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Make the Costco Chicken Bake at home with this easy copycat recipe! You’ll love the tender chicken, bacon, savory dressing, and cheese wrapped in a crispy homemade crust.
To complement these delicious hot sandwiches, consider serving them with a side of parmesan crusted potatoes or a light serving of sauteed green beans.
Attention Costco shoppers: If you’re a fan of the legendary Costco chicken bake, guess what? It turns out it’s wildly easy to make it right in your kitchen! My homemade version is filled with tender chicken, smoky bacon, and cheese, folded up stromboli-style in crispy pizza dough, just like the original. It reminds me a bit of my easy calzone recipe, which you should try if you like this recipe!
Why I Love This Copycat Costco Chicken Bake
- Easy ingredients. You can make a homemade chicken bake from scratch with affordable ingredients. We’ll make this recipe with a ready-made pizza crust for extra convenience.
- Full of flavor. The Costco Chicken Bake is cheesy and creamy, with mild, tender chicken and smoky bacon, rounded out with ranch and Caesar dressings and salty Parmesan cheese. This homemade version definitely does it justice (in my opinion!)
- Freezer-friendly. This recipe makes a big enough batch of Costco chicken bakes that you can enjoy half now, and freeze leftovers for later!
What Is a Chicken Bake?
The Chicken Bake is a Costco food court staple, made with chicken, bacon, cheese, and creamy dressing wrapped up and baked inside a snug log of dough. Making the chicken bake at home means that you can enjoy them fresh and hot from the oven even if it doesn’t happen to be a Costco shopping day. The outsides are crisp, while the insides are warm and cheesy. So good!
Recipe Ingredients
Below are my notes on some of the ingredients needed to make a chicken bake sandwich at home. Please scroll to the recipe card for a printable list plus the recipe directions.
- Pizza dough – Keep it easy and use store-bought pizza dough (though of course, you can use homemade pizza dough as well!).
- Chicken breasts – I always use skinless cooked chicken breasts.
- Bacon – You’ll first cook then crumble the bacon.
- Cheese – A blend of shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Green onions – Substitute 2 cloves of garlic if you don’t have green onions.
- Salt and pepper – I use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder and Italian seasoning match Costco’s sandwich to a T.
- Caesar dressing – Your favorite store-bought Caesar dressing is great!
- Egg – A large egg, beaten, helps the pastry to brown nicely.
- Parsley – Fresh parsley is best but you can use dried parsley in a pinch.
How to Make a Costco Chicken Bake
Have all of the ingredients ready to go so you can quickly assemble the bakes. Below is a look through photos at each step of the process.
- Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken, crumbled bacon, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and sliced green onions. Then stir in the kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and mix it all together with the Caesar dressing.
- Prepare the dough. Divide the dough into three equal portions.
- Shape the dough. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle.
- Fill the dough. Take one dough rectangle and spread the prepared filling along one short edge, leaving some space on the sides. Carefully roll the dough around the filling and pinch the seams together to seal.
- Prepare for baking. Place the rolled strudels seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and sprinkle with extra mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Now bake the strudels in a 375°F for 20–25 minutes.
Tips & Variation Ideas
- Bake in batches. You should be able to fit 3 chicken bakes on one baking sheet. This recipe makes 6 rolls in total, so bake them in batches if needed so that you don’t overcrowd your oven.
- Use a different protein. In place of chicken, try pulled pork, ground beef, or even carnitas.
- Add rotiserrie chicken. If you don’t have time to cook the chicken, you can use a rotisserie chicken. You’ll need about 10 ounces of chicken if you go this route.
- Make it vegetarian. Fill those bakes with chopped and sautéed mushrooms, diced zucchini, onions, bell peppers, or a medley of veggies for a lighter, vegetarian take on chicken bake.
- Or, add veggies to the chicken! While adding vegetables won’t make this a traditional Costco chicken bake, I like putting in veggies like baby spinach, bell peppers, or cherry tomatoes to round them out a bit.
Storing and Reheating
- Fridge: These Costco chicken bakes are best when they’re hot and fresh, but you can store leftovers airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: I recommend warming the bakes in a 350ºF oven for 8 minutes until they’re hot throughout and crispy again on the outside. Avoid the microwave if possible, as the bakes can turn out soggy.
- Freeze: Freeze the baked or unbaked rolls on a lined baking sheet first. Once solid, transfer the chicken bake to a resealable freezer bag or container. Keep the bakes frozen for up to 3 months.
More Chicken Dinner Ideas
Costco Chicken Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound prepared pizza dough
- 3 boneless, skinless cooked chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, or provolone cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1½ cups creamy Caesar dressing
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken, crumbled bacon, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and sliced green onions. Add the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Pour in the Caesar dressing and mix everything until well combined.
- Prepare the dough. If the pizza dough is cold, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to soften. Once ready, divide the dough into three equal portions.
- Shape the dough. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle, about 10×6 inches. Keep the dough smooth and even so it's easy to wrap around the filling.
- Fill the dough. Take one dough rectangle and spread the prepared filling along one short edge, leaving some space on the sides. Be careful not to overfill. Carefully roll the dough around the filling, starting from the edge of the filling. Pinch the seams together to seal the strudel. Tuck in the ends to secure the filling inside.
- Prepare for baking. Place the rolled strudels seam-side down on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and sprinkle with extra mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Bake the strudels for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on top.
- Serve. Once baked, let the chicken bake cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before slicing, and enjoy!
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
