Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you overcook potatoes in the Instant Pot? ›

The Best Kind of Potatoes for Pressure Cooking

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.) Take 'em out right when the timer goes off so they don't overcook, then use them however you like!

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.

As The Kitchn explains, potatoes will release starch when they're mixed and mashed. Once there is too much starch in your mashed potato mixture, the texture will quickly turn from fluffy to gummy.

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).

Then, prepare the potatoes: Bring 1¼ cups water to boil in a small saucepan. Once bubbling away, remove from heat, add 1 cup instant mashed potatoes (2 oz.), and gently fluff with a fork.

bottom line. It is not possible to create carcinogenic acrylamide when cooking potatoes at the high temperatures that can be achieved by household pressure cookers. Pressure cooking and cooling potatoes produces a nutritional insoluble starch which has a lower glycemic impact.

For good measure: Be careful not to overcook potatoes you plan to mash, because the starch cells will break down and create a sticky mash. Cook them just until a thin-bladed knife meets a bit of resistance. It is also important to drain the potatoes well after cooking to prevent gumminess.

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.

Potatoes are like pasta, in that they leach starches into their cooking liquid. In the case of pasta, you want to reserve some of that liquid to give sauce a luscious shine and bind it to the noodles.

Instant mashed potato flakes typically thicken almost instantly when you mix them with hot water or milk. You'll notice the thickening process happening within a minute or two of stirring.

Are instant mashed potatoes bad? ›

Nutritionally speaking, instant mashed potatoes offer roughly the same vitamins and minerals as the real mashed potatoes with the exception of Vitamin C. To please palates, they tend to be higher in sodium, significantly higher than the amount of salt home cooks would add when making them at home from scratch.

Originally Answered: How can you fix lumpy and gritty instant mashed potatoes? In order to fix lumpy or gritty mashed potatoes you may need to add more liquid to them such as melted butter and some milk. Make sure the water that you put into the potatoes is warm or hot enough to totally saturate the flakes.

In general small or cubed potatoes will take about 10 to 15 minutes to boil, while larger, whole potatoes will take between 20 to 25 minutes. To check potatoes for doneness, insert a knife into one. If it slides in without much effort, you're good to go!

Boiled Potatoes Time Guide

Peeled, cubed potatoes cut into small, one-inch pieces should cook in 10 to 12 minutes, once the water reaches a boil. Larger pieces (about 2 inches across) may need longer, around 15 minutes. Medium whole potatoes should boil 20 minutes before they'll be tender.

In a pressure cooker, the pressure inside increases and hence the boiling point of water decreases thereby food cooks faster.