Instant Pot Potato Soup - creamy and flavorful potato soup with cheddar cheese and bacon! Pure comfort food you can make in no time right in your pressure cooker.
I make soups in my Instant Pot every week. Our favorites include the Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup and the Chicken Tortilla Soup.
My Instant Pot soup collection is growing and today I am excited to share with you a new family favorite! This potato soup is creamy, flavorful and packed with veggies. It's perfect for lunch or light dinner. This is the best potato soup you will make in your Instant Pot because I start by sauteing onion, carrots with dried herbs to build the flavor. Otherwise, the soup can be quite bland. Don't skip this step if you want a flavorful, delicious soup! If you are short on time, just add everything to the Instant Pot and let it cook.
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- 2 lbs russet potatoes
- 2 carrots or 8 baby carrots
- ½ sweet onion
- dried thyme or oregano
- vegetable stock
- water
- salt and pepper
- 12oz can evaporated milk or 1.5 cups half and half
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- cheddar cheese
- bacon
How to make Instant Pot Potato Soup?
- Start by heating up olive oil in the Instant Pot on saute setting.
- Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add carrots and stir in the dried herbs.
- Add potatoes, water, stock, salt and pepper. Close the lid, set valve to sealing and timer to 7 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot is done, wait 2 minutes, then switch valve to venting.
- Carefully open the Instant Pot and stir in milk with cornstarch.
- If you want the soup very thick, remove 2 cups of the mixture and blend it with a blender until smooth. Stir into the soup in your Instant Pot.
- Add cheese and stir in until melted.
- Serve soup with more cheese, crispy bacon and parsley or green onions.
Leftovers and reheating:
You can store leftovers of this soup in a container with lid, in the fridge, for up to 3 days. It will thicken up as it cools, so you may need to add a little bit of vegetable stock while reheating.
More soup recipes:
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
- Instant Pot Weight Loss Vegetable Soup
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
For more recipes like this, check out my Instant Pot Soup Recipes roundup.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Instant Pot Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and chopped
- ½ sweet onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots or 8 baby carrots chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk see note
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 slices of bacon cooked to crispy
Instructions
- Make sure the Instant Pot stainless steel insert is inside your cooker.
- Press "saute" setting and wait 2 minutes. Add olive oil and heat up.
- Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add carrots and dried thyme and stir well. Saute for 1 minute.
- Press "cancel/off" button. Add potatoes and stir well.
- Add water and vegetable stock. Stir well.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Close the lid, set valve to sealing position (the newer IP models do it on their own). Press "manual" or "pressure cook" button and set the timer to 7 minutes. The IP will beep shortly and it will start to come to pressure. This can take 8 to 10 minutes.
- Once the timer is done, press the "cancel/off" button. Wait for 2 minutes, then flip the valve to venting position to release the pressure.
- Carefully open the lid away from your face. Whisk evaporated milk with cornstarch in a glass measuring cup and add to the soup. Stir in. Let the soup sit for 5 minutes, it will thicken.
- Add cheddar cheese and stir in to melt.
- Serve soup with more cheddar, crispy bacon and chopped fresh parsley or green onions.
Notes
- You can use 1.5 cups of half and half in place of the evaporated milk.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Lorie M. says
What do you do when your cooktop stops working…you turn to your Instant Pot. Made this soup for lunch today. Very easy recipe that resulted in a delicious soup. Used half & half and half cheddar / half pepper jack cheeses. Served with mini tuna salad sliders on Hawaiian dinner rolls for a nice winter afternoon lunch. Dinner My husband was a big fan and went back for seconds on the soup.
Anna says
Hi Lorie! Thank you so much for making my recipe! I am so glad it was helpful in a pinch. I love that you used cheddar and pepper jack! That's a delicious combo!
Michelle says
DELICIOUS!!!!!!! I love this recipe!!!!!! Easy to follow and fix. I used 1 TBSP of butter and a little olive oil when I sautéed the onions and carrots. That made for a richer flavor. Served with a 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread. This soup is absolute PERFECTION.
Anna says
Thank you so much, Michelle! I am so glad the soup was a hit!
Sharon White says
This is even better than my grandmoms potato soup! Shhhh! I love that it’s so quick to make, so delicious and hearty!! I cannot thank you enough Anna!
Lisa says
Delicious, very satisfying, I made my own half & half with 1cup whole milk plus half cup heavy whipping cream and I even steamed some kale and put on the bottom of the bowl, scooped the soup, on top I added grated sharp cheddar, bacon and green onion.
Thanks for posting such a delicious recipe!
Anna says
Love how you served the soup, Lisa! So much deliciousness! Thank you for making my recipe!
Sarah says
Great recipe! I've been having a hard time acclimating to my Instant Pot despite being a fairly advanced home cook, and this recipe was a good one for my limited Instant Pot knowledge. I agree with the instructions that emphasize sauteeing is really important to building the flavor profile. I added some more seasonings, but that's completely personal preference.
Samantha says
Many thanks for this wonderful recipe. It came together quickly on a night I had no idea what to make for dinner! My 15-month old even let me feed him this with a spoon when all he wants to do right now is get messy and eat with his hands. The leftovers were delicious for lunch the next day. This is going in our weekly rotation!
Kailee pollard says
What should I do if I’m doing this in a Nuwave? I really want to make this but don’t understand how with this instead of the instant pot
Tim says
Great and tasty recipe! I diced, sauted, and removed a one pound ham steak before the vegetable saute...then addded it back before the pressure cook. Went half and half route.
Anna says
Perfect! Thank you so much, Tim!
Dana says
High pressure or low pressure?
Anna says
High pressure.
Shanna says
If I want to make it thicker should I blend the soup before or after I add the milk and cornstarch?
Erica says
How many cups is 1 serving? Thank you!
Susie says
Aaaaaaaaaaamazing! Made it for the family tonight and I was blown away with the multitude of compliments! (I used half & half I lieu of evaporated milk). I can't wait to try of your recipes. Kudos to Anna!
Anna says
Hi Susie! That's wonderful! Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Emmi says
Can you freeze this?
Karen says
This is my question as well! I'm going to try it out and see what happens.
Jackie says
Did it freeze okay?!
Kim L. says
LOVED this recipe! However, I changed it a bit. First, we are a family of 6, so I doubled it. And cooked it for 10 min., but I don't know that the extra time was necessary. I also, used all chicken broth (a 32oz. container) instead of the vegetable broth and water. And then, I used heavy whipping cream in place of the evaporated milk (since that's what I had on hand). Last, I added a can of cheddar cheese condensed soup, which is what I usually put in my own recipe. All thumbs up from my crew!I will be making this again!
Kelly says
When do you add the evaporated milk or half & half? I don’t see it in your steps, and I’m worried about it scalding.
Kelly says
I see it. Can it go in at the beginning with your quick directions? Or should it always go in after venting?
Anna says
Hi Kelly! I recommend adding the evaporated milk or half and half after you released the pressure. Hope this helps!
Jaynelle says
Can I use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock?
Anna says
Yes, chicken stock works as well.
Laura Reese says
This looks so delicious and creamy! Thanks for the recipe.
Anna says
Thank you, Laura!
Melissa says
Very creamy and flavorful! Great recipe!
Anna says
Thank you, Melissa!
Suzy says
I love using my instant pot! This soup turned out great!
Anna says
Yay! That's fantastic! Thanks, Suzy!
Krissy Allori says
Yum! I love the instant pot and potato soup. This one looks really good.
Anna says
Thanks, Krissy!