Short on time for dinner? No worries! You can have these easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes ready in minutes! No more waiting for potatoes to boil.
What's In This Article
Forget the boxed stuff, this easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes recipe will be your new go-to! These potatoes are ready in just minutes!
It is amazing to me to see the resurgence of electric pressure cookers. The Instant Pot (sometimes known as the Insta Pot) has helped fear subside. No more worries about an electric pressure cooker exploding in your kitchen and starting your house on fire.
Instant Pots are great for many things:
- Instant Pot Taco Meat
- Easy Instant Pot BBQ Brisket
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- and of course these Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes!
While it might take you 30 to 40 minutes to boil potatoes on the stove top, it will only take you a few minutes in the pressure cooker. Such a time saver!
Times have changed and we’ve all gotten a little lazy making mashed potatoes from a box. And while this is a great option for quick weeknight meals, I am going to show you how to make mashed potatoes with real potatoes.
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
A basic mashed potato recipe only has a few ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Milk
- Butter
- Salt & Pepper
It’s that easy. Now, of course you can get fancy with your spuds and liven them up a bit. I’ll be including a list of ways to customize your Instant Pot mashed potatoes a little later in the post. Let’s get to some other burning mashed potato questions.
What is the best potato for mashing?
- Russet – Russets are probably the potato that 90% of mash is made from due to a higher starch content.
- Yukon Gold- Also high in starch, these come in second.
- Red Potatoes– Lower starch content and therefore higher risk of pasty potatoes.
- Plain White – Also low in starch.
Should I peel my potatoes?
For me, it depends on the type of potato I am using. One things remains the same for all though, there is an abundance of nutrients in the potato skin, including dietary fiber.
For Russets, I peel my potatoes. The skin is leathery and rough, making a weird texture that I don’t care for. But for thinner, more buttery skin, like red or yukons, feel free to leave them on, if desired.
Best Homemade Mashed Potato Recipe
From here I think two things come into play. One- nostalgia from your own childhood taters and two- personal preference.
But knowing the most basic of recipes will help you build your own delicious version of this classic.
Best Way to Mash Potatoes
You have a few options:
- Classic ricer– stimulates the least starch, medium texture, manually operated
- Hand masher– requires the most work, stimulates minimally starch, slightly larger texture
- Blender/Food Processor– Easiest and fastest, but can easily over mix and creates more dishes, least texture, most fluff
- Handheld Electric Mixer– Can use right in the pot, easy and creates smooth potatoes
- Two forks– go old school for chunkier mashed potatoes and just use two forks
- Immersion blender– in theory this should work great, but doesn’t for such a thick mixture.
Mashed Potato Toppings
A LOT!!!! Fill those bad boys up:
- Crumbled bacon
- Scallions
- Chives
- Sour cream
- Creme fraiche
- Minced roasted red peppers
- Blend in 3 ounces cream cheese
- Any other type of freshly shredded cheese
- Fresh herbs
- BBQ Meatballs
- Shredded BBQ Meat (chicken or pork)
- Horseradish Cream Sauce
- Harissa
PRO TIP: Use freshly grated cheese for mashed potatoes. Pre Shredded cheese is tossed in a light coating of starch to keep it from clumping, this might result in a grainy texture or thicker than desired potatoes. If you do use pre shredded cheese, you might need to add additional liquid to compensate for the starch.
Can I use purple potatoes to make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes?
Yes! Purple potatoes make excellent mashed potatoes and are linked to life longevity. Plus, they are pretty.
What if I don’t want to use milk or cream?
To lighten your potatoes, feel free to use chicken stock instead of cream or milk. Start with half and add in as needed. It isn’t as thick, so you might not need as much.
Why are my Instant Pot mashed potatoes so sticky?
You probably overworked them. It is a common mistake since people think the more they whip them, the fluffier they will get.
When potatoes are agitated, starch is released. The more you agitate, the more starch. The result is gummy, gluey, sticky, plasticy potatoes.
How do I fix sticky gluey potatoes?
I hate to tell you this, but no. After the starch is released, there is no way to bring it back.
What you can do is top them with as much stuff and butter as you possibly can to cover up the sticky texture.
How many potatoes do I need per person?
The general rule is 1/2 pound per person. You can also estimate by 1 medium potato per person.
Keep in mind that most recipes are by pound and you’ll rarely ever hit that on the dot. It is easy to adjust the amount of liquid needed after they cook, just add it slow.
How do I thicken my Instant Pot mashed potatoes?
You can thicken mashed potatoes by adding adding 1 tablespoon of either flour, cornstarch, powdered milk, arrowroot or Pecorino Romano cheese.
Mix this with 1 tablespoon water and then fold in by hand to prevent overworking the mixture. Sometimes these can be a little grainy. Add sparingly.
I also keep a box of instant mashed potatoes around at all times. It might be considered cheating by some, but I’ll add a tablespoon or two of dried potatoes, if needed.
I prefer to use white pepper instead of black so I get white fluffy potatoes instead ones with little black specks, although this isn’t the end of the world, of course.
Overoid over mixing. While some think this might make them fluffier, it actually actives (release?- wording) starchy gluten and makes them sticky or gluey.
Also avoid adding too much cheese. While cheese is delicious and we all love some cheesy potatoes, too much cheese will make them plasticy.
Here are more of my favorite mashed potato recipes:
- Creamy Ranch Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Homemade Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Garlic Dill Mashed Potatoes
- Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes
- Vanilla Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds Russet potatoes , peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream , half & half or whole milk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Chives or scallions , for garnish
Instructions
- Place prepared potatoes and water into the inner pot of a 6 quart Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker).
- Secure the lid on, set the valve to “seal” and set on manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Release the valve, allowing the pressure to release.
- Drain potatoes in a colander and return to the Instant Pot on “keep warm” setting.
- Add cream, butter, white pepper and fine sea salt.
- Using a potato masher or hand held electric blender, blending to desired consistency, being mindful to not overmix. Add cream (or milk), 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- Garnish with chives, scallions or additional butter.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
I love mash and this makes it even easier to make. I know what I’m having for dinner tomorrow!
I had never made mashed potatoes in my instant pot until running across this recipe and you convinced me by how fast they were. You were right, faster and just as delicious as my typical stovetop mashed potatoes. A winner for sure.
I was drooling as I was scrolling through the entire post. This is just how I like my mashed potatoes plenty of milk to make it creamy.
Genius! Easy AND delicious!
What a quick and easy recipe that will be loved by all. We eat a lot of mashed potatoes so this recipe will come in handy.