If you are in a hurry and need a flavorful and comforting dinner on the table in less than half an hour, then look no further than this Instant Pot Potato Soup with Cheddar and Leek (or of course use any other electric pressure cooker you have on hand).
We are early eaters. My husband does that intermittent fasting thing so we end up eating by like 5.00-5.30 every night without fail (I however do not. I am firmly in the bank of sneaking chocolate after the kids have gone to bed, so it just doesn’t fit with my closet chocolate eating lifestyle).
You may know I am staying with my parents in Australia for a couple of months at the moment, and they have absolutely no concept of time…so we end up being out-and-about and rushing to get dinner on the table by 7pm. This apparently doesn’t work with my littles bellies, so I have been playing around with some recipes in the Instant Pot to get dinner on the table ASAP.
I have made this Instant Pot Potato Soup with Cheddar and Leek a million times before, but always in the slow cooker. Let me just say it actually tastes better from the pressure cooker, and being ready in 25 minutes makes it the perfect weeknight meal.
My 17 year old brother told me it was ‘seriously the best soup I have ever eaten’, and then asked me to show him how to make it. Let me point out that he is a typical 17 year old and normally grunts as a thanks at dinner before skulking off to play on his phone – so I take an actual spoken compliment from him in the highest regard!! We have a tradition in our family where mum cooks us our favorite meal for our birthday dish, and he even asked could this be his new birthday dish too (at this point I realise he may actually be trying to wind mum up, but I am taking the compliment as my own anyway).
Anyway I digress. The soup is delicious, comforting and on the table in 25 minutes from start to finish. You can’t say no to that. If you are looking for some more pressure cooker meals then look no further:
- Instant Pot Turkey and Sweet Potato Chilli (plus stovetop alternative)
- Instant Pot Potato Soup with Cheddar and Leek
- Super Moist Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken
Happy eating. Be sure to leave a comment if you try it out and love it as much as we do 🙂
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 leeks cleaned and thinly sliced, white and light green
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 leaves bay
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 5 cups vegetable broth make your own
- 4 medium gold potatoes peeled and diced, I used yukon
- 1 1/2 cups cream or half and half
- 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
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Using the sauté function, melt the butter in the instant pot. Once melted, add the sliced leeks and salt and sauté until soft. Add the crushed garlic; saute for 30 seconds and turn off the sauté function
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Remove a small portion of the leeks and set aside for serving
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To the leek mixture in the pot add in the thyme, oregano, bay leaves, white wine, broth, and potatoes. Give it all a good stir and set to high pressure for 10 minutes
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Once complete, quick release and open the pot. Add in the cream and use a stick immersion blender to puree the soup until it reaches the consistency of your liking
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Set the instant pot to warm and heat the soup through
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Once hot serve up with a sprinkle of extra sautéed leeks, some crispy bacon and a sprinkle of cheese
Fantastic recipe! I was in a hurry (unexpected, unannounced visit from the in-laws), so I forgot the cream at the end and it was still utterly delicious. Thank you!
Oh yay I am so glad to hear it 🙂 And so glad it still worked out without the cream!! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment
Mine turned out really thin. I even used an extra potato, though I used red ones because that’s what I had. I followed the recipe exactly otherwise. Any ideas?
Oh no, I am so sorry it didn’t work out Hannah! The only thing I can think of is if you used low-fat cream, maybe thats a bit thinner? But it really shouldn’t make that much of a difference! I have made this so many times, with different types of potatoes and even once with whole milk and it has never been too thin…were your potatoes really little? I actually have this soup on the menu plan for this week, so I will measure out the potatoes in cups and update the recipe to reflect this, so it’s a more solid measurement.
A good argument for quantities by WEIGHT rather than number of leeks (which can vary considerably in size) or potatoes (which can also vary considerably, even if of the same type).
I agree (in some part) Brian, and I will update the recipe to reflect this at some point. If I were baking something, which required scientific measurement, then that would definitely be my approach. However, I like to try and keep my recipes easy and versatile, (as in ‘throw in a couple of potatoes’ or whatever you have on hand etc) not stringent, and this soup has worked for me MANY a time using different sizes and shapes of produce.
This soup is perfect for cold days. Delicious
Thanks Katrin 🙂 We love it!
Is it really 3 tbs of leeks? That seems like such a small amount for that many servings!
Oh no no it is 3 whole leeks. Sorry, I recently updated something and it has changed a few of my recipes – time to go through and check every one. Thanks for pointing that one out.
You got me at potatoes. Love potatoes. They are my comfort food. Never made a potato soup though.
Oh me too 🙂 Every time I used to go to our family friends house growing up they would always make extra potatoes just for me 🙂
Thanks for a great warming soup. Can you use something else instead of cream, thanks?
Hi Bintu, I am sure dairy free milk would work well – the potatoes would probably be creamy enough that you wouldn’t need to thicken it with flour.
I really need an instapot, I can’t believe this cooks in 10 minutes! Holy Moly!
I know right!! I was dubious at first, but now I use mine for everything 🙂
Gosh that is one seriously gorgeous looking soup! All my favourite comfort food ingredients too. 🙂
Oh thank you Elizabeth 🙂 I know, I have been enjoying all the comfort foods lately with the cold weather!!
I need to add an instant pot to my kitchen collection!
There’s always something isn’t there 🙂 I swore I wasn’t getting anything else, but the instant pot is life changing, even just for cooking brown rice quickly 🙂