Baked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
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Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest. These baked ranch potatoes have just 4 ingredients and they’re perfect for dinner; whether it’s for the fam or a party!
My Mama-in-law thought up this recipe and baked it for us on our last visit to California. It seems like every time we visit, I come home with new recipes. I love it! Even my son found these cheesy potatoes hard to resist and he doesn’t usually like potatoes. Family approved :).
If you aren’t convinced yet, please stare at this next photo awhile… 😉
Ingredients for cheesy ranch potatoes:
3 lbs baby red potatoes, unpeeled
1/2-1 cup buttermilk or yogurt ranch dressing
Garlic salt, to taste
1 – 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend
Chives or green onions to garnish, optional
How to make oven roasted potatoes:
1. Cut potatoes into 1″ to 1 1/2″ pieces. Fill a 5 Qt pot half full with salted warm water (about 7 cups water and 1 tsp salt). Add potatoes and bring to a boil then cook at a low boil for 8-12 min depending on size of potatoes (they should be nearly done and should be fairly easy to pierce with a fork) Drain well.
2. Drizzle 1/2 cup ranch dressing directly into the pot with drained potatoes and gently toss – just enough to coat evenly.
3. Transfer potatoes into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt to taste. Bake uncovered at 400˚F for 20-25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and set oven to broil.
4. Sprinkle the top with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, return to oven and broil for 2-3 min or until cheese is melted. It’s perfectly ok to add more garlic salt at the end if you under-seasoned it the first time (speaking from experience)
Baked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs baby red potatoes, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup buttermilk ranch or yogurt ranch dressing
- Garlic salt, to taste
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 2 Tbsp chives or green onions, optional garnish
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into 1″ to 1 1/2″ pieces. Fill a 5 Qt pot half full with salted warm water (about 7 cups water and 1 tsp salt). Add potatoes and bring to a boil then cook at a low boil for 8-12 min depending on size of potatoes (they should be nearly done and should be fairly easy to pierce with a fork) Drain well.
- Drizzle 1/2 cup ranch dressing directly into the pot with drained potatoes and gently toss - just enough to coat evenly.
- Transfer potatoes into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt to taste. Bake uncovered at 400˚F for 20-25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and set oven to broil.
- Sprinkle the top with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, return to oven and broil for 2-3 min or until cheese is melted. It's perfectly ok to add more garlic salt at the end if you under-seasoned it the first time (speaking from experience). Garnish with chopped chives or green onion if desired.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
* This is my favorite baking casserole dish. I love that it has a lid!
* You can Sprinkle Lawry’s Garlic Salt on just about anything.
* This Wusthof Santoku Knife is awesome for veggies & anything really
Are you a potato lover? Even if you’re not, these will win you over :).
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
These sound delicious and I think will be great with my scratch dill ranch. Do you think they would work in a slow cooker?
Hi Fawn, I haven’t tested that in a slower to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Natasha, this recipe is great this way but I was wondering how would it be with sweet potatoes
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
Can you make this ahead of time and refrigerate overnight?
Hi Tracy, I think that will be okay. Please share with us how it goes if you try that!
From the picture it looks like you used chopped chives or green onions. I wish that was in the recipe (for shopping purposes), as it seems like a key ingredient for both the taste and the appearance.
Hi Martin, you are totally correct. I’m so sorry I missed that. I have updated the recipe.
Could you tell me where to get the ranch dressing yogurt? cant find anywhere here .thank you
Love your videos and the recepies
I use them often.have a great day
Hi Vera, we purchased it at our local grocery store. We have it in our salad section and the condiments aisle.
Hi Natasha!
I made these potatoes the other night as a side to a pork loin. They were great! I happened to have some leftover sauce from your fish taco recipe and we tried some of that sauce as a drizzle on the potatoes. Great combo!
Great Idea! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Could I steam the potatoes in my instant pot instead of boiling? If so, what settings should I use on my instant pot?
Thank you!!
Hi Mary Ann, I imagine that will work but I haven’t personally tried that to advise of the right settings to be used. Maybe othes can share their experience here?
Hi Natasha
Can’t get hold of Ranch dressing here in England, so would you please give me the recipe to make my own?
