Instant Pot Potato and Corn Chowder Recipe

This recipe for Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder disappears every time I make it. It’s an easy recipe, and I share some products that make it even easier with affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

It’s officially soup season. How do I know? I’ve made soup so often that I ran out of ladles to serve it. No joke.

On the plus side, soups are super easy to make and low maintenance once you toss everything into the Instant Pot. They’re perfect for the nights I run one child one direction then the other in the opposite direction – yay no babysitting my cooking.

And my family clearly loves them. Every time I go to grab a bowl for lunch, I realize my family ate all the leftovers and I have none left. It’s rough.

What makes this soup even better? Of course it’s the bacon. Repeat after me: bacon makes everything better.

Not only do I add bacon to the soup, both a bit mixed into the soup and of course sprinkling bacon atop the soup before I serve it, but I cook the onion and garlic in the bacon fat.

That right there is your secret to delicousness. I save all my extra bacon fat whenever we cook any, and I use it elsewhere. It’s absolutely perfect as a subtle flavor in my chicken fried rice in place of some of the oil.

You know where else that extra bacon fat tastes amazing? When you make a vingaigrette, you use oil, a fat. Bacon vinaigrette? It’s heavenly served warm over a salad.

And of course substitute it for lard in tamales. Or if you’re me, make tamales more easily with skillet tamales or tamale pot pies, a family favorite!

But today we’re talking about potato corn chowder, remember?

Need more Instant Pot inspiration? Check out more of my favorite recipes at the bottom of this article.

How to Make Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder

Turn your Instant Pot to saute. You want the inner liner hot before you add bacon to help reduce sticking.

Cut the bacon into matchsticks with a sharp knife, then add to the pot. Saute, stirring periodically until cooked and lightly crispy.

While the bacon cooks, peel and chop your onion and garlic. Need a quick lesson to learn how to chop an onion really efficiently? Check out the video tutorial.

Once the bacon finishes cooking, turn the Instant Pot off for a short bit. Use tongs to place the bacon in a bowl lined with a paper towel to absorb grease.

Carefully pour the bacon grease into a glass jar. For safety, always pour away from yourself!

Add 3 tablespoons of bacon grease back to the liner, then wipe down the liner to ensure no grease spilled on the outside. Return the liner to the Instant Pot, and return it to saute.

You may notice that there are some browned bits at the bottom of the pot, but don’t panic. You probably know that browning on the bottom often leads to that dreaded burn message when you try to cook with your Instant Pot.

Onion are magical at deglazing. Once the liner with the bacon grease it hot again, add the onion and stir with a flat edge wooden spoon. They’ll quickly help the browned bits release from the bottom.

Add the dried parsley and minced garlic. Stir and continue to cook until the onion is softened and very lightly browned, which comes mostly from the bacon grease. It will be just 2-3 minutes, then turn off the Instant Pot.

Ensure your potatoes are clean, then slice them into bite size chunks. I love using B size red potatoes because they have such thin skins and cook nicely.

You can use other potatoes, too, and you don’t need to peel them, even russet potatoes, but I prefer thin skinned waxy potatoes for my Instant Pot potato corn chowder.

Add the potatoes to the Instant Pot along with the chicken stock and pepper and 2 tablespoons of your bacon (save the rest for later). I prefer to hold off on adding salt until after everything cooks, but you will add it!

Close the lid and set the vent to seal. Cook for 9 minutes, then let the Instant Pot release its pressure for 10 minutes. After that, carefully release any remaining pressure and remove the lid.

Optional step: Use an immersion blender to quickly puree just a little bit. You just need to do three or four quick bursts to thicken the Instant Pot potato corn chowder while still leaving lots of potato chunks.

Add the corn and salt and stir. Turn the Instant Pot to saute again.

In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and a quarter cup of the half and half. Stir with a fork to remove lumps and add to the Instant Pot.

Stir until the soup thickens slightly. Once it thickens, turn the Instant Pot to warm and add the half and half. Stir, and taste for seasoning. Add extra salt or pepper, as needed.

Serve immediately. This lasts two to three days in your fridge in a tightly sealed container, as well. Just reheat prior to serving.

Are you ready to make Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder?

Instant Pot Potato and Corn Chowder

This simple hearty meal is a perfect fall or winter soup. It's naturally gluten free, and a simple recipe that takes little time to prepare.

5 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 19 minutes minutes

Inactive Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 44 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Michelle

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces bacon cut into matchsticks
• 1 medium onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 pounds red potatoes
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup half and half

Instructions

• Turn Instant Pot to saute and cut bacon into matchsticks. Add to pot and cook until crispy, stirring periodically.
  8 ounces bacon
• While bacon cooks, peel and chop onion and garlic.
• When bacon finishes cooking, turn off Instant Pot and remove bacon.
• Carefully pour bacon grease into a glass jar. Add 3 tablespoons of bacon grease back to liner, then wipe down outside of liner. Return to Instant Pot, and turn on saute.
• Once hot, add the onion and stir to deglaze. Add dried parsley and garlic. Cook until onion is softened and very lightly browned - 2-3 minutes, then turn off Instant Pot.
  1 medium onion, 2 tablespoons dried parsley, 4 cloves garlic
• Slice cleaned potatoes into bite size chunks and add to Instant Pot with chicken stock, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of bacon (save the rest for later).
  2 pounds red potatoes, 3 cups chicken stock, 1 teaspoon pepper
• Close lid and set vent to seal. Cook for 9 minutes, then let NPR for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure and remove the lid.
• Optional step: Use an immersion blender to quickly puree just a little bit, still leaving lots of potato chunks.
• Add corn and salt and stir. Turn Instant Pot to saute.
  3 cups frozen corn, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• In small bowl, add cornstarch and 1/4 cup half and half. Stir with a fork to remove lumps and add to Instant Pot.
  2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 cup half and half
• Stir until soup thickens slightly, then turn Instant Pot to warm and add remaining half and half. Stir, and taste for seasoning. Add extra salt or pepper, as needed.
• Serve immediately. This lasts two to three days in your fridge in a tightly sealed container, as well. Just reheat prior to serving.

Video

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• 4 Ounce Mason Jars
• Kitchen Tongs
• Immersion Blender
• Wooden Spoon Set
• Food Storage Containers

Notes

• If you are also corn-free, you can omit the cornstarch. Either add a few extra potatoes and do a little extra pureeing to use the potato to thicken or enjoy a slightly less thick soup. Either way, it's delicious!
• For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.

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Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 8.47g | Fat: 11.7g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 582mg | Fiber: 3.3g | Sugar: 8g

This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

Check out more of my favorite Instant Pot recipes:

• Chicken Paprikash
• Easy meatballs and sauce for spaghetti
• French onion soup
• Sweet and smoky baked beans
• Carnitas – perfect for tacos and burrito bowls
• Mashed potatoes
• Wisconsin cheese soup (stovetop recipe also available)
• Corn chowder
• Spanish rice (one of my most popular recipes!)
• Creamy chickpea tomato soup (with adaptation to make on stovetop)
• Easy peasy tomato soup
• Homemade chicken stock
• Updated (healthier) honey bourbon chicken
• Easy beef stroganoff
• Chicken curry
• Pulled pork
• Broccoli cheddar soup
• 15 minute orange chicken
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Lentil Soup
• Taco pie
• Risotto with peas and lemon

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