Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe

These creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes turn out absolutely perfect in the pressure cooker. This recipe is way quicker and easier than making them the classic way!

close up photo of mashed potatoes with butter in instant pot with wooden cooking spoon

I’m beyond excited to be sharing my grandma’s mashed potato recipe! These are the mashed potatoes I grew up with. She would make them in her ancient stovetop pressure cooker (that was probably missing a few parts, ahem…) over her wood-fired stove.

My brother still claims hers are the best ever mashed potatoes and nobody else’s can ever get close to them – but I’d say my recipe is pretty darn close! Her secret is to steam the potatoes on a trivet rather than pressure cooking them covered in water, for the fluffiest and richest mash. I still make my Classic Mashed Potatoes sometimes, or my Mashed Sweet Potatoes! But grandma’s pressure cooker version? My number 1 favorite – especially when I make my family’s favorite Shepherd’s Pie.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

If you’ve never made mashed potatoes from scratch, you’re going to be surprised just how little you need and how easy they are to make:

ingredients for instant pot mashed potatoes with text labels — Ingredients for Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes: Russet potatoes, milk, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground nutmeg.

Ingredient notes

Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are a great alternative to the russet potatoes – these are the two best kinds of potatoes to make mash for their starchiness and the way they cook
Milk: I love this recipe with whole milk. You may use milk with a lower fat percentage, but the potatoes won’t turn out quite as rich and creamy
Butter: Feel free to cut back on the butter for a lighter mash, but the potatoes won’t turn out quite as rich and creamy. Add a few tablespoons of cream cheese or sour cream in place of some or all of the butter, if you prefer!
Nutmeg: The nutmeg adds a wonderfully warming hint, skip if you don’t like it – but it’s delicious!

How to make mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot

Making mashed potatoes in the instant pot is a great recipe for beginners and pro-pressure-cookers alike, it only has a few simple steps and is ready in no time at all.

female hand pouring water into instant pot filled with curt up potatoes — place potatoes on trivet and pour in water

wooden stick moving valve on instant pot lid — place potatoes on trivet and pour in water

Place a trivet in your instant pot and add 1 cup of water. The water level should be right below the trivet (you don’t want your potatoes to touch the water, they’ll steam on top of the trivet).
Place the potatoes on the trivet, seal the lid and set the valve to the “sealing” position. Choose “pressure cooking” (or “manual” on older models) and set the timer to 5 minutes.
Once cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 2 minutes (this is to avoid huge splatters), then release the remaining pressure manually according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Carefully remove the trivet (use potholders or a tea towel, it will be very hot!) and drain the water.
Add milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the potatoes in the Instant Pot (yes, you can mash the potatoes right in the instant pot for less dishes used). Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes to your desired consistency – we like ours mashed well until smooth.

Note: Your potatoes really will cook through, even if they don’t touch the water! That’s exactly what a pressure cooker is for, the steam cooks the potatoes very well under pressure.

Doing it this way has two huge advantages: Firstly, your potatoes will not get water but stay starchy, dry and fluffy – EXACTLY what you want for the perfect mash.

And secondly, the pressure cooker comes to full pressure a LOT faster than when you’d cover your potatoes with water! A huge win when it comes to saving time in the kitchen.

close up photo of instant pot mashed potatoes with pat of butter on top

Recipe tips

Consistency: Add more milk as needed, different potatoes have different needs for liquid. Start with one tablespoon extra and increase from there.
Seasoning: Check the mashed potatoes for seasoning and adjust to your taste before serving. Top them with additional butter and chopped herbs, if you like.
Potato skin: Feel free to leave the skin on your potatoes if that’s what you prefer – we get our potatoes from the organic farm down the road and they’re bumpy and covered in soil, so I always peel them.
Timing: If your potatoes aren’t cooked after 5 minutes (they really should be, but just in case!), close the instant pot and cook for 1 more minute on high pressure.
Draining: Make sure you drain the potatoes well for the fluffiest mash.

Mashed potato FAQs

What causes gluey mashed potatoes?

One cause can be overworking the potatoes when mashing them – don’t overdo it.

The other cause can be using the wrong potatoes. You should be using starchy potatoes, not waxy ones.

What kind of potatoes are best for mashed potatoes?

Russets or Yukon Golds are generally thought to work best for mashing.

Is milk or cream better for mashed potatoes?

Cream or half-and-half will obviously make your mashed potatoes richer and creamier. I do find they can get a little heavy when made with all cream, so I prefer using whole milk.

Serving ideas

Mashed potatoes go well with all things gravy – it’s a match made in heaven! Here are my family’s favorite mains to have with a side of steaming mash:

Alternatively, mashed potatoes are also a delicious classic to serve with oven fried chicken (or buttermilk oven fried chicken), meatloaf or with a fish recipe like lemon garlic baked cod or lemon garlic butter baked salmon.

Recipe video

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card

overhead view of mashed potatoes in instant pot with butter and wooden spoon stuck inside

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