Name: Instant Pot Baked Potato Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp butter; 1 large white onion, diced; 1 cup shredded carrots (or diced carrot sticks); 2 stalks celery, diced; salt and pepper (to taste); 3 cloves fresh garlic, diced; 2 cups chicken broth; 1 cup milk; 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes; 1 cup chopped green onion, chopped, for garnish; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus more for garnish); 8 slices thick cut cooked bacon, crumbled (plus more for garnish); 1 cup sour cream; 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped

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All the savory goodness of a loaded baked potato, but in a warm, creamy soup that the whole family will love. Learn how to make this amazing Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup with this easy 30 minute recipe.

instant pot loaded baked potato soup in a white bowl

What is Loaded Baked Potato Soup?

Take all the flavors that make a loaded potato great - a seasoned baked potato with chives, onion, garlic butter, bacon and cheese - and make it in soup form! By boiling our potatoes - or in this case, pressure cooking them, we can create a warm, rich creamy soup that has all the great flavor of a loaded baked potato.

In our version, we use the Instant Pot (affiliate) to make ours in a synch. Simply saute our base veggies, dump in the rest and let the Instant Pot cook it to perfection in just 10 minutes. A quick puree and stir and you're ready to eat.

Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup is a great meal on a cold winter's day and makes for an easy, delicious family dinner recipe.

Just want the recipe already? Scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card! Then, let us know what you think by leaving a rating and comment at the bottom of the page.

Why you'll love this recipe

If you were to make this on the stovetop, you'd be hard pressed to make it beginning to end on a weeknight. But with the Instant Pot (affiliate), you can do just that in well under an hour. Simply chop your veggies, give them a quick Saute and let the Instant Pot work it's magic to bring this to perfection.

As a family, we love this because simply blending the cooked soup really lends to a nice, rich creaminess that's absolutely full of flavor. Oh, and we get to throw in some bacon? Yep, sign me up.

Check out some of our other great recipes, like cajun shrimp and grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, chicken tikka masala, or 29-hour, super tender sous vide chuck roast. Or, try one of my wife's favorites, my Bacon Lamb Sliders which are 100% flavor-bombs. .

overhead shot of loaded baked potato soup

Mike's Recipe Rundown

Taste: A rich and savory blend of flavors. A veggie base helps round things out, but at it's core this is just like a loaded baked potato, cheesy, bacony, chivey potato with a dollop of sour cream to cut through everything.
Texture: Rich and creamy. We blend about half the soup to a smooth puree, leaving just enough chunks to lend some texture along with the crumbled bacon and green onions at the end. The shredded cheddar cheese gives just a slight pull to everything, making for a satisfying bite.
Difficulty - Medium: The start of this is really easy. A light saute of veggies, then dump almost anything in. In fact, the only reason I won't label this with "Easy" is that if you don't have an immersion blender, there's a little bit of work to do to transfer half of the soup to a blender (affiliate) and return it back. But overall, this is not an intimidating meal to make.
Pros: Takes a dish that typically takes well over an hour to come together and gets it ready in half the time. Plus, I find that pressure cooking soups intensifies the flavors, trapping everything in and now allowing the best parts to cook away.
Cons: Personally, I keep most of my soups to the winter months. This is a great, warm-you-up soup. For a guy like me, that means it's only on the planner when it's cool outside. But if you need something to heat you from the inside out, this is a great meal for you.
Would I make it again? Oh yeah, this is definitely high in our rotation when the temperature dips to the point that we start craving soup.

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Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup Tips and Tricks

BUYING TIP: Opt for a starchy type of potato instead of a waxy one here. For example, we call for Idaho Russet potatoes over baby reds. Waxy potatoes won't blend as easy and the result can be an odd, almost watery texture. High starch potatoes blend perfectly with the rest of the soup, giving us the creaminess we're looking for. As for bacon, I opt for thick cut, smoky bacon to really help cut through everything and help you realize it's there.
EASY BLENDING TIP: The easiest way to blend this soup is by using a handheld immersion blender (affiliate). Simply stick the blender (affiliate) into the soup, turn it on and move it slowly to crush the potatoes into the soup itself. Puree until most of the potato is smooth and only a few small chunks remain. Make sure to remove the plastic insert in the lid, allowing the steam to escape.
TIP IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN IMMERSION BLENDER: Alternatively, if you do not have an immersion blender, you can also thicken the soup by transferring half the soup to a blender (affiliate). To do this, carefully ladle about half the soup into the blender (affiliate). Puree until smooth, then return it to the pot. Stir everything together to thicken.
TIP IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BLENDER (affiliate) AT ALL: You can use a potato masher and try to get everything mashed as good as can be. However, this should be your worst case scenario, as your soup will lack some of the creminess that it gets from being properly blended.
PREP TIP: I recommend cooking your bacon separately and simply adding it into the soup when the soup is finished. This can even be done the day ahead of time to save time. Simply fry the bacon, pat it dry of excess fat, and store it in a ziploc bag in the fridge overnight. The bacon will quickly come to temp when it's added to the soup.

What you need to make Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

As far as equipment goes, you'll definitely want an Instant Pot (affiliate) or similiar electric pressure cooker. If you don't have that, the web has other versions of stove top loaded baked potato soup. Either way, an immersion blender (affiliate) will come in handy (pun intended) when thickening the soup. Or - as outlined above - a standard blender (affiliate) will do to.

As far as ingredients, you'll need:

1 Tbsp butter
1 large white onion, diced
1 cup shredded carrots (or diced carrot sticks)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
3 cloves fresh garlic, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus more for garnish)
8 slices thick cut cooked bacon, crumbled (plus more for garnish)
1 green onion, chopped, for garnish

How to use an Instant Pot

Before you start this recipe, make sure you are familiar with the instructions and safety manual for your model of Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker). Instant Pot itself offers a nice set of videos on How to use an Instant Pot.

While pressure cookers are awesome tools, they have to be used correctly. Take the time to be familiar with how to use yours before you begin to avoid injury and give you the tastiest results.

How to make Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Step 1: Turn Instant Pot (affiliate) to Saute: More. When the display reads "Hot", add butter and allow to melt. Add in chopped veggies next, namely - diced white onion, shredded carrots and diced celery.

Step 2: After about 3 minutes, until they begin to soften. At that point, season them with a pinch of salt and pepper. [Chef's Tip: veggies take seasoning best right when they begin to soften]. Toss in diced garlic cloves and cook for one minute more (until you can begin to smell the garlic).

Step 3: Add in cubed potatoes, chicken broth, and milk. Make sure potatoes have been peeled and cut into about ½ inch cubes. This will give us the creamiest result.

Cancel the Saute mode on the Instant Pot, then set it to Manual: High pressure for 10 minutes. Make sure vent is set to "sealing" and allow to cook.

Step 4: When timer goes off, perform a quick release by flipping the valve on top to "venting". You may want to cover the valve with a paper towel to help catch any broth that could spew out the top as steam releases. When the pressure is released and the indicator has gone down, carefully remove the lid.

Using an immersion blender (affiliate), blend the soup until only a few potato chunks remain. It should be mostly creamy at this point.

Step 5: Add fresh green onion, shredded cheddar cheese and thick cut bacon (precooked & crumbled). Stir everything together well. Taste for salt and pepper and add more as needed.

Finishing Touches Ladle into individual bowl and garnish with fresh chives, and a pinch of reserved bacon, cheddar cheese, chopped fresh chives and a dollop of sour cream. Serve immediately and enjoy!