Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake is a simple side of red potatoes, crisp bacon, onion and two cheeses. The quartered potatoes boil for 10 minutes while the bacon and onion cook, then everything is tossed with the bacon grease, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, and baked for 30 minutes at 350°F. It serves 4 and takes about an hour.
How to make it: Boil the quartered red potatoes for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fry small pieces of bacon with diced onion until crisp. Drain the potatoes, toss them with the bacon, onion and grease, the seasonings and both cheeses, and bake until fork tender and 165°F in the center. Let it cool 5 minutes before serving.
Why You’ll Love It
- Bacon in every bite: the bacon and its grease coat the potatoes, not just the top.
- Two cheeses: sharp cheddar for flavor and Monterey Jack for melt.
- Short bake: boiling the potatoes first means only 30 minutes in the oven.
- Pantry seasoning: salt, pepper, paprika and parsley.
Ingredient Notes
Red potatoes: 8 medium, rinsed and cut into quarters.
Bacon: 6 slices, cut into small pieces before frying.
Onion: 1/2 cup, diced, cooked right along with the bacon.
Cheese: 1 cup grated sharp cheddar and 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack.
Parsley: 1/2 cup diced fresh parsley, or 3 tablespoons dried. It gets tossed in with the salt, pepper and paprika, before the cheese, so it spreads through the whole dish.
Seasoning: 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Taste the bacon first; it brings salt of its own.
Ingredients
- 8 medium red potatoes, rinsed and quartered
- 6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, diced (or 3 tablespoons dried)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
How to Make Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Boil the potatoes. Put the quartered potatoes in a saucepan with water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Cook the bacon and onion. While the potatoes cook, fry the bacon pieces with the onion in a skillet until the bacon is browned and crisp.
4. Combine. Drain the potatoes. In a large bowl, add the bacon, onion and bacon grease to the potatoes.
5. Season and add the cheese. Add the salt, pepper, paprika and parsley and toss to coat, then add the cheddar and Monterey Jack and toss again.
6. Bake. Put the potatoes in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, until they are fork tender and the center reaches 165°F.
7. Cool and serve. Let the dish cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Should You Cook Bacon Before Putting It in a Potato Bake?
Yes. The bacon always goes in already cooked. Here it’s cut into small pieces and fried with the onion in the 10 minutes the potatoes are boiling, so both are ready at the same time. Cook it until it’s browned and crisp; a minute longer gives bacon crisp enough to crumble.
Don’t pour the grease away. It goes into the bowl with the potatoes, bacon and onion, so every piece gets coated in bacon flavor before the cheese goes on. If your bacon gives off a lot of fat, keep about 2 to 3 tablespoons and drain off the rest.
Why Boil the Potatoes First?
A 10-minute boil gives the quartered potatoes a head start, so they only need 30 minutes in the oven to turn fork tender while the cheese melts. Roasting raw potato pieces instead takes 40 minutes or more at 400°F to 425°F. Drain them well before tossing them with the bacon and cheese. When the dish comes out, check that a potato slides easily off a fork and the center reads 165°F on a food thermometer.
Variations
- Different cheese: use a Mexican cheese blend or all cheddar.
- Dried parsley: 3 tablespoons dried in place of 1/2 cup fresh.
- Green onions: scatter sliced green onions over the top just before serving.
- Parsley on top: save some chopped parsley to sprinkle over the dish after baking.
- Creamy version: for a creamy, mayonnaise-based bake with bacon, cheddar and garlic, see Mississippi mud potatoes.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour if the room is above 90°F) in shallow covered containers. They keep 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Leftovers can be frozen for 3 to 4 months; kept longer, they lose moisture and flavor. Thaw in the refrigerator, or reheat straight from frozen in the oven or microwave, which takes longer.
Reheating: Reheat covered until it reaches 165°F. Don’t reheat leftovers in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
This is a hearty side for an oven dinner. Serve it with smothered baked pork chops, baked barbecue chicken thighs with onions or Parmesan meatloaf, and add something green like roasted asparagus and carrots.
For the same bacon and cheddar flavors made hands-off, try the slow cooker loaded potato bake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you cook bacon before putting it in a potato bake?
Yes. Fry the bacon pieces with the onion until crisp, then toss them and the grease with the potatoes before baking.
Do I need to boil the potatoes first?
For this recipe, yes: 10 minutes of boiling, then a 30-minute bake until fork tender.
What cheese goes in a bacon potato bake?
Sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack here. A Mexican cheese blend or plain cheddar also works.
How do I know it’s done?
The potatoes are fork tender and the center of the dish reads 165°F on a food thermometer.
Do I peel the red potatoes?
No. Just rinse and quarter them.
Final Notes
Boil the potatoes, crisp the bacon, toss it all with the cheese and bake, and you’ve got a side that goes with almost any dinner. If you try it with green onions on top, tell me in the comments how you liked it.
Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake
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Ingredients
- 8 medium red potatoes rinsed and cut into quarters
- 6 slices bacon cut into small pieces before frying
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese grated
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley diced; or 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Put the quartered potatoes in a saucepan with water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, fry the bacon pieces with the onion in a skillet until the bacon is browned and crisp.
- Drain the potatoes. In a large bowl, add the bacon, onion and bacon grease to the potatoes.
- Add the salt, pepper, paprika and parsley and toss to coat, then add the cheddar and Monterey Jack and toss again.
- Put the potatoes in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, until they are fork tender and the center reaches 165°F.
- Let the dish cool for 5 minutes before serving.
