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Crispy roasted potatoes, topped with melting cheese and plenty of crisp bacon are a great side dish (or main dish!) for any meal. These really are the best ever Cheesy Potatoes! I’ve served them with eggs for breakfast and with herb roasted chicken for dinner.
However you serve these potatoes, there is never a bite leftover.
The secret to this potato recipe is an extra long roasting time and a good drizzling of bacon grease. The smoky bacon flavor is in every bite and the extra minutes in the oven leave the edges of each potato nice and crisp with a fluffy center.
The recipe is really quite simple, it just requires a little extra time in the oven. Luckily, there is very little actual work involved, making this my kind of recipe! I’ve served these potatoes on their own as a main dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Yes, we really do love these Cheesy Potatoes THAT much and make them often.
These potatoes are amazing as a side dish for Oven Baked Crispy Chicken. Start the potatoes first, then prep the chicken. Add the chicken to the oven on a separate rack.
Then just carry on with the potato recipe as the chicken cooks on its own. With a salad or some simple steamed vegetables on the side, it’s a feast.
Love this recipe? Check out The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook for more fantastic recipes to simplify your meal times! Available in stores and online now.
Looking for more recipes to satisfy your cravings for cheese and bacon?
These Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms would make an excellent addition to our Easter dinner with the Balsamic Dijon Glazed Ham and this made from scratch Green Bean Casserole. (I made that casserole three times last year because we loved it so much!)
Potato Recipes
I simply can’t have enough potato recipes. We’ve been making these Cheesy Potatoes for a while now, but we also make these Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and the Roasted Fingerling Potatoes regularly.
Side note: if you haven’t tried fingerling potatoes yet, put them on your grocery list now. Nothing beats that crisp skin and fluffy interior in a bite-size potato.
I have a weakness for Jojo Potatoes and I can hardly wait to make this Copykat recipe at home. These Asiago Potato Stacks by A Family Feast need to happen soon as well.
If you’re looking for a potato based main dish, these BBQ Chicken Stuffed Potatoes are a hit every time we serve them. And these Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Green Beans are a family favorite.
Cheesy Potato Recipe
- COOK THE BACON: Spread the bacon strips out across a large rimmed baking sheet pan and place on the middle rack of a COLD oven. Set the temperature to 400 degrees. Set a timer for 16 minutes and check the bacon. Remove it from the oven when it is as crisp or crunchy as you like.
- COOK THE POTATOES: While the bacon is cooking, peel and chop the potatoes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. There should be 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease left on the sheet pan. (If there is more than that, drain off a bit.)
- Put the potatoes on the pan and toss with tongs to thoroughly coat them in the bacon grease. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes, stir well with a spatula and bake an additional 20 minutes. Stir again, making sure that none of the potatoes are sticking to the tray. Bake another 15 minutes.
- Chop the bacon into small pieces. Remove the potatoes from the oven, stir again and sprinkle generously with shredded cheese and chopped bacon. Return the tray to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Top with sliced green onions just before serving.
Crispy Cheese and Bacon Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 3 extra large russet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2″-3/4″ pieces, about 6 cups worth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend shredded cheeses
- 3 green onions sliced thin
Instructions
- COOK THE BACON: Spread the bacon strips out across a large rimmed baking sheet pan and place on the middle rack of a COLD oven. Set the temperature to 400 degrees. Set a timer for 16 minutes and check the bacon. Remove it from the oven when it is as crisp or crunchy as you like. I remove ours at 18 minutes and it’s a great balance of chewy crunch. If you like your bacon crispy enough to crumble, you will probably want to cook it another minute past that.
- COOK THE POTATOES: While the bacon is cooking, peel and chop the potatoes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. There should be 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease left on the sheet pan. (If there is more than that, drain off a bit.) Put the potatoes on the pan and toss with tongs to thoroughly coat them in the bacon grease. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes, stir well and bake an additional 20 minutes. Stir again, making sure that none of the potatoes are sticking to the tray. Bake another 15 minutes.
