Instant Pot Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup
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This Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup is an easy one pot dinner made in your Instant Pot. Creamy cauliflower, potatoes, bacon, cheese and garlic combine into a thick, hearty soup with robust flavor and texture.
We love our creamy soups for their hearty and nutritious qualities that make them an excellent meal.
Our garden potato towers and potato barrels gave us a good load of spuds to use up this winter. We grew mostly white and red potato and a few purple potatoes too.
Our cauliflower crop was pretty minor this year so we purchased a medium head to add to this dinner. Potatoes and cauliflower are great together with the cheese and bacon.
Looking for a crock pot version of potato soup? Try our Loaded Baked Potato Crock Pot Soup.
Looking for more Instant pot recipes? Try Instant Pot Six Gun Chili and Meaty Italian Pasta Dinner. Our entire Instant Pot Recipe selection is found here.
After I cracked my third slow cooker in less than two years it became clear I needed a different kitchen tool for slow cooking. The Instant Pot is it! It has a stainless steel cooking pot and seven different function keys. I do so much with this pot.
And look what a great cauliflower soup recipe it made in very little time.
Cauliflower is a fantastic vegetable. It’s very healthy for you. It’s very popular as a potato substitute in recipes to lower carbs. This recipe is not low carb because it has potatoes. You can choose a lower starch variety of potato to help with that.
Cauliflower is replacing a good amount the potatoes in this potato and cauliflower soup. So it is lower carb than potato soup. Cauliflower cheese soup with potatoes. The cauliflower adds loads of excellent nutrients and fiber to this soup. And it tastes good too.
Use a bacon substitute if you need to reduce your sodium. Bacon is very high in sodium. That will bring the sodium level in this soup way down.
Instant Pot Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup Recipe
This is not a really thick potato soup with a bit of cauliflower, it’s more of a cheesy cauliflower soup with potatoes.
Some of our readers have made this instant pot cheesy cauliflower soup expecting a more robust consistency. Here are some suggestions for you to try if you want to change the texture.
If you prefer a thicker soup
- Add more potatoes if you have room in your pot.
- Use a drier variety of potato like russets. We prefer the whites and reds which are lower in starch and make a thinner soup.
- You may also thicken this soup with a homemade roux after you open the pot. After stirring it if you want a thicker consistency:
- Set the pot to SAUTÈ function.
- In a small bowl add 2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch to 1/2 cup of cold water. Whisk it and then stir it into your soup.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Stir it until you like the soup consistency and then serve.
You may serve this soup either very chunky, or blended into a creamy texture
- Simply use a hand held potato masher to achieve the rougher textured soup.
- For a smooth texture use an immersion blender to blend the texture.
Your Printable Recipe Card:
Instant Pot Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup
This is an easy, gluten free one pot dinner made in your Instant Pot. Enjoy the rich flavor of creamy potato, cheese and bacon with cauliflower to add nutritious fiber and reduce calories!
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes-any yellow or white potato of medium size- cored and peeled and cut into large 2 inch chunks (choose lower starch varieties to lower carbs)
- 1 medium head of cauliflower- cut away green leaves and chop head into several large chunks
- 1/2 lb bacon-chopped (OR choose a low sodium bacon substitute)
- 4 cloves garlic-chopped fine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Set Instant pot to SAUTE. Press the + adjust button.
- Prep and add in bacon and garlic. Cook about four minutes or until bacon is cooked to slightly browned. Be sure to add enough extra bacon to reserve some for garnish if desired.
- Once cooked. Drain off the grease and set aside the amount of bacon you need for the garnish.
- Add in the peeled potatoes, chopped cauliflower and chicken stock. Place lid on and push vent to seal.
- Press MANUAL button and Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure. Turn pot off.
- Natural release for 10 minutes. Then quick release until pressure is totally released.
