Crispy Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders
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Introduction
These keto chicken bacon ranch sliders are everything I adore in a bite-sized appetizer.
They are ranch-seasoned chicken tenderloins, sharp cheddar and bacon, in a fathead bun that has ranch seasoning kneaded through the dough as well. Chicken, bacon and ranch is a combination that needs no defending — the only thing keeping it off a keto table is usually the bread, and the bun solves that.
If you’re struggling to come up with something great for a get-together, quick kid-friendly snack, or potluck, these sliders are perfect. They are simple, have only a few ingredients, and are ideal finger food. Unless you tell them, most folks won’t know these keto chicken bacon ranch sliders are keto! The dough is the part that keeps — make it ahead and it will sit in the refrigerator until you want it. The chicken is not marinated at any point, despite what the name suggests: it is tossed in dry ranch seasoning and goes straight into a hot skillet, so there is nothing to start the night before.
Crispy Keto Bacon Ranch Chicken Sliders
Ingredients
For the buns
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ranch seasoning mix
- 1 large egg
For the filling
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- 2 tsp ranch seasoning mix
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2x cheddar cheese, sharp
- 4x bacon, cooked
- A pinch of salt, to taste
- A pinch of pepper, black, to taste
Nutrition Facts
7 servings per recipe| Per Serving 360 | Per Recipe 2520 | |||
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 80 each | 68.57 | 480 | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 100 each | 28.93 | 202.5 | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 90 each | 102.86 | 720 | ||
| 2 servings of ranch seasoning mix (1 tsp) @ 5 each | 1.43 | 10 | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 60 each | 8.57 | 60 | ||
| 4.05 servings of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (1 lb) @ 110 each | 63.64 | 445.49 | ||
| 4 servings of ranch seasoning mix (2 tsp) @ 5 each | 2.86 | 20 | ||
| 2 servings of olive oil (2 tbsp) @ 120 each | 34.29 | 240 | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 110 each | 23.63 | 165.41 | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 87 each | 24.86 | 174 | ||
| 26g | 34% | 185g | 238% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 6 g each | 5.14 g | 36 g | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 10 g each | 2.89 g | 20.25 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 8 g each | 9.14 g | 64 g | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 4 g each | 0.57 g | 4 g | ||
| 4.05 servings of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (1 lb) @ 1.5 g each | 0.87 g | 6.07 g | ||
| 2 servings of olive oil (2 tbsp) @ 14 g each | 4 g | 28 g | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 9 g each | 1.93 g | 13.53 g | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 6.7 g each | 1.91 g | 13.4 g | ||
| 8g | 39% | 55g | 273% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 3.5 g each | 3 g | 21 g | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 6 g each | 1.74 g | 12.15 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 0.5 g each | 0.57 g | 4 g | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 1.5 g each | 0.21 g | 1.5 g | ||
| 2 servings of olive oil (2 tbsp) @ 2 g each | 0.57 g | 4 g | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 5 g each | 1.07 g | 7.52 g | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 2.2 g each | 0.63 g | 4.4 g | ||
| Trans Fat | 0g | 0% | 0g | 0% |
| 95mg | 32% | 665mg | 222% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 15 mg each | 12.86 mg | 90 mg | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 30 mg each | 8.68 mg | 60.75 mg | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 210 mg each | 30 mg | 210 mg | ||
| 4.05 servings of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (1 lb) @ 55 mg each | 31.82 mg | 222.75 mg | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 30 mg each | 6.44 mg | 45.11 mg | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 18 mg each | 5.14 mg | 36 mg | ||
| 550mg | 24% | 3820mg | 166% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 150 mg each | 128.57 mg | 900 mg | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 110 mg each | 31.82 mg | 222.75 mg | ||
| 4 servings of baking powder (1 tsp) @ 160 mg each | 91.43 mg | 640 mg | ||
| 2 servings of ranch seasoning mix (1 tsp) @ 135 mg each | 38.57 mg | 270 mg | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 70 mg each | 10 mg | 70 mg | ||
| 4.05 servings of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (1 lb) @ 40 mg each | 23.14 mg | 162 mg | ||
| 4 servings of ranch seasoning mix (2 tsp) @ 135 mg each | 77.14 mg | 540 mg | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 180 mg each | 38.67 mg | 270.68 mg | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 370 mg each | 105.71 mg | 740 mg | ||
| 6g | 2% | 41g | 15% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 1 g each | 0.86 g | 6 g | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 1 g each | 0.29 g | 2.02 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 3 g each | 3.43 g | 24 g | ||
| 2 servings of ranch seasoning mix (1 tsp) @ 1 g each | 0.29 g | 2 g | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 0.99 g each | 0.14 g | 0.99 g | ||
