Cheesy potatoes smothered in a rich cheese sauce with chives and heaps of chopped crispy bacon. This is a perfect side dish for any steak or grilling you'll be doing this summer!
Sometimes the best recipes are made on a whim without much thought, that's the kind I like best and always the ones that seem to turn out the tastiest. Because of an extra bag of baby red potatoes, I can now tell you that these cheesy potatoes with chopped bacon and chives is a side dish that should be on your table any day of the week.
Making these cheesy potatoes
This recipe is quick to put together with the longest part being the oven time. You really want to get the cheese sauce bubbling and golden for the best flavor.
The sauce is made with a simple roux which you can find out how to do in this post, and then heaps of cheese is added to create a rich cheese sauce. in fact, potatoes aside for a moment, this sauce would be fantastic mixed through some elbow macaroni or poured over tortilla chips for some amazing nachos!
With the sauce being the star in this cheesy potatoes recipe, don't overlook the bacon. Cheese and bacon go well together for a reason, so use thick cut bacon and lots of it!
Tips for making a great cheese sauce
- Use good quality cheddar cheese and for extra flavor, I prefer to do a combination of white cheddar and traditional orange.
- The sharper the cheese, the more flavor the sauce will have.
- Whole milk should be used.
- If your sauce is left to sit and cool, it will solidify and begin to set. You can bring the sauce back to its original consistency by adding some more milk and whisking over a low heat.
- The sauce will thicken a lot after adding the grated cheese so don't worry if it looks too thin in the early stages of making it.