These Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are so good and so easy they’re dangerous.
Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food, and now that I have no way to make them, I’m pretty sure I’ll be eating so many potatoes that I’ll turn into one.
I love how you put everything in one pot and you’re done. Just throw in your potatoes, pressure cook for 7 minutes, shred, enjoy and eat. So simple and so good. My tip here is to use a sieve (or a ricer) to push your potatoes instead of mashing them. Finish with super smooth and creamy mashed potatoes.
How to Make the Best Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Prepare the potatoes: Clean and peel (or leave the skins on if you like) the potatoes and cut them into quarters.
- Place in the Instant Pot with garlic and a little chicken stock. Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes, then release quickly.
- mashed pushing the potatoes and garlic through a fine mesh or rice sieve. If you like a thicker puree, use a puree.
- Mix the butter at room temperaturethen the milk. Taste and season with salt (and pepper if desired) and serve warm!
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Ingredients
- Potatoes: As I mentioned above, I always use either Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes. Both are solid choices and if you like, you can mix them for the best of both worlds.
- Garlic: Who doesn’t love garlic mashed potatoes? Give these potatoes a warm, garlicky flavor. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of cloves used.
- Butter: Butter is essential, so use a good one – we love grass-fed butter.
- Milk or cream: I almost always use whole milk for my puree, but if you want an extra nice punch, use half and half or heavy cream.
- Salt: Don’t forget to season!
- Fillings: I keep it plain with just a pool of butter, but chopped chives or chopped onions look nice and add some color and herbs. Cracked black pepper is always good. You can always customize it to your liking and mix in the cheese, top with bacon bits and jalapeños, or everything bagel spice.
4 secrets to the best mashed potatoes:
1. Water is the enemy
Soggy potatoes mean sticky mashed potatoes. To avoid this, we will steam the potatoes in the Instant Pot with only the minimum amount of liquid, which will make them fluffy, cooked and full of potato flavor.
2. Season!
Season at every turn. I like to steam/cook the potatoes in chicken stock so it adds an extra layer of flavor. If you don’t want to use chicken stock, you can use vegetable stock or just make sure to salt the water you cook the potatoes in. You want to taste them when you cook the potatoes and then when you add the butter and milk so you have layers of seasoning.
3. How you mash matters.
I love the taste of mashed potatoes when you push the potatoes through a fine mesh strainer. It gives you the smoothest and tastiest mashed potatoes you’ve ever eaten. But if you like a slightly thicker mash, use a potato masher. There are even different types of mash: smooth or chunky, depending on how you like your potatoes.
4. Do not mix it too much.
Once your potatoes are mashed, you just need to mix in the liquids (butter and milk or cream) without over mixing, which can lead to mushy potatoes.
How much water for Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes?
The minimum amount of liquid Instant Energy needed for pressure cooking is 1 cup. You can use either 1 cup of chicken broth or salted water. This is much less liquid compared to almost all other Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes recipes found online. It is superior for two reasons.
- Cooking potatoes in a large amount of water makes them watery and soggy, which results in less potato flavor.
- Less water means less time for the pot to withstand pressure.
These two reasons mean that this recipe is faster and has more potato-flavored mashed potatoes.
How many potatoes do you need per person?
For a side serving of mashed potatoes, the rule of thumb is: 1 medium to medium large potato per person. Potatoes come in different sizes, but a good rule of thumb is that you’ll need a medium to medium-large potato that fits in the palm of each person’s hand. Aim for individual 1/2 lb servings of mashed potatoes.
Instant Pot Vegan Mashed Potatoes
If you’re vegan, or have guests who are, it’s super easy to make delicious, smooth, rich mashed potatoes. Follow the recipe as below, but make these ingredient substitutions.
Instead of chicken stock, cook the potatoes in 1 cup of mushroom stock or your favorite vegetable stock.
Instead of butter, use vegan butter or white miso.
Instead of milk, use your favorite milk alternative, mushroom dashi or white miso paste mixed with water.
What are the best types of potatoes for mashed potatoes in the crockpot?
There are only two types of potatoes that are perfect for mashed potatoes: Yukon golds (my absolute favorite) and Russets.
- Yukon gold they are perfect for crunching because they are starchy, beautifully yellow and have a rich, buttery potato flavor. They are also a denser potato with a thin skin, and when you use them, you get a more luxurious mash.
- Russets (or Idaho) potatoes. they are those large potatoes with dusty skins that most people use for baked potatoes. These are also great for mash: fluffy, dry and starchy, when cooked properly. Russets are the milder of the two potatoes I recommend, and if you’re a fan of lighter potatoes, they make a more delicately textured mash.
If you want the best of both worlds, use a mix!
Flaky or chapped skin?
Because I’m in the smooth mashed potato camp, I don’t think potato skins belong in mashed potatoes. But some people love that contrast of texture. And to those people, I say, feel free to leave the skin!
What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
You can still make these mashed potatoes, all you have to do is steam: put the cut potatoes on a plate or in a steamer. Boil 1-3 inches of water in a large pot and place the potatoes in the pot. Cover and steam until very tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Check out this post for more.
The best food to serve with mashed potatoes
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Smooth and fluffy mashed potatoes in less than 20 minutes!
It serves 4
- 2 £ potato peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 CUP chicken stock sodium is not preferred
- 2-4 carnation garlic optionally
- 2 tablespoon butter or for taste
- 1/4-1/2 CUP milk or for taste
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Nutrition facts
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Amount per service
Calories 217
Calories from fat 58
% Daily Value*
Fat 6.4 g10%
Saturated fat 3.9 g24%
cholesterol 17 mg6%
Sodium 253 mg11%
potassium 937 mg27%
Carbohydrates 36.6 g12%
Fiber 5.4 g23%
Sugar 3.5 g4%
Protein 4.5 g9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
