Instant Pot Potato Soup (Creamy)

Quick, easy, creamy loaded instant pot potato soup recipe, homemade with simple ingredients in 30 minutes. Full of bacon bits and cheddar cheese.

I love hearty meals that don't require a ton of hands-on time in the kitchen, and this soup falls into this category. It is creamy, filling, and perfect for a cold night. Load it with baked potato toppings, and your crowd will be pleased. This Instant Pot Sausage and Potatoes, Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes (Baked Sweet Potatoes), and Instant Pot Corn Chowder (With Ham, Bacon, Potato) are all great ways to enjoy potatoes in a pressure cooker. Pick your favorite and add it to your meal rotation this month.

How to make easy homemade instant pot potato soup recipe from scratch?

1. Heat butter and oil- On "Saute" mode.
2. Saute aromatics- Including onion, celery, garlic.
3. Add Ingredients- Including broth, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, bay leaf, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, pepper and mix.
4. Seal and cook- On "Manual."
5. Make slurry- Mix together milk and flour, and add to soup.
6. Continue cooking- On the "Saute" mode.
7. Puree soup- Use a hand-held immersion blender.
8. Stir in shredded cheese- Until melted.
9. Garnish- With bacon bits and additional cheese. Enjoy!

What to serve with creamy cheesy potato soup?

• Breads- Such as Cornbread, dinner rolls, breasticks, biscuits, garlic bread, or crusty bread.
• Roasted vegetables- Such as Oven Roasted Vegetables (One Pan), Oven Roasted Carrots (One Pan), or Oven Roasted Green Beans (One Pan)
• Protein- Such as Crispy Fried Chicken Bites (One Pot), Garlic Butter Steak Bites (One Pot), or Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
• Salad- Like this Easy Green Salad (One Bowl), Best Summer Salad (One Bowl), or Easy Kale Salad (One Bowl).

How to add flavor to bland soup?

A lot of the flavor comes from sauteing the onions, garlic, and celery before adding all the other ingredients. The rest of the flavor in the soup comes from herbs and seasonings such as bay leaf, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. However, if your soup is still tasting bland, you can add more seasonings such as smoked paprika, seasoned salt, or even just adding additional amounts of the seasonings and herbs already mentioned. The toppings will also add lots of flavor, so you may want to consider this before going over-board on seasonings.

Soup toppings ideas

• Bacon
• Jalapenos- Fresh or pickled.
• Olives
• Green onions
• Chives
• Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Avocado chunks or slices
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Finely chopped steamed broccoli
• Caramelized onions
• Hot sauce
• Oyster crackers
• Cooked or Roasted corn kernels
• Croutons

Key ingredients

• Potatoes- I recommend Russet potatoes.
• Broth- You can use chicken or vegetable.
• Aromatics- Such as celery, garlic, and onions.
• Thickening agent- I use a milk and flour slurry.
• Seasoning- For depth of flavor.

Variations for loaded potato soup with cheddar cheese

Add leeks- For a very popular and delicious variation of potato soup.

Add other vegetables- Such as steamed cauliflower, broccoli, corn, carrots, pumpkin, or squash.

Add other herbs and spices- Such as paprika or smoked paprika, dill, chives, parsley, or Cajun or Mexican seasoning.

Adjust amount of herbs- Add more or less according to your preference.

Make it spicy- Add crushed red chili flakes or cayenne pepper if you prefer a stronger heat.

Add leftover ham- Add Shredded or sliced ham from leftovers such as my Slow Cooker Ham.

Add shredded chicken- Use leftovers from this Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.

Add sausages- Such as spicy or mild Italian, Kielbasa, pork sausage, or Andouille.

Add shredded beef- Like this Instant Pot Shredded Beef.

Try other cheeses- Such as pepper jack, manchego, mozzarella, colby jack, or even blue cheese crumbles.

Use a mixture of russet potatoes and sweet potatoes- For a little sweetness and additional color to the soup.

Make it vegetarian- By using vegetable broth and cream of celery and omitting the bacon topping.

Tips and techniques for old fashioned potato bacon soup 

What to use Instead of milk/cornstarch slurry? Add ½- ¾ cups heavy cream or half and half.

Can also Use full fat coconut cream- Note that the flavor would change a little bit. 

Use freshly shredded cheese- Because pre-shredded cheeses are coated in preservatives/ powders that add a chalky after-taste and also make the soup grainy.

Make sure all potatoes are evenly chopped- Because this ensures they cook at the same time and evenly. 

Use low sodium broth- Because this prevents the soup from becoming too salty.

Use unsalted butter- Because this also prevents the soup from becoming overly salty.

Cream of chicken soup substitute- You can use cream of mushroom soup. Some people have even successfully used a 10.5 oz can of cream of celery soup.

I highly recommend pureeing the soup with a hand-held immersion blender- You can also use an actual blender, but if you prefer your soup chunky, you can skip this step.

How to thicken soup? How to make soup thinner? Add more cheese or continue cooking the soup to thicken it. To thin it, simply add more broth.

Why is my soup grainy? This can be from pre-packaged shredded cheese, or from using waxy potatoes. It can also occur from over-cooking the potatoes.

Use baked potatoes- To save the time of cooking the potatoes, and as a great way to use up leftovers.

What pressure release to use? I used the quick pressure release for this soup.

Use fresh minced garlic as opposed to powder- It provides so much more depth of flavor to the soup.

What kind of potatoes to use? I used Russet potatoes that were washed, peeled, and diced into 1 inch cubes.

Use full-fat cheese- For the best and richest flavor.

What kind of milk to use? I prefer whole milk for the thickness and flavor, but you can use 2% if that is what you have already.

Don't forget to discard the bay leaf! Do this prior to blending the soup so you don't get any chunks in it.

Storage of homemade soup

Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 2 days.

Freeze- I do not recommend freezing this soup. Potatoes absorb a lot of liquid and can become grainy upon thawing.

Reheat- In the microwave.

More instant pot soup recipes

• Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
• Easy Instant Pot Taco Soup
• Instant Pot Mexican Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Instant Pot Ham Bone Soup {With Leftover Ham}

Recipe