Creamy and thick, this potato soup is topped with savory cheese, fresh chives and crumbled bacon. ย 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. ย 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! ย 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. ย It didn’t seem to have as much flavor, used different potatoes and the chives had disappeared completely. ย 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.
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Kimberly says
can you put this all together in a crock-pot and cook all day ?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kimberly, I’ve never tried it in the crockpot, so I can’t really say for sure. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Katie says
I’ve thrown this in the crockpot for dinner tonight! I cheated and bought frozen cubed hash browns. I mixed the cheese soup and half and half in the crock. Then made the roux and melted the velveeta and added everything to the crockpot. I’ll post how it turns out. It looks delicious though. ?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Katie ๐ I’m all about taking some help from the store! I sure hope you loved the soup!
Sama says
What is half and half?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Sama ๐ It’s half cream, half milk… and is sold in cartons in the dairy section of major grocery stores ๐
Lindsay says
Sounds delicious! I was wondering if you used salted or unsalted butter?
The Chunky Chef says
Thanks Lindsay! I use unsalted ๐
jennifer says
This looks awesome and cannot wait to make it! Does it freeze well?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Jennifer ๐ Thank you!! I’ve never tried to freeze it, but if you do, I’d love to hear how it turned out!
Lori says
Making this tonight. Can’t wait to try it.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Lori ๐ Hope you loved it!
MaryB says
Baked potato soup – yum! Can’t wait to try this one with some cornbread on the side. Any kind of cornbread!
The Chunky Chef says
Thanks Mary!! ๐
Ashley says
I love loaded baked potato soup. It’s my absolute favorite soup.
The Chunky Chef says
Me too Ashley, I just can’t get enough! ๐
Trisha says
this looks amazing I really want to try it but I was wondering what kind of hot sauce do you use?
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Trisha! I use whatever I have on hand… typically frank’s red hot orginal or some jalapeno hot sauce ๐
Mollie says
Congrats, I drooled over this the first time on Fiesta Friday and then saw you today on Buzzfeed! Still drooling!!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much Mollie!! ๐
Petra says
Please disregard my previous comment, I got distracted, oops!! This chunky soup sounds perfect and with cheese as well, what is there not to love?! Thank you for bringing this to Fiesta Friday! ๐
The Chunky Chef says
Lol, it’s all good ๐ Thank you!! Hope you’ve had a great weekend Petra ๐
Petra says
This hunky soun sounds perfect and with cheese as well, what is there not to love?! Thank you for bringing this to Fiesta Friday! ๐
Cookin Canuck says
Baked potato soups are the epitome of comfort food, and this one looks perfect for wintertime!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much!! ๐
CakePants says
Yum, I wish I had a big bowl of this right now! This looks absolutely wonderful – the perfect dish now that the weather has taken a turn for the colder. The chives add such a nice pop of color, too!
The Chunky Chef says
Thanks so much!! I looooove chives ๐
J @ Bless Her Heart Y'all says
This soup looks and sounds amazing! It is supposed to me pretty cold here this weekend, so this is on my list to make!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Jessica!! There’s just something about soup and chilly weather ๐
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
I would love to just face plant into that bowl! It looks all kinds of inviting! YUM!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Krista!! ๐
Kristyn says
This looks perfect for the cold winter months ahead! Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to try it!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Kristyn!! I hope you love it ๐
Sheena @Tea and Biscuits says
Ok, that soup looks seriously yummy!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Sheena!! ๐
Maris (In Good Taste) says
YUM! All of that bacon….
The Chunky Chef says
Ohhhh yeah, I’m a bacon fanatic ๐
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
It looks delicious! I don’t usually used canned soups but I could make an exception for this one!
Deb@ Cooking on the Front Burner says
I love chunky soups and this looks so comforting! Great flavors!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Deb!! Comfy soups are my all time favorites ๐