Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are savory, creamy and full of flavor. This convenient and versatile side dish and can be served alongside many different main course meals. Of course, it’s most popular during the holiday season!
You’ll need only seven simple ingredients and less than 30 minutes to whip up these velvety potatoes. It doesn’t get much better than that when you’re looking to save time on a busy holiday.
If you want more quick and easy holiday sides, check out my Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Perfect Mashed Cauliflower, or this incredible Healthier Green Bean Casserole Recipe.
I especially love using my Instant Pot (and air fryer) during the holiday season when the stove and oven are often occupied by a plethora of delicious sides or a large main course like this Roasted Turkey Breast. For this reason, this is my favorite way to make mashed potatoes.
Save your cooktop and oven space with sides like Instant Pot Low-carb Cranberry Sauce, Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts or Air Fryer Baby Potatoes.
How To Make Mashed Potatoes In The Instant Pot
Ingredients
- Russet or gold potatoes — Peeled and quartered.
- Seasonings — Add sea salt and pepper to taste, but feel free to play around with other dried herbs or spices if desired.
- Butter — I generally use unsalted butter, but salted can be substituted in a pinch (be sure to go easy on the added salt when seasoning).
- Heavy cream — Half and half also works beautifully. You can also add some cream cheese or sour cream if you prefer.
- Fresh parsley — This garnish adds gorgeous color and fresh flavor to potatoes.
Instructions
Prepare the potatoes:
- Peel and quarter potatoes.
- Place pieces in the instant pot or electric pressure cooker, cover with water or chicken broth and add a teaspoon of salt. Make sure you add enough liquid to cover the potatoes.
Pressure cook:
- Secure lid atop the instant pot and double check that the pressure valve is in the sealing position.
- Select the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button on the display panel (newer models won’t have a “Manual” button). Using the plus+/minus- buttons, add 8 minutes to the timer.
- Once potatoes have cooked for 8 minutes in high pressure, turn your instant pot off and carefully switch the pressure valve to the venting position for quick-release.
- Remove lid, drain water from potatoes and return them to the instant pot.
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Season and mash:
- Add salt, ground black pepper, butter and heavy creamy to the Instant Pot. Mash using a immersion blender, potato masher or a potato ricer until potatoes are velvety smooth, uniform and lump free texture. The creamy consistency is very important to make the best Instant Pot mashed potatoes.
Serve:
- Transfer the mashed potatoes to a serving dish and serve your delicious potatoes with a pat of butter and some fresh chopped parsley. A drizzle of gravy is also a tasty addition! Perfect side dish for your busy weeknight dinner or the holiday season (Thanksgiving or Christmas).
Recipe Tips
- In my opinion, the best potato to make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes recipe are russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes.
- When quartering potatoes, try to cut chunks similar in size. This will help them to cook evenly.
- Feel free to add other dried or fresh herbs or spices to your potatoes. Try paprika, rosemary, chives, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder or Italian seasonings. You can also add a bay leaf to your instant pot while potatoes cook, just be sure to remove it before mashing.
- If you don’t have any unsalted butter, you can use salted. Just be careful not to add too much additional salt when seasoning your mash.
- It takes 10-15 minutes for an Instant Pot to build pressure. If you set the timer to 8 minutes and the pot doesn’t start cooking right away, don’t be alarmed. This is normal and the timer will begin ticking down after the pot has come up to pressure.
- If you prefer thinner potatoes, mash in an additional splash of cream. However, don’t overwork the potatoes or they may become gluey.
How To Store Leftover Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Allow leftover potatoes to cool completely and transfer them to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 12 months.
- To reheat from frozen, start by using the defrost setting on your microwave. Once potatoes are softened, microwave on high until warmed through.
More Potato Recipes
If you’ve got lots of potatoes to use up, try these mouthwatering recipes!
- Easy Roasted Potato Salad
- Sausage And Potato Breakfast Casserole
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Healthy Potato Salad
- Potatoes au Gratin
Once food is done cooking, you can leave the Instant Pot alone and allow pressure to naturally release over time. Or, you can carefully switch the pressure valve position from sealed to venting and steam will release immediately.
It is not necessary to melt butter before adding it your mashed potatoes. In fact, it’s really best practice to add it cold. This way it melts right into the potatoes and distributes more evenly.
Yes you can. Just be careful when adding seasonings. Start with only a little pinch of extra salt, mash and do a taste test before adding any more.
Absolutely. Mashed potatoes can be made 2-3 days ahead of time which is great for the busy holiday season. Simply allow them to cool completely, transfer to an airtight, lidded food-storage container and refrigerate. Reheat your potatoes in the microwave or oven, then add some extra butter and parsley on top!
Watch the Instant Pot Mashed Potato Web Stories.
Main Dishes to Serve This With…
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes (6 medium) peeled and sliced
- 4-5 cups water
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup heavy cream or half-half
- Fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Peel and quarter potatoes.
- Add the potatoes into the bottom of the instant pot.
- Cover with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Place the lid on the pot and make sure the pressure valve is in the sealing position.
- On the display panel, select the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button and use the +/- buttons until the display says 8 minutes.
- When time is up, turn the Instant Pot off. Switch the pressure valve to the venting position. Do a quick release.
- Open the lid, drain the potatoes, and return them to the instant pot.
- Add salt, pepper, butter, and heavy cream to the potatoes. Mash until smooth.
- Serve topped with more butter and chopped parsley if desired.
Tips
- Russet or Yukon gold potatoes are best for mashing.
- Cut potatoes into similar size pieces for even cooking.
- If you can, use unsalted butter. Salted is okay but be careful when seasoning.
- Add different seasonings to potatoes, if desired.
- For thinner potatoes, add extra cream.
- Avoid overworking your potatoes as they might lose fluffiness.
- After setting your Instant Pot timer, wait 10-15 minutes for pressure to build. At full pressure, the timer will begin.
- To store: allow to cool and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate 3-4 days or freeze for up to 12 months.
- To reheat: defrost in the microwave. Once soft, microwave on high until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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