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 can’t believe that there are so much repetitive questions on these posts. I am questioning the foil use. Does it have to be sealed so there is no leakage? Just wondering if I even want to not use foil. I also have foil bags, but thinking steam escaping is better than getting watery.
Yes, the potatoes should be covered and sealed.
This looks yummy!! Found the ranch mix now in a container, so I’m not using a Tablespoon here a teaspoon there & left with a packet of whatever amount… lol! You have the BEST recipes! With ingredients I know or can easily find! And every one I have made has been terrific!! Thanks so much!! 😀
A bit new to slow cookers and I have a question. Is the bacon cooked or uncooked when you put it into the slow cooker? I have seen that for a lot of recipes you use raw meat, but I just want to make sure.
Kayla, please refer to the second step of the instructions:
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.
My family doesn’t like cheese. Can I substitute cheese with anything else?
Gloriosa, you may have to omit as needed but I cannot predict how this will alter the overall taste/texture of the dish. Please use your best judgment.
I tried this recipe and it worked great. I would like to try it with a different seasoning packet next time. Any Suggestions?
Italian seasoning would be a great way to change things up!
Two questions. Can I use the non-stick foil? And also does anyone know if the ranch powder is gluten free? If it not, how does it taste without the ranch powder? Making for my daughters college graduation party and she is GF. Thank you!
Non-stick foil should work just fine. The seasoning is also gluten-free. You can read more about the product information here.
Thanks so much for the gluten free reply! That’s so good to know. Has anyone ever made this with dairy-free cheese? Just curious. Thanks!!
Does the foil keep it from burning on the bottom?
Yes! There shouldn’t be any kind of burning here. The foil also makes for a super-easy clean up! 🙂
Oopse, forgot the chives. No worry, I added onions. Anyway. I don’t get enough veggies so I added onions, mushrooms, zacchini. Made like a lasagna but with no noodles, sauce or ricota. I’ll let everyone know how it’s turned out!
Looks good! I wonder if you placed the cheese afterwards; which in my case would be a good mozzarella, I’m not too fan of american cheese, and then place the pot in the oven on broil HI so the cheese get kind of like on the lasagna, little crisp on top. Would work?
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely!
I made this for Thanksgiving (since my step daughters only request was make every kind of potato I could possibly make) Everyone LOVED them. I ended up giving 4 people your website. Absolutely perfect. 🙂 Thank you!
Do you think this would work with sweet potatoes?
That sounds like a great idea but I actually have not tried this myself so I can’t really say with certainty if this will work or not. Please use your best judgment.
Do you put water in your crock pot?
No, there is no need to add water.
I made this yesterday for Easter dinner. I cooked it on low for 8 hours and some of the potatoes were not as soft as I would have liked. Everybody still enjoyed the dish and i will make again but next time I will try no foil. Thanks!
Cindy, you can try dicing the potatoes a bit smaller for next time.
I’ve made this today and I must say it was… delicious!! Next time I’ll even use more cheese and bacon I think 🙂
Amazing and easy recipe for busy mom like me. Thank you so much!!!!!! D E L I S I O U S !!!!!
Where can i buy ranch powder in Australia?
Annette, it may be best to create it from scratch. There are many DIY recipes available online.
2 questions. do you put the lid on slow cooker if you have the tin covering it as well? Also, I am thinking about making a bunch of these ahead of time in half recipes. Would the time to cook be the same if I threw the tin pouch of potatoes in frozen and not thawed if it is a half batch?
Aha, I do see that you use the crockpot lid as well- I guess I have only the one question then
Molly, as the recipe calls for fresh potatoes (not frozen potato pouches), I cannot advise on the cooking time without further recipe testing. Please use your best judgment.
Thanks for the recipe. I added onions and smoked sausage. Delicious!
Great idea! Thank you! My thought was cooked ground beef and onions but smoked sausage sounds like more of a plan. My question is this did you brown the sausage first or just cut up and put in? Think chopped green hell pepers would be good too, thoughts?
The addition of green bell peppers sounds amazing! But I would brown the sausage first before adding to the slow cooker. Hope that helps!
I live in the UK so don’t know what size your crock pots are. Could you tell me what size you used to cook theses potatoes.
I used a 3-qt slow cooker but any size slow cooker should work just fine.
Thank you Chungah.
Hi I live in Australia and am not sure where to find the Ranch powder? Any helpful suggestions on this? Cheers 😀
As mentioned in the previous comments, it may be best to make the Ranch Seasoning from scratch. There are a lot of easy DIY recipes available online.