Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
This Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup is creamy, delicious, and tastes like you slaved over it all day! It’s easy to prepare and is ready in a flash thanks to the Instant Pot. There’s also a slow cooker version if you’d rather prepare it that way!
Cooler weather is just around the corner, or maybe it’s already made its appearance in your neck of the woods!
When the temperatures take a dip, all I want to do is put on some warm fuzzy socks and curl up with a bowl of this Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup.
I’ve been busy creating recipes for my Instant Pot and am super excited about this one.
This recipe is an adaptation of the Slow Cooker version shared by Carrie of Kenarry: Ideas for the Home on my site, and it came out so good and was ready in a flash!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
- butter
- onion
- garlic
- chicken broth
- cream of chicken soup
- Russet potatoes
- salt and pepper
- milk
- flour
- cheddar cheese
How to Make Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup – Step by Step
- Add butter to the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté button. Once butter is melted, add in the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add in the garlic and cook for one additional minute until fragrant, stirring constantly so that garlic does not burn.
- Add the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, salt, and pepper to the pot, and stir well. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the vent valve to “sealing.” Cook over manual high pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
- Meanwhile, stir together the milk and flour in a small bowl to create a slurry. Set aside. Once the steam has completely released and the pin has dropped on the lid, open the lid and stir in the slurry. Turn the pot to sauté and cook the soup for 4-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the 2 cups of cheddar cheese and stir until melted.
- Serve garnished with chopped bacon, green onions, and more cheese. Enjoy!
Tips and Notes
- Make sure to chop your potatoes into roughly the same size for even cooking. About 1 inch cubes is what I recommend.
- If you prefer a less chunky soup, you can use an immersion blender to smooth out your soup at the end of cooking, or place the soup in a blender and blend it until it reaches the consistency you like.
- My favorite cream of chicken soup is from Pacific Foods Brand. It’s really flavorful and only contains simple, real food ingredients.
- My favorite kind of cheese to use in this soup is sharp cheddar. It adds such great depth to the flavor. I also recommend shredding your own cheese from a large block as it will melt beautifully.
What kind of potatoes work best for Potato Soup?
Russet potatoes have a high starch content and work wonderfully when making loaded potato soup. They are what I use and prefer most often. I also like Yukon gold potatoes and use those occasionally. Red potatoes would also work here, but won’t lend quite as creamy a texture as russets will.
How to Make Loaded Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker
If you’d rather make your potato soup in a slow cooker, I have a full recipe and directions for how to do that! This is a great way to prepare it while you are gone during the day.
Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, and Dairy Free Options
To make this recipe vegetarian, swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth and the cream of chicken soup for cream of celery soup. For a vegan alternative, swap out the butter for vegetable or olive oil. Also swap the milk for soy, hemp, rice, or almond milk, and the cheese for a vegan cheese alternative, or leave it out completely.
This Loaded Potato Soup can be made gluten free by using a gluten free cream of chicken soup. My favorite cream of chicken soup is from Pacific Foods and it is gluten free. I’ve also found that Walmart carries a gluten-free cream of chicken soup under their Great Value brand.
You will also need to swap the all purpose flour for a gluten free version, such as rice flour, chickpea flour, or oat flour.
To make this Loaded Potato Soup dairy free swap out the milk for soy, hemp, rice, or almond milk, and the cheese for a vegan cheese alternative, or leave it out completely. You will also want to use a dairy free cream of chicken soup, which isn’t always easy to find on the shelf at the grocery store. Here is a recipe for dairy free cream of chicken soup you can make at home.
More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli and Rice
- Instant Pot Shrimp Fried Rice
Recipe: Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup (with a slow cooker version)
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion,, diced
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 can/box cream of chicken soup, (I prefer Pacific Foods brand)
- 7-8 medium sized russet potatoes,, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes (about 2.5 pounds of potatoes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, (or more/less to taste)
- black pepper to taste, (I like a lot of pepper)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, (I use sharp cheddar)
Garnish:
- 5-6 slices bacon, (cooked and chopped)
- sliced green onions
- shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Add butter to the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté button. Once butter is melted, add in the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add in the garlic and cook for one additional minute until fragrant, stirring constantly so that garlic does not burn.
- Add the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, salt, and pepper to the pot, and stir well. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the vent valve to "sealing." Cook over manual high pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
- Meanwhile, stir together the milk and flour in a small bowl to create a slurry. Set aside.
- Once the steam has completely released and the pin has dropped on the lid, open the lid and stir in the slurry. Turn the pot to sauté and cook the soup for 4-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the 2 cups of cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Serve garnished with chopped bacon, green onions, and more cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to chop your potatoes into roughly the same size for even cooking. About 1 inch cubes is what I recommend.
- If you prefer a less chunky soup, you can use an immersion blender to smooth out your soup at the end of cooking, or place the soup in a blender and blend it until it reaches the consistency you like.
- My favorite cream of chicken soup is from Pacific Foods Brand. It's really flavorful and only contains simple, real food ingredients.
- My favorite kind of cheese to use in this soup is sharp cheddar. It adds such great depth to the flavor. I also recommend shredding your own cheese from a large block as it will melt beautifully.