Thank you
Hi Caroline, how about 1/2 cup buttermilk ranch? You can try blue cheese dressing next time if you will like it.
I have made this numerous times and it’s always a big hit. Sometimes to make it a complete midwestern hotdish(that’s what we call casseroles in Minnesota) I add in crumbled bacon, chicken thighs( sautéed in bacon grease because YUM!), thawed green beans, and extra ranch. It’s alway delicious no matter which way I make it. Thank you for a fantastic recipe.
So great to hear that, Kate. Thank you so much for your great comments and feedback!
Perfect side dish!!! We had with baked herb chicken and Asparagus to go with!!! But we definitely love and will be making again and again etc…
Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this exactly as the recipe read. It was a huge hit with all 4 of my kids (no leftovers) and will now become a regular in our house.
That’s so great! I’m so glad you found a favorite on our blog Jennifer!
Can I use homemade ranch?
I think that should work too. Please share with us how it goes if you give it a try!
Delicious, simple and quick. Made for Easter Sunday with ham. Big hit with my large family
That’s just awesome! Isn’t that the best when the entire family enjoys the recipe!
Delicious! Super easy to make. Will be making again…soon!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing that with me!
This one is going on the to-do list… I like the idea of adding bacon (everything is better with bacon) and perhaps some minced garlic and/or some chopped green chilis…
Thanks for the recipe…
Those sound like great ideas also, Thanks PT!
My family loves this. We add chopped bacon on top and mis in a little softened cream cheese with the ranch.
I’m glad to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Kelly!
My hubby and daughter loved this. I made it as posted. Thanks for posting such a simple recipe.
You’re welcome Christina! I’m glad to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha,
I am bringing your potatoes to a gathering tomorrow night but will be short on time tomorrow and don’t want to rush it..
I’m wondering how much of the recipe I can complete a day ahead and where a good place to stop for the night and then complete tomorrow night would be.
Hi Kris, I haven’t tried that but I think it would work to completely assemble these potatoes and bake the following day. 🙂
Have a jar of ranch dressing that’s not my favorite (I’ve discoverd Buttermilk Ranch is the only type of Ranch dressing I LOVE)…. Had some red potatoes… .made this dish! I think it still needs something… but maybe it’s just because I want buttermilk ranch instead of regular! Maybe some dried dill? Either way, I love ranch, and cheese, and potatoes, and this is an easy dish I’ll be making over and over again!
I think dried dill or even better; fresh dill, would work great here :).
Im making this right now as Im writing this. 😌
Please let me know what you think!
Added red onions and extra cheese. Not as flavorful the first day but very good on day 2. I think I will try blue cheese dressing next time with another cheese topping 😋
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe! I have made it twice now. This time, I used half regular ranch dressing and half 3 herb ranch dressing.Still delicious.The boiling then baking of potatoes adds an extra step , but really makes a difference…a YUMMY difference.
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Mary! Thanks for sharing your tip and great review with other readers!
Can you use just a regular ranch dressing?
Katherine, that should work fine 😬
I like my potatoes crispy. Would it be possible to just cook these completely in the oven instead of boiling them? Maybe toss in some olive oil?
Hi Austin, you would have to alter the recipe to do a bake-only method. I would spread them out more on a baking sheet and you will have to bake them for 45 minutes and up to an hour depending on thickness of potatoes. I’m not sure I would bake for that long with the ranch coating. It would turn out to be a completely different recipe 🙂
If I made this a head of time, how would you recommend to heat it up for the event?
I would probably heat it in an oven until hot and maybe sprinkle on a little extra cheese before baking then just before serving, garnish with chives or even parsley.
I made these a few weeks ago and they were so good! Only I made them with white potatoes because its all I had to cook with but they turned out delicious! Can’t wait to make them again! Thank you for the recipe. I will be saving this one for sure!
I’m happy to hear you enjoy the recipe Mallory! Thanks for sharing your review 🙂
I have made this recipe a few times now and it is always a big hit, we never have leftovers! 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome Samantha! You know you’ve found a good recipe when there’s no leftovers!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’m planning to make this recipe this weekend. It looks so good! Do you think it would be good made with white potatoes instead of the red it calls for?
