Crispy roasted potatoes, layered with melting cheese and, all wrapped up with plenty of crispy bacon. These Cheesy Potatoes are the best ever...totally divine! However you serve Cheese and Bacon Skillet Potatoes, know this: there are never leftovers.
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
resting time: 10 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour40 minutesminutes
Servings: 8servings
Calories: 428kcal
Ingredients
1/2lb.Italian sausage
8-12strips center-cut bacon
6sprigs fresh thyme leaves, chopped or strippedmay substitute 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, if desired
1cupshredded Gruyere cheese (Swiss cheese)divided use
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepperto taste
1/2 medium red onionvery thinly sliced
3cloves garlic minced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Using your favorite 12-inch cast iron skillet (or any heavy-duty skillet), cook and crumble the Italian sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked throughout and no pink remains. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage crumbles to a plate and reserve. Remove the sausage drippings from the skillet, then let the skillet cool slightly before continuing.
Once the skillet isn't piping hot, line it with the bacon strips. Working in a circle, place one end of each bacon strip at the center, allowing the other end of each one to drape up and over the edge of the pan. **The bacon strips will look like spokes of a wheel once the strips are placed all the way around the skillet.Sprinkle half of the thyme over bacon strips in skillet.
Layer half the potatoes on top the bacon strips and thyme, covering the entire surface, overlapping the potatoes as you go. Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese over the potatoes, then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with the reserved cooked Italian sausage, thinly sliced red onions, minced garlic and 1/4 cup of cheese.
Add the remaining half of potatoes, overlapping them around the skillet, right on top of the sausage layer; season with salt and pepper, to taste, then top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the remaining half of the fresh thyme of the top, then fold the ends of the draped bacon strips back towards the center of the skillet, laying them over the top of all the ingredients within.
Transfer the loaded skillet to the stove top; cook over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Cover the skillet with foil and transfer to the preheated oven; cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the skillet and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy and the potatoes are fork-tender, approx. 35-40 minutes longer. Let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes, then drain any excess drippings, if needed. (This depends on how fatty your bacon is.)
Before serving, loosen the edges of the potatoes around the sides of the skillet, then cut into wedges and serve at once.