In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cream cheese, bacon, 2 cups of shredded cheddar, condensed cream of chicken soup, milk and ranch dressing. Mix with an electric mixer. Add the cooked elbow macaroni and mix well.
In a smaller bowl mix together the cracker crumbs and melted butter.
Press chicken mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish. Top with the remaining cup of shredded cheddar and bread crumb mixture.
Bake at 350F degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until cheese has melted and casserole is bubbly and heated through.
Garnish with green onion if desired.
Notes
Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients.Substitutions:
If you don't have ranch seasoning, swap for 1 cup ranch dressing and leave out the sour cream.
Make it gluten free by using cauliflower, tater tots, hash browns, or french fries instead of the pasta. Top with gluten-free breadcrumbs or crackers.
To cook from frozen: Bake the casserole covered with foil in a preheated oven for 60 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking as directed in the original recipe. (Make sure dish is freezer to oven safe). Slow cooker variation:In the crockpot, combine the chicken, cream cheese, bacon, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, condensed cream of chicken soup, milk and ranch dressing packet with an electric mixer. Add the cooked macaroni and mix well. Press the mixture down into the crock and then sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over top. Cover and set on high for 1 - 2 hours or low for 2 - 3 hours. Before serving, mix together crushed breadcrumbs and butter. Sprinkle over top. Garnish with green onion.