Instant Pot Potato Chowder

This recipe makes about 8 servings. You can easily halve it; cook time will stay the same.

Ingredients: 

1/2 pound bacon, cut into bite size pieces

1 large onion, finely diced

3 celery stalks, trimmed and diced

2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced (about 8 potatoes)

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup water

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of frozen sweet corn

Directions:

1. Spray Instant Pot with cooking Spray. Set to Saute.

2. Cook bacon until crispy. Press Cancel.

3. Remove bacon from the pot and most of the grease. Leave about 1 Tbsp of grease.

4. Set to Saute again. Add onion, celery, and potatoes to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions soften. Add garlic and brown for 1 minute. 

5. Press Cancel. Add broth, water, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir soup and lock on the lid. Make sure the vent is set to Sealing.

6. Select Manual for 3 minutes. When time is done, press Cancel and switch the vent to Venting for a quick release. 

7. Scoop out about 3 ladles of soup mixture and blend in blender.

8. Add blended soup back to the Instant Pot with cream, frozen corn, and bacon bits. 

9. Select Saute and bring the soup just to a boil, stirring often. Once it comes to a boil, select Cancel again and soup is ready to serve. Don't forget to stir once or twice after the Instant Pot is off. The bottom stays hot for a few more minutes.

Hint: You can add frozen corn to the bowls of hot soup to help it cool faster, instead of adding it in step 8.

Hint: For thicker chowder you can blend more soup, or add a cornstarch slurry to the soup and bring back to a boil. We thought the thickenss was just right without adding cornstarch and only blending a small portion of the soup.