Crispy Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders

Fathead dough is a low-carb dough built on melted cheese. For these buns it is mozzarella and cream cheese melted together, then mixed with almond flour, an egg, baking powder and ranch seasoning.

It is cheese-based, even though it doesn’t taste like cheese, and it bakes into a soft, bread-like bun. We use it in plenty of other recipes too, like our cinnamon pretzels, BBQ chicken pizza and Italian garlic breadsticks. Our fathead dough guide explains how it comes together and how to handle it when it gets sticky.

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. Either way, the chicken should reach 165°F on a food thermometer.

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 until the thickest part reads 165°F on a thermometer. The number, not the color, 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.

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.

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. The same check applies to the packet in our Instant Pot Keto Cheesy Ranch Chicken, where the ranch carries nearly all of the 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.

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!