Mashed Potatoes Instant Pot Recipe - Cooking With Karli (2024)

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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are the creamiest, easiest, no-fuss Mashed Potato Recipe you’ll find! Making Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot takes minutes to make and you don’t even have to babysit a pot of boiling water! You’ll never make Mashed Potatoes any other way!

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Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot for one or a crowd (Up to 5 pounds at once!)

One of my favorite things about the Instant Pot is the fact that time doesn’t change when cooking larger quantities. So you can follow this ‘recipe’ as a guideline for 1 potato or an entire 5 lb bag of potatoes! Perfect for Thanksgiving Dinner with a Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy.

Sometimes I just get a hankering for a big ol’ bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy. If you haven’t made some sort of protein to go along with your mashed potatoes, you can actually easily make your own chicken gravy from scratch without drippings.

No matter what you serve it with (ahem, try a Spiral Ham!), this will be your go to mashed potato recipe from here on out! Love sweet potatoes? Try this Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe!

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Mashed Potatoes Instant Pot Ingredients

  • 5 lbs russet potatoes (washed, peeled and cut)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 3 tbsp cream (or milk)
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How to make Mashed Potatoes in Instant Pot

  1. Wash, peel and cut the potatoes. To cut the potatoes, cut each potato in half and then quarter each half. You will end up with 8 similar sized potato cubes.
  2. Add the water to the Instant Pot liner, add in the cut potatoes.
  3. Secure lid, set the vent to sealing. Cook on Manual (pressure cook) HIGH for 6 minutes. Quick Release the pressure.
  4. Drain any remaining water.
  5. Add in the butter, salt, pepper and cream. Mash until no longer lumpy.
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Use either a potato masher or an electric hand mixer to mash the potatoes until they are no longer lumpy.

Be careful to insure you do not over mash/mix the potatoes. Over mashed potatoes will turn gluey. Only mash or mix just until it is no longer lumpy.

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Reheating Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot

Reheating mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot is such an easy thing to do. Place your mashed potatoes in the liner of your Instant Pot a few hours before you want to serve them. Turn your Instant Pot onto the highest slow cook setting. Let your mashed potatoes sit and warm up, giving them a stir every 30 minutes or so until the mashed potatoes have heated through. Mashed potatoes do tend to dry out while reheating, so you may need to add a splash of milk to fluff them back up.

Instant Pot Mashed Potato Recipe Variations

You can doctor up your mashed potatoes any way you like- here are some of my favorite ways:

  • Buttermilk and garlic
  • cream cheese and chives,
  • bbq sauce and bacon (with lots of cheese, of course)
  • and you just can’t go wrong with the classic butter, cream, salt and pepper.
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What to serve with this Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Mashed potatoes are a great side for a number of main dishes, really you can’t go wrong! I love to serve Instant Pot mashed potatoes as a side to pot roast, French dip sandwiches, grilled chicken, Philly cheesesteaks, or even crock pot ham!

These mashed potatoes are great as a side to some BBQ Chicken or doused with gravy.

Mashed Potatoes in Instant Pot FAQs

Why are my instant mashed potatoes rubbery?

When mashed potatoes go rubbery or gluey, that means they have been worked too much and too much liquid has been added.

What is the trick to good mashed potatoes?

The trick to good mashed potatoes is cooking. your potatoes thoroughly, adding butter first, mashing by hand and then slowly adding in a little liquid of your choice at a time, mixing until the liquid is just mixed in. Do not over mix and you should be golden!

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Check out my other Easy Instant Pot Recipes!

  • Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
  • Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Instant Pot Twice Baked Potatoes
  • Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
  • Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein
  • Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie
  • Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
  • Instant Pot Applesauce
  • Instant Pot Broccoli

4.66 from 64 votes

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe

By: Karli Bitner

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are the creamiest, easiest, no-fuss Mashed Potato Recipe you’ll find! Making Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot takes minutes to make and you don’t even have to babysit a pot of boiling water! You’ll never make Mashed Potatoes any other way!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs russet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 3 tbsp cream, or milk

Instructions

  • Wash, peel and cut the potatoes. To cut the potatoes, cut each potato in half and then quarter each half. You will end up with 8 similar sized potato cubes.

