Instant Pot Potato Soup Recipe

By
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
A recipe developer and food photographer, Leah Maroney is an ardent home cook and food blogger who has written over 300 recipes for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 05/23/23
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 The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Pressure Build and Release: 18 mins
Total: 78 mins
Servings: 8 servings

If you're a fan of loaded baked potatoes, you’ll love this hearty and creamy Instant Pot potato soup topped with chopped chives, shredded cheddar cheese, crispy bacon bits, and sour cream. This soup will warm you up while keeping your weeknights manageable since everything is cooked in the Instant Pot—no extra dirty pans to wash!

The Best Potatoes for Potato Soup

This recipe calls for russet potatoes—this common type of potato is starchy and crumbles apart when cooked—its floury texture means it thickens soups beautifully. You can also substitute Yukon gold potatoes for the russets. These semi-waxy/semi-starchy potatoes provide a beautiful color and buttery flavor to the soup. You just need to use about double the amount of the potatoes since they are typically smaller than russets.

The Secret to the Most Flavorful Instant Pot Potato Soup

The secret to this soup is that the bacon bits are cooked in the Instant Pot before the rest of the ingredients are added. The rendered fat gives the soup the most amazing smoky, rich flavor. You'll also take advantage of your Instant Pot's sauté function to cook the shallots and the rest of the ingredients that go into the soup.

What to Serve with Instant Pot Potato Soup

This soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course—just round out the meal with a simple green salad. Set out the bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives and let everyone top their own bowls of soup. If you'd like, add some crusty bread for soaking up every last bit of the soup, or serve the soup in a bread bowl.

"I made this soup for friends and everyone loved it—including me! Cooking the bacon in the Instant Pot before sautéing the aromatics means that the soup is full of smoky, savory flavor. The recipe was easy and so was the clean up." — Megan O. Steintrager

Instant Pot Potato Soup Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 6 slices bacon, diced

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 shallots, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 6 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced

  • 2 cups milk

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

  • Sour cream, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  2. Add the bacon to the Instant Pot. Set the setting to sauté. Sauté until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy and lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  3. Remove the bacon from the fat with a slotted spoon. Leave the bacon grease behind in the pot insert.

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  4. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallots to the pot. Continue to sauté until the shallots are lightly browned and softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  5. Add the garlic, flour, salt, pepper, and thyme, and stir for 2 minutes.

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  6. Add the chicken broth to the pot and stir quickly to remove any lumps from the flour. Add the diced potatoes. Cover the Instant Pot and set on the Soup/Broth setting for 20 minutes. 

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    The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney 

  7. Release the steam and then remove the lid. Stir the potatoes until they are mostly broken up. Then stir in the milk and heavy cream. Bring the soup to a simmer using the sauté button. 

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

  8. Serve in warm bowls with shredded cheddar, chives, and the crispy bacon bits. 

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     The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

Tips

If you want the soup completely creamy you can blend it with an immersion blender or transfer it in batches to a standard blender and blend until smooth.
If using a standard blender use caution: Steam expands quickly in a blender, and can cause ingredients to splatter everywhere or cause burns. To prevent this, fill the blender only one-third of the way up, vent the top, and cover with a folded kitchen towel while blending.

How to Make This Soup Vegetarian

You can make this soup vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth. 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
468 Calories
20g Fat
57g Carbs
16g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 468
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 25%
Saturated Fat 10g 51%
Cholesterol 55mg 18%
Sodium 921mg 40%
Total Carbohydrate 57g 21%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 16g
Vitamin C 21mg 105%
Calcium 242mg 19%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 1477mg 31%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)