Really easy homemade Instant Pot potato cheese soup recipe that takes just 10 minutes to cook! One of our favorite Ninja Foodi soups that is less than $10 to feed all 5 of us and one of our favorite dinners.
This Instant Pot potato cheese soup was first made in the crockpot. When I got this new appliance it was one of the first things I tried in there because I knew it would cook a lot faster! Added to our list of the best Instant Pot recipes. (affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Potato Cheese Soup
Totally loaded potato soup is a good name for it since we pack it with extras like lots of bacon, diced onions and chives. You can make as a Ninja Foodi recipe, in a Crockpot Express or other brand of pot to make this too.
I have them all and always test in each to make sure there is no difference, there isn’t. If you haven’t cooked under high pressure this will be a real game changer for y’all. Make this one plain or add lots of cheddar cheese like we do and a complete meal is done in under 20 minutes flat.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Instant Pot Baked Potato Soup
I know…you can see all the bacon, cheese and chives that make this soup amazing. Another reason we make this pressure cooker soup often is it feeds all 5 of us, now only takes 15 minutes as opposed to all day with our Crockpot loaded baked potato soup. Probably only costs about about $10 total too…now that’s a huge win!!
For years and years I made a similar version in my slow cooker. My kids always asked for “cheese soup” but if I didn’t think about it first thing in the morning it wouldn’t get done. Now I can be completely forgetful 😉 and still do it right before we are all hangry. This is what you’re going to need to make this killer meal;
Ingredients
- Potatoes – I like Yukon, they soften well but it is really up to you in the end. Also I like to leave the skins on for added texture and it is more nutritious.
- Celery is a good addition but definitely optional.
- Chicken broth brings more flavor to the dish than just using water. I have used vegetable broth as well if that is what we have on hand.
- Heavy cream will thicken it up like you want it to. Using milk will make it thinner.
- Salt and pepper to taste of course once you remove the lid and taste. I like to season more at the end.
- Garlic powder gives it a richer flavor.
- Lots of cheddar cheese or use a mixture of whatever kinds you like best.
- Bacon bits or diced ham is optional
How can I add flavor to potato soup?
- Chives for garnish of course aren’t necessary but gives it a bit of texture and color.
- Diced onions are a must no matter what I make but of course again are optional.
- Shredded carrot isn’t entirely necessary but for loaded a bit of finely diced are nice.
- Bacon bits – optional but yummy, great diced leftover ham recipe too. Here are a few questions you might have before you get going on this:
Of course seasonings are helpful. I like adding bacon bits and/or leftover ham inside myself. That adds tons of flavor and I hate throwing away food so that solves that issue.
There is a soup button that is helpful if you are just starting out. All it does it automatically set the machine to the high pressure setting for 10 minutes. You can do the same thing yourself and adjust the timing. I personally like to use my own cook time by using the pressure cook button and adjusting the time according to my recipe.
How to Make Instant Pot Potato Cheese Soup
- Add all onion, potatoes, celery, salt, carrot, garlic powder and broth to your pot. Add some bacon bits if desired now too. Stir together
- Put lid on and close steam valve. Press pressure high for 8 minutes.
- When you hear the beep do a quick release. Careful when opening the lid, it will be hot, and stir.
- Add 1 1/2 cup of cheese, and heavy cream and stir until cheese has melted. It will thicken more as it sits.
- If you want it a bit thicker turn pot to saute. Whisk together 3 tbsp of water or heavy cream together with 1 or 2 tbsp cornstarch until smooth, add into pot, stir, and allow to bubble and thicken more.Serve in a bowl garnished with sour cream, extra cheese, green onions and parsley
Can you make potato cheese soup with frozen hashbrowns?
Yes you can, and they don’t take as long to break down but generally I use the same timing just so it gets nice and smooth. We do it all the time when we make Crockpot potato soup with frozen hashbrowns and let it simmer for 6-8 hours vs. how quick this would be.
You can make Pressure Cooker Potato Soup with Frozen Hash browns too. I will say though that this is my new way because it is SO much quicker. When we have busy days ahead of us it is on our meal rotation as something that will get gobbled up right away. Looking for easy soup side dishes?
What to serve with potato soup
- This pull apart bread with refrigerated biscuits is probably our favorite
- Air fryer french fries are a fun side
Other pressure cooker soup ideas you’ll love
- Looking for more Instant Pot soup recipes?
- Instant Pot potato leek soup is great after the holidays when you have bits of ham leftovers to use up.
- Creamy Instant Pot potato corn chowder is a great recipe
- Cheesy Instant Pot nacho soup is my kids’ favorite meal
- 17 minute homemade Instant Pot split pea soup is amazing and gluten free
Let’s jump to recipe below and get going y’all! Let us know if you added any other goodies on the top when you serve it. What is fun is if you make a soup bar with ALL the toppings available in bowls. Then let everyone ladle into a bowl and make it really loaded themselves so they get the perfect bites every time.
Instant Pot Potato Cheese Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 6 potatoes, diced small, skins removed, or most of them, yukon gold are softer than others for this, or can use russet
- 1.5 c cheddar cheese, shredded, I like sharp
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1 tbsp chives, for garnish
- 1 c celery, diced
- 6 c chicken broth, more or less depending on how thick you want it
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 c carrots, shredded or finely diced, optional
- 3 tbsp bacon bits, or diced leftover ham are optional
Instructions
- Add all onion, potatoes, celery, salt, carrot, garlic powder and broth to your pot. (add bacon bits if desired now too) Stir together
- Put lid on and close steam valve. Press pressure high for 8 minutes.
- When you hear the beep do a quick release. Carefully remove the lid and stir.
- Add 1 1/2 cup of cheese, and heavy cream and stir until cheese has melted. It will thicken more as it sits.
- If you want it a bit thicker turn pot to saute. Whisk together 3 tbsp of water or heavy cream together with 1 or 2 tbsp cornstarch until smooth, add into pot, stir, and allow to bubble and thicken more. Serve in a bowl garnished with extra cheese and parsley
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really delicious. I did without the carrots and bacon and didn’t miss them at all.
It is quite watery for my preference as is, so next time I’ll try with a bit less broth and maybe use a little more of the cornstarch slurry. But an excellent recipe. Thank you!
so glad
Does anyone know how many oz or gms of potato were used? So many sizes, no clue how many to use.
Thanks
This is wonderful comfort food and also excellent to serve to guests. I skipped the heavy cream and added whole milk and xanthan gum for thickening. Also substituted shredded breakfast sausage patties for the bacon bits because I had none. Oh, also skipped the salt (for my high blood pressure). This is definitely a ‘go-to’ soup for me from now on.
We live close to a farming community. Sadly, they have to many potatoes and are giving them away so they don’t go to waste. (We were able to donate money to our local farmers) So potato soup was a must to use up some of the many that we have. I’m vegetarian so I used “chickenless” chicken stock. Other than that, made exactly as directed. Fried some bacon up for my meat eating hubby. So delicious and easy to make. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thank you for the great recipe! 😋
Yay!