15 Instant Pot Soup Recipes That Require Less Than 30 Minutes of Hands-On Work (2024)

If you’ve got an Instant Pot, you’re well aware that the brand of slow cooker can do pretty much anything, from whipping up yogurt to baking homemade cakes. As some Instant Pot owners may know, the workhorse appliance can also make soup. While the cooking process still takes several hours, the Instant Pot does the vast majority of the work, cooking the soup low and slow until it’s tender, flavorful, and delicious. In many instances, all you need to do to make soup in the slow cooker is some light slicing and dicing before tossing all of the ingredients directly into the appliance, which means the hands-on work required from you often clocks in at 25 minutes or less.

Now that the days are getting shorter and cooler, there’s no better time to dust off your slow cooker and make some hearty soups and stews. Keep reading for 15 Instant Pot soup recipes that will keep you cozy all season long.

The Differences Between an Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, and Crockpot

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili With Sweet Potatoes

If you’re in need of a one-pot meal that will serve a crowd, give this hearty chili a try. The meat-free dish is made with satiating ingredients such as kidney beans, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes, and gets plenty of flavor from spices including cumin and unsweetened cocoa powder. When it’s time to serve this veggie chili, create a topping station with the likes of sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, and tortilla chips so guests can customize their bowl.

Chicken Taco Soup

To make this soup, all you need to do is combine the main ingredients—chicken broth, boneless chicken breasts, black beans, and plenty of spices and veggies—turn on your slow cooker, and wait about eight hours for a pot of comforting taco soup. Yes, it’s as easy as it sounds. When it comes time to serve the meal, top each bowl with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and tortilla chips for even more flavor and texture.

Black Bean Posole

Posole is traditional Mexican soup made with spices, poblano chilies, and hominy. While it typically contains meat, this version calls for a pound of black beans instead. If you’re wary about trying a meat-free dinner, don’t be. We promise that this deeply flavorful, protein-packed meal will leave you feeling full and satisfied.

Slow-Cooker Pork Ditalini Stew

Never cooked with pork shoulder before? This recipe is the perfect place to start. Here, the less common cut of meat is joined by baby spinach and plenty of short pasta in a rich tomato and chicken broth. By the time your Instant Pot is done working its magic, the meat will be supremely tender.

Instant Pot Parm Broth

Making your own broth isn’t as intense as it sounds, especially if you have a slow cooker at your disposal. This recipe takes standard vegetable broth ingredients—carrots, celery, and onion, to name a few—and pairs them with two umami bombs, shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan rinds. The result is a rich broth with a depth of flavor that’s aces on its own, or delicious as the base of a loaded soup.

Slow Cooker Birria Bowls

This mostly hands-off approach to the popular Mexican meat stew is the way to go. Trust us. To prep this meal, you’ll start by browning pieces of boneless chuck roast before tossing the meat in a slow cooker with chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, garlic, onion, and diced tomatoes. When you’re ready to plate this feast, shred the roast, add a dash of vinegar to the remaining cooking liquid, and spoon everything over rice. Garnish with cheese, cilantro, diced avocado, and lime wedges, and dig in!

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Pasta Soup

Is there any soup combo that’s more comforting than chicken and pasta? We don’t think so. Here, those two soup superstars are joined by plenty of vegetables, like celery and carrots, as well as spices such as bay leaves and flat-leaf parsley. Sure, you could buy a similar canned soup, but this one is so much tastier and only calls for five minutes of hands-on work.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Mole Chili

This slow cooker chicken mole may look like it’s from a five-star restaurant, but we promise it only calls for 15 minutes of your time. The Instant Pot does the rest. The resulting one-pot meal is impressive and scrumptious enough on its own, but if you want to kick things up a notch go ahead and top each bowl with creamy avocado, crunchy radishes, and a fresh squeeze of zesty lime juice.

Slow Cooker Chicken Congee

While congee is technically rice porridge, the rice to liquid ratio (in this case it’s a rich combination of chicken broth and coconut milk) gives this Chinese dish a soup-like consistency. Once the slow cooker does its job, top your congee with cilantro, roasted peanuts, toasted coconut, sriracha, and lime wedges.

Slow-Cooker Classic Beef Stew

On a cold, blustery night, beef stew never disappoints. The comforting dish is even better when it can be made in the slow cooker, because that means just 35 minutes of hands-on work for you. Browning the beef in a skillet before tossing it in the Instant Pot will ensure that it stays flavorful and tender throughout the cooking process.

Slow-Cooker Shepherd's Pie

We know that shepherd’s pie isn’t exactly soup, but since this recipe calls for an entire cup of beer, there’s no denying the final result is pretty darn soup-like. Plus, the beef, vegetables, and mashed potatoes take this Instant Pot recipe to the next level.

Instant Pot Potato Soup

Like a baked potato in soup form, it’s hard not to love this dish. Inside you’ll find bacon bits, plenty of garlic and other spices, cheddar cheese, and even chopped chives and a dollop of sour cream for garnish. The icing on the cake is that this soup requires just 25 minutes of hands-on work.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew

Stews are meant to be cooked low and slow, which is why this dish is perfectly suited for the Instant Pot. In fact, once you’ve done a bit of chopping and slicing of the celery, carrots, and butternut squash, the slow cooker handles the rest. Serve this hearty meal with some crusty bread to dip, and you’re all set.

Crock Pot Beef and Chicken Stew

As you may have guessed, the combination of stew beef and chicken thighs means this stew is as satiating as they come. The secret is a few tablespoons of steak sauce, which gives this dish a depth of flavor you’ll want to replicate again and again. Thanks to the slow cooker, this loaded stew calls for just 20 minutes of your time. The hardworking appliance does the rest.

Instant Pot French Onion Soup

Yes, you can make French onion soup in the Instant Pot, and yes it’s worth it. The appliance manages to caramelize the onions quickly with very little hands-on attention, while the oven is great for toasting the bread and giving the cheese topping just the right amount of color and crispiness. Even with the oven portion, you’re only needed for about 20 minutes. In fact, the entire meal from start to finish is ready in under an hour.