How To Do Potatoes In Instant Pot

Do I Need To Pierce/poke The Potatoes With A Fork

I have two answers to this question the right answer and the lazy answer.

Right answer: poking the potato in several places is helpful because it allows the steam from inside the potato to escape. If you dont poke the potatoes, theres a chance they may fall apart in the instant pot.

Lazy answer: I always forget to poke potatoes and sometimes the skin breaks apart a bit but I have yet to have a potato completely fall apart.

How To Boil Potatoes In Instant Pot

Published Updated February 3, 2021 By Meeta Arora | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Boil or Steam Potatoes in the Instant Pot? This is part of the Instant Pot Cooking Basics series. Potatoes are perfect to steam in a pressure cooker, and it takes less than 30 minutes to get perfectly cooked potatoes. I use boiled potatoes in many dishes, such as potato peas curry, spiced mashed potatoes.

I had always boiled potatoes in my stovetop pressure cooker, however it did need some monitoring. With the instant pot, just set the time and do a natural pressure release, while I can do other chores.

Having pre-boiled potatoes at hand is great for meal planning. I can then use them as needed to make quick meals. Some interesting indian dishes you can make with boiled potatoes:

• Mumbai Vada Pav which is the popular Indian style burger.
• Savory Potato Puffs – This is very similar to the paneer puffs I have shared before. Just use boiled potatoes in place of paneer.

More Side Dish Recipes

Rachael is the creator of the food and travel blog Eazy Peazy Mealz where she shares simple to make recipes for busy families. She loves food and the power it has to create traditions, family bonds, and memories, and strives to share delicious, practical recipes with easy to find ingredients and simple instructions. Beyond food, her passion is travel, and she is regularly found away from home, with her 4 kids in tow, exploring the world. Her favorite way to experience a new place is through her tastebuds, and with hands on cooking classes. And she loves sharing what she has learned with her readers.

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How Do I Store Baked Potatoes

Once the potatoes are baked, they are best when you eat them right away. However, if you want to make a larger batch to eat later, you sure can! Just put the potatoes in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days.

You can also freeze baked potatoes for 1-2 months as well. To freeze them, wrap each one in plastic wrap and do a flash freeze. Once they are frozen, place them in a freezer bag.

Option 1 Crisp Potatoes With Air Fryer Lid

*Note: You can follow these instructions if you have the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, Instant Pot Pro Crisp, or Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid.

Place the air fryer lid on Instant Pot.

• Air Frying Method: Press Air Fry button, set the temperature to 400°F and cooking time to 8 minutes.

*Pro Tip: It takes roughly 6 8 minutes + preheat time. You can open the lid to check the progress of the Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.

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How To Steam Diced Potatoes In The Instant Pot

For diced russet potatoes about 1 inch in size, pressure cook for 3 minutes when using a steamer basket. If you are cooking them in the main pot, just 1 minute on pressure cook mode will be enough.

Try these easy steamed potatoes and don’t forget to share how you used them!

Check out other instant pot cooking basics:

How Long Will Mashed Potatoes Cook In The Instant Pot

Once you prep the potatoes and place them in the Instant Pot, you will add either 2 cups of water, or 2 cups of chicken broth. If you dont have chicken broth, its no big deal. I like to use chicken broth because it adds extra flavor to the potatoes.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the valve is set to sealing then set the manual timer for 12 minutes.

Itll take about 7-10 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressurize before the timer will start counting down.

When the timer goes off, go ahead and quick-release the pressure. I like to cover the valve with a kitchen towel so that liquid doesnt spatter everywhere.

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The Best Way To Bake Potatoes

• Quick between warming up, pressure cooking, and the natural pressure release, this method still takes less than half the time of a normal baked potato in the oven.
• Easy theres no need to wrap the potatoes in foil, just place them straight on the rack.
• Saves energy you dont have to heat up the oven which will heat up your house.
• Perfectly Cooked the instant pot uniformly cooks the potato. Follow our time chart below depending on the size of your potatoes.

How Long Do I Cook Baked Potatoes In The Instant Pot

I tested this recipe starting at 12 minutes. The potatoes were cooked but too firm for my liking. When cooked for 14 minutes, they were soft and fluffy inside. I used medium size potatoes. If using small ones, 12 minutes should be enough. If using large potatoes, add 2 more minutes of cooking time.

My Instant Pot took about 8 minutes to come to pressure.

To learn how to cook sweet potatoes, check out my Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes recipe with a bonus shortcut!

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Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes: The Potatoes

Let me be real here for a second. When I walk up to the potato selection at the grocery store, I get a little overwhelmed. There are so many varieties! Russets. Whites. Yellow. Red. Fingerlings. And those potatoes whose name I can never remember.

Best potatoes for mashed potatoes?

Cooking advice tells us to select a starchy potato for mashed potatoes. This is excellent advice. Starchy potatoes whip up into light and fluffy mashed potatoes. However, how do you know which potatoes are starchy? Most of the time, they dont put it on the bag or on a sign at the grocery store. For a long time, I couldnt remember if I needed Russet or white potatoes for mashed potatoes.