- Remove the instant pot lid. Add in the milk and 1 1/4 Cup of the cheese. Mash the potatoes and cauliflower with a potato masher or immersion blender until you like the consistency. Add more broth as desired.
- Serve with remaining cheese shreds and bacon crumbles on top as desired.
Notes
PLEASE NOTE: This soup is not intended to be a thick soup. If you want it thick add more potatoes or add your favorite thickener after you quick release and open the pot. Use the sautè function if you need to boil the soup with a cornstarch or flour based roux.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 350Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 55mgSodium 1116mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 5gSugar 6gProtein 21g
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This recipe is featured in 15 Instant Pot Recipes You Can make In Your RV
Adapted from the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Laurel Randolph
This soup looks very inviting. I noticed that once you cook all the bacon and remove it for later, it says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about draining the grease from the pan. Am I to believe that you kept all that grease in the soup?
Thanks for pointing this out. I’ll add the draining process into the recipe. I hope you let us know how you like it. Have a great day!
I made this tonight and followed your recipe. It was absolutely delicious! My whole family including a 4yr old and 1yr old devoured thier bowls. Really easy and all the ingredients in had already on hand! Thank you!
Hi Kristie, That’s wonderful news! Thank you so much for rating this recipe and letting us know your family enjoyed it. I’m so happy it worked well for you. It’s one of our favorite easy weeknight meals. Have a fantastic evening.
This was WAY too thin and not at all what I was expecting. I would use half the liquid next time. Please change the recipe, as it looks nothing like the picture when done.
Hi Karin,
Feel free to thicken the soup next time if you prefer. The picture was taken of the soup in this recipe exactly as this recipe specifies. I created this soup and this is how it should look when finished.
It’s not meant to be a really thick soup. I hope you tweak this recipe to make it your own. That’s the beauty of homemade food.
Thanks so much for offering your feedback and experience with this recipe. Have a great day!
I’m making this recipe now, but have a few observations and questions. In Step 1, what do you adjust the saute function to? Normal? More? For Step 3, you first need to cancel the saute function before pressing Manual or Pressure Cook (on newer models). Lastly, it isn’t mention when you add the pepper, which is listed in the ingredients. I’m going to add it at the end, after cooking. Thank you for posting the recipe. It sounds delicious.
Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for pointing out the details I missed when describing the steps in this recipe. I ‘ll go back into the post soon and clear up the recipe card. I hope you enjoy the soup!
We loved the soup! I was able to make it in my new Instant Pot Mini. The ingredients all fit perfectly. We don’t eat meat, so left the bacon out. It was delicious without it. Five stars!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m so happy you enjoyed this soup recipe and it fit into your mini. Even better you made it work well for your family. Thanks so much for the five star rating and have a great day!:)
This soup was amazing and so easy! Added some salt and pepper and it turned out perfectly
Hi Kylie, Thank you for coming back and rating the recipe for us and sharing how it went for you. So glad you enjoyed this recipe. We love it too!
This is the 6th time I’ve made this soup, and each time I try something a little different just for fun. I love this recipe, and definitely think it’s a winner! Thanks so much!
Hi Sterling, Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this recipe and rating it for us. We love this soup too. I’m delighted your having fun adjusting the ingredients and playing with it. Homemade Cooking in it’s best form. Have a great day! You certainly improved mine 🙂
This was super yummy!! I added frozen corn and thickened it up with the water/cornstarch like u said! So good, even 3 year old approves!! Do u think
This would even work with turkey sausage? I am trying to think of a way to
Involve a meat too!
Hi Carrie, I’m so Happy your family enjoyed Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup. I love how you added the corn too. That sound like a nummy combo with this recipe. I would certainly give the Turkey sausage a try, or a chicken sausage. Either would probably work fine in this soup. I really appreciate your feedback on this recipe. Thanks for sharing how you used it. If you do the sausage we’d love to know how that works out too. Have a great day and thanks again!
I wasn’t a big fan.The amount of chicken made it watery.I prefer a thicker soup. The taste was really good.
