Bacon Ranch Mashed Potatoes

These restaurant-style bacon ranch mashed potatoes are total comfort food! They’re thick, buttery, and have a wonderful tangy hint of buttermilk ranch flavor.  

You know why mashed potatoes in restaurants are so tasty? It’s because they’re loaded with butter. And cream. Like these mashed potatoes we’ve got here. They’re very decadent… but oh so delicious.

In my opinion, mashed potatoes are not the place to skimp on butta! These mashed potatoes are not light and airy… they are very creamy. Like you could fling a spoonful at the wall and it would stick. I know that how people like their mashed potatoes is as controversial as pineapple on pizza, so I’m laying it all out before you consider making this recipe. 😛 To me, the perfect mashed potatoes fall somewhere between fluffy and gluey, and the consistency is thicker than a purée. 

I ended up eating a rather large helping of the leftovers for an early dinner while after I took the photos (did I mention that photographing mashed potatoes is so difficult?!). My husband polished the rest off a few hours later with his own dinner. And yeah, the recipe is supposed to feed 6 people. This sometimes happens in my house. *shifty eyes*

I’ve wanted to do another mashed potatoes recipe for some time now, and last time I went grocery shopping, I bought some bacon and the potatoes and scallions. I wasn’t sure what I was going to make exactly. I thought some form of loaded mashed potatoes. I was thinking about Thanksgiving side dishes. This isn’t exactly a traditional one, but it would surely work.

I also bought some Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning packets that day. It seems like I get amnesia where ranch seasoning is concerned, because I found a stash in my pantry. I hardly ever cook with it, but I never want to be without it, apparently. As I was drifting off to dreamland the other night, I thought that I should make the mashed potatoes with ranch. I’ve never tried that before, and it had to work, right? I often have really dumb ideas that seem genius at the time, but I am very pleased with how these turned out, I have to say.

A few recipe notes:

• I recommend using an old-fashioned hand-held potato masher. Using a stand mixer, food processor, or electric hand mixer can yield mashed potatoes that are too much on the gummy side if you over-mix them. 
• If you are really concerned with the amount of butter, you could probably use a bit less, but I like going all-out in this recipe! If you just want ranch mashed potatoes, skip the bacon. 
• I recommend using Yukon Gold (yellow) or Russet potatoes for this recipe. I haven’t tried leaving the peels on for this particular recipe, but if you scrub the potatoes well, it should work fine. 

More potato recipes you may like:

• Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
• Easy Creamy Crockpot Mashed Potatoes (Make Ahead!)
• Colcannon (Irish Mashed Potatoes) with Bacon
• Easy Instant Pot Colcannon Recipe
• Creamy Dreamy Mashed Potatoes
• Easy Baked Potato Soup

Will you give these ranch mashed potatoes a try?

Questions? Ask me in the comments below. 

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Bacon Ranch Mashed Potatoes

These restaurant-style bacon ranch mashed potatoes are total comfort food! They're thick, buttery, and have a wonderful tangy hint of buttermilk ranch flavor.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon mashed potatoes, ranch mashed potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6

Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled & cut into halves
• 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 1 (1 ounce) packet ranch seasoning (I used Hidden Valley)
• Scallions, chopped to taste (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Peel your potatoes and cut them into halves. Add them to a pot and cover them with water. Boil them over high heat until they're easily pierced with a knife (about 15-20 minutes after they start boiling).

2. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces (I like using kitchen shears to make this job easier) and fry it until crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate once it's done.

3. When the potatoes are about ready, add the butter, cream, and ranch seasoning to a small saucepan. Warm it over medium heat, stirring occasionally so that the ranch seasoning dissolves completely and there's no lumps.

4. Drain the potatoes thoroughly (I let them sit in a colander in the sink for a few minutes and give them a good shake). This step is important.

5. Once the potatoes have been drained, add them back to the pot (ensure it's dry). Using a hand-held potato masher, mash the potatoes while gradually adding the cream mixture. Mash until they're just creamy; you don't want to overwork them and make them gummy.

6. Gently stir/mash in the bacon and scallions (if using) and season with salt & pepper as needed. The ranch seasoning is fairly salty, but I still add some extra salt & pepper for more flavor.

Recipe Notes

• I recommend using either Yukon Gold or Russets for this mash. 
• These mashed potatoes are very creamy and thick - not light and airy.
• Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry people are.
• 1/2 cup of butter = 1 stick (4 ounces or 113g). 
• If you want to make these ahead, I recommend keeping them warm in a Crockpot (on the "keep warm" setting).