Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes are a simple & easy to make slow cooker or pressure cooker recipe. With just 5 minutes of prep, this cheesy potato goodness is great with dinner!
Are you a bacon lover? Oh boy, do we love bacon in this house! It’s so versatile, breakfast, lunch or dinner – it’s great for everything. So, of course, our love for bacon has me joining in on my 3rd Bacon Month celebration. Each year I join a bunch of my friends to celebrate bacon for a whole month.
You really can’t go wrong with that & I get to make bacon recipes like these Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes for a whole month. YAY!!! This has me grinning from ear to ear!
Wondering who’s joining me for the 5th annual Bacon Month celebration?? I’ve gotten together some pretty awesome bloggers to tickle your bacon fancy all through August! Say hi to…
Bread Booze Bacon | Cooking in Stilettos | Big Flavors From a Tiny Kitchen | Rants From My Crazy Kitchen | Live Laugh Rowe | Served Up with Love | Kudos Kitchen by Renee | Wholesome Yum
Every Wednesday for a month, we share bacon-centric recipes to make you drool. And if that’s not enough to make your tummy grumble, you can grab bacon recipes from the previous bacon months too! Ready to see what deliciousness is waiting for you today?
chicken bacon ranch potatoes recipe
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Recipes like this make me so happy. I can prep it in just about 5 minutes by tossing it all into the slow cooker (or pressure cooker) & call it good until I’m ready for it. You can’t beat that.
I really love that I can make these as a side dish or make a double batch with 2 cookers & have a meal that will satisfy even my 3 super-hungry kids.
I’m telling you, they can really pack it away & this dish fills them up fine. They LOVE it too! But really- of course they do. What’s not to love? Bacon, cheese, potatoes & ranch – YUM-O!
Because we love this recipe so much in the slow cooker, we decided it would be even better if we made it in the pressure cooker. I mean, it makes it so easy to have this in no time.
Now just remember that the pressure cooker is smaller than a slow cooker in most cases. So I like to cut this recipe in half.
Here are some commonly asked questions
How can I make this in the pressure cooker?
Just cut the recipe ingredients in half. Toss it all in the pot with 1 cup of water. Set for high presure for 7 minutes. Then quick release the pressure. Remember that there will be the time to come to pressure and the time to release the pressure. But all in all- it should take about 30 minutes or less.
Do I need to use the foil in the pressure cooker?
Nope – if you are making this in the pressure cooker instead of the slow cooker, you don’t need the foil for this recipe.
What is the best way to store leftover potatoes?
After serving, place leftover potatoes in a shallow airtight container. Be sure to label with the date before refrigerating. This recipe should keep for up to 3 days. As with most things, it is important to get food into the refrigerator within 1 hour after serving to prevent bacteria growth. To reheat, add a little water to the container & microwave until hot.
Why use a shallow container to store the leftovers?
Well, when the container is shallow, the contents chill faster than if you were to use a large, deep container. Ideally, you don’t want it to take too long for the leftovers to get to their chilled/stored temperature. As I mentioned, if the food remains above about 35 degrees for more than 1 hour after cooking, the bacteria starts to grow.
So, if the deep container of food takes several hours to finally get to that 35 degrees, the bacteria has been growing in your leftovers for those several hours. Not exactly what you want to happen.
How many can this serve?
This will depend greatly on portion sizes & the appetites of your crowd. For the slow cooker recipe, this is about 10-12 servings & half that for the pressure cooker version.
instant pot cheesy bacon ranch potatoes
Can this recipe be doubled?
Because of the space constraints of the Instant Pot, I don’t recommend it for that version. However, if you are making this in the slow cooker, you could double this, but only if you have 2 slow cookers that you could have going at once. It does fill my large slow cooker.
HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER CHEESY BACON RANCH POTATOES?
- Line a large (6-7 qt) slow cooker with foil & spray with cooking spray.
- Place a layer of potatoes to cover the bottom.
- Top with a handful of bacon, dust with ranch seasoning powder & add a sprinkle of cheese.
- Repeat 2-3 more times with remaining ingredients until the cooker is full.
- Close the foil over the potatoes to keep the steam in.
- Cover with slow cooker lid & cook on high 3-4 hours or on low 7-8 hours.
- Top with chives before serving.
HOW DO YOU MAKE INSTANT POT CHEESY BACON RANCH POTATOES?
- Place a layer of potatoes to cover the bottom.
- Top with a handful of bacon, dust with ranch seasoning powder & add a sprinkle of cheese.
- Repeat 2-3 more times with remaining ingredients until the cooker is full.
- Put on the lid & cook on high pressure for 7 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure before removing the lid.
- Top with chives before serving.
Can this be made with fresh bacon?
Absolutely. If you want to cook fresh bacon & chop ahead of time when making this recipe, that would be great. I usually do that if I have leftovers from breakfast. But that is super rare, which is why I love bacon bits.
Pressure Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
To make this recipe you will need…
- red potatoes- chopped
- shredded cheddar cheese
- cooked & crumbled bacon/ bacon bits
- ranch seasoning/dressing packets
- chives for garnish
Products I love when making this side dish recipe…
This cheesy bacon ranch potato recipe is so EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you probably already have many of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made potatoes in the slow cooker or pressure cooker before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love the how simple this recipe is. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this dinner dish.
I’m telling you – these are AMAZING!!!
