Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
The easiest potatoes you can make right in the crockpot – perfectly tender, flavorful and cheesy!
Potatoes. Cheese. And bacon. With these 3, you can’t go wrong.
And when you can throw these in a slow cooker, well that’s a double win right there.
Now the hardest part about these is not the prep.
It’s the part where you have to hold yourself back before you eat every single perfectly-textured potato chunk smothered in cheesy goodness and crisp bacon bits.
And I really don’t even know how to classify this. It could be an appetizer, side dish, snack or an entree.
I actually had it as all of the above, and devoured every last potato. And don’t think that Jason and I weren’t fighting for that last bacon bit at the bottom of the plate!
Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 3 pounds red potatoes, chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix, or more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Spread bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until brown and crispy, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool before crumbling; set aside.
- Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil, leaving enough to overhang to wrap the potatoes on top, and coat with nonstick spray. Place a layer of potatoes evenly into the slow cooker. Top with cheese, Ranch Seasoning and bacon, repeating 2 more times and reserving 1/2 cup cheese.
- Cover potatoes with aluminum foil. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook until melted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Do you think it would be ok to add chicken to this, cooking it all together?
My family loved these! I will be making again.
I do not use aluminum foil for health reasons, is it necessary to put it in the crock pot?
No, you can certainly omit this step to suit your preferences.
Hi there. I tried this recipe a while back and the potatoes never cooked. I had them on high for 5 hours, then tried cooking them for another 5 hours when they weren’t ready…those potatoes refused to cook! My crockpot isn’t broken. Should I pre-cook the potatoes in the oven first to get them started? Thanks.
The potatoes didn’t cook through after 10 hours in the slow cooker? I can’t help but think maybe your crockpot is not functioning properly? Potatoes (even whole potatoes) should not take that long to cook.
Do you boil the potatoes first? Or just cut them up and throw them in the crock pot
There is no need to boil the potatoes first.
Hi, this looks amazing and am currently cooking it right now. I’m wondering if I need to stir it at all seeing how it’s layered?
I will for sure be making these…what’s not to love about them? Thank you for sharing recipe…but I do wonder..if it can all be doubled. What size pot then and how long to cook? Thank you have a wonderful day
Tried this recipe yesterday. It was pretty good, and delicious. But had to cook it on high a little longer than 4 hours. But was really good.
Can we just skip the baking and go directly to use slow cooker?
Made this last night and my family loved it. I made my own Ranch dressing mix, and used a slow cooker liner instead of the aluminum foil and easy clean up. Thank you so much for the recipe and it is now in my recipe box.
Oh my god this is a heaven dish!! Loved it so much I could eat this as a brunch on a Sunday noon !!
How can one easy recipe cause so many comments . I am going to try it . Thank you Chungah for your patience it looks delicious
Oh no I’ve just made some and used the ranch dressing in a bottle will that still be ok
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Hello!
This looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never used a slow cooker but I’m getting my first one soon. Just wondering why you can’t cook the bacon in the slow cooker as well? Wouldn’t it be a lot more convenient?
Yes, it certainly would be more convenient but slow cookers work by trapping heat and cooking food over a long period of time, and that just doesn’t work well with bacon.
Do you leave the skin on the potatoes? What size do you chop them?
You can choose to leave the skin on the potatoes – it’s up to you! I also recommend dicing them very small so that they cook through completely within the time frame listed in the recipe.
Oh lord help me. I don’t need this after the holidays… but dang, do I want it. Anything with ranch mix in it is an instant win for me. I might have to have a little party just so I have a reason to make this… and so I don’t eat all of it by myself!
I just found this recipe in one of my cook books “Crockpot Comfort Food Diet Cookbook”. They’re not identical, but pretty darn close. Funnily enough I followed your recipe and made some before I found the one in my cookbook. My fiance and I loved it!
I used this recipe for a Christmas dinner side, and since I had a few carrots on hand, I chopped them up and threw them in with the potatoes. I had a few slices of already cooked bacon on hand, so that helped cut down prep time. I realized that I didn’t have the 4 hours to prepare in the slow cooker, so put them into the microwave for a minute to warm them up, then followed the foiling directions. What a pretty side dish, though my husband wasn’t thrilled to see carrots in with his potatoes!!!
These were delicious! I would recommend using Red potatoes or Yukon gold. I used russets, which were good, but I think the consistency of the other two might be better. Used homemade ranch dressing mix. Next time, I will use nonstick spray on the foil. The recipe was a hit with some pretty discerning diners!
Do you get those yummy crispy pieces around the edges like you would get on the grill or oven?
Laura, you can transfer this to a baking dish and broil for a few minutes until the desired crispness is reached.