Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes are the ultimate in simplicity and taste making them the perfect side dish for any occasion. Once you try them, you’ll keep coming back for more.
Here’s a Quick View of How to Make These Amazing Potatoes
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Ingredients for Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
The main ingredient in this awesome dish is the red potato. I like to leave the skins on for the added taste.
The potatoes are flavored with ranch dressing, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, Cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. Are you drooling yet?
Initial Cooking
I started by cutting the potatoes into 1 to 1 ½-inch pieces. To do this, I cut each potato in half lengthwise. Then, I cut each half lengthwise 3 times and across 3 to 4 times.
Next, I brought a large saucepan of water with salt added to a boil. Once the water started to boil, I added the potatoes and cooked them for 10 minutes.
As a side note, whenever I boil potatoes, I always put a wooden fork or wooden spoon in the pan with the potatoes. This prevents the potatoes from boiling over. I’m not sure why this trick that I learned from Susan works, but it does!
After 10 minutes, I drained the potatoes. They were perfectly done.
While the potatoes were cooking, I cooked the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. When the bacon was done, I transferred it to a paper towel lined plate to drain. After it cooled, I crumbled the bacon and set it aside.
Finishing the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
I rinsed out the saucepan and returned the potatoes to the pan. Then, I added the ranch dressing (Photo 1), garlic powder, paprika, pepper (Photo 2), half of the cheese (Photo 3) and crispy crumbled bacon (Photo 4) to the potatoes.
I stirred the potatoes to make sure that all ingredients were well combined. Then, I transferred the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes to a casserole dish that I had sprayed with non-stick spray.
I popped the potatoes into a preheated 400°F oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, I removed the potatoes from the oven and sprinkled on the remaining shredded cheese.
I returned the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes to the 400°F oven for another 5 minutes or so until the cheese had melted and was bubbly.
Talk about good. The Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes were amazing. They were perfectly flavored and made an awesome side dish. Yum!
Chula’s Expert Tips
- 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 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. The reason is that fresh garlic without being sautéed would tend to be over-powering.
- I used extra sharp Cheddar cheese because that’s what I consistently have on hand. You could also use regular or sharp Cheddar cheese.
- I always season potatoes 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 – an I don’t like a lot of salt!
- When I boil potatoes, I always place a wooden fork or wooden spoon in the water to prevent the potatoes from boiling over. This is a trick that I learned from Susa. I’m not sure why this works, but it does.
- Leftovers, if any reheat beautifully. Generally, I reheat the leftovers for several minutes in the microwave. You could also reheat the leftovers in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until heated through.
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 amazing potato recipes:
- Crispy Mojo Potatoes: Mojo Potatoes are amazingly crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. They are a snap to make and are perfect for a game day appetizer, a side dish or anytime when you’re craving deliciousness.
- Pommes Anna: Pommes Anna, also known as Potatoes Anna is a simple, yet impressive side dish that is sure to be a showstopper at your next dinner party. It’s buttery crispy on the golden brown outside, and melt in your mouth tender on the inside.
- Crispy Smashed Parmesan Potatoes: Crispy smashed potatoes topped with Parmesan cheese are an amazing side dish for your anytime feast. They’re easy to make and only require a few ingredients.
- Potatoes Lyonnaise: Potatoes Lyonnaise is a buttery dish of pan-fried sliced potatoes cooked with caramelized onions. Potatoes Lyonnaise is simple to prepare, and absolutely delicious!
- Easy Stove Top Roasted Potatoes: Easy Stove Top Roasted Potatoes are amazing. In fact, who doesn’t love Roasted Potatoes that are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside? Well, now you can make them. They’re super easy and made on the stove-top for a winning combination!
- Pommes Fondantes or Melting Potatoes: Pommes Fondantes or Melting Potatoes – the name says it all – is an incredible side dish that’s easy to make and goes with just about anything.
- Betsy’s Potatoes: I was first introduced to Betsy’s potatoes at a dinner party at her house some time back. I remember thinking how incredibly good they were and have been making them ever since.
- Roasted Potatoes with Onions: I’ve been making Roasted Potatoes with Onions (I actually call them “little potatoes”) for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure how I came up with the recipe which, by the way, is very simple and is a favorite of Susan’s. Interestingly, the caramelization of the onions as they cook adds a subtle flavor to the roasted potatoes.
- Irish Stacked Potato Bites: The Irish are famous for their potato dishes. These incredible Irish Stacked Potato Bites are no exception. They’re easy to make, and perfect for any time.
- Irish Pan Haggerty: Irish Pan Haggerty is a delicious twist on a classic Northumberland potato dish. Layers of potatoes, onions and Dubliner cheese are cooked together to create a spectacular dish.
- German Fried Potatoes: German Fried Potatoes & Onions or Bratkartofflen is the ultimate comfort food. Imagine perfectly cooked potatoes complimented with caramelized onions and crispy bacon. Is your mouth watering yet? I know that mine is!
If you liked the recipe for Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes, please consider rating it and leaving a comment. I’d love to know how you liked it!
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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)
- 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 10 minutes. 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. Stir to combine. Transfer potatoes to prepared casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 400°F for 40 minutes.
- Remove potatoes from oven. Sprinkle on the remaining ¾ cup of shredded cheese. Return to 400°F oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Yield: 8 servings. (See Tip 7)
Chula's Expert Tips
- 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. The reason is that fresh garlic without being sautéed would tend to be over-powering.
- I used extra sharp Cheddar cheese because that's what I consistently have on hand. You could also use regular or sharp Cheddar 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 - an I don't like a lot of salt!
- When I boil potatoes, I always place a wooden fork or wooden spoon in the water to prevent the potatoes from boiling over. This is a trick that I learned from Susa. I'm not sure why this works, but it does.
- Leftovers, if any reheat beautifully. Generally, I reheat the leftovers for several minutes in the microwave. You could also reheat the leftovers in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Chula, this looks great, but in step #3 in the recipe instructions, you forgot to add the bacon!
Yikes! Thank you so much for letting me know Susan.
Chula