Learn how to make family favorite, delicious and creamy Instant Pot loaded potato soup with our beginner-friendly step-by-step recipe. Topped with crispy bacon, sharp cheese and scallions, this is a dinner meal the whole family will love. Leave a rating or comment at the bottom of this post if you’ve made this recipe or have any questions!
This delicious Instant Pot loaded potato soup is so comforting it feels like a warm hug from your nanna. It’s very easy to make and using the pressure cooker allows you to lock in all the nutrients and to prepare it in a short time.
This potato soup is a beginner-friendly recipe for those of you new to pressure cooking or the kitchen in general. It’s great for a family dinner and can be made ahead of time as it keeps well in the fridge and the freezer (see instructions after the recipe). Find more freezer-friendly recipes here.
LOADED POTATO SOUP INGREDIENTS
This Instant Pot potato soup includes onion, garlic and mustard for flavor – and plenty of potatoes, of course. We recommend a high-starch variety of potatoes, such as Russet for this recipe to ensure that your loaded potato soup has a hearty body and a creamy texture. Milk and cream, as well as a little flour are used to thicken and finish the soup once it’s cooked. You can puree the soup to your preferred consistency!
If you love potato soups, check out these tasty Instant Pot chowder recipes.
The toppings to load your potato soup with include crispy bacon, sharp cheese such as Cheddar, scallions and croutons. You can add extra sour cream or any other delicious bits and pieces (e.g. roast chicken, diced ham, shrimp, grilled mushrooms, chickpea, tofu etc).
You will find the recipe for this Instant Pot potato soup just below or you can jump to detailed step-by-step photo instructions under the recipe card. These are especially handy if you’re a beginner cook.
You might like more recipes from our Instant Pot For Beginners series:
- Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes (Instant Pot Step-By-Step Recipe)
- Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole
- Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup In The Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Vegetable Risotto With Lemon & Parmesan
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make delicious and creamy Instant Pot loaded potato soup with our beginner-friendly step-by-step recipe. Topped with crispy bacon, sharp cheese and scallions, this is a dinner meal the whole family will love.
Ingredients
TO COOK:
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 large cloves garlic, finely diced
5 large potatoes (e.g. Russet), peeled and diced into small cubes
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 teaspoon Dijon or mild yellow mustard
TO FINISH:
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free
½ cup heavy cream or sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
TO SERVE:
1 cup shredded sharp cheese or Cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon, chopped and pan-fried until crispy
½ cup chopped scallions or chives
Sour cream (optional)
Croutons (optional)
Instructions
Prep. Get all ingredients ready for the cooking stage.
Sauté. Turn the Instant Pot and press the Sauté button. It should say Normal on the display (this indicates the heat level). Once the inner pot starts heating up, add the butter followed by onions and cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
Add other ingredients. Add the garlic, potatoes, stock and mustard and stir through well. Press Cancel to stop the Sauté process.
Set & cook. Secure and lock the lid; make sure the pressure handle is pointing to Sealing on Duo Classic. Select Manual/Pressure Cook and adjust the timer to 5 minutes on HIGH pressure. After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 10-11 minutes and then the 5-minute timer will begin.
Once the timer is complete, release the pressure right away using the quick release method.
Prepare other bits. While the soup is cooking, prepare the finishing ingredients and pan-fry the bacon until crispy.
Finish the soup. Remove the Instant Pot lid and stir the soup. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of the milk and the flour to make a slurry (white, creamy liquid).
Add the remaining cup of milk and cream to the soup and stir; the soup will cool down when you do that. Press the Saute function again and allow the soup to come back to simmer. Once hot, pour in the flour slurry, stirring constantly. Cancel to stop the Saute process. Taste for salt and pepper.
Use a potato masher or a blender to puree the soup to your preferred consistency: smooth or chunky. Serve with crispy bacon, grated cheese, scallions and croutons or any other toppings you like.
Notes
Lighten up this soup by using low-fat milk, cream and cheese.
Freezing instructions: this potato soup is great for freezing but you have to leave out the dairy! Make the soup in the Instant Pot and puree but don’t add milk or cream. Cool and divide between freezer bags or containers. Once defrosted, reheat on the stove or in the Instant Pot using the Saute function. Once hot, add in the milk/cream and the flour slurry to thicken as per instructions. Store in the freezer for up to 4-5 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups with bacon, cheese & scallions on top (not croutons)
- Calories: 556
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 835.2 mg
- Fat: 24.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.1 g
- Fiber: 9.5 g
- Protein: 16.9 g
- Cholesterol: 61.8 mg
Keywords: Potatoes, Soup, Gluten-Free, Instant Pot, Pressure Cooking, Dinner, main
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT LOADED POTATO SOUP
Step 1. Turn the Instant Pot and press the Sauté button. It should say Normal on the display (this indicates the heat level). Once the inner pot starts heating up, add the butter followed by onions and cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
Step 2. Add the garlic, potatoes, stock and mustard and stir through well. Press Cancel to stop the Sauté process.
Step 3. Stir everything together. Secure and lock the lid; make sure the pressure handle is pointing to Sealing on Duo Classic. Select Manual/Pressure Cook and adjust the timer to 5 minutes on HIGH pressure. After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 10-11 minutes and then the 5-minute timer will begin.
Once the timer is complete, release the pressure right away using the quick release method.
Step 4. Prepare other bits. While the soup is cooking, prepare the finishing ingredients and pan-fry the bacon until crispy. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of the milk and the flour to make a slurry (white, creamy liquid).
Step 5. Add the remaining cup of milk and cream to the soup and stir; the soup will cool down when you do that. Press the Saute function again and allow the soup to come back to simmer.
Step 6. Once hot, pour in the flour slurry, stirring constantly. Cancel to stop the Saute process. Taste for salt and pepper.
Step 7. Use a potato masher or a blender to puree the soup to your preferred consistency: smooth or chunky.
Serve with crispy bacon, grated cheese, scallions and croutons or any other toppings you like.
Load it up even more. Sauté a couple stalks of sliced celery with the onion and add a sliced carrot or two with the potatoes. On the finish add some chopped parsley, either fresh or dried. If you add an additional potato or two you may not need much flour to thicken the soup. I also add a couple TBL butter at the finish. We prefer partly mashing the potatoes, leaving some chunks. With those additions 5*.
★★★★
Nice! Glad you customize it to what you like.