Scroll to the bottom for the Printable Recipe
Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes Instant Pot
If you love this easy cheesy bacon ranch potatoes recipe, you’re going to love these other delicious recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Crock Pot Bacon Ranch Cheesy Chicken Hash
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Garlicky Littleneck Clams with Bacon + Wine
Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Bacon & Ranch Slow Cooker Potatoes
BLT Skewers with Grilled Cheese Bites
Zucchini Noodle Salad with Bacon and Tomatoes
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad
Instant Pot Bacon Ranch Potatoes Recipe
I just can’t tell you how much we love it & I know you will too!
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Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
Slow Cooker
- 5 lbs red potatoes - chopped
- 3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 cups bacon cooked & crumbled - about 1 large pack OR 2 cups bacon bits
- 1 tbsp ranch seasoning /dressing packet
chives for garnish
Pressure Cooker
- 2 lbs red potatoes - chopped
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup bacon cooked & crumbled - about 1/2 large pack OR 1 cup bacon bits
- 1 tbsp ranch seasoning /dressing packet
- 1 cup water or broth
chives for garnish
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Line a large (6-7 qt) slow cooker with foil & spray with cooking spray.
- Place a layer of potatoes to cover the bottom.
- Top with a handful of bacon, dust with ranch seasoning powder & add a sprinkle of cheese.
- Repeat 2-3 more times with remaining ingredients until the cooker is full.
- Close the foil over the potatoes to keep the steam in.
- Cover with slow cooker lid & cook on high 3-4 hours or on low 7-8 hours.
- Top with chives before serving.
Pressure Cooker
- Place a metal trivet in the bottom of the pot and then add a layer of potatoes.
- Top with a handful of bacon, dust with ranch seasoning powder & add a sprinkle of cheese.
- Repeat 2-3 more times with remaining ingredients until the cooker is full.
- Add water or broth.
- Place the lid on & cook on high pressure for 7 minutes.
- Quick-release the pressure & serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says
Holy MOLY these look incredible! And the fact that you can prep them and be done with it until later in the day?! YES. So much yes!!
Melissa @ Served Up With Love says
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try this one!
Sandra says
Talk about mouth watering pictures! You hit the jackpot with this one and I know my family will love this as much as I will.
Kelly says
Girl, you had me at cheesy bacon… add potatoes and I’m officially giddy. Yum!
Miz Helen says
I just pinned this delicious Slow Cooker recipe, we will be making this soon! Hope you have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us here at Full Plate Thursday. We hope to see you again real soon.
Miz Helen
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
All that great bacon and potato flavor with only 5 minutes to prepare? You can count me IN! What a great bacony side dish!!
Debra Addley says
looks amazing, noticed there is no broth or water in the crock pot version, does it need any moisture?
Gina Kleinworth says
Good question. The slow cooker version doesn’t need the liquid because you are basically steaming the potatoes until soft by trapping in the moisture they release when it’s all wrapped in the foil & covered cooker. The pressure cooker version only requires it because the pressure cooker can’t come to pressure without the liquid added.
Kristin says
Super disappointed, we got the burn message twice on this one. I’m going to guess that 1 cup of broth is not enough for this many potatoes. Now I have steaks ready and no potatoes to eat.
Gina Kleinworth says
I’m so sorry to hear that Kristin. While the burn notice is more common with starchy foods like potatoes, my recipe actually calls for more water than many similar recipes by my colleagues.
I’m hoping to troubleshoot & figure out what may have gone wrong. Did you increase the quantity of the potatoes? (this would indicate the need for more water) What size is your pressure cooker? (The larger 8-quart cooker would require a bit more water) Did you stir the potatoes after the first burn message before restarting the machine? (sometimes just moving things around can help to avoid receiving the message again) Was there any burnt-on food or brown discoloration on the inside of the pot prior to starting this recipe? (Any “glazing” on the inside of the pot will rigger the burn message when cooking) Are you at high elevation? ( this changes the cooking times and performance of the pressure cooker) How old is your pressure cooker? (there have been many reports recently of Instant Pots triggering the Burn Message even when users didn’t make any mistakes in the cooking process. This has even happened to some experienced Instant Pot users who were using their usual tried & true recipes in their newly purchased Instant Pots. I have yet to confirm with the Instant Pot Company if they have made adjustments to their newest Instant Pots.)
You can always place a silicone trivet with small holes or metal steamer basket in the bottom of the pot to keep the potatoes elevated and help avoid getting the burn message.
Hoping to help figure out what went wrong as I always want the best experience for those making my recipes.
Gina
Nicole says
Can you add chicken to this recipe?
Gina Kleinworth says
You can add leftover, cooked chicken. But I wouldn’t add raw chicken to this recipe or the cooking time and process would need to change.
Karissa says
Made this tonight in the Instant Pot. I made the recipe exactly as described, even weighing my potatoes so I was sure I’d have 2lbs. While the overall flavor was good, the potatoes were WAY over-cooked and there was so much liquid it was like soup – not at all like how the photos look. I didn’t get any “burn” warnings but when I went to wash the pot, I had to spend 5 minutes scrubbing and scraping potatoes off the bottom. Oddly, the cheese just disappeared – I had to add more when serving the potatoes. I’ll try this recipe again with adjustments but I was disappointed this time.
Nicole Maldonado says
can i use russet potatoes instead of red?
Gina Kleinworth says
Yes – but they may take longer to cook.
Michelle says
Absolutely delicious