Craving a comforting side dish that's easy to make and irresistibly delicious? Look no further than these easy cheesy bacon ranch potatoes! This mouthwatering recipe combines creamy potatoes, gooey cheese, savory bacon, and zesty ranch seasoning, and it will have everyone asking for seconds.
Perfect for weeknight dinners, potlucks, or holiday gatherings, this versatile dish is sure to become a family favorite.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: This potato dish is quick and easy to prepare with minimal ingredients you probably already have.
- Versatile: This perfect side dish pairs well with various main courses.
- Make-Ahead Convenience: This recipe is great for meal prep. Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until it is time to bake. The next day, reheat the leftovers for double the pleasure.
- Crowd-Pleasing: Perfect for feeding a crowd, serving at potlucks, or family gatherings.
Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need for these Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
- The Potatoes: I prefer red potatoes in this dish because of their texture. I boil them in water salted with Kosher salt.
- The Cheese: I like to use extra-sharp cheddar cheese that I shred myself.
- Bacon: I use bacon that I've fried, drained, and crumbled. In a pinch, you could also use store-bought bacon pieces.
- Ranch Dressing: I've made this with store-bought bottled and homemade Ranch dressing. Both work equally well.
- The Added Seasonings: The Ranch dressing adds a lot of flavor. However, I add garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper to enhance the flavor.
Making the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
This dish is really easy to make.
- I started by scrubbing the red potatoes. Then, I cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1 to 1 ½-inch pieces.
- Next, I cooked the potatoes in boiling salted water just until tender, about 10 minutes. I didn't want to overcook them since there was additional cooking time in the oven.
I put a wooden fork in the pan while boiling the potatoes to prevent them from boiling over. This trick I learned from Susan!
- Once the potatoes were done, I drained them well. Then, I returned the cooked potatoes to the saucepan and added the Ranch dressing, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper, along with half of the shredded cheese and most of the bacon. I reserved about two tablespoons of the bacon to add to the top of the potatoes.
- I stirred to combine all of the ingredients.
- Once the ingredients were combined, I transferred the potatoes to a casserole dish that I had sprayed with nonstick spray. The potatoes are ready to bake but can also be covered and refrigerated for up to a day before baking.
When ready to bake the potatoes, I put them in a preheated 400°F oven for 40 minutes. If they had been refrigerated, I would have added an additional five minutes.
- After 40 minutes, I removed the potatoes from the oven and sprinkled on the remaining shredded cheese and reserved bacon. I then returned them to the oven until the cheese was melted and bubbly. This took about five minutes.
- Once the cheese was melted, I removed the potatoes from the oven and garnished them with minced fresh parsley.
Easy cheesy bacon ranch potatoes are the ultimate crowd-pleasing side dish. This recipe combines comfort food flavors with simple preparation. Whether you're cooking for a family dinner or a large gathering, these potatoes will have everyone coming back for more. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
My favorite potato to use in this dish is the red potato. You could also use Yukon Gold potatoes. However, I would avoid using Russet potatoes because they don't tend to hold their shape like the red or Yukon Potatoes do.
I prefer to shred my cheese. The pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can interfere with its melting. However, in a pinch, you could use pre-shredded cheese.
Yes, this dish can be prepared in advance up to the point of adding the combined ingredients to the casserole dish. Cover and refrigerate for up to a day. If baking straight from the refrigerator, add an additional five minutes to the 40-minute baking time.
The leftovers from this dish are just as good the next day. I typically reheat the leftovers in the microwave.
I used extra-sharp cheddar cheese because that's what I had on hand. However, sharp and regular cheddar cheese can also be used. In addition, Colby and Colby Jack are good substitutes.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I have used Hidden Valley Original Ranch dressing and Ranch dressing made from a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning. I've not tried this dish using low-fat ranch dressing, so unfortunately, I can't comment on whether it would work as well. Sorry!
