Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes are loaded with cheese, bacon and ranch flavor, and are ready in no time. Serve Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes with Air Fryer Chicken Thighs, Pork Tenderloin, Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches or Air Fryer Meatloaf for a thoroughly satisfying meal!
Reasons To Make Cheesy Instant Pot Potatoes
Cooking potatoes in the Instant Pot is easy as can be. A generous sprinkle of cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing makes these potatoes addictive! One bite and you’ll be hooked. Cheese + Bacon + Potatoes. When those three words are combined, you know you are in for something delicious.
A few more reasons you will love this recipe:
- Ready in 30 minutes.
- No peeling potatoes.
- Lots of garlic for amazing flavor.
- Goes with all kinds of main dishes.
- Extra cheesy with ranch seasoning.
How To Make Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes
Ingredients Needed
Ingredients are listed for discussion purposes. Printable recipe with measurements found below.
- Potatoes: Good old fashioned russet potatoes work well in this recipe, but it’s pretty flexible, so if you have other potatoes on hand, you can use those as well.
- Bacon: Bacon bits can be used, but you will lose some of the great smoky flavor that cooking the bacon brings to this dish.
- Chicken Broth: Chicken stock will work as well. If you only have powdered chicken bouillon on hand, you could make your own broth using 1 cup of boiling water mixed with 1 teaspoon (or 1 cube) of chicken bouillon powder. You need to make sure to have enough liquid in the Instant Pot to help coat the potatoes to help them cook.
- Ranch Dressing: While this recipe is written using the powdered ranch mix, if all you have is liquid ranch salad dressing, you can add two tablespoons just prior to serving.
- Garlic, Seasoning Salt and Pepper
- Cheddar Cheese: Freshly grating your cheese is always preferred. Pre-shredded cheeses are often coated in anti-caking agents, which prevent them from having the best, creamy, cheesy melt. You can also use other varieties of cheese.
- Scallions: Scallions are optional but provide great flavor.
- Sour Cream: A low-fat sour cream can work, but I don’t love fat-free sour cream in this recipe.
- Instant Pot: They are Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes after all! That said, this recipe could easily be cooked in the oven if desired. You would mix all of the ingredients into a large baking dish (9×13). Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.
Steps To Take
This recipe starts by cooking bacon in the bottom of the pot until crispy. The potatoes get added to the leftover bacon grease, giving them an amazing smoky and rich flavor.
When the potatoes are cooked, you stir in shredded cheese, the cooked bacon, sour cream and toppings. So good!
Once you learn how to cook potatoes in Instant Pot you’ll want to make them every day of the week.
Tips & Tricks for Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes
- Use freshly shredded cheese. I find cheese that you grate yourself at home melts more smoothly due to the absence of anti-caking agents.
- Scoop out liquid at the end. After pressure cooking, you should remove about 1/2 a cup of the cooking liquid before stirring in the cheese. If you forget this step, your Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes will turn into a soup!
- Storing. Wrap any leftovers (as if!) and refrigerate. They should last for 3-4 days in the fridge.These reheat well in the microwave or the oven.
- Freezing. Wrap the potatoes in a freezer safe bag or container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
What kind of potatoes are best in this recipe?
I recommend Russet potatoes in this recipe. White potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes can also be used.
Can I just use bacon bits, instead of cooking bacon?
Yes, you would use about ½ cup of bacon bits in place of the cooked bacon. You will however lose some of the great flavor that cooking the bacon in the Instant Pot brings to the recipe.
Can I use chicken bouillon in this recipe instead of broth?
Yes, you could make your own broth using 1 cup of boiling water mixed with 1 teaspoon (or 1 cube) of chicken bouillon powder.
I only have bottled ranch dressing. Can I use that instead of dressing mix powder?
Yes, you will want to add 2 Tablespoons of ranch dressing. However, because it has dairy in it, it is best to add it after the pressure cooking is done. Just add it with the cheese, scallions, sour cream, and bacon, right before serving.
What main dishes can I serve with Cheesy Ranch Potatoes?
These bacon ranch potatoes go perfectly with meat dishes like BBQ Chicken and Pork Tenderloin. They are perfect as a holiday side dish to this amazing Spiral Ham Recipe. You’ll also love them alongside steak, pot roasts and all kinds of beef, pork and chicken. I love to serve this with Green Beans Almondine for a nice veggie side.
More Recipes To Try
Bookmark some of these great potato and cheesy recipes to try next.
Potato Recipes
- Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
- Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Air Fryer Baked Potato
Cheesy Recipes
- Easy Mac And Cheese
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Cheesy Garlic Rolls
- Broccoli Casserole With Ritz Crackers
You’re in for a delicious experience when these Cheesy Bacon Ranch Instant Pot Potatoes are on the menu!
Instant Pot Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes unpeeled
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 package powdered ranch dressing
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
- 2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 scallions (green onions) chopped
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp dried parsley optional garnish
Instructions
- Turn on the sauté function on the instant pot. Fry the bacon until crisp then remove the bacon from the pot and blot it on paper towels to remove the excess grease. Once cooled, crumble and set aside.
- Turn off the sauté function. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the instant pot to deglaze. This will loosen all the bacon grease goodness to give even more flavor to the potatoes!
- Add ranch dressing, garlic, seasoning salt, and pepper and stir until combined.
- Add the cubed potatoes to your seasoned broth and mix well.
- Set your instant pot to cook for 7 minutes on high pressure. When cook time is finished, use the quick release to release pressure.
- Once all the pressure has released and it’s safe to open the lid, scoop out about ½ a cup of the liquid. You need enough liquid to coat and help cook the potatoes but, in my experience, leaving all the broth in the mixture almost turns this recipe into a soup. Just use a ladle to remove some of the broth. Don’t worry, it won’t take away from any of the flavor!
- Finish by adding the shredded cheese, scallions, sour cream, and crumbled bacon. Stir until the cheese is melted and everything is well combined. Plate and serve right away.
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
KM says
Outstanding and so easy. Rather than scooping out liquid at the end, I just turned on the sauté mode for a few minutes to reduce it. I’m sure it’s great as written, too! This is going on our rotation for sure. Everyone loved it.
DianaC says
5 tablespoons of what on the next to last line of ingredients?
Christi Johnstone says
Honestly I’m not sure why that was there. It’s been removed. 🙂
Carol says
Nice easy recipe, but the cook time was way too much, the potatoes came out pretty mushy (I did cut them into 1 inch cubes) Next time I will cut the cook time down to about 4 minutes. Other then that they were very tasty, will make again
Thank you
Laura says
Made in the instant pot and then reheated in the oven later. It was a good make ahead for Memorial day. I would make again.
Vickie says
First time using my Instant Pot and making this recipe. Very delicious!
Jackie says
These were fantastic and easy to make. My kids couldn’t get enough.
Kim says
Easy to make and it was Delish!
Barb says
Whoa, made these for dinner tonight and everyone wanted seconds. Will be making often, thank you!