Cheesy Bacon Mashed Potatoes — If you like loaded baked potatoes, you’ll LOVE these mashed potatoes with bacon, cheddar cheese, butter, sour cream, and more! A family-favorite side dish that’s perfect for weeknight dinners or holiday celebrations. Irresistible, EASY comfort food!
Table of Contents
- Fully Loaded Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese
- Ingredients in Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- How to Make Mashed Potatoes with Bacon & Cheese
- Recipe FAQs
- Make-Ahead Instructions
- How to Store Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
- How to Reheat Mashed Potatoes
- Tips for the Best Cheesy Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- What to Serve with Cheddar and Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- Bacon Cheddar Loaded Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- More Easy Mashed Potato Recipes:
Fully Loaded Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese
If there was ever a rich, decadent, and comforting side dish recipe that your whole family will devour, these loaded mashed potatoes with bacon, cheddar cheese, butter, sour cream, and heavy cream is the one!
Easy to make, and ready in less than a half hour, they’re a perfect recipe for entertaining because they’re no-hassle, no-fuss, and loaded with everything fabulous.
Whether you’re making these bacon mashed potatoes as a side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, or as a family dinner recipe on busy weeknights, everyone will be happy and content.
It’s hard to go wrong when there’s bacon and cheddar cheese involved!
Ingredients in Bacon Mashed Potatoes
For this comfort food side dish that will have everyone ooh’ing and ahh’ing, you’ll need just a few common fridge and pantry ingredients:
- Red potatoes
- Salted butter
- Heavy cream
- Garlic
- Sour cream
- Cooked bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chives or green onions, optional for garnishing
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Mashed Potatoes with Bacon & Cheese
These cheesy bacon mashed potatoes are so fast and easy to make! I’ve given detailed step-by-step instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview of how the mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon are made.
- Begin by boiling chopped potatoes in water for about 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat. Make sure not to overcook them!
- Drain the potatoes well and place them back in the stock pot. Mash them by hand with a potato masher until they’re mostly smooth with a few lumps.
- Add in all the remaining ingredients. All that glorious butter, cream, garlic, sour cream, bacon, cheese, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Garnish with chives if you’d like and get ready to dig into your bowl of comfort.
How to Mash Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes
When mashing the potatoes, I strongly recommend a good old-fashioned potato masher for the best mashed potato consistency and texture. For those who prefer smoother mashed potatoes with less texture, then this smooth potato masher is your ticket.
To make them even smoother, then look for a potato ricer. It’s more work because you have to run the potatoes through it, batch by batch, and I don’t really love the consistency of mashed potatoes pureed down to baby food consistency, but some people do.
I do not use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer to mash the potatoes. It will overmix them rapidly and you’ll be left with gummy potatoes.
Recipe FAQs
Normally, I make my mashed potatoes with Russet potatoes like in these scrumptious, rich, and buttery Slow Cooker Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes. Or, you can use a mixture of half Russet and half Yukon Gold potatoes like I do for The Best Classic Mashed Potatoes. For a change of pace, for this mashed potato recipe I used baby red potatoes with the skins kept on.
The benefit of red potatoes is that the skins are thinner and peeling them is unnecessary for me. However, if you want to of course you can peel them. I am always happy to get away with less work! If instead you plan to use a Russet or Russet and Yukon Gold combo for your loaded mashed potatoes, then peel them because those skins are tougher and more fibrous.
You can try using reduced or lower fat versions of the sour cream and cheddar cheese. You can try using fat-free half-and-half in place of the heavy cream. As well as using a lighter buttery substitute in place of the real butter. The loaded bacon and cheddar mashed potatoes will still probably taste, fine, just not next-level.
For next-level, so good that everyone will be licking their plates clean mashed potatoes, make the recipe exactly as written. After all, these are a rich and comforting side dish that you’re probably not making often so you may as well enjoy them to the max when you do.
Make-Ahead Instructions
These loaded bacon cheddar mashed potatoes can be made in advance. I suggest up to 48 hours in advance, but do what you think is best.
You’ll want to add some additional cream or some milk to them to help loosen them up when reheating.
See my tips below for baking them in a casserole dish if you plan on making this tasty side dish in advance.
