Bacon ranch potatoes in less than 30 minutes! AND only 4 main ingredients and 3 simple seasonings for this mouth-watering comfort food.
If you follow me on snapchat, you know what I went through to create this recipe. Well, not that dramatic… But here’s how the first trial went down. After 15 minutes of cooking the potatoes in pressure cooker, it didn’t release ANY pressure! Now I don’t know about you, but I always feel uneasy about pressure cookers. It just seems like it’s going to explode any minute. I know, it’s just in my head…
Anyway, since no pressure came out, I was nervous to open the lid inside. So I carried my instant pot out to the backyard. If it explodes, let it be outside, right? And why wouldn’t I snapchat the whole process too, thinking I may be able to capture a crazy explosion or something.Â
Well, I held my phone in one hand and carefully opened the pressure cooker with other. And guess what? Nothing happened! No explosions, not even a steam. And the potatoes were barely cooked. Bummer!!
Lesson here is that to cook something in pressure cooker, you need LIQUID! Duh, face palm, after reading the handbook! But if you use recommended 1 cup of water, your potatoes will overcook and you’ll get mashed potatoes instead.
April 16, 2018 UPDATE:Â My original recipe called for only 2 tablespoons of water, and it worked with my original (now discontinued) version of Instant Pot, which didn’t have any “burn” warning. However due to number of readers’ feedback about “BURNT” warning, I purchased a new Instant Pot and reworked the recipe. I tested the recipe many times, and found 1/3 cup of water is perfect amount. The pressure cooker comes to pressure just fine without any warning and cooks the potatoes perfectly. More water overcooked the potatoes.
So, what makes this recipe so special?
Only 4 main ingredients and 3 simple spices for this mouth-watering comfort food. I mean, bacon and potato alone will sell this recipe. But when you throw cheese into the mix, it’s simply hard to resist!
And the best part, everything is cooked in one pot!
Super simple, yet unbelievably tasty dish in less than 30 minutes.
Do you have Instant Pot, or similar electric pressure cooker? What’s your favorite dish to cook in it? I’m slowly building my favorite pressure cooker recipe list, and I’d love to try your favorites too.
Instant Pot Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lb 1kg red potatoes, scrubbed
- 3 bacon strips
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 oz 115gr cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup 80ml Ranch dressing
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces.
- Set the Instant Pot to "Sauté" and add bacon. Cook until nice and crisp.
- Stir in potatoes, dried parsley, garlic powder and salt.
- Add 1/3 cup of water.
- Set the Instant Pot to Manual for 7 minutes at high pressure.
- Do quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid.
- Add ranch dressing and cheese and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
I tried to make this and followed the recipe exactly and within a few minutes on the pressure cook function I got a burn warning, everything was stuck to the bottom & I had to throw it out. I’m not sure what InstaPot everyone else has, but this recipe didn’t work for mine.
It’s really important to deglaze the pot. Here’s the video tutorial.
I wonder if you sauteed the bacon and onion add the 1/3 cup liquid add the little wire rack and put the potatoes on top of that. That way they won’t burn or stick?
Hi, Rebecca. I think that’d would, but I’m not sure if the potatoes will absorb all the amazing flavors from bacon. I’ve made this recipe SO many times, and never have a problem with “burn” notice. You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/T7A2rF_FkyI
Made this tonight after a tough workout and it hit the spot. Sooooo easy, especially since I used already cooked and crumbled bacon from Costco. This is definitely going to be a go-to for our family.
So glad you loved these potatoes, Jayn. Thank you for your feedback!
I followed the recipe, and before my IP could come to pressure, I got a burn message. When I opened the lid to sort it all out, I found my potatoes were cooked perfectly! I followed the rest of the steps from the recipe, and my family loved it!Â
So glad it turned out for you, F! Thank you for your feedback.
Made this for my family the only thing I changed was I used Greek yogurt ranch to cut the calories, family approved.Â
Yay, so happy you tried and loved these potatoes! Thank you for your feedback, Leesa!
I was just wondering the same thing, as I’m trying to lose weight. Did you change the amount of water used for this recipe?
It’s my understanding that the IP required at least 1cup of liquid to come to pressure properly. Perhaps that’s why do many people had an issue with burning potato. I never make recipes calling for less than that. I would suggest rereading the IP handbook.
Hi, Linde. Thanks for the note. You’re correct, manual does state minimum of 1 cup of liquid. However, my recipe was developed almost 2 years ago with an original version of Instant Pot (now discontinued model), which didn’t have “burn” warning. And my original recipe called for only 2 tablespoons of water, which worked perfectly in that old model. Since then, due to readers’ feedback, I purchased a new model of IP, and reworked the recipe. Through my numerous testing, I found 1/3 cup of water was enough to bring IP to pressure and cook the potatoes perfectly. More water (1/2 cup of water) overcooked the potatoes, making a mashed potatoes instead. I understand your hesitation though, and I’ll leave it up to you to try it or not. If it helps, here’s a quick video tutorial.
Yes I think you are correct. 1/3 cup is enough to pressurize and if burn notice show up it’s okay. I used less potato and 5 minutes was enough to get the potatos to good doneness.
Great dish! I was in the home stretch when realized I had no Ranch 🤔 I was able to sub in Ceaser.  I dropped in some croutons to add a little crunch. Thx for your inspiration!
Mmm, that sounds great! Thanks for sharing your twist and feedback, Mike!