| 4 servings of ranch seasoning mix (2 tsp) @ 1 g each | 0.57 g | 4 g | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 1 g each | 0.21 g | 1.5 g | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 0.2 g each | 0.06 g | 0.4 g | ||
| 1g | 4% | 8g | 29% | |
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 1 g each | 1.14 g | 8 g | ||
| 1g | 10g | |||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 1 g each | 0.29 g | 2.02 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 1 g each | 1.14 g | 8 g | ||
| Sugar Alcohols | 0g | 0% | 0g | 0% |
| Allulose | 0g | 0% | 0g | 0% |
| 5g | 33g | |||
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 1 g each | 0.86 g | 6 g | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 1 g each | 0.29 g | 2.02 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 2 g each | 2.29 g | 16 g | ||
| 2 servings of ranch seasoning mix (1 tsp) @ 1 g each | 0.29 g | 2 g | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 0.99 g each | 0.14 g | 0.99 g | ||
| 4 servings of ranch seasoning mix (2 tsp) @ 1 g each | 0.57 g | 4 g | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 1 g each | 0.21 g | 1.5 g | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 0.2 g each | 0.06 g | 0.4 g | ||
| 29g | 58% | 204g | 408% | |
| 6 servings of mozzarella cheese (1 ½ cups) @ 7 g each | 6 g | 42 g | ||
| 2 servings of cream cheese (2 oz) @ 2 g each | 0.58 g | 4.05 g | ||
| 8 servings of almond flour (1 cup) @ 3 g each | 3.43 g | 24 g | ||
| 1 serving of large egg (1 x) @ 6 g each | 0.86 g | 6 g | ||
| 4.05 servings of boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (1 lb) @ 26 g each | 15.04 g | 105.3 g | ||
| 1 ½ servings of cheddar cheese, sharp (2 x) @ 7 g each | 1.5 g | 10.53 g | ||
| 2 servings of bacon (4 x) @ 6 g each | 1.71 g | 12 g | ||
About these numbers: We are home cooks, not certified nutritionists. Nutrition is shared as a courtesy and calculated with free online nutrition calculators — we compare a few to get as close as we can — so please treat it as a helpful estimate rather than a guarantee. The brands you buy, any swaps you make, and how generously you portion the recipe will all move these numbers.
Directions
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Gather your Ingredients.
Two things are worth knowing before you start. The buns are fathead dough — melted mozzarella and cream cheese bound with almond flour and egg — so they want working while they are still warm. And the ranch here is dry seasoning mix, not bottled dressing; a teaspoon goes into the dough and two more go onto the chicken. Lettuce and tomato go into the finished sliders but are not counted in the list below, so pick them up separately if you want them.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Cheese Mixture Preparation.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine your shredded mozzarella and cream cheese. Melt the two in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Make sure the melted cheese is well combined, forming a consistent mixture.
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Prepare the Dough.
Add the almond flour, baking powder and a teaspoon of dry ranch seasoning mix to the cheese blend. Knead it with your hands until everything is evenly through the dough.
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Add the Egg.
Transfer the dough to your mixing bowl and add the egg. Blend on high until the dough smooths out.
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Create the Slider Buns.
Partition the dough into seven equal-sized balls. Place these on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten them a bit before you slide them into the oven. Let them bake for around 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and set through.
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Prepare the Skillet.
While your slider buns are baking, take the skillet, warm it over medium-high heat, and pour two tablespoons of olive oil into it.
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Season the Chicken Tenderloins.
Toss your chicken tenderloins in the ranch seasoning mix, adding salt and pepper to taste.
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Cook the Chicken.
Carefully place the seasoned chicken into your heated skillet and sauté until they are golden on both sides. Tenderloins are thin, so this does not take long.
Golden is not the doneness test. USDA FSIS puts chicken at an internal 165F, and the thickest tenderloin in the pan is the one to check.
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Slice the Tenderloins.
Once cooked, let the chicken tenderloins cool down before you slice each in half.
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Cut the Slider Buns.
By now, your slider buns should be ready. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down. Once they are easy to handle, cut each bun into two halves - a top and a bottom.
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Assemble the Sliders.
On the bottom half of a slider bun, put half a cooked tenderloin, a quarter slice of cheddar and half a rasher of bacon, then the top half of the bun. Lettuce underneath and tomato on top are both optional, and neither is counted in the ingredient list — pick them up separately if you want them. Repeat for the rest and serve.
Notes
Adding Your Own Twist to the Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders
- Feel free to get creative with these sliders. You could experiment with different cheeses like sharp cheddar cheese, Swiss, pepper jack cheese slices, or grated parmesan cheese.
