Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Instant Pot Loaded potato soup is the perfect choice on a chilly day, especially here in Chicago. I live off of potatoes all year. The great thing about this soup is that your potatoes can cook so fast in your Instant Pot. I could never go back to cooking potatoes the traditional way after using my Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup Directions
Because the first step involved with this Instant Pot Loaded potato soup is cooking your potatoes, first know that you can use whatever potatoes you like. I prefer to use yellow potatoes, but red Russet potatoes or any other similar potatoes will do just fine. I know we all have our favorite kinds of potatoes.
Some choose to leave the skin on the potatoes for Instant Pot loaded baked potato soup. I personally don’t care either way. However, my significant other is quite picky so I peel the skin off after a good scrub down. Russet potatoes, of course, should always be peeled as they come with quite a bit of dirt and tend to have tougher skin.
You’re going to want to first cook the potatoes, then take them out. Next, sautée your chopped bacon and leeks. Then, make a traditional butter and flour roux. I know cooking the potatoes first seems a bit counterintuitive, but doing this will make for a tastier soup. To make a roux, you melt the butter with small amounts of flour, adding as you whisk. You’ll want a creamy base that will eventually thicken your soup.
After those initial steps is when you will add your milk. A note about milk: I prefer to do a mix of one half half and half and one half of 1% milk and then the Better Than Bouillion, but you can choose any consistency you like and go from there. Additionally, if milk isn’t your thing, try doing this with unflavored almond milk or oat milk. Beware, though, you may get a different consistency. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re going to have your Instant Pot on the sauté setting to heat everything so it bubbles and thickens up.
To get the best consistency out of your potatoes, before adding them mash them up on a separate bowl. You don’t have to do a fine mash, so choose how thick you want your potatoes to be before mashing away. If you want a more chunky consistency, try cutting your potatoes into cubes instead.
Instant Pot Panera Potato Soup
This Instant Pot Loaded potato soup is as close as you can get to Instant Pot Panera Potato Soup for what I do next. The final step is adding in all your loaded bits of the Instant Pot loaded baked potato soup. Add in your grated cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, and bacon (if you decided to use bits or cook separately). Be sure to add in the cream cheese and sour cream, stirring in a little at a time, so the soup does not separate.
You will get around 4-5 servings out of this soup. You can always freeze it in portions and take it out as you please. I use these Souper cubes to freeze my soups. If not freezing, it should keep for about 5-6 days.
Looking for a Good Instant Pot?
You could make this in an Instant Pot model you prefer. I made mine in my Instant Pot Duo. Some prefer the safer versions of the Instant Pot, such as the Instant Pot Ultra. Check out my reviews when deciding between one or the other, and you should get a good idea of what works best for you. Try any of my other recipes with your Instant Pot, too! Happy Cooking!
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup - Panera Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 and a half Ib of yellow potatoes (or red or Russet potatoes)
- ½ cup of leeks, soaked and rinsed, and chopped fine
- ½ cup of bacon, chopped, crumbled or pre-cooked bacon bits
- ½ cup of butter
- ¼ cup of flour, plus more for consistency of roux
- ½ tsp of pepper
- ¾ tsp of salt
- 2 cups of half and half (or 4 cups of any preferred milk)
- 2 cups of 1% milk (or of your choosing)
- 1 tsp of better than bouillon chicken soup base
- ½ cup of sharp cheddar cheese or sharp cheese of your choice
- ½ cup of sour cream
- ½ package (4 oz) of regular cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia)
- ½ cup of diced green onions (about 3 stocks)
Instructions
- Scrub and/or peel your potatoes.
- Add 1 and ½ cups of water to your Instant Pot inner pot.
- Place your trivet on the bottom with your potatoes on top of the trivet.
- Cook your potatoes for 20 minutes for Russet or yellow (10 minutes for red potatoes) on high pressure (make sure your release valve is at sealing when set).
- Do a quick release by moving your release valve to venting as soon as the timer goes off. Remove the lid when it's free to.
- Set aside potatoes in a bowl and discard the water.
- Turn on the Instant Pot to the satée setting on “less.”
- Add the butter, chopped bacon, and leeks. Once butter is melted, whisk in the flour a little at a time to get a creamy roux. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep whisking once it starts to bubble.
- When bubbling, add milk and Better than Bouillon. Whisk. Move to sautée setting to high heat. Whisk as needed so milk thickens and bubbles.
- Turn off the sautée setting and turn on the warm setting. Add in sour cream, cream cheese, grated cheese, green onions, and bacon (if you haven’t already).
- Smash/cut up potatoes to the desired consistency. Stir mashed potatoes in with the soup. Season as needed.
