will LOVE this!
Karly says
It’s one of our favorites!
Yvonne Rodriguez says
I tried this out last night and it was soooooo good!! Thanks for the recipe.
Jana Halls says
I want to make this tonight and have all of the ingredients but the dry ranch seasoning. Would it work with regular ranch dressing instead?
Karly says
If you try it with regular ranch, I’d probably just use the ranch dressing instead of the mayo. No guarantees as I haven’t tried this myself. Otherwise, try making your own ranch powder. There are recipes all over the internet! 🙂
Megan says
We make this at least twice a month! Love it! Do you think you could do it in the crockpot?
Karly says
Hmm, I think the crunchy topping might get soggy, but I don’t know. I’ve never tried putting bread crumbs in the crockpot before. If you try it, please let me know how it works!