It was Russet potatoes that I was after.

Heres what I do now: I write down the name of the potatoes I need on my grocery list because the success of mashed potatoes starts right at the grocery store.

For the lightest mashed potatoes, get Russets.

Mashed potatoes made with Russets whip up fluffy and light. They arent the most flavorful potatoes. This usually isnt a problem because its easy to add all sorts of flavorful ingredients to mashed potatoes. .

When I want light and flavorful mashed potatoes, I use a 50/50 blend of Russets and Yukon Gold potatoes. Sometimes its hard to find Yukon Gold potatoes. If your grocery store doesnt carry them, grab any type of yellow potato. They all work well.

How To Reheat Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

The pot in pot method is the perfect way to reheat your mashed potatoes in your Instant Pot without drying them out! Place 1 to 2 cups water and a trivet in the bottom of your cooking pot.

How long to set the cook time depends on the amount of mashed potatoes youre reheating.

A single portion will take a very short time Id start with 1 minute. If youre reheating enough to feed a large family, itll take a longer time. Id try 6 minutes, but it may take more depending on the type and thickness of the inner pot.

Also, since reheated potatoes tend to dry out a little, youll probably need to mix in more milk and butter to restore the potatoes to their soft and creamy texture.

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How To Make Flavored Mashed Potatoes

This Instant Pot Mashed Potato recipe is a perfect side for any meat and gravy meal.

However, you can still serve mashed potatoes even if your main dish doesnt have gravy!

For garlic mashed potatoes, place a clove or two of minced garlic on top of the potatoes before steaming? Or just infuse the flavor by placing several smashed cloves of garlic in the water below the steamer basket.

To complement a chicken dish, use chicken or turkey broth below the potatoes or in place of some or all of the milk.

If you want your potatoes to cook up extra rich and creamy, replace the milk with heavy cream. Or add 1 cup ricotta cheese or cream cheese to your potatoes.

In my cookbook, I also have recipes for Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes , Twice Baked Potatoes , and Loaded Baked Potatoes .

Recommended Potatoes For Mashed Potatoes

Have you ever had really gluey mashed potatoes before instead of super smooth and creamy? The wrong potatoes , can cause poor results. You need a potato with a higher starch level.

The best kind of potatoes for light, fluffy, and flavorful mashed potatoes are russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. How you cook your potatoes matter too. Instant Pot is my new favorite way, but slow cooker mashed potatoes are pretty amazing as well.

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The Best Way To Reheat Mashed Potatoes

I love making Instant Pot mashed potatoes, and in my opinion, the best way to reheat mashed potatoes is to also use your Instant Pot!

You have options for reheating a large batch of mashed potatoes or just a serving or two, depending on your needs.

This method is usually faster than some of the other methods, but more importantly, the texture is not negatively impacted!

Do I Need To Pierce Potatoes Before Baking

Another YES here! Potatoes are dense and when baked theyre going to want to release some steam. Poking the holes in the potato will help the potatoes to release that steam without any accidental potato bombs going off.

• Use a sturdy metal fork or knife to poke holes all over the potatoes.
• I usually poke each potato 3 times on one side, flip and then poke 3 more holes.

*PRO TIP: Place the potato on a cutting board when poking, making sure your hand is not underneath so you dont poke yourself.

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How To Cook Potatoes In Pressure Cooker

To make these potatoes you can either peel the potatoes or leave them in their skin and wash them. Cut the potatoes into four pieces.

Add the potatoes to the pressure cooker and add water. You can boil the potatoes straight in the liner pan or in a steamer basket.

The advantage of a steamer basket is you can take the potatoes out when they are done and drain the water.

Close the lid on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker and set the valve to the sealing position.

Select Manual or pressure cook and set the timer to 3 minutes at high pressure.

The pressure cooker will take about 5 minutes to come up to pressure. When the cooking time is done the Instant Pot switches to Keep Warm.

Wait 5 minutes to Natural Release before moving the valve to the venting position using oven mitts or a wooden spoon.

Quick-release the remaining pressure and open the pot.

Your potatoes are done and ready to serve.

Precooked Frozen Meatballs :

If Im really on the ball, I will buy a big batch of ground beef when its on sale and have an epic meatball-making day to stock the freezer.

Lately, I have not been on the ball.

Enter the store bought frozen meatballs.

Honestly, either will do, its just a matter of time and personal preference. The recipe below includes full directions for making Instant Pot Meatballs with frozen beef meatballs, so head on down there

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Cream Cheese In Mashed Potatoes

Yes, because The Pioneer Woman taught the world that cream cheese belongs in mashed potatoes. Im not here to argue. This recipe uses just 2 ounces of cream cheese. Save the rest for my loaf pan cheesecake.

You can use sour cream or whole milk plain Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese, if you prefer.

