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Hot Ranch Chicken and Bacon Sandwich: Grilled or roasted chicken with homemade ranch dressing, salsa verde, pepperjack, and Havarti cheese all sandwiched between crusty ciabatta bread. The sandwich is then baked until toasted and melty and topped with sun-dried tomatoes, arugula salad, bacon, and even more dressing. It’s every bit as DELICIOUS as it sounds, and it’s just as wonderful for dinner as it is on game day!
Well, this is a fun recipe! I remember dreaming up this sandwich on a hike sometime last month. As it happens every single year, this is the time when I really start to think about summer recipes and the summers I spent with my family as a kid in Cleveland.
Summer in Cleveland meant summers with my Nonnie. I speak a lot about my grandma, and I realize more and more each day what an impact she really had on me. Just as Asher and I do now, my Nonnie and I had so much fun together. We’d do everything from running errands to gardening and party prep. We shopped for new clothes, bags, and shoes and usually made a quick trip to Florida each summer. And, of course, there were always our lunches out.
Nonnie loved a lunch outing.
As a kid, I actually ordered fairly adventurously for a kid. Everything from salads to pizza, to chicken fingers, and fun sandwiches.
Nonnie used to take me to a restaurant that always had the best chicken sandwich combined with melted cheese. So I tried as best I could to recreate that sandwich for us all here! She’d be so proud!
Some Details for You
Step 1: make the dressing
This creamy dressing is easy to make. It’s made with fresh dried parsley, dill, and chives and the usual ranch ingredients: mayonnaise, buttermilk, Worcestershire, garlic, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
I’ll usually toss in a jalapeño two, or a few tablespoons of salsa verde. YUM!
Blend everything up in a blender or food processor until creamy – super easy to do. This really adds all the flavor!
Step 2: the chicken
The recipe calls for already-cooked chicken. You can use whatever you have on hand. Or just make my roasted lemon pepper chicken.
It’s simply chicken (I like to use thighs, but breasts are good, too) tossed with olive oil, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper. Then, roast the chicken and finish with lemon zest. You can either make the lemon pepper chicken or, as mentioned, use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.
Step 3: assemble the sandwich
You’ll need ciabatta bread, cheese (I love to use Havarti and pepperjack), arugula, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pickles or pepperoncini (or both!), toasted sesame seeds, and crispy bacon. Then, add the dressing and salsa verde.
Slice the loaf in half lengthwise. Working with the bottom piece first, spread on a bit of dressing. Then, layer the bread with Havarti and pepperjack cheese. Now add the sliced chicken and then the salsa.
Step 4: bake
Once you have everything layered up on the bottom piece of bread, throw the pan in the oven to warm the sandwich and melt the cheese.
Step 5: the salad.
While everything bakes, mix the arugula with sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro or basil, dill, and toasted sesame seed
When the cheese is melted, remove the pan from the oven. Add the arugula and bacon, and finish with the top piece of bread. I like to bake for 5-10 minutes more to get the sandwich nice and toasty.
I serve these topped with extra ranch and then sweet potato fries + ketchup on the side.
The homemade fries and ketchup are not needed per se. But we sure do like a salty French fry right alongside a really great sandwich!
Looking for fun family dinners? Here are my favorites:
Black Pepper Chicken and Bacon Quesadillas
Sheet Pan Honey Buffalo Chicken with Broccoli
Cheesy Green Chile and Avocado Rice Quesadillas
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Skillet Chicken Fajitas with Creamy Jalapeño Verde Sauce
Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas
Lastly, if you make these Hot Ranch Chicken and Bacon Sandwiches, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Hot Ranch Chicken and Bacon Sandwich
Servings: 6 sandwiches
Calories Per Serving: 593 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- salt and black pepper
Sandwich
- 1 loaf Ciabatta bread, halved lengthwise
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 6 slices gouda or havarti cheese
- 6 slices pepperjack cheese
- 8 strips cooked crispy bacon
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.2. To make the sandwich. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lay the bread, cut side up, on a cutting board. Working with the top piece of ciabatta, pull out some of the insides to create a space for the filling. Spread the ranch dressing over the bottom piece of bread. Layer the cheese and chicken on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the salsa verde over the chicken. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.3. Meanwhile, toss the arugula with the sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, dill, and sesame seeds. Season the with salt. 4. Remove the sandwiches from the oven. Arrange the greens over the chicken. Add the bacon, then drizzle with additional dressing. Add the top half of the ciabatta and gently push down on the sandwich. Bake another 5 minutes until toasted.5. Remove from the oven. Slice into 6 sandwiches. Serve and enjoy!
