No holiday meal is complete without a side of buttery potatoes!
Instant Pot mashed potatoes are a quick and easy way to make smooth and fluffy mashed potatoes in less than 30 minutes.
The Ultimate Comfort Food
This Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe is a quicker way to prepare classic mashed potatoes. They’re fluffy and creamy, making them the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving, Easter, or Sunday supper.
- These are made in an instant pot, which frees up time and space on the stove — especially for those larger meals like Thanksgiving.
- Cooking potatoes in an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker is easy and only one pot and no draining. Mash them right in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Potatoes
Potatoes: Russet or baking potatoes have a high starch content so they mash up fluffy and light. Yukon Gold also works and will make a more buttery mashed potato.
Chicken Broth: A bit of chicken broth helps the potatoes to cook and adds flavor.
Dairy: Generous amounts of real butter transform mashed potatoes to a whole new level of deliciousness. Milk can be replaced with half and half (or light cream) if you’d prefer.
Variations
Mashed potatoes welcome additions. Try chives, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, garlic salt, or homemade ranch seasoning.
How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Peel and chop potatoes. Add to the Instant Pot with 1 inch of water or broth.
- Seal and pressure cook on high pressure (as per recipe below).
- Do not drain; add milk and butter and mash.
Tips for Perfect Instant Pot Potatoes
- This recipe has been tested in a 6qt Instant Pot; cooking time in other models may vary.
- Ensure you add just 1 inch of liquid to the bottom.
- A few cloves of garlic can be added to the potatoes before cooking if desired.
- Potatoes can be mashed by hand or with a potato ricer or electric hand mixer. Do not overmix, or they can become gummy.
- Stir in fresh herbs like parsley or thyme, if desired, and a pinch of black pepper.
Serving and Leftover Mashed Potatoes
If they’re ready ahead of time, keep the Instant Pot on warm, and serve them right out of the Instant Pot (one less bowl to wash)!
Mashed potatoes are great with a little drizzling (or dousing) in brown gravy Make them as a side with roast turkey or pot roast. For a simpler dinner make them with our favorite meatloaf recipe, island-style pork, or marinated steak.
We always hope for leftovers! Use them as a topping on Shepherd’s pie. Turn them into twice-baked potato casserole, or even use leftovers in mashed potato salad.
Mashed Potato Faves
Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Did your family love these Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1½ cups broth or water maximum 1 ½ cups, you need about an inch in the bottom of your pressure cooker, so amount may vary depending on the size of pressure cooker you use.
- 5 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk warmed
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper or to taste
Instructions
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Fill Instant Pot with 1 inch of water in the bottom, maximum 1 ½ cups water.
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Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1 ½ inch pieces.
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Place the potatoes in Instant Pot. Sprinkle with salt, put the lid on top of the Instant Pot, and turn to close the lid.
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Set the valve to “sealing”. Press the MANUAL button, HIGH pressure. Press the +/- button to set it to 12 minutes. It will take a little while for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, at which time it will start counting down.
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When it counts to zero, it should beep. At this time, carefully turn the valve to "venting" position. Immediately turn the steam release handle back to the "sealing" position at the first sign of spattering. Quick release should ALWAYS be closely attended.
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Once the pressure cooker has vented, open it, and add the milk and butter. (Potatoes do not need to be drained.)
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Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes right in the pot, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
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Just made these with veggie broth and they are perfect!
Hello Holly,
Do you use the rivet and put the potatoes on top?
Thank you :)
I do not use the trivet, these go directly into the Instant pot.
PERFECT every single time – this is my favorite and only go-to recipe for the BEST and EASIEST mashed potatoes – you must follow the instructions and not add extra water I love it – thank you so very very very much
I am so glad you love this recipe Tina!
I’ve had my IP for a a while now but I just made mashed potatoes in it for the first time. I will ALWAYS do it this way now! Wow!
How to use ricer to mash potatoes?
Hi Linda, after the instant pot has been vented in step 9 but before you add the milk and butter, you are going to take a couple pieces of cooked potatoes and place them in the ricer and push the ricer until the potatoes come through. Continue until all potatoes have been through the ricer and then add milk, butter, and seasonings. I hope this helps!
