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Make fluffy, creamy Instant Pot mashed potatoes in this hands off method! A pressure cooker is perfect for making big pot for a crowd.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
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One of the very best uses for your Instant Pot? Mashed potatoes. Yes, mashed potatoes are so much easier in a pressure cooker! You don’t have to worry about them boiling over on the stovetop, or keep testing them to see when they’re done. Nope, just throw them into the Instant Pot and press Go! It also gets that massive pot off the stove top make way for other things you might be cooking. So, Alex and I are all about the ease of Instant Pot mashed potatoes. Ready to hear our secrets?

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

What makes the best Instant Pot mashed potatoes?

Alex and I love creating recipes together for many reasons. But one of the most fun things is that we get to go off, research the best way to do things, and then get our hands dirty trying them out! Here’s what we learned in the process of making this recipe:

  • Yukon gold potatoes make the best mashed potatoes. The naturally creamy interior of Yukon golds is perfect for the texture of mashed. If you’ve tried mashed potatoes with the wrong variety of potato, you’ll notice it can come out grainy or super starchy. Not so here!
  • Using a potato ricer makes for a light and fluffy texture. (It’s also fun!) Ever used a potato ricer? It’s a gadget that pushes the potatoes through little holes, and makes for the perfect mashed potato texture. But it’s definitely not required. See the section below!
  • A little cream and a little buttah. And chives! This recipe is classic and uses just enough cream and butter to give the potatoes flavor, but not so much you get a stomach ache. Chives are the perfect garnish!
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

How long do Instant Pot mashed potatoes cook?

A great question! The cook time for these Instant Pot mashed potatoes is only 12 minutes! However, with all Instant Pot recipes, you must keep in mind the “preheat” time. This is the time it takes for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure before it can cook. This recipe takes 15 to 20 minutes to come up to pressure, due to the amount of potatoes and water in the pot. So the total cook time is about 30 minutes total.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

What does mashed potatoes for a crowd mean?

This Instant Pot mashed potatoes is designed for a crowd. This recipe is intended for 12 or more servings. This means that it’s perfect for big dinner parties, or holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. What’s perfect about this recipe is that it allows you to use your stovetop for other things. Throw the potatoes into the pot, then use the time and space for other things you’re preparing!

This recipe uses 6 pounds of potatoes, which is 2 large bags. It can take quite a while to peel them all, so you may want to enlist some help to speed up that part. (Alex nabbed me to be his helper!)

How to use a potato ricer

How to use a potato ricer!

A potato ricer isn’t required for this recipe, but if you have one it makes a great texture for the potatoes. To use a potato ricer, do the following:

  • Place a few potato chunks in the basket of the ricer.
  • Hold the ricer over a clean bowl and squeeze until the potato extrudes through the holes.

Want to get one? Here’s our potato ricer on Amazon.

What Instant Pot do you use?

All pressure cooker brands vary! Here’s the brand we use: an Instant Pot 6 Qt Programmable Pressure Cooker. This recipe is customized for a 6 quart pressure cooker. You’ll definitely need a 6 quart size here, otherwise the potatoes won’t fit!

Mashed potatoes

More Instant Pot vegetable recipes

The pressure cooker is perfect for vegetables! Here are some of our favorite vegetables to cook in the Instant Pot:

This Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes


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  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
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Description

Make fluffy, creamy Instant Pot mashed potatoes in this hands off method! A pressure cooker is perfect for making big pot for a crowd.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter
  • ¾ cup heavy cream or half and half
  • Thinly chopped chives, for garnish
  • Black pepper, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Peel the potatoes. Cut into chunks (quarters, if they’re small).
  2. Add the potatoes to the Instant Pot. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt and the water. Lock the lid. Place the pressure release handle (vent) in the “Sealing” position.
  3. Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes: Press the Pressure Cook button, making sure the “High Pressure” setting is selected, and set the time. Note that it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the pot to “preheat” and come up to pressure before it starts cooking. (During cooking, avoid touching the metal part of the lid.)
  4. Quick release: Vent the remaining steam from the Instant Pot by moving the pressure release handle to “Venting”, covering your hand with a towel or hot pad. Never put your hands or face near the vent when releasing steam. Open the pressure cooker lid.
  5. Mash the potatoes using a potato ricer or with a potato masher directly in the Instant Pot. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, butter, and cream. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. (You can add a little more salt, but if they’ll be served with butter or gravy it may not need it.) Garnish with chopped chives and fresh ground pepper.
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Pressure Cooker
  • Cuisine: American

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Hi! We’re Sonja and Alex Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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8 Comments

  1. Amber says:

    How long do these last for? Thinking of making them in advance for thanksgiving

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      You can keep them 2 to 3 days in the fridge.

  2. Brenda Chan says:

    Can I fit 7 1/2 pounds in an 8 quart instant pot? Do I need to drain the water after the potatoes are done?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Hi! I’m not sure if the 7.5 pounds will fit but if they do it should still work. Do drain the water before mashing!

  3. Kelly says:

    How long can I leave them in the instant pot on warm?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      We haven’t tested this. I’m not sure!

  4. Sally says:

    Can you double this recipe in a 6 quart instant pot?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Hi! 6 pounds will fill up your Instant Pot. It makes quite a bit!