Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Grab your favorite electric pressure cooker and whip up this hearty Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup with bacon and sausage!
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
Here you go, folks – a super easy, super creamy potato soup that can be made in one pot!
No matter how you make it, my family adores potato soup.
And if your family loves sausage and bacon like mine, they will flip for this easy Instant Pot soup.
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Because this version also has a lot of sausage and bacon added, they are especially crazy for it.
I’m a big fan of this soup because it’s made in my favorite small appliance: the Instant Pot.
This means I can have this comforting soup on the table for my hungry guys in right around 30 minutes.
I have also found that this soup makes a wonderful gift for someone who’s grieving a loss or recovering from an illness or surgery.
When you show up at somebody’s door with a pot of this soup there are big smiles all around.
Ingredients
- Bacon: I prefer a center-cut bacon or use what you have on hand.
- Ground Italian sausage
- Baby kale and/or baby spinach
- Flour
- Onion and garlic: You can substitute granulated onion (or onion powder) and granulated garlic.
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream: You can use milk or half and half if that is on hand.
- Potatoes: I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes but Russet potatoes or red potatoes work fine, too.
- Kosher salt, and red pepper flakes, optional
How to make Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Using the sauté setting on your Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker), cook the bacon until browned and crispy.
Remove the cooked bacon, setting it aside on a paper towel to drain; reserve.
Still using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add the sausage, onion, and garlic to the pot, crumbling the sausage.
Cook for 4-5 minutes or until it’s fully cooked through and the onions are nicely tender.
Move the ingredients to one side of the pot, then tip the Instant Pot a bit to one side, propping it up with a hot pad or kitchen towel.
Let the hot fats drain to the lower side of the pot; use paper towels to sop up the fats, tossing them into the trash once all the fat has been absorbed.
Using the sauté setting again, add the flour to the cooked sausage mixture; stir and cook for one minute.
Add the broth, potatoes, and red pepper flakes to the Instant Pot, bringing the contents to a boil.
Cover and lock the Instant Pot lid into place.
Use the manual button to choose high pressure for 3 minutes, bringing the IP to full pressure.
When the timer sounds, perform a quick release to remove all pressure from the Instant Pot. Carefully unlock and remove the lid.
Stir in the baby kale or spinach and cream; taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
The baby kale or baby spinach cooks almost instantly when stirred in at this point.
If you add it at the beginning of the cooking process, the greens will be extremely overcooked.
Most dairy products can’t be cooked in the Instant Pot under pressure or they curdle.
This is typically a hard and fast rule when using the electric pressure cooker, but there always exceptions.
Stirring the cream in at the end allows it heat up from the heat of the ingredients in the Instant Pot, almost in seconds.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cooked, reserved bacon. Serve at once.
Baby kale and spinach vs mature kale and spinach
I try to buy baby kale whenever possible for my recipes.
If you’ve ever had mature kale, you probably remember it as tough, fibrous, and chewy.
Baby kale and spinach is meant to be eaten and enjoy it right away – tender and wonderful.
The best way to eat mature kale or spinach is to massage the dressing into it using your fingertips and then let it rest for 30 minutes or so to soften.
I can’t say that baby kale and/or baby spinach add lots of flavor to this soup, but they certainly add color and fiber to the soup.
Can I use ground beef instead of ground Italian sausage for this soup?
Yes, when browning the ground beef, I’d add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the pot.
Or, if you happen to be using plain ground sausage (instead of Italian sausage, as the recipe calls for), add 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to that as well.
More Soup Recipes to Enjoy
- This Instant Pot Baked Potato Soup is creamy, hearty, and fast.
- Pasta Fagioli
- Instant Chicken and Wild Rice SoupÂ
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Noodle SoupÂ
- Curried Butternut Squash Bisque
- Slow Cooker Potato Soup
- Speedy Instant Pot Vegetable Beef SoupÂ
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 strips center-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 lb. mild ground Italian sausage
- 2 Tbs. flour
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, skin-on, cut into 1" chunks
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
- 2-3 cups chopped and stemmed baby kale or baby spinach, or a combination of both
- 1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
Instructions
- Using the sauté setting on your Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker), cook the bacon until browned and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon, setting it aside on a paper towel to drain; reserve.
- Still using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add the sausage, onion, and garlic to the pot, crumbling the sausage, cooking it for 4-5 minutes or until it's fully cooked through and the onions are nicely tender.
- Move the ingredients to one side of the pot, then tip the Instant Pot a bit to one side, propping it up with a hot pad or kitchen towel. Let the hot fats drain to the lower side of the pot; use paper towels to sop up the fats, tossing them into the trash once all the fat has been absorbed.
- Using the sauté setting again, add the flour to the cooked sausage mixture; stir and cook for one minute.
- Add the broth, potatoes, and red pepper flakes to the Instant Pot, bringing the contents to a boil. Cover and lock the Instant Pot lid into place; use the manual button to choose high pressure for 3 minutes, bringing the IP to full pressure.
- When the timer sounds, perform a quick release to remove all pressure from the Instant Pot. Carefully unlock and remove the lid; stir in the spinach and cream. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cooked, reserved bacon. Serve at once.
