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.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
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!
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil and Parmesan Soup
Cheesy Roasted Poblano Potato Chowder
Pirk Elliott says
All fall, winter and spring my wife is always asking me to make. Everyone that been lucky enough to have tried absolutely loves it.
Lisa says
The soup I did get from Jason’s deli was good but it was not loaded like it said there was barely no potatoes none of the other ingredients it was just mainly like give me some bread and I’ll dip it in there sauce they need to upgrade their soup with potatoes all the ingredients they go in a potato soup I didn’t even get the cheese the bacon sour cream I didn’t get nothing but what they called a loaded baked potato soup the flavor was good but the soup was not
The Chunky Chef says
I’m confused why you’re reviewing this recipe when you ordered soup from Jason’s Deli (wherever that is), and THEY messed up.
Melanie says
Awesome! Love this recipe and easy to make! Way better than O’Charley’s newer recipe!
Carole says
Love this recipe. I only used scallions instead of recommended onions.
Vickie Williams says
Members of our church meet once a month for domino games and we bring pot luck. I took this soup and they fell in love with it. It’s soooo good!
Amy Pannell says
It was delicious!!! My husband and son ate it up! They said it tasted better than O’Charley’s.
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 🙂