Making Potato Soup in your Ninja Foodi or any electric pressure cooker is so easy and it's almost completely hands off. While there are tons of varieties of potato soup, included a loaded baked potato soup, this recipe is a decadent, yet simple recipe that is unbelievably delicious.
You only need a few ingredients and you can customize them to make the potato soup that you and your family will love!
If you love all things potatoes, like my husband does, then you will also love these recipes. One of the best uses for leftover mashed potatoes is making a quick potato soup!
If you want to keep it low carb and not skip the flavor, give this cauliflower mash a try, it's amazing! Don't they look just like potatoes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, you can freeze it, however you may not be a fan of the texture when you reheat it. Frozen potato soup tends to get a little grainy when thawed and the cream sometimes separates. If you want to freeze it, my recommendation is to add some cream when reheating and maybe even blend it with an immersion blender to improve the texture.
The other thing you can do is thaw your soup when you have leftover mashed potatoes and add those to the soup to improve the texture. When reheating, you don't want to boil the soup, so a lower heat will work best.
Absolutely! Simply add some cream and chicken or vegetable broth to the mashed potatoes while heating on a low heat. The amount of liquid you add depends on the consistency you like. You can also add cheese, crispy bacon, chives or green onions.
The type of potato you use will have a direct impact on the texture of your soup, so choosing the best potatoes for the outcome you want is key. There isn't a right or wrong here, simply what is best for texture you want.
I use and recommend using Russet potatoes, which are a starchy or floury potato because they create a thick, yet smooth and almost light feeling potato soup. A mixture of Yukon Gold & Russets also works perfectly.
If you like a thicker, heavier texture, then consider using Yukon Gold mixed with some white or red new potatoes. New potatoes are simply young-harvested potatoes, but because they require a little more work to mash them, they tend to make the potato soup a little glue-like. For this reason, I don't recommend using them solely. Instead mix them with other potatoes, like Russets or Yukon Gold for the best outcome.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Potatoes
I used all Russet potatoes in this recipe, but you can use a variety of potatoes. I do recommend using at least 50% Russets or a floury potato for the best results. A combination of Russets and Yukon Gold Potatoes works great. Smaller, new or red potatoes or other waxy potatoes tend to get too gummy and really change the texture of your potato soup, so I wouldn't use more than 25% of that type of potato mixed with 75% Russet (floury) potatoes.
Liquid ingredients
This recipe calls for chicken stock or broth, heavy cream, and cherry brandy for the liquid. You can absolutely switch out the chicken broth for a vegetable broth or even water. If you decide to use water, you may need to increase your seasonings.
The heavy cream adds richness to the soup, but you can use all half & half if you prefer. If your soup isn't as thick as you like, use a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken it. See how to do that below.
You can also use whole milk or even skim milk in place of the heavy cream, but your soup will be thinner. You can add less chicken broth (which is divided in the recipe) after pressure cooking or thicken with a cornstarch slurry (instructions below).
The cherry brandy is completely optional, but I love the hint of flavor it gives to this soup. If you choose not to use the brandy, you don't have to replace it with anything else.
Cheeses
This recipe uses a combination of cheeses, including cream cheese and smoked gouda. The cream cheese adds a creaminess and a slight tart flavor and you could certainly use sour cream instead. If you choose to use sour cream, then cut back on the chicken stock that is added at the end since sour cream is thinner than cream cheese.
Smoked gouda is one of my favorite cheeses and the flavor works wonderfully with the garlic, however I encourage you to use whatever cheese you like. If you want to keep your soup white, use a white shredded cheese.
Seasonings
This easy potato soup recipe is seasoned with basic salt and pepper with a touch of nutmeg. I also use onions and garlic to bring flavor into the soup and I don't want you to be alarmed by the amount of garlic because it ends up very mild. By keeping the garlic cloves whole and cooking them with the potatoes, they take on a mild, sweet flavor of garlic that is not overwhelming at all.
If you wanted to use minced garlic instead, then I would only add 1-2 teaspoons as it will be much stronger in flavor.
The extra step of browning the onions also brings flavor into the soup and although it takes a little extra time, the results are worth it.
Extras
The only extras I add to this soup are green onions, but you can add anything you like. Crispy bacon added at the end is always delicious or you can use those potato peels to make crispy potato peels in your air fryer. If you want to see how to do that, here is the recipe link: Crispy Potato Skins
Other Cooking Methods for Recipe
Stove Top Instructions
The easiest way to make potato soup is in a pot on the stove. Use the burner on medium to medium high to sauté the onions, add the peeled whole garlic cloves when the onions are almost done sautéing. Peel and cube your potatoes and place them in the pot. Add about 3 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until they are tender and turn off the heat or turn it down to low. This should take about 15 minutes or so.
