When it comes to comfort food, you really can’t beat a big ol’ bowl of mac and cheese. And while the stuff that comes out of the blue box will never disappoint, sometimes you just gotta go homemade. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen! This Ranch Mac & Cheese Bake is made in one pan and you don’t even have to boil the pasta first. Talk about easy. It’s loaded up with ranch, bacon, and plenty of cheese for a dish that is sure to be the star of the show.

As we mention, there’s no stovetop step in this recipe– the oven will be doing all the heavy lifting here. The pasta will hydrate in broth and milk as it cooks in the oven as long as you follow the crucial step: covering the dish tightly with foil to lock in that moisture! A packet of ranch seasoning and a generous splash of ranch dressing adds that tangy herb flavor that we all know and love.

Last, but not least… the cheese. Pile the dish high with mozzarella and cheddar for the final stint in the oven. I find buying blocks of cheese and shredding it myself yields the best results. The pre-shredded packages just don’t melt in the same way, unfortunately. Bake the dish until it’s fully melted and bubbling, then it’s time to dig in. Serve it fresh out of the oven, and watch it disappear in no time. Trust us, this one’s going to be a hit!