This is SUCH good sandwich. Made it for dinner- loved it. Took leftovers to work- loved it (my coworkers were eyeing it too). We even decided to make it AGAIN 2 nights later. The homemade ranch is a fun touch, and sun dried tomatoes make everything better. Great recipe!!
Hey Shannon,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it turned out nicely for you! Xx
I love choosing any recipe on your site and being 100% confident my family will like it. This is another winner! You make my weekly meal planning easy. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Peggy:) So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
What other herb could I use instead of dill?
Hey Emily,
Any herbs you like will work, chives would be great! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Delicious! My extremely picky son said it taste like it came from a restaurant and had seconds. Thanks for an easy delicious dinner!
Hey Sandi,
That’s awesome!! Thanks so much for trying these sandwiches! So glad to hear that they were a hit! xT
This recipe was the best home made sandwich i have ever made. I took Teagans advice and used her Lemon Pepper Chicken for the chicken seasoning. I was so impressed by all the flavors and deliciousness. My husband even commented saying how good the meal was and that he would like me to make it again. Thanks for a great recipe! I will be making this for years to come.
Hey Madi,
Happy Sunday! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
You say you don’t want negativity in your space but your comment section often resembles a vile, vicious snake pit, which you encourage and do absolutely nothing to moderate. You should be embarrassed! It appears you’re actively trying to destroy HBH.
That parsley woman needs therapy.
I’m thinking of sending Alice a whole bouquet of dried parsley.
I think Alice went down the rabbit hole. Yikes.
I’m gonna use a dump truck full of dried parsley just to watch Alice frothing at the mouth with indignant rage. 🤯
Haha to get that mad over parsley 😂 just imagine
Alice is on an anti-dried parsley crusade and heads are gonna roll!! 🤣
My god, these crackhead tr@lls are really something. Good for a laugh, I guess.
Parsley. Wow.
Looks delicious! hopefully the five stars will help cancel out the lame comment below about the parlsey and get the deserved rating back up.
Thanks so much, Bee:) Let me know if you give this sandwich a try, I hope you love it! xT
This looks so good! Perfect summer dinner. I think I have everything to try this besides the bread I shall need to get. Yum yum.
Thanks so much, Bridgette! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Did you seriously use DRIED PARSLEY? It has no flavor relationship to fresh parsley whatsoever. Yuck.
I already commented on the use of dried parsley, which should never be used for ANYTHING, but Tiegan, you called it “fresh dried parsley” in your intro. What does that even mean? You always tout your use of “fresh” ingredients, but obviously not this time. There’s no way dried parsley makes this better than using fresh.
Ma’am, your comments are not at all constructive and do nothing to benefit this audience.
I have little regard for those who seek self-aggrandizement through the caustic criticism of others. Perhaps your feedback would be better suited elsewhere.
So just use fresh if you’d like. No need to tell anyone. 😉
Alice, you need to calm the eff down, and take your meds. You sound completely unhinged, going off about parsley. I mean…seriously? Get a grip. Preferably elsewhere.
Tieghan, can’t you start filtering your comments to eliminate these lunatics?
One unhinged rant about nothing was more than enough, Alice.
Chill out Alice. You are coming unglued over something completely irrelevant. Many people enjoy the convenience of dried herbs, especially in cases where they don’t have fresh on hand, but still want to make interesting recipes while making do with what they have. Your opinion isn’t everything.
This looks great! Do you have a recipe for the fries also shown! Thank you.