Creamy and thick, this potato soup is topped with savory cheese, fresh chives and crumbled bacon. It tastes just like O’Charley’s loaded baked potato soup!
Cream-based, silky and rich, this is almost an exact copycat of O’Charley’s loaded baked potato soup. A delicious indulgence that will have you coming back for a second bowl!
Whenever we eat at O’Charley’s restaurant I inevitably chow down on two things… the dinner rolls (OMG they’re so good!) and the loaded baked potato soup! It’s so rich, so creamy, so cheesy and full of yumminess!
Over the years I’ve gone back to O’Charley’s and was a little disappointed to find that the soup had changed. It didn’t seem to have as much flavor, used different potatoes and the chives had disappeared completely. Bummer!!
I found a decent base recipe on CDKitchen, made a few tweaks and came up with a truly delicious copycat of the original!
Some of the parts of this soup can be made ahead of time, which can really cut down on the time spent in the kitchen on the night of.
The bacon can be cooked ahead of time and crumbled, chives can be chopped and kept in the refrigerator, and the potatoes can be par-boiled and kept in the refrigerator.
For this recipe, I think the garnishes are pretty much a “must”… they take a good soup and make it OMG great!
Just imagine diving into a bowl like that on a cold evening… perfection!
Soooooo creamy!!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs red potatoes
- chicken stock (enough to cover potatoes)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups half-and-half
- 4 cups milk
- 16 oz Velveeta cheese melted
- 3 cans Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
- 2 tsp Black pepper more or less, to taste
- 2 tsp Garlic powder more or less, to taste
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- Fresh chives chopped
Instructions
- Wash and scrub potatoes. Dry, and dice into 1/2" cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with chicken stock, bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are 3/4 of the way cooked. Drain and set aside.
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter over MED heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Let flour mixture cook about 1-2 minutes.
- Carefully pour in half and half and milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until liquid is smooth and starts to thicken slightly.
- Add in melted Velveeta cheese and whisk to combine. Add in the cans of cheddar cheese soup and whisk until everything is smooth.
- Stir in hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder.
- Add in boiled potatoes, stir, and place lid on pot.
- Cook over LOW heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To Serve:
- Top individual servings with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and fresh chives.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
More Great Soups and Comfort Foods!
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Cheesy Roasted Poblano Potato Chowder
Allison says
Can this be cooked in the crockpot?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe in a slow cooker, so while I think it could be cooked in one, I can’t say for certain, or speak to the specifics. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