- I would avoid using fresh garlic in this dish. Fresh garlic, without being sautéed, tends to be overpowering.
- I always season potatoes I boil by boiling them in water flavored with a tablespoon of salt. Even though a tablespoon of salt might seem like a lot, it produces the perfect amount of saltiness in the potatoes, at least for me - and I don't like a lot of salt!
- With the potatoes boiling in salted water and the inherent saltiness of the Ranch dressing and cheese, I don't find it necessary to add any additional salt to this dish. However, I suggest tasting the potatoes after you've combined all of the ingredients and making the salt determination based on your preferences.
- When I boil potatoes, I always place a wooden fork or spoon in the water to prevent them from boiling over. I learned this trick from Susan. I'm not sure why this works, but it does!
Other Amazing Potato Recipes
I think that potatoes are my absolute favorite food. If you like potatoes as much as I do, you should check out these other fantastic potato recipes:
- Easy Crispy Mojo Potatoes - Shakey's Copycat
- Easy Make-Ahead Loaded Potato Casserole
- Easy Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (A Perfect Side Dish)
- Cheesy Southern Style Scalloped Potato Casserole
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Irish Stacked Potato Bites
- Irish Pan Haggerty
- Easy Stove Top Roasted Potatoes (Crispy and Delicious)
This is a repost of from June 27, 2020. This repost, with the same great recipe, contains all new photographs, improved and expanded text, and a video.
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Irrestible Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds unpeeled red potatoes cut into 1 to 1-½ inch pieces (about 6 cups) (See Tip 1)
- Kosher salt
- 6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled (about ½ cup). Reserve 2 tablespoons to add to the top of the casserole
- ½ cup ranch dressing (See Tip 2)
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder (See Tip 3)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (See Tip 4)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 2 ½ quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Add potatoes; cook for 10 minutes or just until tender. Drain potatoes. (See Tips 5 and 6)
- Rinse and dry pan used to boil potatoes. Return cooked potatoes to pan. Add ranch dressing, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, ¾ cup of shredded cheese, and bacon, less 2 tablespoons reserved. Stir to combine. Transfer the drained potatoes to the prepared casserole dish. (See Tip 7)
- Bake uncovered at 400°F for 40 minutes.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven. Sprinkle on the remaining ¾ cup of shredded cheese and reserved bacon. Return to the 400°F oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If desired, garnish with minced fresh parsley of sliced green onion tops.
- Yield: 8 servings. (See Tip 8)
Video
Tips/Notes
- You could also use Yukon Gold potatoes in this dish. However, I would avoid using Russet potatoes because they don't tend to hold their shape like the red or Yukon Potatoes do.
- I used Hidden Valley Original Ranch dressing. I've not tried this dish using low-fat ranch dressing, so unfortunately can't comment on whether it would work as well or not. Sorry!
- I would avoid using fresh garlic in this dish. Fresh garlic, without being sautéed, tends to be overpowering.
- I used extra sharp Cheddar cheese because that's what I consistently have on hand. You could also use regular or sharp Cheddar cheese. You could also use Colby or Colby Jack cheese.
- I always season potatoes by boiling them in salted water. Even though a tablespoon of salt might seem like a lot, it produces the perfect amount of saltiness in the potatoes, at least for me - and I don't like a lot of salt!
- When boiling potatoes, I always place a wooden fork or spoon in the water to prevent them from boiling. I learned this trick from Susan. I'm not sure why this works, but it does.
- The recipe can be prepared in advance up to this point. If desired, cover the dish and refrigerate for up to a day. Add five minutes to the cooking time if baking straight from the refrigerator.
- If there are leftovers, they reheat beautifully. I generally reheat them in the microwave for several minutes. You could also reheat them in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until heated.
Susan G Barnes says
Chula, this looks great, but in step #3 in the recipe instructions, you forgot to add the bacon!
Chula King says
Yikes! Thank you so much for letting me know Susan.
Chula