Scalloped Crack Potatoes – cheesy Au Gratin potato casserole loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch! Everything cooks in the same pan – easy cleanup! Only 5 ingredients! Potatoes, heavy cream, ranch seasoning, cheddar cheese, and bacon. I could make a meal out of just these potatoes. I’m still thinking about them! SO good! An easy side dish that is ready in under an hour!
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Pin This RecipeScalloped Potatoes with Cheddar, Bacon & Ranch
These Scalloped Crack Potatoes have been on repeat at our house. O-M-YUM! Thinly sliced yukon gold potatoes baked in heavy cream and ranch seasoning and topped with cheddar cheese and bacon. I could make a meal out of just these potatoes – no joke!
What are Crack Potatoes? If a recipe has crack in the title it means that it has cheddar, bacon, and ranch in the recipe. It all started with my Crack Dip way back in 2007. I made the dip for a Titans football game. Everyone went crazy over it. We couldn’t stop eating it and said it was like crack. The name stuck. The flavor combination is amazing. These potatoes are no exception. I’m obsessed!
How to Make Scalloped Crack Potatoes
These potatoes look and sound fancy, but they are very easy to make with only 5 ingredients. Start with slicing some potatoes very thin. I use a hand-held mandoline slicer to slice the potatoes. It is great! It only takes a minute, and you have evenly sliced potatoes that are nice and thin.
Once the potatoes are sliced, place them in a baking dish. Combine heavy cream and ranch dressing mix. Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes and bake. Stir the potatoes every 10 minutes while they are baking. Stirring the potatoes helps the potatoes cook evenly and get nice and creamy. Finally, top the casserole with cheddar cheese and chopped cooked bacon and bake until the cheese has melted.
- I used Yukon Gold Potatoes. You can use any potato that you prefer.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/
- Do NOT make the ranch dressing. You are only using the seasoning packet.
- Can Scalloped Crack Potatoes be made in advance? Yes! You can slice the potatoes and pour the heavy cream and ranch mix over them and refrigerate the dish overnight. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time if baking straight from the refrigerator.
- Can Scalloped Crack Potatoes be frozen? Yes! Bake the potatoes up until the final 15 minutes and remove them from the oven. Let the casserole dish cool completely. Cover and freeze. To reheat, simply thaw and finish the cooking until the potatoes are tender again.
- This makes a lot of potatoes. Feel free to cut the recipe in half. The baking time would stay the same.
- Are Scalloped Crack Potatoes gluten-free? Yes! These potatoes are gluten-free.
What to Serve with Cheesy Potato Casserole
As I said, these potatoes have been on repeat at our house. We absolutely LOVE them! They go with just about everything – grilled chicken, pork, steak, burger, and casseroles. These cheesy potatoes are perfect with our Melt in Your Mouth Steaks and much cheaper than eating out at a steakhouse! Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with these cheesy potatoes:
Wicked Good Steak Marinade
Wicked Good Steak Marinade – seriously the BEST! Super easy to make and the steaks are packed full of amazing…
Awesome Sauce Chicken
Awesome Sauce Chicken – seriously delicious!!! Only 3 ingredients! Chicken marinated in honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, and hot sauce. It…
Steakhouse Pork Chops
Steakhouse Pork Chops – hands down the BEST pork chops we’ve ever eaten!! Ridiculously easy to make! Marinate pork chops…
Cast Iron Skillet Burgers
Cast Iron Skillet Burgers – perfectly cooked burgers in only 6 minutes using your favorite cast iron skillet! This is…
Scalloped Crack Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 2¼ lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 (1-oz) package ranch dressing mix or to taste
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped cooked bacon
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- Layer potatoes in prepared pan.
- Stir together heavy cream and ranch dressing mix. Pour over potatoes.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.
Notes:
- I used Yukon Gold Potatoes. You can use any potato that you prefer.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/
- Do NOT make the ranch dressing. You are only using the seasoning packet.
- Can Scalloped Crack Potatoes be made in advance? Yes! You can slice the potatoes and pour the heavy cream and ranch mix over them and refrigerate the dish overnight. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time if baking straight from the refrigerator.
- Can Scalloped Crack Potatoes be frozen? Yes! Bake the potatoes up until the final 15 minutes and remove them from the oven. Let the casserole dish cool completely. Cover and freeze. To reheat, simply thaw and finish the cooking until the potatoes are tender again.
- This makes a lot of potatoes. Feel free to cut the recipe in half. The baking time would stay the same.
- Are Scalloped Crack Potatoes gluten-free? Yes! These potatoes are gluten-free.
Steph
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Made these Sunday with grilled steaks and they were wonderful!!! I added some chopped onions to the potatoes and they were delish. The leftovers are awesome too!! Having for lunch today!!!
Made these on Sunday for steaks and they were wonderful!!!! I added some chopped onions to the potatoes. This recipe was so easy and leftovers are delish!!!
Could I use half and half instead of heavy cream?
I’ve only made this with heavy cream. I do not know if half-and-half will thicken up the same way.
Hey Mel, a little late but: Yes. I made it with half and half. I hedged the bet by adding a couple tablespoons of instant potato to the ranch dressing/cream mixture, and I extended the initial cooking time from half an hour to 40 minutes. Otherwise I followed the ingredient list and other instructions. The instant potato was neither here nor there, the extended cooking time made the difference I think.
IMO this recipe can take a lot of individualization: peppers and onions, Parmesan, ham, etc. It’s a keeper for sure.
How thin do you slice the potatoes with the slicer? I just ordered it.
Thanks!
That slicer has three thicknesses – I use the middle one.
Do you think frozen shredded hash browns or diced potatoes could be used?