Instant Pot Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Cooking these cheesy bacon ranch potatoes in Instant Pot truly cuts down on cooking time, requiring only about 10 minutes of hands-on time. And with only 4 main ingredients, you know it’s going to be your favorite side dish to fix! And it’ll be a hit every time you serve it.
Ingredients:
- 2lb (1kg) red potatoes, scrubbed
- 3 bacon strips
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4oz (115gr) cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Ranch dressing
Directions:
- Cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces.
- Set the Instant Pot (I use this 6Qt Instant Pot) to “Sauté” and add bacon. Cook until nice and crisp. (TIP: If you have too much stuff stuck on the bottom of the pot, add 1/4 cup of water and scrape it to deglaze the bottom.)
- Stir in potatoes, dried parsley, garlic powder and salt.
- Add 1/3 cup of water. (If you have 8qt Instant Pot, add 1/2 cup of water.)
- Set the Instant Pot to Manual for 7 minutes at high pressure. (NOTE: It took about 12 minutes for my Instant Pot to come to pressure.)
- Do quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid.
- Add ranch dressing and cheese and stir to combine. Serve immediately.If you tried this recipe, I’d love to read your feedback. Please leave your comment and rating below, or share on Instagram with #busycooks and tag us @busy_cooks. Thank you!!
Nutrition Information
Yield: 6 servings, Serving Size: 1 serving
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 120 Calories
- Total Fat: 1.3g
- Cholesterol: 0.1mg
- Sodium: 474.1mg
- Carbohydrates: 24.7g
- Sugar: 2g
- Protein: 3.4g
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is estimate only. Read full disclosure here.
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Scroll down to read more tips and story behind the recipe
Speedy Tips for Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes:
- Electric pressure cooker, such as Instant Pot, really cuts down on cooking time when it comes to this delicious comfort side dish. As you know regular baked ranch potatoes take at least an hour to bake, and slow cooker version requires an advance planning. But with this recipe, you can decide to cook this potato side dish at the last minute, because it’ll be ready in less than 30 minutes, which includes the time for pressure cooker to come to pressure, mostly hands-off time. In my case, it took about 12 minutes to come to pressure.
- Only 4 simple main ingredients: potatoes, bacon, cheese and ranch dressing! I’m sure you’ll find these ingredients in your kitchen any given time!
- And you don’t need to peel them potatoes, just scrub it well, give rough chop and you’re good to go!
- If using pre-cooked bacon, I suggest adding about 1 tablespoon of oil or butter to compensate for bacon fat. And if you save your bacon fat in a jar, like I do, you can use that too!
- I don’t suggest adding more than 1/3 cup of water, because potatoes tend to overcook, which yields more like loaded mashed potatoes, instead of chunks of potato. 🙂
If using pre-cooked bacon, I suggest adding about 1 tablespoon of oil or butter to compensate for bacon fat.
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So good!!! Definitely making again! I added 5 slices of bacon just because that’s what was left in the package, but other than that I followed exactly. Very delicious!
Hi, Jess. Thank you SO much for your feedback. I’m happy you all loved it!
Excellent salad. Even the grandkids ate it’
That’s awesome! Thank you for your feedback, Susan!!
These potatoes are to die for!! They are so simple to make and full of flavor.
Hi, Ashley! So happy you loved these potatoes! Thank you for your feedback.
I absolutely love these potatoes. …the only issue I’ve ever had making these it’s getting the size of the potatoes cut right in combination with the right amount of IP cooking time. There’s been times that I either end up with potatoes that are too hard and not cooked enough or I have to cook them again, adding more time and running my IP again. I’ve also have had them come out cooked too long and they end up more like mashed potatoes (though sometimes I don’t mind that too much). Even with all that I still make them all the time. ..they’re like a weekly make for me…I seriously, totally and absolutely love this recipe and these potatoes.
Yay, so glad you’re loving it, Mimic!! I truly appreciate your feedback!!
This became one of our regular dinner side dishes and a family favorite. Doubled the bacon ;). Thank you for the recipe!
