My great-grandparents on my mother’s side were all from Sweden, and I grew up in Little Sweden, USA. This is the dish I was raised eating, plus the nutmeg I added since I enjoy nutmeg. These are my favorite and I frequently make them for family brunches. Even as leftovers, pancakes again, or when substituted with peanut butter, they are delicious. We only serve these with syrup and butter, but many people also top them with jam, lingonberries, or other fruits.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 (1 ounce) package dry ranch dressing mix (such as Hidden Valley Ranch®)
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped (Optional)
- 2 (15 ounce) jars Alfredo sauce, divided
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange chicken breasts on the baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Dice chicken and place in a bowl; add ranch mix and stir until coated. Set aside.
- Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels, reserving bacon grease in the skillet. Crumble bacon into small pieces; set aside.
- Heat reserved bacon grease in the skillet; cook and stir bell pepper until slightly tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add diced chicken, 1 jar Alfredo sauce, milk, and garlic; cook and stir until heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
- Pour 1/2 of the jar of remaining Alfredo sauce into a casserole dish; top with 1/2 of the penne, 1/2 of the chicken mixture, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 of the bacon. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients in the same order ending with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and bacon.
- Bake in the preheated oven until casserole bubbles and cheese is lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
- Any variety of pasta can be used in place of the penne. Substitute Italian cheese blend for the mozzarella cheese, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 591 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 106 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 1407 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My hubby said it was the best meal he had ever had. Only change was to add an onion – and to mix everything together.
Very rich, but the kids loved it!
Turned out amazing! Definitely a new family staple.
Use 3/4 of noodles it will fit in a 13 x 9 dish. It’s alot of food put mine in 2 seperate 1 gallon bags to freeze for later.
My family loved this dish! I agree with the others, I cooked my bacon in the oven, boiled my pasta, and cooked my chicken at the same time ( not in the same pot). I did layer it, but could have probably just mixed everything together, then topped with cheese and bacon. I didn’t not use green pepper, but that would have been delicious!
This is really good. I don’t ever have Alfredo sauce on hand so I used 2 cans of cream of chicken soup mixed with the milk and added a spoonful of pesto and some parmesan to it. Worked well as a substitute.
Yummy! It was very filling, we fed 4 people and everyone had leftovers the next day. It’s perfect for a big family!
This casserole is the bomb! I’ve made it several times and do as some of the other reviews suggested and mix it all together instead of layering it. I also add onions. It is so good, everyone in the house gobbles it up!
Substituted rotisserie chicken, otherwise followed recipe a written. A new favorite! Will be a frequent meal.
Easy and delicious.
Loved it! My kids kept asking for more! I added 1 more packet of ranch dressing as we like ranch flavor and it came out amazing! Will be a new go-to for our family as it was also quick & easy to make.
I cut the recipe in half as there are just the two of us. Used wide egg noodles instead of penne, used mushroom soup with sour cream instead of Alfredo and skipped the green pepper. Love the versatility of this dish! It was delicious, if not the original iteration.
This recipe is ADDICTING and I’m almost upset I found it! (Definitely wouldn’t call it the healthiest meal.) I cut the recipe in half to suit the size of my household and omitted the bell pepper. I also diced the raw chicken and cooked it on the skillet instead of baking it. It’s hot enough in SoCal without the oven going for an extra 30 minutes while prepping the rest of the ingredients. This could just be a personal preference, but my only complaint with the recipe as written was the steps felt like they were painfully out of order for efficiency. I started cooking the pasta right away, then cooked the chicken. While the chicken was cooking, I cut my other ingredients (bacon, mushrooms) and had them ready to place on the skillet once the chicken was browned. Once the bacon was also cooked and the vegetables were on the skillet, THIS is when I preheated the oven and prepped the casserole. Following other reviews, I mixed everything together except for half the cheese and some bacon bits for the top. All in all it’s a wonderful recipe. Will DEFINITELY make again.
I am kind of a beginner cook. The recipe was fairly easy and my family was very impressed. They requested I make it again ASAP.
Yummy! I used boneless, skinless thighs and boiled them instead of baking. I also added shredded Parmesan on top before baking
It was sooo good! I added sliced ham too. I warmed it over the fire pit on the grill and my guests loved it!!
Sooooo goooood!!! I made this exactly as instructed and everyone loved it. Definitely a keeper!!
Best casserole ever if you like Alfredo pasta. This is like Alfredo but 1000X better. My family asked for it again the next day.
I made this for my parents and we all loved it! Some changes I made: I didn’t bake the chicken in the oven. I cooked it up in a pan. It was quicker and worked just fine! I used onions instead of bell pepper. I also mixed everything together instead of layering. Although making it was kind of hectic because so many things were going on at once, we all appreciated the final result. Will make it again!
I made it omg I can’t wait to eat it!!
Works great, We use a little less cheese and add buffalo sauce