Bacon Ranch Potatoes are the definition of home cooked comfort food. Every forkful has a variety of textures from the soft, tender potatoes, to the crispy bacon, perfect caramelized onions, and gooey cheese, all smothered in this delicious ranch sauce. It’s simply oozing with flavor!
I don’t know whether to classify this comfort food recipe as a casserole or side dish. It’s hearty enough to be a meal on its own. Think potatoes smothered in ranch sauce and loaded up with crispy bacon, caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese. Consider it whatever you like. It will be darn good no matter what!
The extra prep work required is well worth it. The potatoes are fully cooked on the stove before you put them in the oven. This way you’ll know they’ll be soft and tender. No crunchy potatoes allowed.
I also cooked the bacon and onion together on the stove and had to hold myself back from eating it right out of the pan. I often use bacon and onion together in recipes. It’s the start of how I make my very favourite frittata recipe.
Why You’ll Love These Bacon Ranch Potatoes
- Family friendly recipe that both kids and adults will enjoy.
- Versatile and goes with sooooo many main dishes.
- Could even be its own main dish. Don’t worry I won’t tell anybody!
- Perfect side dish that you only need 6 ingredients and just over an hour to make.
- Satisfying, filling, and easy comfort food
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Package of bacon
- Yellow onion
- Ranch dressing
- Swiss cheese
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Bacon Ranch Potatoes
- Step One: Boil potatoes for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Step Two: While the potatoes are cooking, add bacon and onion to a hot skillet over medium heat. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until bacon is cooked and onions are softened and starting to caramelize. Remove from heat.
- Step Three: Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Step Four: Spread potatoes in the baking dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with onion and bacon mixture. Pour ranch dressing evenly over top and then sprinkle with Swiss cheese.
- Step Five: Bake for about 22 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve hot.
Equipment Needed
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- Pot – For boiling potatoes on the stove.
- Skillet
- 2 quart casserole dish
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board
What to Serve with Bacon Ranch Potatoes
As I mentioned before, this great side dish is hearty and filling enough on its own to be its own complete meal. But, if you want to serve it as an amazing side dish, here are some fantastic main dishes to pair this Bacon and Ranch Potato Casserole with:
- Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
- Delicious Pork Chops
- Sticky Chicken
- Steak or other Grilled Meat
- Sunday Meatloaf
- Brown Sugar Chicken
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- You can remove the potato skins or leave them on, whatever you prefer.
- You could also prepare this dish in a cast iron skillet if desired.
- Try to keep your potatoes the same size so they cook evenly throughout the dish.
- If you’re out of the bottle of ranch dressing, you can use a packet of the ranch dressing mix and follow the instructions on the ranch seasoning mix box to create a substitute. It’ll still be delish!
- Line your baking dish with aluminum foil for super easy clean up.
Variations and Substitutions
After you’ve made this delicious Bacon Ranch Potatoes dish the first time, the next time you go to make it, try one (or a few) of these variations and substitutions. You can also use any of these if you’re short on ingredients or can’t have specific ingredients for whatever reason.
Here are a few different ideas for you to try:
- If you aren’t fond of ranch dressing, feel free to switch out for another kind of sauce.
- You can also swap out the Swiss cheese for other shredded cheese, like Mozzarella cheese, or sharp cheddar cheese, which would work nicely here too.
- Feel free to try different types of potatoes with this dish to see what you like- red potatoes, sweet potatoes, russet Idaho potatoes, golden yellow potatoes, etc.
- You can always trade your yellow onion for other choices, like a red onion, or Vidalia onion. You can also garnish this favorite side dish with green onions if desired.
- Remember, you can add more spices and herbs, like oregano, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. These would all compliment the Ranch dressing nicely.
- Give it a little green kick by adding some broccoli florets to this simple recipe.
Add in some real bacon bits for flavor and crunch texture to create a cheesy bacon ranch potatoes recipe.
Storage Instructions
Leftovers from this easy side dish should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This recipe is the ultimate comfort food that can be enjoyed again and again.
Can I Freeze this dish?
I don’t typically recommend freezing this for later as it can easily change texture and taste as it thaws because of the nature of some of the ingredients.
Do I have to use just ranch?
No way friends, you can jazz up that ranch and make this dish have an even creamier sauce by adding in a block of cream cheese and a dollop of sour cream!
More Potato Recipes
- Mashed Potato Casserole
- Bacon and Potato Quiche
- Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Cheesy Potatoes
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Swiss Potatoes
- Swedish Potatoes
- Irish Potatoes
You’ll also like this ranch seasoning mix.
If you make the recipe, rate it on the recipe card below and tag me on Instagram and use #simplystacie. I like sharing the photos on my Instagram stories!
Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 potatoes washed, peeled, cut into chunks
- 1 package bacon 12oz/375g package, cut into one inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion sliced
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- ¾ cup Swiss cheese shredded
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil potatoes for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- While the potatoes are cooking, add bacon and onion to a hot skillet over medium heat. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until bacon is cooked and onions are softened and starting to caramelize. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Spread potatoes in the casserole dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with onion and bacon mixture. Pour ranch dressing evenly over top and then sprinkle with Swiss cheese.
- Bake for about 22 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve hot.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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