That’s great to hear that, Johanna. Thank you for your feedback!
How could i add chicken to this?
Hi, Jennifer. I’d stir in leftover rotisserie chicken, or shredded chicken at the end, or serve it on the side. Because we’re releasing pressure right away, I don’t recommend cooking chicken with the potatoes. Quick pressure release dries out the meat.
These are fantastic! I added 3 ribs of celery with the bacon and skipped the ranch because it was already so tasty! Thanks for sharing this!
Hi, Katrina. So happy you tried and loved my recipe. Thank you for sharing your version, it sounds delicious!
Made tonight with a little extra bacon and it was a hit! Thank you for the recipe! Even my picky toddler loved it 🙌
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Kortney. Thank you for your review!
Used precooked bacon with a little oil and they turned out perfect.
Awesome. So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback, Melinda.
Is the ranch dressing powder or liquid? Can I use powder?
Hi, Roxy. This recipe calls for liquid ranch dressing.
One of my favorite recipes! I’ve also made into more of a casserole by adding a can or two of chicken breast. Really yummy! I’ve used red potatoes, russet potatoes, and yellow potatoes, all of which worked well.
So happy you’re enjoying the recipe so many ways. Thank you so much for your feedback, Glenda!
I tried this tonight with Idaho potatoes since I never have red, otherwise made it exactly and let me just say it was absolutely the best! Everyone loved it, and we will definitely be making it over and over. Not to mention how super easy this recipe was.
So happy you loved the recipe, Debbie. Thank you for your feedback!
Only 1/4 cup water worries me. I’d hate to get the Burn notice and ruin a perfectly good piece of roast plus all the potatoes and carrots! Is this a typo?
Hi, Gwyn. This recipe does NOT include a roast! I believe you left a comment on a wrong recipe, because this recipe calls for 1/3 cup of water (yes, less water as typically advised). But after cooking bacon, I advise to deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup water if needed. Hope this helps.
Yummy, yummy. I will definitely make these again. I love jalapeños so I added some chopped pickled jalapeños.
Hi, Linda. So happy to hear you loved it. Now pickled jalapenos sound amazing, and I have an open jar right now in my fridge. I’ll try that tomorrow. Thanks for the idea!
This recipe was fantastic! so easy to make, we loved it.
Awesome, so glad you loved the recipe, Lori! Thank you for your feedback.
Just came across this and oh my so good!
Thank you, Sally!
you say to add 1/4 if needed to deglaze and then the 1/3 water in the recipe – both? Thank You.
Hi, Georgia. 1/4 cup of water is optional, and is not part of 1//3 cup of water that’s listed in the ingredient list. Does that make sense?
I just printed this. It print 11 pages. Not just the recipe. 😥
Oh no, Jean! It looks like you used print button from your browser, which prints the whole web-page instead of the recipe card. Next time, please use the print button right above the ingredient list (next to social buttons). This will open the recipe card and it’ll be just one page. Hope this helps, and I hope you give those potatoes a try. 🙂
Can this be easily doubled?
Hi, Kelly. We haven’t tried doubling the recipe, so we can’t give a definitive advice. But let us know if you tried it. Thank you!
My Daughter-in-law made these and we liked them so much she gave me the recipe. They are quick, easy and delicious!
Awesome! So glad you all enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback.
I definitely need to try this with my instant pot!
It’s a must-try for sure, Toni. Hope you’ll love it.
Hi, I’m not certain how I found this recipe, but I want to thank you. It was the VERY first dish I made in my brand new Ultra 10-in-1 IP. It turned out perfect! It was so yummy, and so convenient to put together. Please tell me you have more IP recipes up your sleeve. It definitely gives me confidence to continue trying more dishes. 🙂
Donna, so happy you loved your very first Instant Pot meal! I do have a few delicious Instant Pot recipes here and more coming in the future too. Let me know if you try any of those recipes. And thank you for your feedback!
These potatoes look like the perfect cookout side dish!
Absolutely! It’s easy to make and such a crowd-pleaser too. Thanks, Rebecca!