- Chop the bacon into small pieces. Remove the potatoes from the oven, stir again and sprinkle generously with shredded cheese and chopped bacon. Return the tray to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Top with sliced green onions just before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 11/3/14 – notes and photos updated 4/13/21}
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These are exactly my kind of potatoes! Cooking bacon in my oven was a game changer for how often we eat bacon, I love how easy and mess-free it is.
doesn't the bacon grease splatter all over the oven??
Cover it with a piece of tented foil
I cook bacon in the oven all the time. I don’t get bacon grease all over the oven. I don’t cover it either. I just use a cookie sheet lined with foil.
absolutely.
Not ever for me. Fat is rendered out and just is in the pan. That’s why it is a good idea to cook bacon on a rack within a pan.
No. You’re baking them. Not frying. And if it does splatter, like most things that leave a residue in your oven after cooking. Just clean it. The oven is the most neglected appliance in the kitchen. I clean mine every week!! I don’t like anything dirty.
I agree!! Bacon has been cooked in my oven for years since I learned from a home patient 20 years ago how to cook bacon her way!!
I'll be making these potatoes soon! But to get them to the table faster, I'll use bacon grease from the refrigerator so the potatoes can be cooking at the same time as the bacon.
You're a woman after my own heart, Martha! That's actually how I made them, but not everyone has the grease already saved in the refrigerator. Have a great day!
I do save bacon grease all the time, even if it’s not healthy thing to do! That’s how we were growing up using bacon grease to cook ! 😊
Does anyone else strain the bacon grease? I know those little bits are flavor, but they get very hard.
Awesome bacon grease, in the fridge is a must for EVERY Family
Oh I do!!! I’ve never wasted a drop of that liquid gold called bacon fat!!!!!!! 😉
I keep a jar in the fridge as well 🙂
How do you ladies store your grease?? I just started to learn how to cook and most of the time we just toss out the leftover grease. I remember seeing my mom and grandma cook with leftover grease but never paid attention to how they stored it. Any tips would be great! Thank you! And thank you, Mary, for sharing this recipe! Can't wait to make it 🙂
Just want to say my Grannie left grease of any kind in a jar lard bacon or even chicken on the counter. Never EVER put it in the fridge. She just dipped some out when she wanted to add a smoky flavor to anything. Like string beans or okra She fried stuff in it like potatoes, chicken, pork chops…she was a great cook. By the way there is a place in Memphis that fries hamburgers in grease they have kept going for over …well for longer than ten years.
Yes, when we were growing up mum always had a dripping pot, it had a strainer on it and a lid. Mum kept it in the pantry. I used it, than passed it on to my daughter. Maybe you can still buy them.
Amazon still sells them I inherited mine.
My mother did the same thing kept it near tbe stove, and used it as she needed it. That’s how I grew up.
In the fridge in a heatproof cup or container!!
Hi! Would a Folger’s coffee can work?! Thanks in advance!
Any clean aluminum can works, I save a few large ones to store in fridge
You can store bacon grease in any clean leak-proof container. I keep mine in a jar.
I just use a jar with a tight lid to store my bacon grease in the refrigerator.
I put mine in a plastic container with a lid. You will need to wait until it cools s little before that.
Grease savers are small containers with staining lids. They tend to be too small for me. I use a reused pickle jar for the vegetable oil and a pint sized Mason jar for the bacon fat.
I never put my grease in the refrigerator. Always on the stove. In the middle. To keep it liquified. As well as my coconut oil. I purchased a grease holder through “ Carol Wright” it had the strainer and a lid. Only 10 bucks!!!!!
I store it in the fridge
Hi Nicole,
I pour the grease into a mason jar, let it cool, and then put a lid on it. I keep the grease in the refrigerator and just use it as I would use oil or butter for frying eggs, sautéing vegetables, or whatever else sounds good!
I hope that helps!
This is an awesome idea! How long can the grease be saved for?
Just about any ‘rendered grease’ from bacon fat to rendered
chicken fat, what Jewish people call “schmaltz” keeps covered as Mary
said in a Mason Jar in the refrigerator for a very long time, like over a year.
