Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup

Creamy Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup recipe is here. Simple pressure cooker soup with vegetables you can make vegetarian or with bacon. Lighter and healthier than our Instant Pot potato cheese soup but just as delicious.

Ninja Foodi Potato Leek Soup Recipe

We aren’t sworn to just one brand. You can use any pressure cooker you might have on your counter. I mean we have them all, from a Mealthy to Crockpot Express and we make a bunch of easy Ninja Foodi recipes too. As long as it has the high pressure function you are set to make this.

There are a ton of ways you can tweak this one too. If you love diced bacon in everything (hand raised) you could throw some of that in there too. Want to keep it a healthy vegetarian soup? Leave that out. You can use any type of potato also though Russets are probably the best as far as texture goes.

What is a Leek?

Not familiar with this chive looking veggie? I wasn’t either until a while ago. A leek is a vegetable that belongs to the same family as onions, garlic, and shallots. It has a mild, sweet onion flavor and is often used in cooking for its delicate taste. They typically grow to be about 12 inches and are typically diced small in recipes.

Not sure if you would like this flavor? Let’s talk about all the things for a minute then shall we.

I do compare them to onions because eaten raw they are strong, crunchy, and usually not a favorite choice. Added into IP or Ninja Foodi soups though they will soften and become a lighter flavor that will just compliment the other ingredients.

Ingredients

• 3 leeks, diced
• Medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
• Onion, white, diced
• Butter or vegan plant based sticks for dairy free
• Some minced garlic
• Chicken broth, or vegetable for vegetarian
• Heavy cream to make it creamy
• Herbs de provence, or seasonings of choice

When it comes to the liquid yes you could use water instead of broth. Vegetable broth works as well if you want a vegan version. That is what I recommend. It is an easy way to add a lot of flavor but even bone broth Instant Pot style would even be a good choice. It is really up to you and your tastebuds as to which you prefer.

with Bacon

If you did want to add some meat into the mix you would want to start with the saute function. Dice it up into small bite size pieces, add a bit of olive oil and cook down. You will want it to cook the meat but not get crunchy. Turn the pot off and this is how to deglaze once it’s browned.

Then you can continue on with the first steps listed below. After the holidays this is one of our favorite leftover ham recipe ideas we make as well.

Vegetarian Option

If you leave it out because you want it meatless you can certainly add other choices. Potato leek soup celery is great as well and another inexpensive ingredient that adds more flavor and a bit of texture into the mix too. 1 cup is about right if you want to add that as well. Choose those that are pretty tender for best results, like frozen broccoli.

How to Make Dairy Free

Instead of heavy cream you can use a lactose free dairy alternative like almond milk but you’d want to whisk a tbsp or so of cornstarch in there to make it thicker. You can make buttermilk with lemon juice this way too.

Best potatoes to use for soup

Now let’s talk potatoes. There are so many options out there and why would you choose one over the other right? Well the biggest differences are the texture and how starchy each version is. If you want something creamy like this a Russet or Yukon would be best. Red are firmer and take longer to get super tender.

Yes leaving the skins on would be healthier but won’t get you the smooth soup that you’re picturing so I would peel all of them at the beginning. The smaller your pieces are the faster they will cook too.

First you want to prep your veggies of course. Start to finish this is going to take you about 15 minutes to cook so keep that in mind in the planning process. If you want to serve our pull apart bread with biscuits you should pop that in at the very beginning. Then everything will be done together.

How to Make InstaPot Potato Leek Soup

• Start off by cutting and discarding the bottom dark green parts of the leeks.
  • Slice the remaining parts lengthwise then cut into small pieces. 
  • Rinse them in a large bowl of water to remove any dirt. 
  • Peel potatoes and cube into 1.5×1.5″ pieces
• Turn your Instant Pot to saute. 
• Add the butter and chopped leeks. Add the garlic and diced onions.
  • Continue to saute until softened. Turn off the saute function. 
  • If you’re adding bacon you would do so with the butter to cook.
• Add the potatoes, broth, and herbes de provence. If you love a bay leaf, throw that in now.
• Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.  Once cooking time is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
• Open the lid, add heavy cream
• Blend together using an immersion blender. Garnish with chopped chives if desired.

I like to season with salt and pepper at the very end. Everyone likes less or more and you cannot take away too much so it’s easier to let everyone season on their own. Total comfort food y’all.

Leeks and potatoes make the perfect warm mix of goodness on a cold evening. Heck we make this all year long especially when it’s hot and I don’t want to turn on the oven or stovetop at home.