Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How many potatoes per person for mashed potatoes? ›

Instant Pot: I buy potatoes in bulk (I do live in Idaho after all), so I always weigh out the 4 pounds (or 8 pounds if using my 8-quart Instant Pot) for this recipe, but you should be able to fit in a commonly sold 5-pound bag of potatoes into the 6-quart Instant Pot, as long as the max fill line isn't exceeded after ...

Pour 1 c (240 mL) of water and 0.5 c (120 mL) of milk into a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) of salt and 1 1/2 tablespoons (21 g) of butter or margarine. Substitute the milk with chicken stock, vegetable stock, or extra water for a dairy-free option.

The Best Kind of Potatoes for Pressure Cooking

For this recipe, you can use any kind of potato, like Yukon Gold, red, or russet potatoes. Cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and they're ready in under 15 minutes (about ten minutes for the pot to come up to pressure, then three minutes for the potatoes to steam.)

For a big spread with lots of side dishes, you'll want to have about four ounces (125 grams) of potato (that's precooked weight) per person. If you're serving fewer sides, you can up it to about eight ounces (250 grams) per person.

Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside. To stay on the safe side, don't fill your pot over that two-thirds line, and stay below half full for foods that expand while cooking, such as beans and lentils.

I tested this recipe with 6 pounds of potatoes in a 6-quart Instant Pot, and that quantity works well with the same cooking time. If you need to triple this recipe, you'll need to use a larger Instant Pot.

What's the minimum liquid needed for the pot to come to pressure? The official Instant Pot manual says that you need at least 1 cup (8 oz) of water in the pot for it to come to pressure.

Most instant potato varieties call for you to combine the potatoes with water, but if you want your potatoes to taste a bit more indulgent, use milk instead. Whole milk will yield delightfully rich potatoes, but 2 percent milk works well too.

How to spruce up instant mashed potatoes? ›

Mix in shredded cheddar or Parmesan cheese for an easy way to make instant mashed potatoes better, or go beyond the basics with blue cheese, Manchego, Gruyere, goat cheese or even cream cheese. They all bring something delicious to the table and add a new spin on basic boxed potatoes.

Generally potatoes that are small in size or cut into pieces take about 10-15 minutes to boil in a pressure cooker, when we allow it to boil with 2 whistles. However, if the size of the potatoes is too large it may even take about 20-25 minutes for them to boil and cool down.

Process the Potatoes

The potatoes need to be processed in a weighted pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 35 minutes for pint jars and 40 minutes of quart jars if you live at an altitude of 1,000 feet above sea level or less (Image 3).

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

How many pounds of potatoes per person for mashed potatoes? A 5-pound bag of potatoes makes 10 to 12 servings of mashed potatoes.

As a general rule of thumb, plan for around 1/2 to 3/4 cup of mashed potatoes per person. This estimation takes into account that some guests may have larger appetites, while others may prefer smaller portions. For twenty people, this would translate to 10 to 15 cups of mashed potatoes.

On average, potatoes lose about 25% of their weight during the peeling and cooking process. So, if you start with 10 pounds of potatoes, you'll end up with approximately 7.5 pounds of cooked potatoes. Based on this calculation, you have enough cooked potatoes to serve 30 people.