Hi Debbi, Thanks so much for sharing your opinion on this recipe and giving us your rating. It’s especially helpful that you let us know the consistency was a bit thin for you but you enjoyed the flavor. If you make it again adding more potatoes might help you enjoy it better. Or after the soup is done set the instant pot to saute’ and add in 2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with a bit of water. After the soup boils a couple of minutes it should thicken for you. Thanks again and have a great day!
I didn’t see chicken listed in the ingredient list. Even so, I don’t know how adding chicken could make it watery.
Hi Angel, I believe The commenter, Debi Pots was actually referring to the chicken broth in the recipe. This recipe is not made to be a thick soup but I do give instructions on how to thicken it if you prefer. Thanks for being part of our Homemade Food Junkie community and have a great day!
Hi,
I am making this tonight! Can’t wait to try it! Do you happen to know how much saturated fat and sugar are in this recipe?
Hi Brooke, Im sorry I don’t have that detailed info for you. I did find this. CALORIES OF FAT: 188 and the calories of CARBS: 72 and the calories of PROTEIN: 59. I hope that helps. Enjoy!
Thank you!
That was very fulfilling and a great way to learn to use an Instant Pot for the first time (arguably fail-safe). We added some green onion and cracked pepper as a garnish with the cheese.
Hi KC, Thanks so much for sharing your experience with this recipe. Happy Holidays!
Do I need to pre-cook the bacon? You mention adding bacon crumbles in at the end as a topper – Just verifying.
Hi Shonae, All the bacon goes into the instant pot on saute mode as the recipe describes. After it’s crispy to your preference continue with the recipe. For the bacon crumbles at the end I would add more bacon into the pot on saute and reserve some crumbles. The amount of bacon you add in extra would depend on how many crumbles you want for garnish.
Thanks for the question. I hope this clears that up for you. Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you. have a great day!
Well i’ve had it cooking on high for 10 minutes but its not ready to be mashed – should I just go another 10?
Hi Shoenae, If you put the dairy under pressure the results will not be good. Neither potatoes nor cauliflower require a great deal of cooking time. I’m guessing you put large potatoes in whole and they didn’t cook completely. They should have. Especially using a natural release method. I hope the recipe worked for you in the end. I have revised the instructions to say to cut the potatoes into 2 inch chunks. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I really appreciate it.
I made this today with my Instant Pot and I thought it was too salty and no thickness to it. I am adding other vegetables hoping to make it more appealing. I went by the recipe exactly.
Hi Louise, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this recipe. I am so glad you mentioned the salt! I have eliminated the salt from the recipe ingredient list. The bacon and cheese are both salty. For those of us that prefer more saltiness we can easily add it at serving. Also our family eats a natural brand of bacon that is not high in salt. You may prefer a lower salt bacon or just reduce the amount of bacon to your taste. This soup is not meant to be a thick soup. You can thicken it if you prefer. It should be great either way. Have a great day!
Great recipe. I didn’t have any bacon and not enough cauliflower, but I did have extra broccoli and carrots so I threw them in. I love how easy it is to make soup in the Instant Pot!
Hi Amy, Thanks for stopping by with your lovely comment. I love that you used what you had on hand. What a great way to make this recipe work for you! Try this soup with bacon when you have it for some added yummy flavor. I am loving my instant pot too. A whole new world of cooking is opening up! Have a great day.
I bought an InstaPot and haven’t even opened it yet. I think this recipe has convinced me to give it a go!
Hi Renee, I loved mine so far. It’s wonderful for one pot dinners like this. You can even saute in it!
OMG, I just got an Instant pot too and have been wondering what to do with it. Your photos are simply gorgeous, and I think this may be the first recipe I try! Thanks!
Hi Karen, I’m having a fun time learning all this amazing tool can do. I love it! This cheesy cauliflower potato soup is yummy. Enjoy!