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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are so creamy and buttery, and they take just minutes to make using your Instant Pot! This easy mashed potato recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all your holiday feasts.
For more Instant Pot recipes, check out my Instant Pot Green Beans and Instant Pot Potato Soup.
Why We Love This Recipe
For creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes in a flash, this recipe will make your holiday meal stress-free!
- Quick and Easy – From start to finish, this mashed potato recipe is ready in just 20 minutes!
- Stovetop-Free Cooking – One thing I love about the Instant Pot is that it is mostly hands-off while it cooks. No babysitting the pot on the stovetop, I just let the Instant Pot do the work while I focus on other things. It will beep once it’s done.
- Soft and Fluffy Potatoes – The liquid in the Instant Pot steams the potatoes instead of boiling them, which makes them perfectly soft and fluffy.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
How To Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Peel your potatoes, then quarter them for even cooking.
Place the trivet or silicone basket in the bottom of the Instant Pot and add some chicken broth and salt. This adds not only moisture but also flavor.
Mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot only take about 8 minutes to cook. When the Instant Pot beeps, do a quick release to release the pressure, then remove the potatoes from the pot.
Time to mash and add cream and butter! Pour milk and butter into a microwaveable dish and heat until the milk is warm and the butter is melted. Add to the potatoes along with sour cream and garlic powder. You can use a potato ricer or whip them with a hand mixer, depending on how much texture you like.
Season with salt and pepper. I like to do this last so the potatoes aren’t too salty.
Serving Suggestions
Since these mashed potatoes only take 20 minutes to make, you can whip these up on a busy weeknight or a fancy holiday feast. They are fantastic with your Thanksgiving Turkey and, of course, lots of homemade gravy!
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are also delicious with Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast, 4 Ingredient French Onion Chicken, or Smothered Chicken.
Use any leftover mashed potatoes to make these Ham and Cheese Potato Croquettes or Crispy Fried Potato Cheese Balls.
Variations
This recipe is a basic mashed potato recipe, but you can customize it with so many things! Here are some ideas for making your mashed potatoes even more special.
- Stir in some freshly grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.
- Sprinkle in some Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
- Add some herbed cream cheese or Boursin.
- For loaded mashed potatoes, add crispy bacon, sliced green onions, and your favorite shredded cheese.
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
Storage: Leftover mashed potatoes should be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered with foil in the oven.
Freezing: Potatoes don’t usually do well in the freezer, but mashed potatoes with lots of butter and cream are the exception. Keep them airtight in the freezer for up to 4 months, and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Recipe Tips
- Pick Your Potato – I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for their extra creamy texture, but russets and red potatoes are great too.
- Instant Pot Accessories – I used a silicone steaming basket to make potatoes in the Instant Pot. It is definitely a great tool to have if you have if you use a pressure cooker. If you don’t have the basket, you can use the metal trivet that comes with the pot and just set the potatoes on top to help keep them out of the liquid.
- Heating Up The Butter and Milk First – One of my secrets to making the best Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes is heating the butter and milk before adding it to the potatoes. I like to microwave it to keep things easy. This will give you that really creamy texture that makes them so irresistible!
- Add Salt Last – I like to add the salt and pepper last so that the potatoes don’t end up too salty.
More Holiday Side Dishes
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
- Cranberry Pecan Roasted Vegetables
- Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes washed, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 3 tablespoons Sour cream more or less as desired
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- For garnish: melted butter and parsley or chives
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place the steamer basket or trivet on top of the broth and add your potatoes. Sprinkle with half the salt. Put the lid on the pot and turn to sealed. Set the manual timer to 8 minutes.
- While potatoes cook, heat butter and milk in the microwave until milk is warmed and butter is melted.
- When Instant Pot beeps, do a quick release to release the pressure. Remove potatoes from the pot and add to a large mixing bowl. Add half of the butter and milk combination and the sour cream.
- Using a hand mixer, mix on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add additional milk/butter mixture until you get your desired consistency. I used about ¾ of the mixture.
- Add pepper and garlic powder and then taste and add additional salt if desired. Garnish with herbs and butter.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Recipe sounds easy and delish! One question…you add broth to the IP with the potatoes. When you remove the potatoes from the IP, do you use the broth or try to separate the potatoes and leave the broth?
You will lift out the trivet with the potatoes and leave the broth behind.
Can you use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth? We’re vegetarian
Sure!
Or, you could wash the potatoes,pierce them with a fork, place them in an oven with the turkey until soft. Remove, let cool to handle. Remove the flesh from the potato and follow the rest of your steps. Low tech, but very good, and you don’t need any more equipment or counter space. So tell me again why I need an IP?
YOU absolutely don’t need an Instant Pot because apparently you already know how to make mashed potatoes. Not sure why you’re looking at an IP recipe though?
Will they dry out if prepared early and left on warm?
I wouldn’t leave them on warm for too long. Maybe an hour.