Look and see how much liquid you have left in your potatoes. If it is more than 1 - 1 ½ cups you might want to strain some off and reserve in case you need it.
Then proceed with the recipe as written.
How to Make the Recipe
Prep
Remove the cream cheese from the fridge. Dice the onion into ¼-½" dice. Grate the cheese. Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole.
Sauté
Turn the sear/sauté setting on high, add the butter and let the pot heat up. When the butter has melted, add the diced onion and reduce the heat to medium. Stir the onions occasionally.
While the onions are browning, peel and cut the potatoes into 1-2" cubes and add them to the pot.
Add the whole garlic cloves. Add the salt, black pepper and stir. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown, stirring occasionally.
Deglaze & Pressure Cook
Pour in the sherry to deglaze the pot. Add in ONE cup of chicken broth and scrape along the bottom of the pot to loosen anything that might be stuck on. If you aren't using the sherry, just use the chicken broth to deglaze the pot.
Put the pressure lid on and turn the valve to SEAL. Set the pressure on high for 10 minutes. When the pressure time is up, allow the pot to natural release for 5 minutes and then manually release the remaining pressure. You can leave the keep warm on.
Finishing Touches
Open the lid and stir with a spoon or use a potato masher to break up the potatoes. I love using my (affiliate link)Mix 'N Mash for this, it works perfectly! Add in the cream cheese, grated smoked gouda and stir.
Add in ½ cup of the remaining chicken broth and ½ cup of heavy cream. Stir and add the remaining chicken broth and cream if needed. I have always used all of it, but if you want a thicker soup, you may not want to add it all.
If you want a super smooth soup, allow it to cool and either blend it or use a food processor to remove any lumps. I have found that the soup is perfect without doing this, there are just a few small bits of potato after stirring to break them up or using a potato masher.
Chop and add the green onions. Add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and taste for seasonings. Add more nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir & Serve.
Enjoy your creamy potato soup!
Pressure Cooker Potato Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼-½ teaspoon nutmeg
Potato Soup
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 1-2 bulbs garlic about 24 garlic cloves
- 3 lbs Russet Potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons cherry brandy optional
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock divided in recipe
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3 ounces smoked gouda or cheese of choice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 green onions
Instructions
- Get the cream cheese out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Dice the onion into ¼-½" dice. Peel the garlic cloves. Grate the cheese.
- Heat the inner pot on high sear/sauté and add butter. Add the diced onions and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the onions to cook until they begin to brown.
- Peel & cut the potatoes into 1-2" cubes and add to the pot. Add the garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
- Pour in the cherry brandy if using (or use the chicken stock) and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Pour in ONE cup of chicken broth and put the pressure lid on. Turn the valve to SEAL and set the pressure for 10 minutes. When the time is up allow the pot to natural release for 5 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid and use a spoon or nylon potato masher to break up the potatoes. Add the cream cheese and grated smoked gouda. Stir to combine and allow the cheeses to melt. Add in ½ cup of chicken broth and ½ cup of heavy cream and stir or use potato masher until the soup is the texture you desire. Add in the remaining chicken broth and heavy cream if the soup needs to be a little thinner. I have always used the entire amount, but if you like I thicker potato soup, you may not want to.
- Chop the green onions and stir into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve & Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
ABOUT THE RECIPE AUTHOR, LOUISE LONG
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and getting the most out of the Ninja Foodi.
Ninja Foodi Fresh & Healthy Meals
Seeing the need for easy, delicious, and high quality recipes, she is focusing all of her efforts creating recipes specifically for the Ninja Foodi. Her recipes are easy for the home cook to follow and provide step-by-step instructions.
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE COOKING UP IN YOUR NINJA FOODI! TAG ME @THESALTEDPEPPER ON YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WHEN YOU MAKE A DISH!
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Troy Batuik
Thanks so much for your blog. You are my first place I search for food recipes especially the ninja foodi ones. I just made the potato soup and it was awesome. As a side note I also do nursing “31” years, 5 more to go but who’s counting right 😁. Anyways with 12 hr shifts, quick recipes like this help. And you make the instructions very well layed out.Thanks again
Louise
I am thrilled to hear this and thank you for your service as a nurse. I only made it 28 years and had to move on.