Chicken Bacon Ranch Foil Packs: A Backyard Comfort Food Favorite

When we were talking about what to have for dinner recently, my husband started talking about a dinner I used to make on the grill with chicken and stuffing. We both remembered loving it but there was a small problem: I couldn’t for the life of me remember how I made it (or find any kind of recipe I wrote down).

But the good news is this was a pretty tasty recreation so let’s record it so I can make it again!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Foil Packs

Some recipes disappear for years until one random night you suddenly remember them (and wonder why you ever stopped making them in the first place). A layer of stuffing gets topped with cheese, seasoned chicken, peas, bacon, and a creamy buttermilk ranch drizzle before getting wrapped in foil and heading right to the grill for an easy outdoor meal.

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Course Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. Boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 box Stuffing mix like Stove Top
• Chicken broth or water per stuffing directions
• 1/2 cup Bacon cooked and crumbled
• 4 cheese slices
• 1 cup frozen peas

Buttermilk Ranch Drizzle

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning
• 2 tablespoons sour cream

Let’s Cook!

 

• Prepare the ingredients for the buttermilk ranch drizzle and set aside
• Preheat the grill to around 375-400 degrees
• Prepare the stuffing according to package directions, but use slightly LESS liquid so it stays hearty and not mushy in the foil pack.
• Cut the chicken breasts into one inch cubes (as uniform as possible)
• Toss the chicken with the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika (plus some salt & pepper)

Assemble the Foil Packs

• Spray four heavy-duty sheets of foil with cooking spray or olive oil
• Place a big scoop of stuffing on each sheet
• Top each with a slice of cheese
• Add the chicken, peas, and bacon
• Drizzle with the buttermilk ranch drizzle
• Seal each pack tightly.
• Grill about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through
• Chicken should reach a temperature of 165°.
• Use kitchen tongs to carefully open the foil packs to let the steam escape without any burns.

Notes

• You want the drizzle to be slightly thicker than a dressing, but not as thick as a dip
• We both remembered peas in the original,  but I want to experiment with sauteed mushrooms next. 

Keyword bacon, chicken, Easy, foil pack, grill, ranch

It gives such a 90’s grilling nostalgia vibe (and the more I thought about it, I think I originally made it with a heavy cream soup, so the ranch was a much lighter and brighter replacement)

The chicken is wonderfully tender and the stuffing gets just the right amount of crispiness from flipping the packets on the grill. And in the spirit of learning from my mistakes: follow the layering order in the recipe. I mistakenly used cheese as the top layer in my initial test pack. Let’s just say it didn’t play nicely when flipped!

Eat well, friends!

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