- You can also add a little heat with some jalapenos. Your personal flair can only make these sliders more special!
Serving Suggestions and Storage Tips for Your Keto Sliders
- They are finger food, so they suit a table people are helping themselves at. A side salad or raw veg alongside makes it a meal rather than a snack.
- Store leftovers unassembled in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Assembled sliders go soft.
- Warm the components through in a preheated oven before you put them together again.
Additional Notes
- Go easy on the salt. The ranch seasoning is already salty and the bacon adds more, so taste before you add any.
- To get ahead, make the dough and cook the bacon in advance and keep the components separate until you serve. The chicken is seasoned dry and cooked straight away, so there is nothing to start the night before — and assembled sliders go soft.
- You can use shredded chicken and crumbled bacon for the slider’s filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Fat Head Dough?
Since this is a keto recipe, we will use the famous keto necessity fathead dough. This dough is made of almond flour, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, and other seasonings.
The fathead dough is cheese-based (even though it doesn’t taste like cheese) and can be used to create all kinds of dough-based items, like cinnamon pretzels, Tasty Keto BBQ Chicken Pizza, and Keto Italian Garlic Breadsticks!
While fat head dough may sound unconventional or odd, it resembles bread quite well. The fathead dough creates a soft, bread-like bun for our recipe keto chicken bacon ranch sliders.
How can I reheat the chicken bacon ranch sliders?
You can reheat these sliders in the oven or microwave. If using the oven, wrap them in foil and heat at 350°F until warmed through.
What type of chicken should i select for this recipe?
Boneless skinless tenderloins are what the recipe is built on. They are thin and even, so they cook through quickly in a skillet and slice neatly in half to sit on a slider bun.
Whichever cut you use, cook it to an internal 165°F — that is USDA FSIS guidance for poultry, and it is the number rather than the color that tells you it is done.
Already-cooked chicken shortcuts the step entirely. Rotisserie or deli chicken, shredded or sliced, goes straight into the assembly — but the ranch here is a dry mix tossed onto the chicken before it hits the pan, so toss the cooked chicken through it as well rather than leaving it out. What you miss is the seasoning meeting a hot skillet, not the seasoning itself.
Is the ranch in this recipe dressing or seasoning?
Dry seasoning mix, in both places it appears — a teaspoon kneaded into the bun dough, and two more tossed over the chicken before it hits the pan. Bottled ranch dressing is a different product and is not what this recipe is built on.
The distinction matters more than it sounds. The dry mix seasons the chicken without adding liquid, which is what lets the tenderloins take color in a hot skillet. Dressing would add moisture to the pan and steam them instead, and stirred into fathead dough it would loosen a dough that depends on being stiff enough to shape.
What kind of ranch is keto?
For this recipe the question is about the dry seasoning mix, not dressing. Check the label for added sugar and starch — maltodextrin is the usual one in a supermarket ranch packet, and it is there as a bulking agent rather than for flavor.
Bottled dressing is a separate question, and worth knowing if you want some alongside the sliders rather than in them. Most supermarket ranch is made on buttermilk, sour cream and mayonnaise but carries added sugar, so it is portion-dependent. Yo Mama’s and Primal Kitchen both make versions without it.
Do I have to make my own buns for this recipe ? Are there other store bought options or alternatives?
Plenty of other keto-friendly alternatives, like keto sweet Hawaiian rolls, are available if making your own bread isn’t your thing.
Store-bought “keto” breads are low or even zero net-carb, and whether they suit you comes down to what you are counting. They get there on wheat protein, fibre blends and starches, so read the label and decide for yourself rather than going by the front of the packet. Aldi has a pretty good “keto” bread that we highly recommend as well.
Alternatively, these keto chicken sliders would be super good on our White Bread Keto Chaffle | Wonder Bread Chaffle! If you have never tried a Chaffle, you are seriously missing out!
If none of these options sound good, try our Best Keto Buns for Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and Sandwiches. These buns are similar to a Chaffle, except you bake them instead of making them in a mini waffle iron. These buns are easy to make and store super easily!
Wrap Up
There you have it – your keto chicken bacon ranch slider is done!
Serve them warm, while the buns are still soft and the bacon still has its crunch. They are finger food, so they suit a table where people are helping themselves rather than sitting down to a plate.
Have you tried this one, or another recipe on the blog? Rate it below and let us know what you thought in the comments.
If you are on Instagram, share it with the hashtag #buttertogetherkitchen — we love seeing how people have changed a recipe to suit themselves, and we feature them on our page.
Correction — September 18, 2026: The FAQ recommended ranch dressing as a marinade and the article said to marinate the chicken ahead. This recipe uses dry ranch seasoning and marinates nothing.