Flavorful, delicious and comforting, this Instant Pot Potato Soup with Cheddar and Leek comes together in just 25 minutes from start to finish. The perfect bowl of steaming goodness for a cold night. Just waiting to be sprinkled with cheese and mopped up with a big wedge of fresh bread.
Get Dinner on The Table in Under 30 Minutes
Weeknights are busy! Once you start throwing in everyone's extra-curricular activities, your need to go to the gym, hubbies need to go for a run and then getting dinner on the table and the cleaning done afterward there just isn't much time at all.
Slow it down for yourself and speed it up in the kitchen with this flavorful and comforting dinner that comes together in less than half an hour in the instant pot. And I mean there's cheese in it, so even the kids won't complain.
Yes You Can Make It In The Slow Cooker
I used to always make this soup in the slow cooker. There is something lovely about having something simmering away all day and walking in the door after a long day and smelling dinner just waiting for you.
These days, my mornings are way too hectic and that level of organization just doesn't happen very often. You can find the slow cooker version here though if that's your jam. I probably made it close to one hundred times in the slow cooker and I have to say this version tastes just as great (if not better?!?), and being ready in 25 minutes makes it the perfect weeknight meal.
What Ingredients Are Needed For Instant Pot Potato Soup?
We don't need any fancy ingredients here. Just stuff you probably already have hanging out in the fridge and pantry:
- leeks
- garlic
- mixed herbs
- potatoes
- white wine
- cream, and
- cheese. just a note here, I like to grate my own, and that is what is used in this recipe. If you want to use pre-grated cheese it should work just as well, just be sure to check the ingredient list as there can be lots of added bits and pieces in there.
To make it next level you can always serve it with some crispy fried bacon and shallots on top. I am also partial to a drizzle of white truffle oil when I am feeling a bit fancy.
Changes readers have made that have worked for them:
- used ricotta instead of the cream,
- subbed in white wine vinegar instead of the wine,
- used whatever herbs they had growing in the garden,
- used yams instead of potatoes.
What To Do With Leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. This reheats really well on the stovetop or in the microwave. Just heat and serve with some fresh bread.
Recipe
Instant Pot Potato Soup with Cheddar and Leek
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 leeks cleaned and thinly sliced, white and light green
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 leaves bay
- ¾ cup white wine
- 5 cups vegetable broth make your own
- 4-5 cups medium gold potatoes peeled and diced, I used yukon
- 1 ½ cups cream or half and half
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- 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 function2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 leeks, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 4 cloves garlic
- Remove a small portion of the leeks and set aside for serving
- 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 minutes4 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 2 leaves bay, ¾ cup white wine, 5 cups vegetable broth, 4-5 cups medium gold potatoes
- Once complete, quick release and open the pot. Remove the bay leaves, add in the cream and use a stick immersion blender to puree the soup until it reaches the consistency of your liking (see notes)1 ½ cups cream
- Set the instant pot to warm and heat the soup through
- Once hot serve up with a sprinkle of extra sautéed leeks, some crispy bacon and a sprinkle of cheese1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Notes
- Store: allow leftovers to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Freeze: allow leftovers to cool completely before storing them in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
- Blend: I like a bit of chunk to my soup, but my husband likes his to be smoother. We compromise and I blend half and keep half chunky. Do what works for you.
- Serve: serve with some fresh crusty bread, a sprinkle of cheese, and a little of the fried leek mixture.
Nutrition
If you tried this recipe please comment and rate it.
I love hearing your feedback and answering your questions! And if you make this please tag me on Instagram with @wholefoodbellies so I can share it <3
Need some more Instant Pot Meals to get dinner on the table quicker? Check these out:
- Instant Pot Turkey and Sweet Potato Chilli (plus stovetop alternative)
- Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Super Moist Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken
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Lisa says
Hi Donna,
We loved this recipe. I was just wondering if you have ever frozen the leftovers.
Donna says
Hi Lisa, I have frozen this and it has been fine. Sometimes the cream can look a little strange on thawing, but it is fine once reheated!
Donald J. Hanle says
I made this incredible soup in my Instantpot two nights ago. Although I made a few modifications to the recipe, it was fantastic. The modifications I made were: doubled the amount of garlic, and I garnished with bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of light sour cream. My wife asked me to make it again.
We had it for lunch the next day and we garnished with Parmesan cheese instead of bacon, cheddar and sour cream. Again, what an incredible dish!
I'm now a subscriber to Donna's blog and am looking forward to many, many mores such incredible recipes -- Instant pot or any other mode of cooking.
Warmest regards! Don
Donna says
Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know Don, a lovely message to start the day with! Can never go wrong with adding more garlic 🙂
Evie says
This recipe is looking different and i am gonna try
Donna says
Hope you enjoy it!
Karen Hayes says
I got ‘leeked’ by friends Friday, got an Instant Pot Sunday. Made your recipe with a few time savers lol. Used a bag of chunky frozen hasbrowns, garlic in a jar, some cut up leftover ham. An expired pint of 1/2&1/2, about a cup of sour cream that was yep, past due. The other half of a ranch dressing packet that’s been hanging around. Garnished with bacon, cheddar and the green onions from my garden that have survived snow and a hard freeze. Lovely! Sorry I messed with your recipe.
