Panera Chicken Bacon Rancher
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The new Panera Chicken Bacon Rancher is a tasty sandwich that is easy to make! Grilled chicken, thick cut smoked bacon, sliced white cheddar and homemade ranch on thick slices of Black Pepper Focaccia make a perfect Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich!
What You Will ❤️ About Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich
- Simple Ingredients – this sandwich has delicious simple ingredients – chicken, bacon and ranch – along with cheese and yummy focaccia bread
- Quick Meal – if you have leftover chicken – it’s a 10 minute meal!
- Delicious Classic Combo – chicken bacon ranch is a classic combo that makes a great sandwich – just like these CBR Sliders!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich Ingredients
Simple classic ingredients are what Panera is known for! They’ve hacked away at their menu and many of the tried and true Panera favorites are gone – but this is one of their new sandwiches that I’m sure is going to be a favorite in your house!
- Ranch dressing – I like to make my own ranch. In a bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup mayo and 4 tbsp ranch seasoning (or 1 packet). It’s a thick and creamy ranch and far better than any bottled version.
- Focaccia bread – you can buy or make yours – I actually bought a take-home loaf from Panera!
- Cooked chicken breast – I always use the Mojo Criollo marinade when cooking chicken – it has a light citrus flavor and best matches the flavor from Panera. You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- White cheddar cheese – This is pretty easy to find but is the same taste as yellow it just hasn’t been dyed.
- Cooked bacon – I prefer slices of bacon on a sandwich but Panera chops theirs – so I cooked thick cut bacon in a skillet and chopped! I don’t like crispy bacon – especially on sandwiches – I feel like it loses its flavor – so you might want to slightly undercook bacon.
This recipe was made using the Paula Deen Air Fryer.
Recipe Variations
There are so many ways to change up this sandwich and make it your own. Here are some of my favorites:
- Bread – change out the focaccia with sourdough
- Veggies – every sandwich benefits from ripe avocado and tomato slices
- Lettuce – this would add a nice crisp, cool crunch to the sandwich
- Ranch Swap – add chipotle to make it spicy, bbq to make it sweet or salsa for a southwestern ranch!
- Cheese – get adventurous with your cheese and swap it with pepper jack, swiss or even sharp cheddar cheese!
Other restaurants also have a Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich and you could go that way for toppings:
- Subway Chicken Bacon Ranch – Stuffed with Monterey cheddar cheese, all-white meat chicken, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions and green peppers.
- Dominos Chicken Bacon Ranch – Grilled chicken breast topped with smoked bacon, creamy ranch and provolone cheese on fresh baked bread
How to make Panera Chicken Bacon Rancher
Sometimes melt sandwiches can be a little tricky to make – do you bake them? Broil them? You don’t want to dry out the chicken! Here’s how to make it:
- Cooking Chicken Breast – If you are cooking chicken breast – my favorite way is to marinate in Mojo Criollo overnight and then air fry for 12-15 minutes until chicken is 160º. This will add to your prep time if you’re making from scratch. But leftover chicken (from the grill!) will work as well!
- Preheat oven to Low Broil
- Slice focaccia loaf in half across the middle and then into quarters to make four sandwiches.
- On a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, open focaccia bread. On the bottom slices, lay out one slice cheddar on each slice of bread. On the top slices, spread out ranch dressing
- Place baking sheet in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the buns for 3-4 minutes. Watch closely as broil can go quickly.
- Remove from oven and layer on sliced chicken and crumbled bacon.
- If you are using pre-cooked chicken and bacon that are cold – you can warm before adding to sandwich in the microwave or place sandwich open faced back in the oven at 375º for 7 minutes.
- Add more ranch to the top of the chicken and place sandwich halves together and enjoy!
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Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for up to a week. Here’s my article for reheating sandwiches in the air fryer with all the info!
Get Heather’s NEW cookbook – Air Fryer Cooking for One today!
More Panera Sandwich Recipes
Panera Soup Recipes
Panera Salad Recipes
Panera Chicken Bacon Rancher Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1 loaf focaccia bread cut into 8 pieces
- 2 cooked chicken breasts cooked & sliced
- 4 slices white cheddar cheese
- 8 slices bacon cooked & chopped
Instructions
- Cooking Chicken Breast – If you are cooking chicken breast – my favorite way is to marinate in Mojo Criollo overnight and then air fry for 12-15 minutes until chicken is 160º. This will add to your prep time if you’re making from scratch. But leftover chicken (from the grill!) will work as well!
- Preheat oven to Low Broil
- Slice focaccia loaf in half across the middle and then into quarters to make four sandwiches.1 loaf focaccia bread
- On a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, open focaccia bread. On the bottom slices, lay out one slice cheddar on each slice of bread. On the top slices, spread out ranch dressing1/4 cup ranch dressing, 4 slices white cheddar cheese
- Place baking sheet in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the buns for 3-4 minutes. Watch closely as broil can go quickly.
- Remove from oven and layer on sliced chicken and crumbled bacon.2 cooked chicken breasts, 8 slices bacon
- If you are using pre-cooked chicken and bacon that are cold – you can warm before adding to sandwich in the microwave or place sandwich open faced back in the oven at 375º for 7 minutes.
- Add more ranch to the top of the chicken and place sandwich halves together and enjoy!
