My ranch potatoes recipe is the king of comfort food, ruler of side dishes, mighty overlord of potato side dishes– you get the picture; it’s good eating.
With just one hour, one baking pan, and a few ingredients, you can make this winner of a side dish that is perfect for parties or family dinner.
Tangy barbecue is heavenly with ranch potatoes, but pretty much every food will go with this recipe. Whatever you’ve paired with scalloped potatoes, you can serve with this! And if you’ve made scalloped potatoes and ham or au gratin potatoes, you’ll love this recipe as a main dish.
Let’s cook!
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What I Love About This Recipe
There are so many reasons to love ranch potatoes — but these are the reasons that keep me coming back again and again!
- Very little prep!
- Cheesy, creamy, delicious
- Go well with any main dish
- Great for every season!
How To Make Ranch Potatoes Recipe
To make my zesty recipe, start by preheating the oven. Sprinkle peeled, cubed potatoes with ranch seasoning and pepper, and put your seasoned potatoes in a prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cubed butter evenly, cover, and bake until potatoes are tender.
Remove from the oven and mix in the ranch dressing, half the cheese, and cooked bacon. Top with the remaining cheese and place it back in the oven until heated through and the cheese melted.
Doesn’t that make your mouth water?
Cheesy Ranch Potatoes Recipe Notes
Want to get all the flavor bang out of your potato recipe? Here are my secrets!
Potato Casserole Ingredient Notes
These aren’t like your standard potato salad recipes. They’re, dare I say, BETTER!
- Potatoes: To you cube your potatoes, peel them, slice the potato in half lengthwise, then slice each half lengthwise three more times. You will have eight long strips of potato. Line up the ends, then quickly chop widthwise from one end of the strip to the next. Easy peasy!
- Ranch: Believe it or not, the original ranch seasoning was invented by a plumber! Check out Thrillist’s article on ranch for more fun facts, including the deets on how many varieties of ranch exist today.
- Coating: It can be tricky to get a uniform covering of seasoning in any dish. Try this trick if you are struggling with the russets: pour your cubed potatoes into a large bag, sprinkle in the seasoning, close the bag, and shake until well coated!
Tools to Make
You only need a few standard tools to make this recipe, but the most important one by far:
- 9×13 baking dish: If you haven’t invested in a good glass baking dish, I suggest this one. It comes with a lid for easy transportation!
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
All variations of potato salad casserole dishes need to be refrigerated, and once you bake this one-off, you can store it for up to five days. After that, the flavors might still be there, but the potatoes will be all gone to mush.
Can You Freeze This?
Yes, you can! Your ranch potatoes will keep in the freezer for several months. The texture will be slightly softer after freezing. Be sure to use an airtight, freezer-safe container.
Some people find gallon zip lock bags work best. Others use aluminum pans with lids, plastic containers, or tin foil for their freezer storage needs.
To thaw, let it sit in the fridge overnight, then scoop and reheat. Or you can pop it in the oven to get that texture rejuvenated!
Make Ahead Tips
You can definitely make these ahead of time! Before baking, this recipe will keep in the refrigerator for a few days and in the freezer for a few months.
To reheat, place in an oven-safe container, and cook at 350 degrees for about half an hour. Thawing in the fridge the night before is optional, and will shorten the reheat time.
Serving Recommendations
I adore eating these potatoes as a side with tangy, vinegar-rich barbecue. They balance out the sharp flavors so well and make a well-rounded meal!
You can also sprinkle in some chopped ham or bacon to make your ranch potatoes into a full meal themselves. Any type of meat will do, honestly! Turkey, cooked chicken, even chopped up chicken nuggets. Get creative!
More Potato Side Dishes Recipes
Want more potato side dishes for your barbecue adventures? Here are some more faves!
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes – offers the rich traditional creamy taste of mashed potatoes
- Campfire Potatoes – perfect for your next campout
- Parmesan Potatoes – faster than mashed and fancier than fries!
- Country Potatoes – crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, cast iron skillet encouraged
Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds russet potatoes, peel, then cut Into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons Hidden Valley ranch seasoning, (the powder from the jar)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
- 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 6 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Evenly sprinkle peeled, cubed potatoes with ranch seasoning (The Powder In From The Jar) and pepper.
- Place seasoned potatoes in the prepared baking dish and evenly dot the top with butter.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in preheated oven until the potatoes are tender about 60 minutes.
- Remove from oven and mix in the ranch dressing, half the cheese, and cooked bacon. Top with the remaining cheese and return to the oven until heated through and the cheese is melted.
So easy!
Can you use red potatoes
Yes, I think they’d be great, Nancy <3