As long as you keep it airtight and refrigerated, it will last just about indefinitely And check out Pinterest as to how easy it is to make schmaltz. Fried pork chops in schmaltz? The best.
I made these tonight but tossed the potatoes with my stored bacon grease from the fridge and bacon bits and also added powdered chicken broth base to my grease while tossing the potatoes, then seasoned with salt and pepper. AMAZING, needless to say!
I make something like this. I boil my potatoes, fridge them over night. Cut in bite size pieces. Cook bacon in oven. Put potatoes in bowl, add hellmans, bacon, diced onions, and velvetta cheese. Cook in oven until cheese is melted. DELIC
I store grease in the fridge. If I get more than I will use, I freeze it. Save it for winter, mix birdseed into it,refreeze then place in mesh onion bag and put it out for the birds.
Three of my favorite items in this one dish – it looks yummy.
Oh my. I could make these my entire meal!
You could…I mean it’s just basically potato skins without the skin…add sour cream and enjoy!
Bacon, cheese and potatoes – three of my favorite foods in one dish. This is brilliant, Mary. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
After more than 20 years of having to avoid cheese, I'm finally able to eat it without getting a migraine… this looks so darn good, I'll have to make some.. very soon!! Tomorrow! 🙂 Thanks!
I save my bacon grease!
wow
My Dad used to save the bacon grease in small glasses that looked like beer mugs (they came from mugs that stored mustard) and my mother would toss them in the garbage when she thought there were too many all lined up like soldiers in the fridge. My Dad would always say, "No good German cook would be found without saving their bacon fat." It's delicious when you use it when making a pot roast. Dad was a great cook.
WOW dAD WAS RIGHT & SO WAS MY GRANDMOTHER & SO AM I FOR SAVING EVERY SINGLE DROP OF BACON GREASE FOR THE PAST 50 YRS.oops caps lock. 🙁 It goes really fast when you use it for everything. Never lasted long enough to line it up like soldiers tho. :)'Yum.
My oh my. Pass the potatoes please!
I tried this recipe but the family decided they wanted sausage instead of bacon. They came out great.
these were so good .. Thanks for recipe..
Making them right now will see how they turn out@ they look good!
Has anything ever tried using the frozen diced hashbrowns for a quicker version? Just wondering if it would work in a pinch.
I have as we use this while camping. It seems to work just fine. Not as good as fresh but will do in a pinch
I use the frozen potatoes. I mix a bag of regular and a bag with onions and peppers. I put a bowl full in the microwave for a few minutes with a paper plate over it. Once defrosted, then I put in the oven. It's sooo good!!
Not a big cheese eater, is there a cheese that is not as cheesey that can be used without ruining the taste?
Monterrey Jack cheese is one of the mildest cheeses and you could probably get away with using 3/4 cup – 1 cup of it in place of the cheese in the recipe as it is written. It would give you plenty of "melting" factor to pull everything together without really making it a "cheesy" dish. I hope that helps!
You can't go wrong with cheese, bacon, and potatoes. Sounds amazing
I've done this for breakfast by gently adding already scrambled eggs. Very filling breakfast with toast.
I use a left over baked potato . I only use red potatoes & dice them small. Works great
What temp do you bake the potatoes at??
Everything bakes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!
After I baked for the first 20 minutes, some turned to mush when I stirred them. I was gentle. Is this common? Or am I making a mistake somewhere along the way?
They shouldn't turn to mush. They will get soft, but I stir and roast a little longer and they become fluffy inside and crisp outside. How did they turn out at the end of the cooking time?
I've been making this for many years only I sprinkle a packet of Good Season's Italian dressing over the potatoes before I add the cheese.
HI Mary,
Potato, bacon and cheese make a perfect combination. Really love it
KP Kwan
I'm thinking of making this for tailgating, but would have to re-heat on a grill the day after. Have you ever tried this? How does this dish turn out after re-heating the day after? Any tips?
We've honestly never had leftovers to try reheating! I'm guessing that if you wrap the potatoes loosely in foil and then open the top while reheating in the grill, it should work fine though. If you do try it, let me know how it works!