These Instant Pot mashed potatoes are perfectly creamy, full of flavor and are so easy to make! Pressure cooker mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for an everyday meal or for a special holiday dinner.
I always use my Instant Pot to make mashed potatoes, it’s a one pot dish that’s always a huge hit with both kids and adults. Serve these mashed potatoes alongside a roasted chicken and some roasted asparagus for a complete meal. Take a look at my list of 16 Instant Pot Recipes for some more great ways to use this kitchen device!
If you’ve never made mashed potatoes in your Instant Pot before, you’re missing out! The potatoes come out perfectly creamy every time and you can mash them directly in the Instant Pot, so no extra dirty dishes to clean. The easiest of side dish recipes that pairs well with so many main course options!
Table of Contents
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need potatoes, water, salt, milk, butter, black pepper and chives.
How Do You Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes?
Place the potatoes, water and salt in an Instant Pot. Seal the pot, and cook on manual pressure. After the cooking time has elapsed, manually release the pressure in the pot. Place milk, butter and pepper to the pot. Mash the potatoes to the consistency you prefer. Add more salt to taste if needed, then spoon the potatoes into a large bowl. Finish the dish with chives, and you can add more butter if you like. Finally, serve and enjoy!
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- I prefer to peel my potatoes for a smoother mash. If you like the added texture from potato peels, feel free to leave them on.
- Leftover mashed potatoes will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze extra mashed potatoes for up to 2 months.
- For richer potatoes, try cooking the potatoes in chicken broth instead of water, and use half and half or heavy cream instead of milk.
- These Instant Pot mashed potatoes are perfect for Thanksgiving because using a pressure cooker helps to free up the oven and stove top for dishes such as deep fried turkey, sweet potato casserole with pecans, smoked ham and turkey stuffing.
Quick Tip
You can mash your potatoes with a potato masher, mixer or potato ricer. Do not use a food processor, as it will make your potatoes gummy.
Recipe FAQs
The easiest way to mash potatoes is with a potato masher. If you want super smooth potatoes, you can also try using a potato ricer. Another alternative is you can beat your potatoes with a hand mixer. Just be sure not to put your potatoes in the food processor – if you try it that way, you’ll end up with gluey potatoes that aren’t pleasant to eat.
I use Russet potatoes in this recipe, which in my opinion, is the best potato for mashed potatoes. You can also use Yukon Gold potatoes with good results. I wouldn’t recommend using other varieties of potatoes like red potatoes because they are waxier and can turn pasty when mashed.
It will take 10 minutes to cook 3-4 inch size pieces of potato in the Instant Pot.
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Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as-is, but you can easily add other flavors to customize it to your tastes.
- Cheese: Stir in some shredded cheese. Some great options include cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or fontina cheese.
- Spices: Amp up the flavor with garlic powder, ranch dressing, onion powder, smoked paprika, fresh garlic or even garlic cloves. You can also add seasonings such as Italian seasoning or Cajun seasoning.
- Herbs: Swap out the chives for parsley, basil, thyme, green onions or rosemary.
- Toppings: Finish your potatoes with crispy bacon, basil pesto, french fried onions or olives.
Instant Pot mashed potatoes are the perfect addition to any holiday meal, primarily because they don’t take up any oven or stove top space, leaving you plenty of room to make your turkey, sides and desserts. These potatoes are on our table every Thanksgiving and they always get rave reviews!
More Great Side Dishes
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Russet potatoes peeled and quartered
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk heavy cream or half and half can also be used
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sliced chives optional
- butter for serving optional
Instructions
- Place the potatoes, water and salt in an Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on, turn the valve to seal, then set the Instant Pot for manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, release the pressure by turning the valve to vent.
- Add the milk, butter and pepper to the Instant Pot. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes to desired consistency. You can add more milk if needed, one tablespoon at a time.
- Alternatively, you can transfer the contents of the Instant Pot to a mixer to whip your potatoes.
- Taste your potatoes and add more salt if needed.
- Spoon the potatoes into a serving bowl. Top with additional pats of butter and sliced chives if desired.
Notes
- I prefer to peel my potatoes for a smoother mash. If you like the added texture from potato peels, feel free to leave them on.
- Leftover mashed potatoes will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze extra mashed potatoes for up to 2 months.
So I made these last night as a test batch for Thanksgiving and they were fantastic. My only dilemma now is that I probably need closer to 7 pounds of potatoes to feed all of our guests. What amount of water should be used for this quantity of potatoes, and should I increase the cooking time? I noticed a double batch only adds 1/4 cup of extra based on the comments, but changing the serving amount also multiplies the water.
If the pot is really full, then I’d increase the cooking time. Otherwise the same cooking time should be adequate. I would use 1 1/4 cups water.
Perfect recipe I followed the instructions as is….just added more ingredients to it like adding cheddar jack cheese and a touch of seasoning and it turn out great will make this again
When doubling the recipe do you need to increase the water as well?
Yes you’ll want to increase the water to 3/4 cup!
This recipe was so simple, easy and delicious. My fiance loved it too and he is very picky.
Can I freeze these?
Yes that should be fine!
I made these tonight and they were great! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
This may be a silly question, but I’m still learning about my instant pot. Do I need to drain the water from the potatoes before adding the other ingredients? Thanks!
No you don’t need to drain the water!
This recipe looks like an amazing last minute addition to my Thanksgiving Meal. How far in advance of dinner should I make these? Mashed potatoes are best served warm in my opinion. I’ve never used an Instant Pot but been needing to purchase one. Please help!
You can make these potatoes up to a day in advance, and then store them in a covered casserole dish and reheat them in the oven. I hope that helps! If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, I do have this recipe which doesn’t use an Instant Pot: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/loaded-mashed-potato-casserole/
Can I make more than 2 pounds and still only have it take 10 minutes? Thinking of trying this for Thanksgiving coming up.
Yes that should work just fine! If you’re using significantly more potatoes, you may want to up the cook time to 15-20 minutes, or you can just let the pressure release naturally because the potatoes will continue to cook in the pot while you wait for the natural pressure release.
My older son loves mashed potatoes and I really like how savory this recipe looks. I’m sure he would love this if I made it for him.
I had never houghtnof using my pressure cooker to make mash before. How clever! Thanks for the great idea!
I keep hearing about insta pots. We love mashed potatoes and this recipe in the insta pot looks so easy and delicious!
I .love mashed potatoes so much. I have developed around 15 styles to prepare mashed potatoes. This is a new addition in that list.
Oh this looks great …. unfortunately my family does not like it … but I do. So if this mother is alone once, I will definitely try this recipe. I wrote down the recipe … now hope that this mother has to cook for her alone … lol.
These look so good. I have never used and Instapot before but have wanted to get one. It looks like these mashed potatoes came out so good! I’ll have to try this!
I think we really need to get an instant pot! I am seeing so many delicious recipes out there! It seems convenient too! Thanks for the recipe! I love mashed potatoes!
You can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes, and keep the butter coming! I just love them.
This looks super yummy and really easy. I haven’t made the plunge into buying an Instant pot yet but am thinking about it. Do you love yours? Is it really worth the money? Would love to learn more!
I think it’s been worth it because it’s such a versatile tool – it’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker and more all in one machine! It’s a great way to get dinner on the table quickly.
I love potatoes in any form so these mash potatoes I would relish. I love the lovely creamy texture of them. They would compliment any meal perfectly.
A bowl of mashed potatoes has to be one of the best comfort foods possible. Sounds amazing! 🙂 Mmm, another great recipe.