Whole30 Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal prep combines all of your favorite "sinful" ingredients into one lunch recipe that's healthy and easy, along with paleo and gluten-free.
The words chicken, bacon, and ranch are a winning combination, but a lot of the time, putting those ingredients together and then consuming them might feel "wrong" or "sinful." This is especially true if we're talking about ginormous sandwiches that are likely overloaded with ingredients that aren't even close to being accurate portion sizes.
Or maybe, we just might think ranch dressing is not the best choice, for example, or that too much bacon is not a good idea for one's heart health.
Sometimes (or in our case, a lot of the time!), however, you want something that tastes indulgent, but you'd rather not feel sluggish or crummy afterward. That's where this Whole30 Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal Prep! Made with healthy whole-food ingredients, this easy lunch is whole30 compliant and inexpensive. It costs a little less than $4 per meal! This one-pan recipe will satisfy all of your cravings for the traditional (less than healthy) bacon chicken ranch. Except it uses just 7 ingredients!
How to Store Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal Prep
This meal prep will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge. If necessary, you can freeze the cooked chicken and potatoes if you want and then defrost in the fridge overnight. (You can always microwave anything that's been frozen, but it comes with its own risk. Sometimes the microwave is a little too aggressive and can change the texture of chicken).
Substitutions and Alterations
We like to serve this with fresh baby spinach, which is delicious and very easy to find. But you can also opt for baby kale or even baby arugula; the latter will give this dish more of a peppery bite. It turns this dish into something halfway between a salad and meat-and-potatoes situation. Toss it all together, or separate it; it's up to you! (A little ranch on some spinach never hurt, though.)
Similarly, if you want to use chicken thighs, go right ahead. Just know that the nutritional content will be different, as chicken thighs have a bit more fat.
Feel free to use any kind of onion in this recipe, whether it's white, red, or yellow (we kind of like red onion here, or even shallots!).
This delicious chicken-based whole30 meal can double as weekday lunches or dinners. It is made on one pan, so clean-up is a breeze! Health + flavor + one pan + quick makes this recipe a meal prep dream! (You might achieve something similar with a one-appliance meal with these ingredients, like our Instant Pot Ranch Chicken; add some crumbled bacon on top if you want!)
READ MORE: Can't get enough of these ingredients? Try Bacon Ranch Chicken and Veggies Foil Packets!
Whole30 Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal Prep Ingredients:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1 ½ lbs. chicken breast
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 slices Whole30 compliant bacon, such as Pederson's sugar-free
- Salt & pepper
- Whole30 compliant ranch dressing
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes diced
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 4 slices bacon Whole30 compliant, diced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1.5 pounds Chicken Breast
- salt & pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup Whole30 ranch dressing
- Chives
- Spinach if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Toss potatoes, onion, and diced bacon together with oil on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Add chicken to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork tender.NOTE: Cook the Chicken until it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees F.
- Drizzle with ranch dressing and top with chopped chives.
- Serve on top of spinach, if desired.
Miriam says
20 minutes is not nearly enough time at this temperature, lol. However, I do appreciate this recipe! It's so simple and flavorful (ok - so I did add some Cajun seasoning to my chicken and veggies because I just didn't think salt and pepper were enough), and I am looking forward to lunch this week. I did end up baking mine for at least 40 minutes, though, to ensure the chicken was cooked through. Maybe 20 minutes would work if you sliced the breasts horizontally or flattened them before baking.
Meal Prep on Fleek says
Thank you for the feedback Miriam. We're so glad you liked it and we'll add a note about the cook time. Usually that is a refection of the size of chicken and sweet potatoes... The smaller the pieces, the quicker the cook time. But also that increases the prep time a little bit. 🙂