Variations On These Instant Pot Meatballs And Mashed Potatoes:

• To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free meatballs and double check all of your ingredient packaging.
• To make this recipe dairy free, skip the milk and butter in the mashed potatoes and opt for vegan margarine or non dairy milk.
• You can lighten up this recipe by mashing the potatoes with chicken broth and a bit of margarine, and using turkey or chicken meatballs instead of beef.

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Why You Need This Recipe

• Four-ingredient recipes like this one are are budget-friendly and efficient. Theyre easy to make and easy to remember. Carrots, potatoes, butter, and vegetable stock are pantry staples which means this ones easy to make on a whim, too.
• Carrots and potatoes both last a long time. This means you can plan to make this recipe at the end of the week or even an entire week out and the ingredients will still be fresh.
• It makes great leftovers. Just reheat in the microwave until warmed through and serve with a rotisserie chicken for an easy second day meal.

How To Easily Peel Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes

Believe it or not, the best time to peel a potato is after cooking. This allows the peel to slip off the cooked potato and give you a much easier time preparing potatoes.

One of the easiest ways to peel boiled potatoes is to allow the potatoes to cool slightly before peeling. Once they are cool to touch slice the skin with a pairing knife and simply pull away at the skin, it should slide off easily.

Another way to easily peel potatoes involves cutting the potato before boiling. Slice around the circumference of the potato, cutting the skin only, do not cut the potato in half. After cooking, the potato skin should slide off the sides with a pinch. I havent tried this method yet but you could check out this article on how to slide the potatoes out of their skin and give it a shot.

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How Long Does It Take To Cook The Potatoes In A Pressure Cooker

It actually doesnt take very long to cook potatoes in the pressure cooker. Now, for mashed potatoes in instant pot, I only set the timer for only 6 minutes so they are soft enough to mash.

Now if you want your potatoes a bit firmer for a chunkier mashed potatoes I would set the timer for only 4 minutes. Either way you are going to have amazing potatoes.

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Why Cook Sweet Potatoes In The Instant Pot

If you’re skeptical of kitchen trends or gadgets, the thought of swapping your baked sweet potatoes for ones prepared in the Instant Pot can be daunting. But I’m here to tell you that once you make Instant Pot sweet potatoes, you’ll never make them any other way. Here are a few reasons to make the switch:

• You’ll save time without sacrificing quality. To achieve the desired result, sweet potatoes need to bake in the oven for up to an hour. Of course, you can always nuke them when you’re in a pinch, but you’re going to end up with dried out sweet potatoes. The Instant Pot offers the best of both worlds. In about 35 minutes, the Instant Pot turns raw sweet potatoes into a moist and fluffy side dish.
• It’s less work. Don’t worry about rubbing the potatoes with oil or checking them for doneness. The beauty of the Instant Pot is it’s completely hands off.
• The result is perfection. With this method, you end up with velvety smooth sweet potatoes every time. The Instant Pot won’t dry them out like more traditional methods.

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How Long Can You Keep Mashed Potatoes In The Fridge

To store leftover mashed potatoes in the refrigerator, you should ideally store them within two hours of cooking.

They should be stored in a tightly covered container. I like to store the leftovers in a heatproof container. That way, I can easily transfer them to the Instant Pot for reheating!

Once stored in the refrigerator, mashed potatoes should stay good in the fridge for up to four days.

When youre ready to enjoy them again, simply reheat the mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot!

Minute Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Boomer Gold

• Serves 4

Boomer Gold

If you like mashed potatoes, youve gotta try this simple, healthy side dish thats ready in minutes. Made with skin-on Little potatoes, theyre gluten-free, vegetarian, and easily vegan.

Notes:

To prevent lumpy potatoes, make sure you mash the potatoes right after they are done cooking. Dont let them sit around in the Instant Pot for too long.

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How To Make 5 Pounds Of Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Type of Potatoes To Use

Every great mashed potatoes recipe begins with picking out the proper potatoes.

Hands down, no questions asked, the potatoes that you should purchase for making mashed potatoes are Yukon Gold potatoes.

Yukon Gold potatoes have a natural buttery flavor and cook down perfectly to make mashed potatoes.

Plus, they have a lower starch level than other potatoes. The higher the starch the increased risk of gluey mashed potatoes.

However, if you only have Russet potatoes, you can use them to make mashed potatoes as well.

Although I would recommend that after you peel them that you rinse, soak and drain them in water several times to remove some of the starch prior to cooking.

The BEST Liquid to Use

Although you could use water as the liquid to make mashed potatoes, it is best to use something with a little flavor.

We have found using a combination of chicken broth and milk provides the best taste and texture when making Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.

The chicken broth provides another depth of flavor that water alone could not accomplish. And the milk provides for creamier mashed potatoes.

And NO, the milk does not cause the burn notice in this recipe. We have made it several times and they turn out perfect every time.

How to Mash the Potatoes

Although I was brought up with using a mixer to mash my potatoes, it is not advised when making Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.

Then you can use a hand or stand mixer to make light and fluffy mashed potatoes.