Donna says
I think this wins BEST comment ever 🙂 Love it that you made do with what you had and didn't wast! Goals!!
Pam D. says
That was delicious! The only thing I changed was that I didn’t use any dairy. I sautéed the leeks with Earth Balance spread and added about 4 oz. of Kite Hill ricotta at the end when I blended everything with my immersion blender.
Donna1 says
Oh yum, I love your variations Pam - especially the use of ricotta!!
Tina says
I swapped out oregano for parsley and used my home grown lime thyme.. amazing how fast and delicious
Donna1 says
You know, I have never heard of lime thyme, but now I have to search for some, it sounds amazing!!
Kristen says
I made this soup tonight....exactly as written, and it is delish! Perfect for the cold rainy day we've had. I was surprised at how fast it went together. Thanks for helping me love my instant pot.
Donna1 says
Oh yay I am so glad to hear this Kristen!! The Instant Pot can be a hard nut to crack, but once you have a few staple recipes down it becomes such a handy tool to have in the kitchen. This soup is one of our favorites, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Kora says
This is amazing! I have a love/hate relationship with my IP. This recipe had us whispering sweet nothings to one another. I didn't have white wine, so I subbed diluted white wine vinegar, which gave it a lovely tang. And I don't own an immersion wand, but a few pulses in the blender did the job. Bravo!
Donna1 says
Hahaha I love 'had us whispering sweet nothings to one another' 🙂 The instant pot can be a bit tricky to start off with (I definitely had my fair share of total fails), but once you get the hang of it, it is such a time saver in the kitchen!! I love your idea to sub out with white wine vinegar, I have to try that next time we don't have white wine on hand, very clever.
Angel says
I made this last night and it's definitely a keeper! It was a bit thin but that's easy enough to fix next time. I'll just watch the potato/liquid ratio. I didn't have white wine so I used extra broth. I only cooked it for 8 minutes because I diced the potatos instead of cubing them by accident. We had it with garlic bread and everyone loved it! Thanks!
Oh, one note - you don't mention to remove the bay leaves and thyme stems - some people might not know to do that. 🙂
Donna1 says
Thanks for popping back to leave a comment Angel, I am so glad the soup worked out well for you 🙂 I have updated the recipe to make sure people know to remove the bay leaves, sometimes it is so easy to forget to include things that come second nature to me!!
Anitta says
With some ingredients missing, improvisation was necessary. In lieu of potatoes, yams. With no fresh or dried thyme, I left it out. Also only had 4c broth, chicken, not vegetable, so added 1 cup water. I did however open a bottle of white wine for this!
Sautéing seems unnecessary with the instant pot, so everything went in the pot, stirred, and turned the pot on. While it was cooking, got a couple of slices of bacon also cooked and chopped, cheese grated (cheddar and Monterey Jack).
One thing to note: The bay leaves had to be taken out. And I presume the small amount of cheese is more for garnish than as an ingredient, which makes the title of the soup a little misleading.
However. It was simply delicious! We each had seconds and there was enough left over for two 4c servings and one 2c. This is great because my 99 year old mother in law needs nutrition.
Thank you.
Donna1 says
Thanks for popping back to leave a comment Anitta! I love that you are providing some much needed nourishment for your mother in law 🙂
I love to sauté my onions/garlic etc in the Instant Pot before bringing everything to pressure, as it gets them all nice and caramelized, which brings another dimension of flavor to the dish. Totally not necessary, and a step you can easily leave out if that's your preference. I don't like my potato and leek soup too cheesy, but I think that little bit of cheese needs to be in there to round out the overall flavor of the soup, which is why I included it in the title. As always you can feel free to add more 🙂
Victoria says
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!
Donna1 says
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
Hannah says
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?
Donna1 says
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.
Brian Weiss says
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).
Donna1 says
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.
Katrin says
This soup is perfect for cold days. Delicious
Donna1 says
Thanks Katrin 🙂 We love it!
RST says
Is it really 3 tbs of leeks? That seems like such a small amount for that many servings!
Donna1 says
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.
Aish Padihari says
You got me at potatoes. Love potatoes. They are my comfort food. Never made a potato soup though.
Donna1 says
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 🙂
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry says
Thanks for a great warming soup. Can you use something else instead of cream, thanks?
Donna1 says
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.
Cricket Plunkett says
I really need an instapot, I can't believe this cooks in 10 minutes! Holy Moly!
Donna1 says
I know right!! I was dubious at first, but now I use mine for everything 🙂
Elizabeth says
Gosh that is one seriously gorgeous looking soup! All my favourite comfort food ingredients too. 🙂
Donna1 says
Oh thank you Elizabeth 🙂 I know, I have been enjoying all the comfort foods lately with the cold weather!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I need to add an instant pot to my kitchen collection!
Donna1 says
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 🙂