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
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I want to make this for a pot luck lunch at work and I have a couple of questions:
1. Where does the typically added liquid to aid in cooking come from?
2. Does the foil not turn the potatoes a grey colour (happened to me before)?
Dawn, there is no added liquid here. I have also never had any issues with gray potatoes resulting from the foil.
What size crockpot should I use?
I used a 3-qt slow cooker.
You might want to be more specific in your recipe according to weather or not you should acually cover the crock pot with the lid as well as wrapping the potatoes with the foil. I had to read through the comments to be sure for myself. Also the pictures are deceiving as well, as they only show the foil used as coverage.
Elizabeth, yes, a lid is needed. I honestly don’t think I have ever come across a slow cooker recipe that DID NOT require a lid! 🙂
I have a lid for my crockpot. Shall I use that? Over the top of the foil I fold over the batch of taters?
Yes, that’s exactly right.
Can never have too many crock pot receipts .
Thank you for sharing your recipes having a great time cooking up a STORM!!!!
put mine in oven in a cast iron skillet, took about 1 hr but came out perfect , thanks for the recipe
when u say, coat with nonstick spray, are you talking about spraying the crockpot before you put tin foil in or to spray inside the tinfoil after you put it in the crockpot?
Sherri, you want to line the slow cooker with foil, then coat with nonstick spray:
Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil, leaving enough to overhang to wrap the potatoes on top, and coat with nonstick spray.
Can I make them day before party n if so how would I reheat it thanks
Lynn, this is really best when served immediately.
WOW why have I not seen your page before now!! I made a grocery list for my menu next week just from your posts. TY for the great ideas. My family will be happy 🙂 #nolongerinarut
I made these and cooked them for 6 hours on low. I should have cut the potatoes a bit smaller. I used russets and I used real bacon bits for the bacon. The potatoes could’ve cooked longer but I chalk that up to not cutting the potatoes small enough. That said, the plate was literally licked clean. This is a keeper recipe! I did not use the entire packet of dry ranch dressing, no onions (only b/c I didn’t have any) and they were scrumptious.
Can you use hash browns
That’s a great question but without having tried this myself, I cannot really say with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
I was so excited about these potatoes, they looked sooo good. I don’t know what happened, but I ended up cooking them for close to 10 hours and a lot of the potatoes were still not fully cooked. Does the foil help in cooking? I wonder if I should’ve gone without it… I’ve never had a problem with slow cooking potatoes before =(
Krystal, I wonder if your potatoes are just really big? I don’t even think baked potatoes take that long to cook in the slow cooker!
Oh man, I added a TB per layer! I hope they won’t be terrible! I didn’t see the 1 TB and divided the lack three ways..has anyone done this were they horrible?
this looks very yummy and easy to make. will do this for dinner this week.
Wonder if you could use the slow cooker bags in place of the foil?
Yes, absolutely.
Can you use parchment paper in lieu of using aluminum foil – really don’t like food touching the aluminum foil for health reasons.
MrsT, you can use slow cooker liners instead.
IMy family loves potatoes, and I know your slow cooker potatoes will be a welcomed and often served addition to our table. Thank you for all of your new, exciting, and easy ideas for serving delicious meals with less effort.
Cann’t wait to try these!! Has anyone put it all to gather and kept it in the frig tell morning and then put it in crook pot before leaving for work?
These sound absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to try them. Did you know you can use the crock pot for mashed potatoes? Prepare your mashed potatoes two hours before your dinner. Place them in the crock pot on low. More than 2 1/2 hours, they don’t taste as natural. Two hours and your guests will never know you prepared them in advance