Thank you!
I prefer the waxy texture of the red potatoes, but I think you could make it work fine with white potatoes, but you might have to adjust the baking time. Bake until easily pierced with a knife 🙂
I can’t wait to try and make this, Looking forward to it. Thank you for sharing!!
It’s a delicious and easy recipe! Let me know what you think!
I made these for my family tonight! They were a huge hit! Everyone loved them and I do have a very picky bunch!!! Thanks!!
You’re welcome Nikki! I am so happy to hear your family loves the recipe as much as mine does! 🙂
Can I use regular ranch dressing??
Hi Kristen, yes, that would work great 🙂
Yummy recipe:) If I double the recipe is baking time the same?
Thank you Ilona, keep it in the oven for 30 min. Let me know how it turns out 😀.
This was so easy to make and came out so deliciously! My boyfriend who is notorious for being a picky eater ate this up without hesitation! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Alison, thank you for such a nice review and you are very welcome 😁.
I have made these potatoes 3 times. The only change I made was to use garlic powder and salt so that I could control the amount of salt I wanted. They were great! This last time, I sprinkled paprika on before adding the cheese, not a leftover in sight! I highly recommend this recipe!
That is awesome!! I’m so happy you like the recipe and thank you for the fantastic review!
This was I hit I took these potatoes to the field for lunch while the guys were harvesting crops. So good.
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
This was delicious and a big hit with my family. My 4 year old, after eating her portion, went to the main dish and was just picking the cheese off. 🙂 LoL! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Awww that’s so sweet :). Thank you for sharing that with us! 🙂
So good! I literally could gobble the whole pan down myself 🐷
Ha ha!! That’s me exactly when I make these cheesy potatoes 😉 Thank you for the awesome review!
I did.
Oh my GOSH! They’re delicious!!! My 8 year old son said “Mom, these potatoes are SO good… they’re almost as perfect as Jesus!” 😂😂 Seriously tho, they’re AMAZING!!!
That’s pretty hilarious. My son is 7 so I can definitely relate to the funny and cute commentary 🙂 It sounds like you have a new favorite potato recipe!
I added bacon, parsley and a touch of sour cream. I love your recipes!!
Those all are good add-ins 😀. Thank you for the great review, I’m so glad you liked it.
Yummy…I also added some chives…so simple and so delicious. Thank you for the recipe! This is a keeper and will make again
Nancy, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
This recipe is DELICIOUS! One of our favorite side dishes for sure. I actually shared this recipe in my most recent post on my blog, “Tried and True Pinterest Recipes 2.0”. Link: http://www.meshkomoments.com/tried-true-pinterest-recipes-2-0/ If anyone was interested in checking it out 🙂 Thanks for all of the amazing recipes Natasha!!! 🙂
Katie, thank you for sharing, I’m so glad you like it 😀.
Going to make this tonight for dinner. Hope it’s as good as the reviews say it is. 🙂 will let you know how it goes!
Enjoy! I hope you love it! 🙂
This was delicious, the family loved it. Definitely going into my rotation.
If I use russett potatoes, should I peel them or just wash and cut them up?
You could do it either way. 🙂
Can it be done with original ranch dressing?
Hi Rose, yes, you can use original.
I just did this today
Omg it is amazing
I added chives and it taste even better!!!
Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for the great review!
Hi
I want to make your Baked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes but I do not have yogurt dressing or buttermilk will bluecheeze dressing wrk
I’ve never tried it with blue cheese dressing so I’m not sure. If you test it out let me know how it works. I probably would not use chunky blue cheese for sure. I’m curious!
What size casserole dish do you recommend to make this delicious thing in?
You can do a 9×13 or 8×11 would also work 🙂
Made this recipe for dinner tonight with crockpot BBQ beef ribs and corn on the cob. These potatoes are slammin, and they disappear quickly! Thank you Natasha!
Thank you Gwen for such a nice review and you are welcome .😀
Add crushed red pepper flakes omg! To die for!!
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing that tip! 🙂
Just made this for dinner along with ranch chicken.. Never been a big fan of ranch until today! Was delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for the great review! 🙂
added green beans, finely chopped onions, liptons french onion soup mix, along with garlic and onion powder waiting the last 5 mins while its in broiler mhhhhmm it smells delicious
Wow that does sound delicious! Thanks for sharing your modifications with me 🙂
I’ve made these so many times and love it! This time I’m making it for potluck and I’m sure everyone will love it! Thanks for all your recipes!!
Thank you Julia for such a nice review and you are welcome 😁
Trying to clean up my fridge before moving and this was great! Used my last bits of ranch, used mozzarella (because that’s what I had) and sprinkled with left over bacon bits (why not? 😂) it was delicious! Thank you.
Thank you for the great review Hanna, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😀 .
French Fried Onions would be good on top of this 😉
I agree! that sounds delicious!!
Whew😅! So cheap and easy! I was scrambling to find something for a potluck that did require going to the store and actually was edible. This hit the spot. It is like a loaded mashed potato. This could easily be turned into a casserole with chicken, spinach, and green onions (which I added for color and additional flavor).
I totally love the idea of turning it into a chicken and veggie casserole! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
how can I make this dish without using the broiler? Thanks
The broiler isn’t necessary. You could just add the cheese 5 minutes before it’s done baking and put it back in the oven to melt the cheese 🙂
I am wondering what these would taste like if I threw in some extra vegetables. I have too much canned veggies and need something to do with all of them.
I think they could possibly work well. What kind of veggies were you considering?
making thes for supper tonight.
Corry, let me know how they work out :).
I made these the other day for dinner. I did tweak it a little bit. I did garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper for seasoning. I also mixed in a little bit of cheese and some scallions. I skipped boiling and baked them in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. Then topped with cheese and broiled and finished with more scallions sprinkled on top. It was delicious, I had to use a lot of self control to keep from eating the whole dish of potatoes. My 4 year old who can be picky sometimes was also a huge fan.
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks for shari g your version. I love that you can skip a step (boiling) and still have great results. 🙂
Love all the recipes that I have seen so far. Looking forward to trying them! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you and I hope you love everything you try! 🙂
Oh my so very yummy I am definitely going to be making these this weekend. Thanks for sharing
Amazing, and my family are BIG ranch fans..so going to try this tonight for dinner..Thanks
What else do you use ranch for? I love how versatile of an ingredient it is! 🙂
Definitely going to try thistle for dinner thistle week.
Justin, I hope you’ll love it :).
Looks really Yummy!!!
Looks good
This looks so good!
Thanks Karen!
wow!
Looks good going to try
I hope you love the recipe as much as we do 🙂
love this site has a lot of great recipes
Thank you so much Diane 🙂
Cool and delicious!
very yummy
Oh my I have tried the cheese ranch potato I love them it’s like someone like me just got to have them
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I loggerheads and potatoes, will try the. Ranch version
Hi Kathleen! 🙂 It looks like your autocorrect did some interesting things to your sentence ;). lol.
yummy
this is good for family day
Looks good!
This page is making me hungery
Mission; accomplished. 🙂
it looks so good I’m going to try it right now
I hope you love it!! 🙂
Would love to try this. Simple yet delicious!!!
Thank you Rich, let me know how it works out :).
I love this recipe! I made a review about it on my blog. It’s so good!
https://meilizlewis.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/baked-cheesy-ranch-potatoes/
Thank you so much for sharing it! 🙂
I made these for my cousin as a celebration for her being free from another year of prison — I mean, pharmacy school, hahaha. Anyway, she LOVES, absolutely LOVES potatoes, and I had shown her this recipe; she was excited! She and her family and my coworkers (I brought some in to work) LOVED them. They all said it was delicious! Just a question, Natasha: what did you use on top of those potatoes, chives or green onions? I used parsley as a last minute version (still good).
I had to do a double take when I read prison. lol. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I used chives this time, but it works just as well with green onions. 🙂
Hi, Natasha, I made these last night, and they were delicious! Thank you for sharing the great recipe! Nicki
Nicki, thank you for the great review and you are welcome :).
Hi natasha!!! Just wondering can I make this dish the night before and then just put in the the over the next day after Sunday morning service? Or it won’t be the same ?
