Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

This Cheesy Ranch Potatoes Recipe is total comfort food that the whole family will love. It's made with red potatoes that have been tossed in ranch dressing mix, oven-roasted, and smothered in gooey cheddar cheese and bacon bits. These Cheesy Roasted Potatoes are soon going to be a family favorite side dish.

Jump to:

• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
• What Potatoes are Best for Oven-Roasting?
• Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix
• Ingredients in Ranch Roasted Potatoes
• How to Make Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
• Our Favorite Additions
• Storing Leftovers
• Oven-Roasted Ranch Potatoes Recipe

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Talk about a side dish that the whole family will love - these cheesy ranch roasted potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. They are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and fully loaded with melted cheese, bacon bits, and sliced green onions. Seriously yum!

In this recipe, we give you a few options if you want to adjust the type of potatoes you use or the toppings. You seriously can’t go wrong, so feel free to go nuts with all sorts of combinations.  Serve these alongside just about anything and watch yourself become a hero for the day.

If you're wondering what to make with these amazing potatoes, be sure to try this Mississippi Roast, Garlic Drumsticks, Sloppy Joes, Garlic Parmesan Chicken, or our Crockpot Pot Roast Recipe.

If you're looking for more delicious side dish recipes, be sure to try Creamed Corn, Roasted Zucchini, Brussel Sprouts, and Oven Baked Broccoli.

What Potatoes are Best for Oven-Roasting?

In this Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes recipe, we recommend using red potatoes.  They are great for roasting because they are thin-skinned, medium waxy and have a delicious earthy flavor.  You can usually purchase them in bags at the grocery store, making them easy to shop for, too..

But, these aren’t the only potatoes that are great for roasting.  Any of the following would be great substitutes in this recipe:

• Yukon Gold potatoes - these are a great option because they aren’t too starchy or too waxy.  Plus, they have an amazing creamy texture.
• Fingerling potatoes - fingerling potatoes are nice and small.  They are typically small enough that you may not even need to cut them.  
• Russet potatoes - these will need to be cut into 1-1 ½” cubes, but otherwise you can make the recipe exactly the same.  We prefer to keep the skin on, even though Russet potatoes have a thicker skin.

Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix

You can use a ranch dressing packet from the supermariket or make your own. Both work great. If you want to try making your homemade ranch seasoning mix, here’s a simple recipe.  All you need to do is mix together the following ingredients and store in a spice jar or small airtight container:

• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt (or half garlic powder, half salt)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Ingredients in Ranch Roasted Potatoes

• Potatoes - we use red potatoes for this recipe, but you could substitute Yukon gold, fingerling, or even Russet potatoes.
• Oil - we love avocado oil but you could also use olive oil.
• Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning - you can buy these ranch dressing mix packets at the store in the salad dressing aisle.  They should come in 1-ounce packages.  It’s also incredibly simple to make your own!  Just refer to the recipe above.
• Salt and Pepper
• Cheddar Cheese - any type of shredded cheddar will taste great.
• Bacon Bits - you can purchase bacon bits, but it is so simple to make your own and will taste much better.  To make homemade bacon bits, slice any type of bacon into ½” slices then cook in a saute pan over medium heat until browned and crisp.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
• Green Onions - sliced thin, these make a delicious fresh garnish.  You could also use fresh chopped chives.

How to Make Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes

1. Season potatoes.  Place potatoes in a large bowl or a ziplock bag and drizzle them in 3 tablespoons of avocado oil. Toss the potatoes until evenly coated, then add the ranch seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss again until the potatoes are evenly coated.
2. Bake.  Transfer the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer.  Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the edges of the potatoes begin to brown. Using a spatula, turn the potatoes and cook for another 15-20 minutes so the other side can brown.
3. Add cheese and bacon.  Once the potatoes are soft on the inside and brown and crisp on the outside, remove from the oven and add shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.  Return to the oven to roast potatoes for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
4. Serve.  Remove the potatoes from the oven and transfer to a serving bowl.  Garnish with sliced green onions, then serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Our Favorite Additions

There are so many yummy ingredients to add to these Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes.  A few of our favorites to add before baking include:

• Ground beef
• Shredded chicken
• Olives (black or green)
• Chopped broccoli florets
• Sautéed bell peppers
• More cheese!

Some of our favorite garnishes to add after baking are:

• Fresh chopped herbs (especially parsley, dill and thyme)
• Fresh chopped chives
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• An extra drizzle of ranch dressing

Storing Leftovers

• Refrigerator: store any leftover Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Freezer:  if you have a lot of leftovers, you can transfer them to an airtight container and store them frozen for up to 2 months.  Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating the next day.
• How to Reheat: transfer potatoes to an oven-safe baking dish and cover with foil.  Warm in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.  For a smaller portion, you can also reheat in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes.

Here are some more simple potato side dishes that we love!

• Potato Bites
• Homemade Au Gratin Potatoes
• Potato Skin Appetizer
• Fingerling Potatoes
• Make-Ahead Holiday Mashed Potatoes
• Twice Baked Potato Casserole
• Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
• Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping
• Easy Sweet Potatoes
• Best Potato Recipes
• All of our Potato Recipes

Be sure to also check out our Best Dessert Recipes and Best Main Dishes too. 

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest,  feel free to leave a comment and photo there too.  Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

Our Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes are made with red potatoes that have been tossed in ranch dressing mix, oven-roasted and smothered in gooey cheddar cheese and bacon bits.  Talk about a side dish that the whole family will love!

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