Thank you for this recipe. I just made it in my 3 qt. IP. One cup of water and 4 russet potatoes. Turned out great. when my kids were young, I can”t tell you how many times the potato water boiled over on the stove, distracted by family life.
Such a great recipe that helped me replicate my grandma’s recipe in the Instant Pot. Thank you very much!
So glad you loved these Elizabeth!
This recipe makes 10 servings. If I want to make only 4 servings, should I reduce the water accordingly (about 1/4 cup)? My Instant Pot just arrived and this may be my first time using it!
I haven’t tried reducing the servings in this recipe so I can’t say for sure how it would work. Let us know how it goes.
Instant Pot says you should always use at least 1 cup water (or other liquid), so there will be enough steam to cook your vegetables at the correct pressure.
Using small to medium russet potatoes, I cut them into quarters after peeling, and I tried to make all pieces similar in size for the bigger potatoes. Then I set them on top of the trivet that comes with the IP, added 1 cup water, and then waited 5 or 10 minutes after they finished cooking before releasing the pressure. (In a 6 quart IP, the water level was just below the trivet, which is about one inch high.)
I have made these quite a few times, and they were very good, with a good consistency. My family wants me to make the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving every year, ever since the first time I made these, which was about three years ago.
Put potatoes in the Instant pot. Cook for 2 minutes. Slid the peels off is a lot easier.
Making these as I type this. Took 19 minutes to come up to pressure. What brand is your potato masher?
The potato masher I have is really old and I don’t have a brand on it but it’s a dual potato masher. You can find similar ones here on Amazon!
Seriously? You’re going to do all that, if you could have used a pot & a potato masher in the first place? People have been making delicious mashed potatoes since like forever, without an instant pot. Personally, many times I find my instant pot more trouble than it’s worth.
For sure people have been making potatoes with or without a pressure cooker forever (I use this mashed potatoes recipe to make them on the stove). There are many ways to make mashed potatoes, these are great for the times when the stove is full of turkey dinner or even when you don’t have access to a stove (eg camping etc).
Hi Rachael,
Your recipes are always awesome and would like to try them but I
don’t see the serving amount in any of your recipes. It comes in handy when trying to meal prep.
How much is 1 serving?
Thank you.
Hi Jazz, a serving is about ¾ cup. Have fun meal prepping!
I just got my IP barely a week ago, so this is only the 2nd time I’ve used it. Wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out.
I have an 8-quart IP. I used 2 cups of water, a smidge more milk, and a smidge more salt than called for and they turned out beautifully.
I am glad you liked the recipe Amber. I hope you stop by and let us know what you are cooking in your IP in the future!
Hmm. I drained half the water and the consensus at our dinner table was that these were watery and a little mealy. I guess our electric pressure cooker is pretty big, because it took a lot more than 1.5 cups of water to get an inch in the bottom. I might try again, but these did not turn out well for us.
If you added more than 1 1/2 cups of water, this would definitely make the potatoes watery. I’m sorry they didn’t turn out well for you. We’ve made this recipe many times and we haven’t had this issue.
I agree, my potatoes are more like soup and I scooped out at least half the water I put in, and didn’t add any milk, so my instapot must be a larger one as well.
My question is, if that is the case, will it still work with only 1.5 cups of water if it doesn’t measure 1″ in the bottom?
Kelley, thank you for your question and I’m sorry that they didn’t work for you. That’s disappointing. We’ve updated the recipe to be more clear that it is maximum 1 1/2 cup water.
You mention to put a towel over the valve when releasing steam. The instant pot company specifically says this is a no-no. Don’t know if you’re aware.
Sorry I should explain. It’s a legit safety issue.
Lori, we updated the recipe to remind everyone that Quick Release should ALWAYS be closely attended. Thank you!
Lori, thank you for the information. We’ve checked the Instant Pot manuals and website and haven’t seen that. We have emailed them to ask about this.
About to give this a try and wondering- after cooking, do you drain the water before you mash? Thanks!
You don’t need to drain the water.
I always drain the water, save it, and then add a bit of it at the very end….after mashing and adding the milk, etc…. IF I think the potatoes need it. Works out well doing it this way. And I actually DO usually add some.
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That’s a great tip, Nancy. Thank you for sharing!