Instant Pot Potato Soup with Bacon

Easy Instant Pot Potato Soup with bacon. This soup is made with chicken broth, sour cream, milk, garlic, onion, bacon, and potatoes. It’s so hearty and filling!

Obsessed with your Instant Pot and want to make delicious creamy soup to warm up your winter? Try this easy Instant Pot Potato soup recipe and watch your friends and family devour it!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Instant Pot Potato Bacon Soup Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Instant Pot Potato Soup - Step by Step
• Tips for Success
• Storage
• How to Reheat the Leftover Potato Soup
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

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Why You'll Love This Instant Pot Potato Bacon Soup Recipe

• Potatoes are healthier than you think. Potatoes contain a good amount of carbs and fiber, as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese.
• Creamy without flour or cheese. This Instant Potato Bacon soup is actually very creamy even though it's made without cheese products and is thickened without flour. Instead,  I use sour cream, milk, and parts of the soup itself as the thickener. Simply take about ⅔ part of the soup and use a hand blender to puree.
• Quick. To cook potato bacon soup in the Instant Pot only requires 10 minutes of cooking time with the Instant Pot dial on the manual setting.

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Ingredients

Here's the list of ingredients you'll need to make this Instant Pot Potato Bacon Soup recipe.

• Potato. You can use red potatoes, white potatoes, Russet, or Yukon. White or red potatoes are recommended for soup because they are low in starch. They also hold their shape better than other potatoes after cooking. Some people even love to keep skin-on on the soup, it’s just a matter of preference.
• Onion. I used yellow onions because they are the perfect base for soup.
• Garlic. I used fresh garlic to give a wonderful umami flavor to the soup base.
• Broth. You can use vegetable or chicken broth, regular or low sodium based on your dietary choices.
• Milk. I highly recommend using full-fat milk to create thick and creamy soup.
• Sour cream. I used sour cream to add a creamy acidity to soups.
• Bacon. I used bacon to add a savory flavor to the soup.

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How to Make Instant Pot Potato Soup - Step by Step

Step 1. Render the Bacon

• Turn on the Instant Pot and select the "Sauté" setting.
• Add the chopped bacon into the pot and cook until the bacon is crispy.
• Remove the crispy bacon bits from the pan and reserve about ¼ cup of bacon grease to cook the vegetables.

Step 2. Cook the Aromatic Vegetables

• Add chopped onions and cook until the onions become translucent.
• Add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds. Turn off the "Sauté" setting.

Step 3. Cook the Potato and Broth

• Add potatoes, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
• Scrape the bottom of the pot to keep the pan clear and nothing is stuck on it to prevent burning.
• Set the Instant Pot to "Manual" and adjust it to "10 minutes".
• When cooking is complete, use a natural release to depressurize and open the lid when it's ready.

Step 4. Puree the Soup and Add Dairy Products

• Set the instant pot to "Warm".
• Transfer about ⅔ of the soup to a blender and puree.
• Return the pureed soup to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
• Set the Instant Pot to the "Saute" setting and bring the soup to a simmer.
• Add sour cream, reserved bacon pieces, and milk.
• Keep stirring until well combined and until you reach the desired consistency.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper if necessary.

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Tips for Success

• If the potato soup is too thin. If you think the soup is still too thin for your taste, feel free to use a separate bowl and add about 2-3 tablespoons of starch (like flour or cornstarch) into a portion of the broth. Separating it out prior to whisking it into the soup prevents the starch from clumping.
• If the potato soup is too thick. Simply add more broth to the soup.
• How to puree the soup. If you are going to puree with your countertop blender, be sure to fill the blender no more than halfway, and blend in batches as needed. Also, be sure to keep the lid on for several seconds after you finish to prevent burning yourself.
• What to use instead of bacon. You can use butter instead of bacon grease to cook the aromatic vegetables.

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Storage

Discard any leftover potato soup that has been left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F. You can learn more here.

• Allow the cooked potato soup to cool first before refrigerating.
• Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container.
• Properly stored, the leftover can last 3-4 days in the fridge.
• Freezing potato soup is not recommended.

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How to Reheat the Leftover Potato Soup

• Put the potato soup in a saucepan. Reheat over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent boiling. Boiling may cause ingredients to separate.
• Or you can reheat the potato soup in the microwave for a minute or longer until hot.

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Check out more Instant Pot recipes

• Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
• Instant Pot Italian Sausage Kale Soup 
• Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup 
• Instant Pot Barley Soup  
• Instant Pot Bacon Lentil Soup 
• Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi Soup 
• Instant Pot Pea Soup
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup

📖 Recipe