The “All-Day Flavor in 30 Minutes” Soup: The Easiest Instant Pot Ham and Potato Soup!

Is there anything more comforting than a big, warm bowl of a rich soup that tastes like it has been simmering slowly on the stove for hours? A beautiful soup with a deep, savory broth and incredibly tender meat and vegetables. It is the kind of meal that feels like a true labor of love.

But on a busy weeknight, who really has hours to let a soup simmer to absolute perfection? What if you could achieve that exact same, incredible, slow-simmered flavor in less than 30 minutes? It is the beautiful, time-saving magic of a modern pressure cooker.

Today, we are using that magic to make this delicious Instant Pot Ham and Potato Soup. This recipe creates a creamy, hearty, and unbelievably flavour-packed soup in just a fraction of the traditional time. Get ready to experience comfort food, made incredibly fast.

The Ultimate “Comfort Food, Fast” Meal: Instant Pot Potato Soup

This Instant Pot Potato Soup is a true game-changer for anyone who loves deep, slow-simmered flavor but is short on time. The high pressure of the Instant Pot works like a time machine, perfectly cooking the potatoes until they are tender and infusing the broth with flavor in minutes, not hours. It is a foolproof method that delivers a rich and delicious soup every single time.

A Perfect Easy Leftover Ham Recipe for Quick Family Dinners

You will find that this is the perfect easy leftover ham recipe. It is a fantastic and delicious way to use up leftover ham from a holiday or a Sunday dinner, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. This soup is also one of the absolute best quick family dinners, as it is a hearty, one-pot meal that is guaranteed to be a hit with everyone.

Your Guide: How to Make a Creamy Soup in the Instant Pot

For anyone wondering how to make a creamy soup in the Instant Pot without the dairy curdling, the secret is to add your creamy ingredients at the very end of the cooking process. You will first pressure cook all of your main ingredients, like the potatoes and the aromatics, in the broth to cook them quickly and develop their flavor. After the pressure has been released, you will then use the ‘Sauté’ function to gently stir in your creamy ingredients, like heavy cream or cream cheese, and let them warm through without coming to a boil.

Why You’ll Love This Ham and Potato Soup

You are going to love this recipe because it delivers the rich, comforting flavor of a slow-cooked soup in under 30 minutes, thanks to the magic of the Instant Pot. You’ll also adore that it’s a hearty, creamy, and satisfying one-pot meal that is loaded with tender potatoes and savory ham. Plus, it’s the perfect, budget-friendly way to transform leftovers into a brand new and exciting family dinner.

Nutritional Benefits

This hearty and comforting soup is a wonderfully satisfying and complete meal. The ham provides a fantastic source of high-quality protein, while the potatoes offer complex carbohydrates for sustained energy. By making this delicious soup completely from scratch at home, you have complete control over the quality of your ingredients and can avoid the high sodium content found in many canned, store-bought soups.

Full Recipe

Are you ready to create the richest, creamiest, and most delicious potato soup of your life, all with the incredible speed and ease of your Instant Pot? This detailed guide will walk you through every simple step, from sautéing the aromatics to the final creamy finish. Get ready to master a new family-favorite that will make your weeknights so much easier.

Your Instant Pot makes this classic ham and potato soup a weeknight dinner dream. This recipe delivers that slow-simmered flavor in under 30 minutes. It’s a creamy, hearty soup packed with savory ham and tender potatoes, making it a perfect family-friendly meal.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Yield: 8 servings | Category: Soup, Dinner, Main Course | Method: Pressure Cooking | Cuisine: American | Diet: N/A

Essential Ingredients for Ham and Potato Soup

This hearty and comforting Instant Pot soup comes together with a handful of classic, delicious ingredients.

• Potatoes: 2.5 lbs (about 1.2 kg) of Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
• Ham: 2 cups of cooked ham, cubed
• Aromatics: 1 large onion, chopped & 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• For the Creamy Base:
  • 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup of heavy cream
  • 4 oz (½ block) of cream cheese, softened
• Fat: 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Seasoning: Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Garnish: Sliced green onions and shredded cheddar cheese

Ingredients Notes

A little more detail on our key ingredients will ensure your soup is a spectacular success.

