This Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup is unbelievably delicious and is a breeze to whip up with the Instant Pot! This makes for a wonderful, comforting dish to enjoy during this cozy season.
I am giddy about this soup. The idea for this recipe came straight from the fact that I (almost always?) crave loaded potatoes. Goodness, I love a loaded potato. I love the potato-ness, the cheese, the bacon, the sour cream, and the green onion. I also have a really fond childhood memory of attending Wurstfest in New Braunfels, TX as a kid, where my love of potato soup was born. Though that German-style potato soup was a little different than this variety, it was still comforting potato goodness.
This recipe goes to a whole new level of awesomeness in that we're using the Instant Pot to pull it together! It all can happen in one pan and here's how: first, crisp the bacon via the “saute” button. Remove the bacon and then (to the bacon fat) add the potatoes and broth. Cook until the potatoes are soft, blend half with the broth + seasonings to make the soup base, return it to the rest of the chunky potato bits, and get to spooning up your bowls. I like my potato soup with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese (omit, of course, if you're dairy-free), the crispy bacon pieces, sour cream (there's a GREAT recipe for Paleo sour cream in my book), and green onion.
This Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup is smooth with bits of potato chunks mixed in, just how I like it. If you prefer a completely smooth base, blend all the potatoes together!
Also, if you're looking for a dairy-free way to add some cheesy flavor, I recommend sprinkling nutritional yeast in or on the top of your bowl! It's delicious, trust me.
A quick note about the Instant Pot. I've gotten this GREAT question a couple times: if you're looking to buy an Instant Pot *or* a slow-cooker, which would you choose if you only had space for one? As much as I love my stove top-friendly slow cooker, it's my belief that the Instant Pot can't be beat when it comes to functionality. You can sear, slow-cook, OR pressure cook all with one single device. So, the Instant Pot would get my vote!
I hope you love this Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup and that it helps curb your comfort food craving in this cozy season.
PrintLoaded Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound of bacon, diced
- 3 pounds baby gold potatoes, roughly chopped
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 8 ounces sour cream
- juice of one lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For Toppings:
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 1/2 cup cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot
to ‘saute' mode and add bacon pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes until bacon is crispy and fat is fully rendered. Turn off the pot and remove bacon and excess bacon grease, leaving 1-2 tablespoons.
- Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and salt to the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the pot and ensure the pressure valve is closed. Press the ‘manual' button and set to cook for 15 minutes. The pot will have to come up to pressure and then the countdown will begin.
- Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure valve carefully. Once the pot has stopped releasing steam, open the lid.
- Remove about half of the potatoes from the pot and place in a medium sized bowl.
- Puree the remaining potatoes and broth with an Immersion Blender
. Then, stir in the sour cream, lemon juice, and remaining seasonings.
- Stir in the cooked bacon pieces and potatoes, then taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
- Serve alongside additional sour cream, cheese, and chives for topping.
to ‘saute' mode and add bacon pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes until bacon is crispy and fat is fully rendered. Turn off the pot and remove bacon and excess bacon grease, leaving 1-2 tablespoons.
. Then, stir in the sour cream, lemon juice, and remaining seasonings.Notes
For dairy free:
Substitute with Paleo sour cream recipe from the Fed & Fit Book and top with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.
To make in the slow cooker:
- Crisp bacon on the stove in a pan over medium-high heat. Remove bacon and set aside. Add 1-2 tablespoons bacon grease to slow cooker along with potatoes, chicken broth, and salt.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Follow the recipe from step 4 onward.
This recipe should be sensational …
This soup looks so creamy and delicious!
Does this freeze well?
If you use real dairy, I do not recommend freezing. I didn’t have the best results.
It’s SO good! I love the nice texture created by blending up some of the potatoes. Thanks for sharing this one, Cassy! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it, Kristen!
Why did you recommend cooking the potatoes for 45 minutes in the Instant Pot? Will there even be any potatoes left at that point to scoop out? I did it for 10 minutes, even though cut potatoes only calls for 7-9 The soup was easy to blend and the potatoes that were reserved still had some texture, but I would drop down to maybe 8 next time. FWIW, I doubled the seasonings, as I tend to like more pronounced flavors, but next time I would cut the lemon juice to 1/2 lemon for a little brightness, but less prominent lemon flavor. I also used a large lemon so that could be it. Overall this is a good recipe, so I don’t want people turned off by an unnecessarily long cooking time. (And be sure to use homemade broth!)
We recommended that time because it’s what worked for us, but (as always) you can customize to your liking. Glad you enjoyed the soup.
Can you use your sour cream recipe for this?
Absolutely!
Has someone tried it? It looks delicious. Holidays are coming so.. let’s go to the kitchen haha
Sorry-release pressure slowly-is that natural pressure or quick pressure?
That’s natural (not quick-release). Though, it’s not the end of the world if you quick-release, too.
Good question Kris! That’s quick pressure – release the pressure manually, just make sure you are careful!
Any nutrition facts?
Not on the blog, but you can find nutrition facts on all recipes in my book: https://bit.ly/fedandfitbook
This look so delicius, i will try do it for me and my family
Look delicious!!
This recipe is AMAZING! I’ve made plenty of potato soups over the years and had a “full proof” loved one before trying this one, but man this blew it out of the water!! I added a pan of sauteed broccoli at the end and I can’t get over the rich and bold flavors in this one!
★★★★★
Yay! That is so awesome to hear, thanks Chelsea!