I haven’t tried it that way, but I think it could work to pre-boil the potatoes, let them cool completely then cover and refrigerate and finish it off the next day. You might need to bake it slightly longer since you’ll be using cold potatoes from the fridge.
I’m a huge fan of yours if you cannot tell! This was on our dinner tonight! I loved how easy it was to make! I used my homemade Greek yogurt instead of ranch and only used garlic powder. It was AWESOME! I’ll be making this more often!
I love reading all of your comments. They always make my day! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your tip for using Greek yogurt. How do you make the Greek Yogurt? I’ve never tried!
It wasn’t hard, just nerve wrecking because of the uncertainty of the waiting. Haha. Here’s the link to the recipe
I could never find whole milk Greek Yogurt for my baby. So, I just buy plain whole milk. I was so happy to find this recipe because now, I can give her Greek Yogurt. She loves yogurt bites!
Thanks so much for sharing that! 🙂
hi, i want to make this for a party. how can i make sure they are not too dry and how would you reheat it in crock pot??? thanks
I haven’t tried it in a crock pot so I’m not sure if that would dry out the potatoes to reheat them there. If they are made per the recipe, they won’t turn out dry. Do you mean if you aren’t serving them right away? I’d recommend baking them per instructions then covering with foil and keeping them in a warm oven to keep them warm without drying out the potatoes. I hope that helps! 🙂
I made this for guests last night and everyone loved it! Thank you for a great and easy recipe. 🙂 It is also a recipe that is easy to tweak if needed and it still tastes really great, I didn’t have the exact ingredients and just used what I had on hand. It was soooo good. Congratulations on your beautiful bundle of joy!
Thank you so much and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. You’re absolutely right you can tweak the recipe and it will still turn out great. Thanks for sharing that with me. 🙂
These are making me so hungry! First thing I read this morning, could this count as breakfast? I like how you baked the potatoes with the dressing so all the glorious flavor soaks in. Pinned for later.
Matt, absolutely you can have it for breakfast, why not :-).
So…I made this last night for dinner and it turned out delicious! I added some frozen veggies (peas/carrots/beans/corn mixture) and diced ham and it was a meal by itself. Simple and tasty, my kind of meal 🙂
Thank you for the great review Galina and great job on improvising. Reading your comment is making me hungry :).
Excited to try it! Thanks for all those great recipies!
Good luck girl! I was 10 days overdue with my 2nd.
Hope to meet ur little girl soon 🙂
You’re so welcome :). I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipes :). 10 days, wow!! I bet you were wondering if she’d ever come out. They won’t let me go over that long because I’m hoping for a vbac this time. We’re so excited to meet her soon 🙂
Hi Natasha. This looks really yummy and super easy! I’m definitely going to try it out soon. I really thought we would be seeing baby pictures in your post! Hang in there and God bless you and your family 🙂
Hi Binsy! Believe me, we thought she’d be here by now too! I must be feeding her too well ;). Thank you so much for your sweet words :).
These potatoes look so cheesy! The more cheese the better!
I couldn’t agree with you more
Cheesy, cheesy, potatoes, yum!!
P.S. I’ve heard of glass pyrex dishes exploding in the oven or on the table if put under the broiler… just something to keep in mind 🙂
I’ve heard of that happening if you go from cold to hot really quickly; for example pouring cold water into a blazing hot pan is a very bad idea. Or the other way around. My sister had that happen when she preheated a glass dish to use it as a steam basin and then added warm water to a blazing hot Pyrex. She said it shattered/exploded!
Can I use the russet potatoes or Idaho instead ? Thanks
Yes, just make sure they are about the same size pieces – about 1″ in thickness and boil them until they are nearly cooked the same way. The texture will be slightly different (not as smooth as red potatoes), but the recipe will still work :).
These look amazing- my husband loves all things ranch! He’ll be very happy if I make these for him. Thanks for sharing!
You’re so welcome! I hope you both love the potatoes. 🙂
Looks delicious! Can I use regular ranch instead?
Absolutely! I think my Mama-in-law used Hidden Valley Ranch. Use whatever you have on hand.