Bacon, cheddar, green onions, and loads of tender potato make this Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup a hearty and delicious year-round favorite. And, it’s easy to make in your Instant Pot, getting cooked-all-day flavor in a fraction of the time.
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Creamy, chunky, and loaded with goodness, this Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup is stick-to-your rib goodness. I served this soup regularly back when I had my deli, and everyone always loved it. But it was a catch-22 because it was so hearty, customers rarely bought anything else to go with it!
What You Need To Make Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Instant Pot
- Immersion blender
- Potatoes – baked and raw – see my notes below
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Dried thyme
- Chicken broth – look for no sodium added or make your own!
- Milk
- Bacocn
- Cheddar
- Green onions
- Salt and pepper
WHat Kind Of Potatoes Do you Need to Make Potato SOup
I use yellow potatoes in this recipe. They work just fine, but russets will also do well. You want to avoid red skin potatoes or other waxy potatoes as they don’t cook down enough to create a creamy soup.
Also, you need baked potatoes for this recipe in addition to raw potatoes. I bake the potatoes in the air fryer while the soup is cooking. You don’t add the baked potatoes until the end of the cooking time, so you’ve got time to bake them first. Or, use leftover potatoes to make this soup.
How To Make fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
For a full list of ingredient amounts and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute – Medium. About 20 minutes is fine. When the IP is hot, add the bacon and sautee until crispy. Set half the bacon aside for garnishing.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the IP and continue to saute until the onion is translucent – about 5 minutes. Pull the bacon-vegetable mixture out of the IP and set aside.
- Add the chicken broth to the IP, along with 4 cups of diced potatoes and salt. Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes then manual release.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the potatoes and broth.
- Add the vegetable mixture and dried thyme to the pureed potatoes and set on High Pressure and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes then manual release.
- Add the milk, diced baked potatoes, and milk or cream to the soup mixture. Set the pot to Sautee – High – and bring the mixture back to boil. Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, top bowlfuls of the soup with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and green onion. Dig in!
For soup on the go! Stays hot and looks great, too!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- You can speed up the cooking time of this Intant Pot soup recipe even more by sauteing the bacon and veggies in a skillet on the stove.
- No immersion blender? Use a regular blender but take care when blending hot liquids. Always have a towel over the top of the lid and start slowly so you don’t explode the hot soup out of the blender.
- This is a gluten-free potato soup, but if it’s not thick enough for you, you can thicken it with a bit of a flour and water slurry, just make sure to boil the soup after adding the flour.
- Season it well! Potatoes need a fair bit of salt.
- Sliced green onions and crispy back pair really well with sharp cheddar as a garnish on this tasty soup.
- This soup will thicken up when you chill it. You may need to add a touch of milk when you reheat the leftovers.
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What To Serve With Instant Pot Baked Potato Soup
This Instant Pot soup recipe is hearty and filling and can certainly stand on its own as a meal. But if you want something else with it, opt for a light salad like this Caprese Salad, or just save room for a tasty Cinnamon Roll Cookie for dessert.
Frequently Asked Questions
While many soups freeze like a dream, this isn’t one of them. Technically you can freeze it – and you should if you’re in a pinch and would have to throw it out – but potato soups tend to get a bit grainy and watery when freezing them. If you’re fine with that, go ahead and freeze the chilled soup in air-tight containers or plastic for up to three months. Reheat it slowly on the stovetop. My advice, however, is to eat it fresh.
Yes, it is naturally gluten-free.
Yes, you can swap the milk for heavy cream or even half and half. Evaporated (unsweetened) milk will also work.
Step By Step Process
Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup – Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes about 6 medium sized potatoes
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups low or no sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- While preparing the soup, bake half the potatoes in a hot 425-F oven for about 45 minutes or use leftover baked potatoes.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute – Medium. About 20 minutes is fine. When the IP is hot, add the bacon and saute until crispy. Set half the bacon aside for garnishing.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the IP and the remaining bacon and continue to saute until the onion is translucent – about 5 minutes. Pull the bacon-vegetable mixture out of the IP and set aside.
- Add the chicken broth to the IP, along with 4 cups of peeled, diced potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt . Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes then manual release.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the potatoes and broth. If you use a blender, take care to keep a ktichen towel over the top of the blender to prevent spillage.
- Add the vegetable mixture and dried thyme to the pureed potatoes and set on High Pressure and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes then manual release.
- Add the milk, diced and peeled baked potatoes, and milk or cream to the soup mixture. Set the pot to Sautee – High – and bring the mixture back to boil. Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, top bowlfuls of the soup with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and green onion. Dig in!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- You can speed up the cooking time even more by sauteing the bacon and veggies in a skillet on the stove.
- No immersion blender? Use a regular blender but take care when blending hot liquids. Always have a towel over the top of the lid and start slowly so you don’t explode the hot soup out of the blender.
- This is a gluten-free potato soup, but if it’s not thick enough for you, you can thicken it with a bit of a flour and water slurry, just make sure to boil the soup after adding the flour.
- Season it well! Potatoes need a fair bit of salt.
- Sliced green onions and crispy back pair really well with sharp cheddar as a garnish on this tasty soup.
- This soup will thicken up when you chill it. You may need to add a touch of milk when you reheat the leftovers.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
