Name: Instant Pot Nourishing Cheese Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter; 1 tbsp flour; 1 cup stock; 1 cup milk; 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated); 1 cup Gouda cheese (grated); 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated)

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Cheese soup is an excellent solution for this period. It is very nourishing, it is tasty and it pleases even the grumpy children. Cheese soup is a nutritious food, which brings to the one devouring it an important dose of calcium, healthy fats and minerals.

Winter is the time of the year when the body needs a lot of vitamins. Therefore, it is the perfect time to serve soups and other hot dishes. That being said, I strongly recommend that you pay special attention to cream soups. They are prepared quickly and provide a considerable amount of vitamins.

Different kinds of cream soups are distinguished by their beautiful colors. The basic ingredient dictates the tint of the soup. Green is for pea soup, bright orange for pumpkin soup, beige for potato cream soup, red for tomato soup and sunny yellow for this delicious cheese soup. Isn’t it a beautiful gastronomic palitra of colors? I invite you to try all of them especially in this cold wintery magic period.

Why cook cream soup over other soups?

Cheese cream soup is much tastier and full bodied than vegetable soups and can serve as a full lunch or dinner. It is best served in cold times as it is more caloric than other soups.

This cheese soup recipe does not involve any raw vegetables, therefore, there is no peeling, chopping or cutting. You only need the Instant pot and 20 minutes of your time.

Considering the fatty ingredients such as butter, stock and cheese, this soup is pretty hearty and caloric. Thus, you should not exaggerate with portions. Although it is a very healthy food, you should not forget about the abundant numbers of calories it carries. Cheese soup is creamy, fine and fragrant and you are ought to try it.

Ingredients for cheese soup

As a first thing to prepare the soup, you will need cheese that melts well, not hard, but not too soft. Cheddar cheese and gouda is my first option. I love the texture and the taste it gives to the soup. Anyways, you can use other kinds of cheese. How to check if it is the right option for soups? Put a slice of cheese on the bread and heat it. If the cheese melts well, then it is also suitable for cream soup.

Then butter. You will not need much of it. You can go for salted or unsalted. The butter is the base of the soup. In melted butter you’ll add 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour, that is to thicken the soup. With the help of flour you get the right texture. Some people use potatoes instead of flour, you can do that as well. However, when I’m out of time and I want the soup to be ready in just 20 minutes, flour is my option. Then, potatoes will slightly change the soup’s taste, while flour will pass unnoticed.

Stock. This is an optional ingredient, however, it will enrich the taste. If you don’t have stock available in your fridge, don’t worry about it, just use water. Make sure you heat it, don’t pour cold water or stock into the soup.

Milk. Milk and cheese are like brothers, they complement each other. Creaminess is ensured when using these ingredients all together.

Garlic powder and nutmeg are a must for the creamy cheese soup. These ingredients represent the character of the food, its audaciousness and authenticity. I never skip them, you shouldn’t either.

How to cook cheese soup in Instant Pot?

Turn on Instant Pot, choose the “Soup” program. Throw in the butter and let it melt. Take a whisk and gradually add one tablespoon of all purpose flour. Whisk to avoid the formation of clots. Add salt, pepper and grate some nutmeg. My advice here is to pour less than you would regularly do when cooking other soups. Cheese is usually salty, so if you use lots of salt at the beginning, you risk getting a very salty dish when adding cheese later on. I don’t want you to have such little mistake spoil this exquisite soup.

Moving forward. Poor the milk slowly and continue whisking. When the milk has well incorporated, add the stock, or water to the composition. As I have previously mentioned, make sure the water or stock is warm. Difference in temperature of the ingredients may spoil the texture of the soup.

Mix everything and let simmer for about 10 minutes. That is necessary to be sure the flour is not raw so that you don’t feel it upon eating.

In the meantime grate the cheese. You can of course buy the cheese already grated to save some time and effort. However, the whole chunk of cheese is the one that preserves the taste and aroma. Thus, I encourage you to buy chunks of cheese and grate them right before adding it to the soup. The effort and time spent is worth the appetizing result.

After 10 minutes of simmering in the Instant Pot, it is the right time to add grated cheese to the milky consistency. How much of it? Well, is there such a concept like “too much cheese”? I have never heard of it :)) That being said, add as much cheese as you feel like. As you can see from the pictures, I have been very generous with cheese. Mixt everything and press the “stop” button on your instant pot. Check for salt and pepper. Garnish the soup with some chopped spring onion and little grated cheese.

Cheese soup tips

One little trick I want to share with you. When the soup is hot, you might get the impression it might need some extra salt. However, when it cools down, it gets saltier. I don’t know how to explain this phenomenon, but it is a fact. Therefore, I tend to undersalt it because it will get to the right saltiness when it cools down a little bit.