Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla

This chicken bacon ranch quesadilla is such a quick and easy meal option. It is a grilled tortilla stuffed with cooked chicken breast, bacon, two types of cheese, and my favorite buttermilk ranch dressing. If you love my chicken bacon ranch sliders you will absolutely love how delicious and easy it is to make this quesadilla.

Chicken Bacon Quesadilla

This recipe is so flavorful and it takes less than 30 minutes to make (even less if you use leftover rotisserie chicken). It is the perfect quick meal to make for lunch or dinner. Or even breakfast – I don’t judge. The creamy ranch dressing goes so well with the tender chicken and crispy bacon. Plus, I added two different types of cheese because this is a quesadilla and it should have a lot of cheese.

Using leftover rotisserie chicken is the easiest way to make this meal. Some grocery stores even sell plain shredded rotisserie chicken without the bones to make it even easier. I like to buy the whole chicken though, because you get more chicken and it actually is so easy to shred it yourself.

You can use pre-cooked bacon or cook it yourself. I prefer to cook the bacon myself, because I cut it into pieces when it is raw, and then I cook it. This way the pieces are the size I want and they aren’t dry, which is something that the precooked bacon always seems to be. However, for convenience, pre-cooked bacon that you can buy at the grocery store works good enough.

Quesadilla with Ranch

Ranch is not typically what you would see on a quesadilla, but it works because it goes so well with the chicken and bacon. My chicken bacon ranch sliders are one of the most popular recipes on my blog. I love this combo of flavors and so many of you seem to love it too. I feel like this chicken bacon ranch quesadilla gives you a similar taste to my sliders without having to bake anything for 30 minutes.

I used the buttermilk ranch from Trader Joe’s. It is less thick than your average shelf stable ranch dressing. But the flavor of it with the fresh herbs makes it, honestly, one of my favorite ranch dressings. I also really like Ken’s Ranch Dressing and the 365 Brand (whole foods) refrigerated Ranch.

I used some ranch inside the quesadilla and I also had a little bowl to dunk into afterwards. If you do not like warm ranch dressing, then you can skip that part inside the tortilla and just use the ranch the dunk into once the quesadilla is ready.

Here is what you need to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas

1. Tortillas – I like to use Sonora style tortillas because they are a bit chewier than regular flour tortillas. However, you can use any tortilla that you like, including corn tortillas or grain free tortillas.
2. Chicken Breast – This recipe is best with shredded rotisserie chicken, however it can be made with any cooked chicken.
3. Cheese – Cheese is an important ingredient for tortillas, so make sure to use a good amount. I used freshly shredded Monterrey jack cheese underneath my chicken and a shredded Mexican blend cheese on top of the chicken.
4. Bacon – I cooked up some applewood smoked bacon for this and drained it well before adding it to my quesadilla
5. Ranch dressing – I used a buttermilk ranch dressing from Trader Joe’s, but any ranch will work.

How to make these Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS  

• 2 8″ Tortillas
• 1 cup Shredded Chicken cooked
• 4 slices Bacon cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese 1/2 cup of two different types or 1 cup of one type
• Ranch Dressing
• 1 tbsp olive oil or butter

Optional

• green onions diced
• 1 tbsp ranch seasoning Hidden Valley

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Cut your bacon into 1″ cubes and then add to a pan and cook until crispy. Once it is done, add to a paper towel lined bowl or plate to absorb the excess oil.
• In another pan on medium low heat, add half of your oil and heat up the pan. Once it is hot, add your tortilla.
• Add 1.5 tablespoon of ranch dressing to the bottom of the tortilla and spread it around.
• Add 1/4 cup of cheese to just one half of the tortilla, followed by half of your cooked chicken. This step is optional, but you can sprinkle the chicken with ranch seasoning.
• Add half of your bacon followed by another 1/4 cup of cheese. Fold over your tortilla using a spatula and pat down gently so that the tortilla stays folded. You can cover your pan so that the cheese melts faster. Cook for about 2 minutes and then check the bottom of the tortilla to make sure it is not burning. 
• Once the cheese is starting to melt, and the bottom of the tortilla is golden brown, flip it over so that the other side of the tortilla can brown. 
• Once both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted, remove from heat and add to a plate. Serve with a side of ranch dressing.