- Best Potatoes to use: russet potatoes have a high starch content and work wonderfully when making loaded potato soup. They are what I prefer and use most often. I also like Yukon gold potatoes and use those occasionally. Red potatoes would also work here, but won't lend quite as creamy a texture as russets will.
- How to Make Loaded Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker: If you'd rather make your potato soup in a slow cooker, I have a full recipe and directions for how to do that! This is a great way to prepare it while you are gone during the day.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth and the cream of chicken soup for cream of celery soup.
- For a vegan alternative, swap out the butter for vegetable or olive oil. Also swap the milk for soy, hemp, rice, or almond milk, and the cheese for a vegan cheese alternative, or leave it out completely.
- This Loaded Potato Soup can be made gluten free by using a gluten free cream of chicken soup. My favorite cream of chicken soup is from Pacific Foods and it is gluten free. I've also found that Walmart carries a gluten-free cream of chicken soup under their Great Value brand. You will also need to swap the all purpose flour for a gluten free version, such as rice flour, chickpea flour, or oat flour.
- To make this Loaded Potato Soup dairy free swap out the milk for soy, hemp, rice, or almond milk, and the cheese for a vegan cheese alternative, or leave it out completely. You will also want to use a dairy free cream of chicken soup, which isn't always easy to find on the shelf at the grocery store. Here is a recipe for dairy free cream of chicken soup you can make at home.
Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! My fiancé said “best soup ever”! It also was super easy to make. If I had meal prepped the potatoes and onions earlier it literally would’ve taken minutes to finish at dinner time. Will deff be having This lots more this season!
This Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup recipe was a huge hit with my family. My 6qt instant pot allowed me to make 1 1/2 times the recipe so that I could take it as a comfort food to family. I quickly made another 1 1/2 recipe batch for family here at home. Personally, I wouldn’t change anything about this recipe.
This was super easy and I made a few adjustments. Sautéed the bacon in the instant pot, then removed and sautéed garlic, onions and celery in the bacon grease. I also added a bay leaf and some thyme, and a bit of cayenne. I also love pepper and used a ton of black and white. I may have salted it a little less than I prefer, but was very worried about the bacon and cheddar making it too salty. I was worried about the canned soup but it actually tastes great and not like the nightmare casseroles I imagined.
Amazing recipe!! Just made it and it came out beautifully!! Question….what’s the best way to reheat this? Also, can it be frozen?
This was so yummy! The hubby and teen boys loved! I will be making this again!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! Made as written, and it was perfect on a chilly fall day. Will definitely make again. 🙂
My family doesn’t eat onions so I just sautéed the garlic and moved on. Even the little ones enjoyed this one with some ritz crackers. Thanks for the recipe.
Just made this & we loved it!
This soup is super easy and always AMAZING! I normally add some carrots and celery as well for an extra boost but it’s amazing as written too! I always use better than bouillon because I never have broth on hand. I use a big scoop of garlic. I normally add cheese to the individual bowls and use a stick blender and blend it a bit. My youngest loves to help me with this as well. I always serve it with either yeast rolls, French bread or biscuits. Amazing.
Was initially wary of this recipe due to the canned soup..I was afraid it would leave the soup tasting “processed”. Was pleasantly surprised with the flavor, however, I did add 3 bay leaves, some thyme, and a tsp of chicken bouillion. I also added ranch, peas, and corn in addition to the other garnishes.
This recipe was very easy and quick. Wish I could leave a picture of my final result!
I added diced celery to the soup when I sauted the onions, and I added the chopped bacon to the soup rather than as a topping. Turned out fantastic and my kids loved it.
Delicious and easy! I had to make some adjustments, but only because I was working with what I had on hand. I didn’t have the cream of chicken soup so I used cream of mushroom. It was really good! I also added a few dashes of Frank’s red hot sauce at the end. I would definitely use this recipe again!
I used cream of mushroom as well, was delicious. I think most cream of soups would work.
The first time I made this with chicken broth and it was way too chicken-y flavored for a potato soup. Switched it to vegetable stock. Switched half the milk for heavy cream. Otherwise this was fantastic! Mashed the potatoes with a masher for a perfect consistency. Yum!
Also, did this in a pan since our new instant pot was broken when we opened it 🙁
First soup of the season and this was amazing! Even better since it was super quick and easy to make!
Made this tonight and it was great! Made it in my Ninja Goodi 8 qt, substituted heavy cream for the milk and mashed potatoes with a spoon just before adding the slurry. Came out creamy and delicious! Thanks!
Delicious. Family loves it. Added a dollop of sour cream on top.
This is the BEST tater soup! So quick and easy to make. Absolutely delicious! Everyone in the house loves it.
I have cooked it twice now and the family loves it. I work 12 hour shifts and it’s so quick and easy. Makes a great meal after working long hours.
Yum. This looks delicious. Perfect for the upcoming cooler months. Can’t wait to make it soon.
I love my Instant Pot and have been looking for recipes to try with it! Thank you for this! I love potato soup so this is right up my alley and the video makes it that much easier to follow and replicate.