Pure comfort food! You’ll love this amazing Loaded Mashed Potatoes recipe!
If you’re a potato, bacon, and cheese lover, this recipe is for you. Creamy mashed potatoes baked with melty cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. It’s then topped with sliced scallions, and if you want, with sour cream.
You can feed an entire family with these loaded mashed potatoes. I promise, everyone will absolutely love it!
We’ve been on a comfort food kick lately, and for a good reason: it’s almost the holidays!
This Thanksgiving, I am serving these loaded mashed potatoes because I know everyone will go crazy about it. It’s one of my family’s favorite side dishes. We’ve got a lot of bacon lovers over here!
These loaded mashed potatoes are so delicious and seriously comforting! It’s sort of like a loaded potato casserole.
The mashed potato mixture is made with tender russet potatoes, sour cream, heavy cream or milk, spices, and shredded cheddar cheese. It’s then topped with more shredded cheddar cheese and baked until melted. Finally, I add chopped cooked bacon and finish baking until the cheese is bubbly and the bacon is perfectly crispy.
I love garnishing with chives or scallions, as simple as that. You can also serve with a dollop of sour cream!
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Ingredient Notes
No fancy ingredients here, just your typical potatoes, sour cream, cheese, spices, and so on. This recipe is pretty straightforward and simple.
Here are a few ingredient notes. As always, you can find the ingredient quantities in the recipe card down below.
- Russet potatoes: I find that russets work great here because they are super tender and really easy to mash.
- Sour cream: Adds richness and structure to the mashed potatoes.
- Heavy cream or milk: For added moisture.
- Butter: hey, can’t make mashed potatoes without butter, right?!
- Shredded cheddar cheese: The cheese goes into the potato mixture and also on top for ultra cheesy goodness!
- Garlic powder: for flavor.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Bacon: I prefer to use thick-cut bacon. You’ll need about 6 to 8 slices.
- Chives or scallions for garnish
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Boil potatoes
Bring a pot with water (enough to cover the potatoes) to a boil. Boil for about 18-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain through a colander and transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Tip: Make sure you don’t overcook the potatoes. Overcooked potatoes can become gummy.
2. Cook bacon
Cook bacon on a skillet on both sides until crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and chop into pieces.
3. Mash and fold in cheese
To the potatoes, add melted butter, garlic powder, sour cream, and heavy cream (or milk). Mash until evenly combined using a potato masher. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
Fold in shredded cheddar cheese until evenly combined.
4. Transfer to baking dish and top with cheese
Transfer to a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish and spread out evenly. Top with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
5. Cover and bake
Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes. The cheese should be melted after that but not fully bubbly yet.
6. Uncover, top with bacon, and finish baking
Remove foil and top with the prepared chopped cooked bacon evenly. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the bacon is perfectly crispy.
To serve, garnish with chopped chives or scallions. And there you have it: amazing, cheesy and delicious loaded mashed potatoes!
Prep Ahead Tips
You can prep loaded mashed potatoes in advance, which is great if you’re making it for Thanksgiving or a large gathering. Follow these guidelines:
- Prepare the mashed potatoes mixture and spread it over a 9×13 inch baking dish, as directed in the recipe.
- Top with shredded cheese and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- The bacon can be cooked the day before and refrigerated.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and follow bake as directed, adding an extra 5-10 minutes or as needed since the mixture will be cold when you start.
Freezing: You can freeze the mashed potato mixture (without the cheese topping) for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Top with cheese and then bake as directed, adding an extra 5-10 minutes.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
For Thanksgiving, I’m serving these mashed potatoes along with my slow cooker turkey breast, turkey gravy (without drippings!) and orange cranberry sauce!
Other great mains you can serve it with are turkey roulade with sausage stuffing, orange-honey glazed turkey breast, Dutch oven roast chicken, and roast beef tenderloin.
Other great sides dishes that go well with these loaded mashed potatoes:
Recipe FAQs
Russet potatoes work really well because they are very tender when cooked.
About 18-20 minutes. Make sure you don’t overcook the potatoes, or they could turn out gummy.
You can make the mashed potatoes mixture and top with the ahead, unbaked. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 1-2 days. The bacon can also be cooked ahead. When ready to make, bake as directed.
Tips for Success
- Boil the potatoes (peeled and cut into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes) for 18-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Don’t overcook them, or they will turn gummy.
- You can prep the mashed potato mixture and cook the bacon ahead of time, and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Then bake as directed.
- Feel free to use more cheese, as desired. You can also use other types of cheeses that you like.
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- A pot for boiling the potatoes
- 9×13 inch baking pan
- Potato masher
Ingredients
- 4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 inch cubes
- 6 to 8 slices bacon - preferably thick-cut
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup whole milk or heavy cream - plus more to taste
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder - or to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- Chives, scallions, or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring water (enough to cover potatoes) to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil again. Cook for about 18-20 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer potatoes to a bowl.
- While the potatoes are boiling, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess fat. Chop the bacon and set aside.
- Using a potato masher, mash the drained potatoes, along with sour cream, heavy cream (or milk), melted butter, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Fold in 1 cup of the shredded cheese into the potato mixture.
- Transfer mixture to a slightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with the remaining 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove the aluminum foil. Top with the chopped cooked bacon and bake for another 10-12 minutes (uncovered), or until the cheese is bubbly and the bacon is crispy.
- To serve, garnish with chopped chives or scallions.
Notes
- Make sure you don’t overcook the potatoes, or they could turn gummy.
- Prep ahead: Transfer the mashed potato mixture to a 9×13 inch pan as directed and top with cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 1-2 days. When ready to make, bake as directed. You can also cook the bacon and refrigerate ahead of time.
- Freezing: Freeze the mashed potato mixture (without the cheese topping) for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Top with cheese and bake as directed.
- Russet potatoes: Yukon gold. Red potatoes work as well (leave the skin on, preferably).
- Cheddar cheese: Colby jack, Monterey Jack.
- Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt
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