  • Add the water to the Instant Pot liner, add in the cut potatoes.

  • Secure lid, set the vent to sealing. Cook on Manual (pressure cook) HIGH for 6 minutes. Quick Release the pressure.

  • Drain any remaining water.

  • Add in the butter, salt, pepper and cream. Mash until no longer lumpy.

Video

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Mashed Potatoes Instant Pot Recipe - Cooking With Karli (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to instant mashed potatoes taste better? ›

Heavy cream can make instant mashed potatoes taste indulgent. Half and half or even regular milk (whole is better than skim, but 2% will do) adds extra creaminess. To give your mashed potatoes a light tanginess, go with buttermilk or sour cream.

How many pounds of potatoes can I cook in my instant pot? ›

In a 6 quart Instant Pot, you can cook 2 to 3 lbs of Russet Potatoes at a time. Us the time chart below depending on the size of your potatoes followed by a natural pressure release of about 15 minutes. Smaller Russet Potatoes (5 oz each) – 12 minutes on high pressure with a natural pressure release.

Should you use milk instead of water for instant mashed potatoes? ›

Most instant potato varieties call for you to combine the potatoes with water, but if you want your potatoes to taste a bit more indulgent, use milk instead. Whole milk will yield delightfully rich potatoes, but 2 percent milk works well too.

Why do restaurant mashed potatoes taste better? ›

Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.

Can you overcook potatoes in the Instant Pot? ›

The Best Kind of Potatoes for Pressure Cooking

Cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and they're ready in under 15 minutes (about ten minutes for the pot to come up to pressure, then three minutes for the potatoes to steam.) Take 'em out right when the timer goes off so they don't overcook, then use them however you like!

How long does it take to cook 5 pounds of potatoes in an Instant Pot? ›

About these Mashed Potatoes

Here's why you want to use your Instant Pot for mashed potatoes: after coming to pressure (which takes about 20 minutes), five pounds of potatoes are fully cooked in only 10 more minutes. They're perfectly done, ready to be drained and mashed.

How much liquid do I use in my Instant Pot? ›

Your Instant Pot needs liquid to work. If there's not enough, your pot won't be able to create enough steam to build pressure. About 1 cup is the minimum amount of liquid, so if you're cooking a recipe that will absorb water, like rice or beans, you'll need even more.

How to spice up instant mashed potatoes? ›

Mashed Potato Toppings
  1. shredded cheddar cheese.
  2. a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
  3. roasted garlic.
  4. green onions.
  5. bacon bits.
  6. fresh chives or fresh herbs.
  7. parmesan.
Nov 4, 2020

Can you use chicken broth instead of water for instant mashed potatoes? ›

Swap Out the Water

Instant potatoes usually call for hot water to reconstitute the dehydrated flakes. Instantly add flavor by replacing half or all of the water with an equal amount of chicken broth.

Do potatoes need to be submerged in pressure cooker? ›

To cook potatoes in an instant pot, you pour water into the steel insert, put a trivet inside, and place potatoes on top of the trivet. Press start to cook. The water at the bottom of the pot is necessary to get the pot up to pressure to steam the potatoes.

How much water to put when boiling potatoes in pressure cooker? ›

Try to get evenly sized potatoes to ensure they are all evenly cooked in the Instant Pot. Water — Use enough to cover all your potatoes but also make sure you use enough to get the Instant Pot to pressure. You only need 1 cup of water for the 3-quart and 6-quart to get to pressure and 2 cups for the 8-quart.

Is it healthy to cook potatoes in a pressure cooker? ›

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

What to add to mashed potatoes that are bland? ›

For additional flavor, add some fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, thyme or rosemary to the mashed potatoes after mashing them. You can also add some buttermilk, cream cheese or sour cream for a bit of a tangy, creamy flavor. Another great addition to mashed potatoes is to use flavored butter.

How do you fix tasteless mashed potatoes? ›

Adding more salt, a little bit at a time, can help to balance out the flavors and improve the overall taste of the dish. Add more butter or cream: Adding more butter or cream can help to smooth out any unpleasant flavors and improve the texture of the mashed potatoes.

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