• The Potatoes: For the best, most creamy texture where the potatoes still hold their shape, it is recommended to use a waxy potato variety like Yukon Golds or red potatoes for this recipe. Their flesh becomes beautifully creamy and tender without completely falling apart under the high pressure of the Instant Pot.
• The Ham: This recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover holiday ham. You will want to cut the ham into small, bite-sized cubes. If you don’t have leftover ham, you can easily buy a pre-cooked ham steak from the grocery store and dice it up.
• The Creamy Base: Our simple, from-scratch creamy base is what makes this soup so rich and delicious. The heavy cream adds a wonderful, luscious richness to the final soup. The addition of softened cream cheese at the end is a secret weapon that makes the soup extra velvety and adds a subtle, delicious tang.
• The Broth: Using a good quality, low-sodium chicken broth allows you to control the final saltiness of your soup, which is especially important when you are using a salty ingredient like ham.

How to Make Comfort Food, Fast

Let’s walk through the incredibly simple one-pot process for this ultimate comfort food soup.

• Step 1: Sauté the Aromatics. Set your Instant Pot to the ‘Sauté’ function. Once it is hot, melt the butter and then add the chopped onion. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring, until the onion has softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for one more minute until it is fragrant.
• Step 2: Pressure Cook the Soup. Add the cubed potatoes, the cubed ham, and the chicken broth to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid, set the valve to the ‘Sealing’ position, and pressure cook on HIGH for 8 minutes.
• Step 3: Release the Pressure. Once the cooking time is complete, perform a quick release of the pressure by carefully moving the valve to the ‘Venting’ position.
• Step 4: Make it Creamy. Use a potato masher to gently mash some of the potatoes directly in the pot to thicken the soup, leaving some nice chunks for texture.
• Step 5: The Final Creamy & Cheesy Touches. Press ‘Cancel’ and then set the Instant Pot back to the ‘Sauté’ function on low. Stir in the softened cream cheese until it has completely melted into the soup. Slowly stir in the heavy cream and let the soup warm through for a minute or two, but do not let it come to a boil.
• Step 6: Serve and Enjoy. Season the soup with salt and pepper to your taste. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with some shredded cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.

Storage Options

This Instant Pot ham and potato soup is a fantastic make-ahead meal, and the flavours get even better overnight. Once the soup has cooled completely, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can easily reheat it on the stovetop over a low heat or in the microwave.

Variations and Substitutions

This classic comfort food recipe is a wonderful and versatile template. You can easily make this a vegetarian soup by omitting the ham, using vegetable broth, and sautéing your onions in olive oil. For a bit of a spicy kick, feel free to add a finely diced jalapeño to the pot along with the onions. You can also add other delicious vegetables like a cup of frozen corn during the final step.

Practical & Valuable Tips

For the most flavourful soup, be sure to take the extra few minutes to sauté your onions and garlic before you start the pressure cooking process. It is very important to add your dairy ingredients like the cream cheese and heavy cream at the very end, after the pressure cooking is complete, to prevent them from curdling. Finally, using a simple potato masher to thicken the soup is a great trick that gives you a perfect texture that is both creamy and hearty.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I use a different kind of potato for this soup? Yes, you can. A starchy potato, like a Russet, will also work well, but it will break down more during the pressure cooking process and result in a thicker, less chunky soup.
2. Can I freeze this potato soup? While you can freeze it, please be aware that potato soups that contain dairy can sometimes have a slightly grainy or separated texture after they have been frozen and thawed. For the absolute best creamy texture, this soup is best enjoyed fresh or as refrigerated leftovers.
3. My soup is too thin. How can I thicken it? If your soup is thinner than you’d like, you can simply mash more of the potatoes with your potato masher. You can also create a simple slurry by mixing one tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water and stirring it into the soup on the ‘Sauté’ function until it has thickened.
4. Can I make this on the stovetop instead of in the Instant Pot? Yes, absolutely. You would simply follow all the same steps in a large pot or Dutch oven on the stove. You would just need to increase the simmering time in step 2 to about 15-20 minutes, or until your potatoes are completely fork-tender.
5. Do I have to peel my potatoes for this recipe? This is a matter of personal preference. For a creamier, more classic result, peeling the potatoes is recommended. However, if you are using a thin-skinned potato like a Yukon Gold or a red potato and you enjoy a more rustic texture and the extra fiber, you can certainly leave the skins on.

Conclusion

This Instant Pot Ham and Potato Soup is the perfect comfort food for a cozy and satisfying meal. It’s a dish that takes all the beloved flavors of a classic slow-simmered soup and delivers them in a fraction of the time, thanks to the magic of your pressure cooker. It is a foolproof, family-favorite recipe that is guaranteed to have everyone at your table feeling warm and happy. This is a perfect, easy family dinner. If you love this easy and delicious comfort food, don’t forget to share it and save it to your favorite soup recipes board on Pinterest!