This lightened-up chicken bacon ranch dip is so delicious, it does not taste lightened-up whatsoever. Whether you are serving this as an appetizer for a crowd or making it for meal prep, this one is sure to please. Cooked shredded chicken breast, cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, scallions and ranch flavor this decadent-tasting dip. I recommend serving this delicious dip with carrots, chips, crackers, or mini pitas for dipping. You can also put this delicious dip on a wrap or bread to make a sandwich. Any way you slice it, this recipe is a crowd pleaser, and you’d never expect it to be a lighter recipe.
What makes this recipe lightened-up?
The ingredients of this recipe might not seem light in any way, but a few modifications and tweaks make this into a lighter version of a traditionally more calorie-laden dish. The following swaps make this recipe lightened-up:
- plain non-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream
- reduced fat cream cheese in place of full fat cream cheese
- center cut bacon in place of regular bacon
- Center cut bacon is still pork bacon, but it is leaner. It still offers the same great taste of bacon, except for less calories and fat.
- fat free cheddar in place of full fat cheddar
When mixed together, even though these ingredients are lower calorie options, they create a delicious version of this dish.
What you’ll need to make this lightened-up chicken bacon ranch dip
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make this dish:
- chicken breast
- center cut bacon
- I use this one, but any one you can find is great
- plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- reduced fat cream cheese
- fat free cheddar cheese
- powdered ranch seasoning
- scallions
How to make this lightened-up chicken bacon ranch dip
Start by preheating the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add olive oil spray. Add the chicken breasts to the sheet pan, and spray with more olive oil spray; season with salt and pepper. On the other side of the sheet pan, add the six slices of bacon. Roast the chicken and bacon at 400F for a total of 30 minutes (after 20 minutes, remove the cooked bacon from the oven and set aside) and then return the chicken to the oven for the remaining 10 minutes. The chicken should be cooked to 165F, and the bacon should be cooked and crispy.
While the chicken and bacon cools, prepare the dressing. Add the yogurt, cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and 1 cup of the cheddar to a mixing bowl, as well as half the chopped scallions. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and scallions for later.
Add the shredded chicken to the mixing bowl and crumble 4 slices of the bacon into the bowl. Reserve the remaining 2 pieces of crumbled bacon. Combine the ingredients and then pour it into a baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F, and cook the mixture for 20 minutes. Garnish with the remaining scallions and crumbled bacon.

Lightened-Up Chicken Bacon Ranch Dip
Equipment
- sheet pan
- casserole dish
- stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast, boneless skinless
- olive oil spray
- kosher salt and pepper
- 6 slices center cut bacon, used: Oscar Mayer brand
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, used: Fage
- 1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese , used: Philadelphia 1/3 less fat
- 1.5 cups fat free cheddar cheese, used: Kraft
- 2 tsp ranch seasoning, used: Hidden Valley
- 4 scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Spray the parchment paper with olive oil spray and place the chicken breasts on the parchment paper.
- Spray the chicken with more olive oil spray, and then season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- On the other side of the baking sheet, add the 6 slices of center cut bacon.
- Roast the chicken and bacon at 400F for a total of 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the bacon out if it is fully cooked and place to the side, returning the chicken to the oven for the remainder of the time.
- The chicken should be cooked through to 165F, and the bacon should be cooked and crispy.
- Set the chicken aside to cool.
- You can skip the chicken step, and use rotisserie chicken instead.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add it to a stand mixer or a bowl with a hand mixer (including the drippings from the bacon). I use a mixer to shred it very finely (you can do this by hand also, but the mixer gets it very finely shredded).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, cream cheese, ranch seasoning and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese (reserve the remaining 1/2 cup cheese) and mix well. Fold in the chicken.
- Chop the scallions and add half the scallions to the bowl, reserving the remaining, and stir to combine.
- Crumble 4 strips of the bacon into the bowl, reserving the remaining two.
- Place the mixture into a baking dish.
- Reduce the oven to 350F.
- Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Garnish with the reserved crumbled bacon and scallions.
Weight Watchers
Notes
Nutrition
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I just added your new lightened up chicken dip and I now have 1000 recipes saved to my Steph files! Love all of them
Made this today for my meal prep. But it was so good it’s gone! Will definitely make again tomorrow and hide it from my family.
Just made this and it is so good. Thank you
Delicious! Just the recipe I needed this week. I added extra Ranch seasoning (1 TBS) and I still can’t really taste it but regardless it’s wonderful and tastes much more decadent than it really is. Thanks Steph!!
This flavor is really great! Plus this was so easy to make. This will be on regular rotation.
Holy moly this is delicious! I even added too much chicken and it was still amazing. Can’t wait to make it right next time
I made this for dinner last night and it was so good! My husband requested it be added to our rotation!
Holy good God! This is absolutely delicious. I literally say “Mmmm” with each bite. So SO So good that I can’t wait to eat lunch each day!
wondering if canned chicken would work in this? I don’t know why it wouldn’t. Thoughts?
This recipe is so delicious! Only thing I did different was I used full fat cheddar (about a cup worth) because none of the stores around me had fat free.
Was craving something different for my lunches this week so I figured I would give this a try and OMG it is sooo good! Super easy too which is a must when it comes to meal prep! Thank you so much for instilling in me the mindset that meal prep is a form of self care.
This was easy and delicious! So much flavor! Will make again!