Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Instant pot loaded potato soup in a black bowl being lifted with a spoon

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup without cream cheese makes a cheap, delicious & wholesome meal. You can make this Instant Pot loaded potato soup with bacon within minutes.

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Instant Pot Cheesy potato soup, instant pot loaded potato soup, instant pot potato soup without cream cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 415kcal

Author: Meghna

Cost: $3

Equipment

Ingredients

2 medium potatoes ** peeled & diced into ½ inch cubes, about 2.5 cups, I used gold potatoes.
½ medium onion ** roughly chopped yellow onion
2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1.5 cups chicken stock
1.25 cups whole Milk ** 1 cup + ¼ cup
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
¾ cup cheddar cheese ** grated, use sharp cheddar
6 strips bacon ** cut into small pieces & fried until crispy
6 stalks Scallions ** chopped , use only green part
black pepper ** crushed, according to taste
Salt ** according to taste

Garnish

Sour Cream
bacon ** crispy fried
cheddar Cheese ** grated
scallions

Instructions

Fry Bacon

Fry the diced bacon pieces until brown and crispy over medium high heat on the stove top on a cast iron skillet. Once done set aside the crispy fried bacon bits. We don't need the bacon fat, you can preserve it for other recipes or discard it.

Making the loaded potato soup

Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE function and keep it at the NORMAL heat setting.
Add butter and when the butter melts add the onion and saute until they begin to turn limp.
Reduce the heat to LOW settings and add all purpose flour. Saute the flour stirring briskly until the raw smell disappears. About 30 seconds. Do not stop stirring otherwise the flour will burn and you've to start all over again.
Pour the chicken stock and de-glaze the pot well with the help of a spatula scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck up bits or crumbs. This will also help dissolve the roux uniformly in the liquid and prevent the BURN error!
Now, add the peeled, diced and rinsed potato cubes. Also, add crushed black pepper according to your preference, Bring the ingredients into a boil. CANCEL the SAUTE function.
Close the lid, seal the valve and Press the PRESSURE COOK function. PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 3 minutes.
Once, the cooking cycle is over wait for Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for 10 mins. Than, release the rest of the pressure manually by moving the valve from the SEALING to the VENTING position. When the floating pin drops open the lid carefully.
Turn on the SAUTE function and set it on LOW heat setting. Now, add warm milk and more crushed black pepper as per your liking and give everything a quick stir. Bring the soup to a boil first and than simmer for a few mins. Stir often.
Next, grab a potato masher and mash the cooked potatoes roughly inside the pot itself. This will give you a creamier yet slightly chunky soup. However, if you prefer super chunky soup mash only a few potatoes roughly to add body and texture to the soup.
Add the sour cream, heavy cream, crispy fried bacon, chopped scallions and sharp cheddar cheese and mix well with the soup. If you prefer super thick soup you may simmer the soup for a few minutes on LOW settings (SAUTE function) or add 1 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water (made into a slurry) to thicken it up quickly.
Turn off the Instant Pot. Dish out the soup topping with more sharp cheddar, scallions, fried bacon bites & dollop of sour cream. Dig in!

Video

Notes

Measuring Units Used, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
Extremely rich Potato soup: Add 2-3 oz cream cheese softened along with the sour cream and heavy cream. Mix well until the cheese fully incorporates into the soup.
Type of Milk: Full Fat whole milk is a must for this recipe.
Dairy in the Instant Pot: We DO NOT prefer pressure cooking savory recipes with dairy like milk, cream, half and half. They might curdle resulting in the milk fat separating, which is of course not a pretty sight. Always add dairy after the pressure cooking cycle is over.
Seasoning: Check for seasoning once the soup is all done. You may add more crushed black pepper and salt according to your preference.
Spicy Soup: Add red pepper flakes + cayenne pepper.
Bacon Bits: You can fry bacon bits at home or even use store bought ones.
Sharp Cheddar: You can certainly use more cheddar.
Creamy + slightly chunky consistency: Mash the cooked potatoes roughly with the help of a potato masher.
Chunky Soup: Mash only a few cooked potatoes.
Soup consistency: If you prefer really thick soup do simmer the soup until it reaches the consistency that you prefer. Use the SAUTE function and the LOW heat setting.

Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only.

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 415 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 16g100%

Cholesterol 77mg26%

Sodium 323mg14%

Potassium 765mg22%

Carbohydrates 32g11%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 14g28%

Vitamin A 1001IU20%

Vitamin C 25mg30%

Calcium 296mg30%

Iron 2mg11%

* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition