This Ranch Chicken recipe is an easy skillet meal with creamy sauce and zesty Ranch seasoning. Serve with a side of vegetables and spoon that delicious sauce over some warm baked potatoes!
Be sure to try my Bacon Ranch Chicken for a twist on this recipe with bacon and cheese!
Creamy Ranch Chicken
This meal is definitely one of my favorite easy meals. It actually came about because I was trying to put a different spin on my super popular creamy chicken stew recipe. And this skillet meal is the perfect way to do just that.
The chicken is perfectly seasoned and so flavorful, (with a little brush of melted butter for an extra crispy golden sear, I might add). And the sauce takes just minutes to make from there.
I have to insist that you serve up some baked potatoes with this meal. Spooning this sauce over some warm, fluffy baked potatoes is truly heavenly. Your family is definitely going to request this often!
Want to take it over the top!? Sprinkle some crispy bacon on top right before serving!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Slice each chicken breast into 2-3 thinner slices, about 1/2 inch thick. Season with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Brush 1 side of each piece with melted butter and sear in olive oil for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set aside.
Combine sauce ingredients over medium heat. Let it bubble gently for 5 minutes.
Add chicken back to the skillet and spoon sauce on top. Cover partially and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with mashed or baked potatoes and vegetables.
Pro Tips
- Important! Be sure to get Ranch seasoning mix for this recipe, not Ranch dip mix, they do taste differently and have different uses.
- If you’re not a ranch lover– don’t worry. Ranch seasoning adds a lot of zesty, savory flavor to this sauce, but it doesn’t make it taste like bottled ranch dressing.
- Frozen vegetables can be mixed into the sauce as well. Add them when you add the other sauce ingredients and give them sufficient time to heat through, then add the chicken.
- Brushing the chicken with melted butter not only gives it more flavor, but enhances the golden brown crusty sear. I prefer to brush it right onto the chicken instead of letting it melt in the pan, this way it’s more likely to stay right on the chicken and not burn in the pan.
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Adding Bacon and Cheese: Try my Bacon Ranch Chicken for a fun twist on this recipe!
- Pork Chops: Try my Ranch Pork Chops to switch up the protein!
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 115!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- It does freeze well, you can freeze baked potatoes with it as well as a side of veggies for easy microwavable lunches or dinners.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- This is the skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
- Meat Tenderizer – Using this tool really does make the chicken more tender, you’ll barely have to chew it!
- Kitchen Tongs– makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing and even easier to flip individual mushroom slices as they cook.
- Ranch Seasoning– I like to buy mine in bulk for all of my Ranch Recipes.
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Creamy Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large boneless/skinless chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Salt/Pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, can sub vegetable or canola oil
Sauce
- 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temp
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 oz. packet Ranch seasoning mix, about 3 Tablespoons
Instructions
Season/Sear the Chicken:
- Slice the chicken into 2-3 thinner slices. Pound with a meat tenderizer if needed, the chicken will plump up more when cooked. Aim for ½ inch thick slices.
- Sprinkle each side of the chicken with Italian seasoning and salt/pepper. Brush one side of each piece with melted butter, make sure the butter isn’t too hot.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 pieces of chicken, (buttered side down), leaving room around each. Sauté for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden brown crust has developed. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Pro Tips: Make slight adjustments to the heat, (up or down), as needed during cooking. Add an additional splash of oil if needed throughout cooking. Try to leave the chicken undisturbed as it cooks to get a nice crusty sear. Don’t force it up from the pan, it will release when the crust has formed.
Make the Sauce
- Remove any excess oil from the skillet if needed. Add the sauce ingredients over medium heat. Stir until combined. Let it bubble gently and reduce for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and spoon the sauce on top.
- Cover the skillet partially and let the chicken heat through and absorb the flavors from the sauce, about 10 minutes.
- Optional: Serve with baked potatoes and spoon the sauce over each potato (it is so good that way)!
Notes
- Important! Be sure to get Ranch seasoning mix for this recipe, not Ranch dip mix, they do taste differently and have different uses.
- If you're not a ranch lover- don't worry. Ranch seasoning adds a lot of zesty, savory flavor to this sauce, but it doesn't make it taste like bottled ranch dressing.
- Crispy crumbled bacon is also great on top of this!
- Frozen vegetables can be mixed into the sauce as well. Add them when you add the other sauce ingredients and give them sufficient time to heat through, then add the chicken.
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Adding Bacon and Cheese: Try my Bacon Ranch Chicken for a fun twist on this recipe!
- Pork Chops: Try my Ranch Pork Chops to switch up the protein!
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 115!
Storage:
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- It does freeze well, you can freeze baked potatoes with it as well as a side of veggies for easy microwavable lunches or dinners.
The nutritional information shared is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
Could I I need the chicken and buttermilk?
Hi Chasity- I’m sorry, few typos I think here.. are you asking if you can marinade the chicken in buttermilk? That is definitely a good way to make chicken more tender, feel free to do it! 🙂
Could this be done in the crockpot some how? Looks yummy!
Hi Julie! You could combine the ingredients and cook it on low in the Crock Pot for 6 hours or so, but you run a little bit of a risk of having the dairy curdle, some crock pots run hotter than others. If you decide to try it, definitely use whole milk, higher fat content helps mitigate curdling. I hope that helps! 🙂
This was so good!! We also served over rice. Even my middle daughter who’s a picky eater ate it and had thirds!! Definitely a keeper!!!
I’m so happy you liked the Ranch Chicken Danielle! My husband and daughter keep requesting I make this again soon. It’s definitely picky eater approved! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Eating this now!! SO good and tasty!! I put the chicken/sauce over wild rice and made biscuits. 🤤
Yummmm! Great call serving over rice with some biscuits on the side!😋 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I had trouble finding sour cream at the store this week so I used a little cream cheese instead. So good! Everyone loved it.
I’m so happy everyone liked the ranch chicken Jennifer! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!❤️
This was excellent! My son said it was the best chicken he ever had!! Thank you 😁
Wow what a great compliment from your son Marisa, nice work!😃 Thanks so much for the great review!
Made this dish last night…. No leftovers after my husband, father and kids got hold! Easy and super tasty, just what I needed for my go to quick meals! Kids and husband had theirs over rice with carrots, mine was over riced cauliflower. Thank you for the delicious dinner idea! So good I think I’ll make it again this weekend.
You’re very welcome Beth! I’m so happy it was such a success, nice work! I make this one all the time since my husband and daughter keep requesting it. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Family loved and super easy. Will definitely make often!
That’s so great to hear Danelle! Always such a victory when the family approves. Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
This was really delicious and really easy to tackle. Flavorful and supple chicken that’s hearty and comforting.
I’m so happy to hear that Anna! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️ My picky daughter loves this one!
I’m doubling this for company- after browning, what are your thoughts on preparing the sauce and then pouring over the chicken and roasting in the oven to finish in 9×13? Maybe 15 minutes at 400?
Hey Lori! I think that sounds like a great idea! I might suggest baking it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes just to ensure the chicken doesn’t get dry! 🙂