Made completely in the instant pot in under an hour, this instant pot potato leek soup is perfectly creamy, cheesy, and loaded with flavorful leeks and hearty potatoes.
If I had to live on one soup the rest of my life, it would be this potato leek soup, hands down. Words can’t even describe the goodness that’s hitting your food feed today.
It’s not the most appetizing color, I know. But TRUST me when I say it tastes about 20x better than it looks.
We are literally obsessed with this soup and have been making it on repeat the past few weeks. And obviously consuming our weight in bread alongside bowl after bowl.
I mean, it’s kinda green-ish and includes lots of potatoes. So maybe your new St. Patrick’s day tradition??
Potatoes and leeks go together like two peas in a pod so this soup just works flawlessly. The fact that it’s made entirely in the instant pot and tastes like actual liquid gold doesn’t hurt either.
This Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup features…
- The most luxuriously creamy texture
- Hearty Yukon gold potatoes and flavorful fresh leeks
- The option to add shredded cheddar to make it cheesy
- Made completely in the instant pot with only 9 ingredients
Making the Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
(scroll down to the bottom of post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Yukon gold potatoes
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Unsalted butter
- Chicken broth
- Bay leaf
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese (optional)
- Chives
Choosing Your Potatoes
We find that Yukon golds or yellow potatoes work best in this recipe because of their buttery, fluffy texture.
If you need a substitute for the golds, we would recommend russet potatoes. The texture won’t be quite as creamy but it will still be delicious!
Tips for Perfect Potato Leek Soup
- Clean your leeks well – we find its easiest to do this by slicing leeks in half lengthwise and running under cold water to dislodge any dirt from the interior leaves.
- Saute leeks in instant pot – use the BROWN/SAUTE setting to saute your leeks until slightly softened and fragrant.
- Add the rest of the soup ingredients – chicken broth, (use veggie broth if you want to keep this soup vegetarian!) a bay leaf, fresh garlic, and diced potatoes get added to the instant pot and it’s ready for cooking!
- Cook soup on high pressure 8 minutes – then unplug and allow the instant pot to de-pressurize naturally for about 10 minutes after cooking.
- Blend soup – you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender for this. Work in batches if you go the regular blender route!
- Add cream cheese and cheddar – these two cheeses make the soup so luxuriously creamy and rich.
- Serve soup with fresh chives on top – also fresh crusty bread slices are a must here!
How to Make Soup on the Stove
If you don’t have an instant pot, you can still make this recipe! Follow these instructions for a stovetop version. —>
- In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, saute leeks in butter over medium-high heat just as you would in the instant pot.
- Add chicken broth, bay leaf, garlic, and potatoes to pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally.
- Blend soup and add cheeses per recipe instructions.
Storing and Freezing Soup
This soup may be stored in the refrigerator up to 6 days. For reheating, we recommend heating to 165F either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
You can also freeze this soup very well. Cool soup completely then transfer to a container and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw soup completely in refrigerator before reheating.
Y’all, there’s really just no words for how freaking incredible this soup is. For how little ingredients it has and just how overall SIMPLE it is…just pure insanity.
The creaminess is 12/10, the potato + leek flavor is to die for, and it is legit heaven on earth paired with a thick slice of crusty French bread. Or three. Really, there’s no boundaries here.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
If you enjoyed this soup, you’ll love these other instant pot soups!
Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
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Ingredients
- 3 medium leeks (3-4 cups chopped)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-in cubes
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
- Minced fresh chives and cheddar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- To prep the leeks, cut and discard the roots and the tough green parts. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and run under cold water to remove any dirt. Slice the white and light green parts into fine 1/4-in slices.
- Heat a 4-qt instant pot using BROWN/SAUTE function. Add butter to instant pot and swirl to coat bottom. Add leeks to instant pot and saute 3-5 minutes until tender. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute.
- Turn off instant pot and add potatoes, chicken broth, and bay leaf. Seal lid into place and close vent.
- Cook soup on high pressure 8 minutes, then release pressure naturally for 10 minutes.
- Open vent and release any remaining steam in instant pot. Unlock lid and remove bay leaf from soup.
- Working in batches, transfer soup to blender to blend smooth OR use an immersion blender. Add cream cheese and and cheddar if using and blend until smooth. Return soup to instant pot.
- Season soup with salt and pepper if needed and keep warm in instant pot until ready to serve (you can keep warm in instant pot up to 2 hours) Garnish individual soup servings with minced chives and cheddar if desired. Enjoy!
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