If you're craving comfort food, this copycat Chilis Potato Soup is all you need! Just like Chili's restaurant it's stuffed with potatoes, bacon, cheese and sour cream.
This homemade soup is savory and delicious! It is easy to make and ready in just over 30 minutes, it makes for a perfect weeknight meal!
Why this is the best Chilis Potato Soup
Just like your favorite restaurant, this soup is rich and flavorful. It only takes 30 minutes to make. Ooh.... did I mention bacon? Yup, it's loaded with bacon and cheese! I think you're going to love it!
Ingredients you’ll need
- baked potatoes - I use large russet potatoes, but you can use red potatoes, Yukon gold, or white potatoes if you'd prefer.
- bacon
- extra sharp cheddar cheese
- garlic
- chicken stock
- flour
- salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
Between your pantry and the refrigerator, there's a good chance you have everything on hand to make this creamy soup!
Step-by-step instructions
- Dice the bacon, add to a large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat and render the fat. When crispy, remove the bacon from the pan, keeping the grease.
- Dice the baked potatoes and onion, mince the garlic.
- Add the onion to the pan with the bacon fat, season well.
- Sauté the diced onions for about 5 minutes
- Add the garlic and Sauté for another minute or so.
- Then add flour to the pot. Cook the flour with the onions and garlic stirring frequently. Cook for about a minute.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, add the chicken broth scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the potatoes, stir well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add cheese, butter and sour cream. Stir and combine well.
How to render fat from bacon
This recipe calls for rendering the bacon. What does that mean? Rendering the bacon is when you cook the fat out of the bacon, leaving it crispy. Here's how it is done -
- Start the bacon in a cold pot or skillet over medium to medium-low heat.
- You'll want to use a heavy bottom pot that will cook the bacon evenly. Cast iron or a heavy enamel pot works great for this because the heat is dispersed evenly.
- Cook the bacon, stirring it often. You want the bacon to cook in the rendered grease without burning it.
- It takes about 10 minutes from start to finish for the fat to disperse and the bacon to be crispy.
Essential tools for this recipe
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
No, I wouldn't recommend freezing this soup. The texture of the potatoes changes when it's frozen. It's best s
The short answer is I don't! I love the flavor and texture of baked potatoes and because this is a Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe, I don't see any reason to peel the potatoes. Of course, it's personal preference. If you prefer your potatoes peeled, by all means, peel them.
Sure, it just takes longer to make this recipe. Personally, I like the flavor and texture when using baked potatoes. You can bake them in the microwave, oven or use your pressure cooker!
Deb’s tips
If you prefer an extra creamy soup, use an immersion blender to cream the potato mixture. Or ladle about half the soup into a stand blender and process until creamy. Add the creamy mixture back into the soup pot.
- Bake the potatoes the day before. That way this recipe is really quick to put together. This air fryer baked potato recipe makes it fast and easy.
Want all of my tips and tricks to make the BEST Homemade Soups and Stews? Click here!
More potato soup recipes
The Easy Potato Soup Recipe is the most popular on the blog. Be sure to check it out. It's another quick 30-minute soup!
Slow Cooker Potato Soup - oh my goodness, this easy recipe is rich, creamy and delicious! This instant pot recipe for Potato Soup with Ham is so flavorful! Filled with tender potatoes and salty ham, this recipe is good!
If you're not sure of the best side dish to serve, check out 45+ Ideas for What to Serve with Potato Soup!
You know what I always say... soup is good food! I know you'll love this delicious soup! It's savory and tangy, hearty and delicious! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large russet potatoes baked then diced
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 1 yellow onion peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese + more for garnish
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon butter optional
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, optional
Instructions
- Dice the bacon. Place a large stock pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the bacon and render the bacon, Cooking out the fat until the bacon bits are crispy - about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon bits.
- While the bacon is cooking, Dice the baked potatoes - no need to peel the potatoes. Peel and dice the onion, mince the garlic.
- Add the diced onion to the pan with the bacon fat. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Saute for about five minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or so.
- Now add the flour to the pot. Cook the flour with the onions for about a minutes, stirring frequently and cooking the flour.
- Next, increase the heat to medium-high and slowly add the chicken broth. As you add it, scrape all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. The soup will thicken nicely.
- Add the potatoes to the pot, stir well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Remove from heat, finish by adding in the shredded cheese and sour cream. Stir to melt the cheese and combine the flavors. I also stir in a couple tablespoons of butter.
- Serve topped with crispy bacon, extra shredded cheese and green onions. This is such a tasty meal, enjoy!
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Nutrition
Recipe backtory
My Grandma had two favorite soups, Broccoli Cheese Soup, and Baked Potato Soup. Whenever I visited her in South Dakota, we'd go to the Supper Club at the Lake.
We'd get Grandma seated at a table and she would always order the same thing: fried walleye and rice pilaf with a salad bar. I also loved to prepare her plate and I'd ask what she wanted and then I'd go load it up. It was always a tough decision which soup to choose!
Topping off her Loaded Baked Potato Soup with some extra cheese and bacon bits always made her happy! Grandma was always about a great meal!
Michaela Kenkel says
You can never go wrong with potato soup!! Yours looks terrific!!
Bowl Me Over says
Potato Soup is always a winner in my book, enjoy Michaela!
Jennifer A Stewart says
Potato soup is the ultimate comfort food. I love mashed potatoes and potato soup is like that to me. Comforting and I can put any extras that I am in the mood for. Sometimes is just a lot of extra butter and sometimes is a bunch of onions and crispy bacon. Either way, it's always delicious!
Bowl Me Over says
Soup is always good food, I completely agree! Dressed up or focus on your fav topping - enjoy!!!
Lisa@Lisa's Dinnertime Dish says
This soup is total comfort food! I love it!
Bowl Me Over says
Awesome, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Madi says
Potato soup is the best! I need to make a batch of this for dinner tonight!
Bowl Me Over says
Most definitely! We really love this soup!
Sandra Shaffer says
Hearty and delicious and hello, BACON! We enjoy soups all year long. My family is going to devour this!
Bowl Me Over says
Yes!! Life is better with bacon, right? 😀 Enjoy!
Julie says
I think our elders really appreciated food and family and that's what memories are made of. Soups like these are what I love. It looks like delicious comfort food!
Bowl Me Over says
I agree, it was all about gathering around the table, that was always my favorite part of every visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
You are my food-soul-mate, I am also a huge fan of soup, and love that it can be an entire meal in a bowl. This loaded potato soup looks like a winner!
Bowl Me Over says
Birds of a feather, right! Soup is good food and I hope you give it a try!
michele says
Potato soup is my favorite... but Ive never thought to make it with baked potatoes... what a time saver ... (Love that I can microwave the potato!). and I agree with your grandma... bacon makes soup so much better!
Bowl Me Over says
Grandma was a wise woman and boy could she cook! Enjoy!
debi at Life Currents says
I love soup! And potato soup is one of my favorites. We were just talking about making soup for dinner tonight. Winner!
Bowl Me Over says
I hope you really enjoyed it, this soup is one of my favorites!
Liza says
All that comforting goodness! My family will definitely love it when I make it for them!
Bowl Me Over says
You know me Liza, I love a great soup!! I hope your family really enjoys this meal!