Make-Ahead Casserole-Style Mashed Potatoes
Rather than making the recipe exactly as written, you can also make the loaded mashed potatoes in a casserole dish, with cheese sprinkled on top.
This route is especially helpful if you want to prep the potatoes in advance.
- Make the recipe as indicated, minus the cheese incorporated.
- Place the potatoes in a casserole dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top, cover tightly with foil, and you can refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking them off.
- Bake in a 350F oven until the cheese melts or becomes as lightly golden browned as desired. Anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes is my suggestion, but keep an eye on your cheese if you opt for this route.
Tip
Make sure to set the potatoes out at room temp for a half hour or so to make sure that they will warm through completely in the oven. All you’re really doing with the oven is melting the cheese, which will happen quite quickly. Melted cheese on top but with cold potatoes underneath wouldn’t be a good look!
How to Store Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
These buttery, creamy bacon and cheese mashed potatoes will keep airtight in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
How to Reheat Mashed Potatoes
For mashed potatoes that have just been in the fridge, I recommend reheating them gently in a kettle on the stove over low heat until warm or reheat them carefully in the microwave.
Again, likely you will want to add a splash of milk or cream since they’ve probably thickened up and reheating will only cause them to become even thicker.
Tips for the Best Cheesy Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- A half pound of bacon is about 6 slices.
- I used regular bacon although thick cut bacon can be used. Use whatever type of bacon you love since it does play a starring role in the loaded bacon cheddar mashed potatoes.
- You can always add more bacon and more cheese to the recipe. Either incorporate them within the mashed potatoes, or garish with extra cheddar cheese and bacon. No one will complain!
What to Serve with Cheddar and Bacon Mashed Potatoes
These mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon go well with just about an holiday entree or protein you can think of!
- Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
- French Onion Pork Chops
- Grilled Chimichurri Salmon
- Creamy Dijon Parmesan Chicken
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef Tips
- Oven Roasted Turkey
- Pineapple Glazed Ham
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Bacon Cheddar Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red or baby red potatoes, sliced into 1.5-inch chunks (I do not peel them)
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ pound bacon, cooked and diced small
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons minced chives or green onions, plus more for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large stockpot, add the potatoes, cover with 1-inch water above them, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender and done; don't overcook.
- Drain potatoes well and then return them back to the stockpot.
- Using a potato masher, mash them by hand until they’re mostly smooth with a few lumps.
- Add all remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Taste and if desired, add additional salt and pepper.
- Optionally garnish with chives or green onions and serve. Potatoes will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently and you will likely need to add additional cream or milk when reheating if the potatoes have thickened up. *See Notes for Make Ahead and Casserole Style Directions.
Notes
Make ahead option:
You can make the recipe exactly as written, up to 48 hours in advance. Store airtight in the fridge. Add additional cream or milk when reheating them, as necessary.Casserole-style option:
Addtionally, rather than making the recipe exactly as written, you can make the loaded mashed potatoes in a casserole dish, with cheese sprinkled on top. Bake in a 350F oven until the cheese melts or becomes as lightly golden browned as desired. Anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes is my suggestion, but keep an eye on your cheese if you opt for this route. This route is especially helpful if you want to prep the potatoes in advance. Make the recipe as indicated, minus the cheese incorporated. Place the mashed potatoes in a casserole dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top, cover tightly with foil, and you can refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking them off. Make sure to set the potatoes out at room temp for a half hour or so to make sure that they will warm through completely in the oven since all you’re really doing with the oven is melting the cheese which will happen quite quickly. Melted cheese on top but with cold potatoes underneath wouldn’t be good!Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is soo great. I sometimes make it with butter and cream cheese in place of the sour cream and the heavy cream. Decadent!
if we don’t get Russet potatoes so can we use different one on it’s place . your recipe was so easy and quick and amazing. so glad you shared this recipe.
if we don’t get Russet potatoes so can we use different one on it’s place . your recipe was so easy and quick and amazing. so glad you shared this recipe.
if we don’t get Russet potatoes so can we use different one on it’s place . your recipe was so easy and quick and amazing. so glad you shared this recipe.