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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 :).
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!