Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Name: Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 3 ½ pounds sweet potatoes; 1 ½ cups water; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 4 pieces); 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or honey or brown sugar); ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste); black pepper (to taste); ¼ cup warm milk (plus more as needed, whole or 2% is best)

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See my guide on how to use an Instant Pot.

These Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes are so creamy and easy to make! They are the perfect side dish for the holidays or a weeknight dinner.

Mashed sweet potatoes in a white serving bowl.

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. They are a delicious, versatile ingredient that you can enjoy in both sweet and savory dishes. From simple baked sweet potato to crispy baked sweet potato fries and sweet potato casserole, there are so many tasty ways to prepare sweet potatoes.

I’ve already shared my Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes recipe, which is how I cook whole baked sweet potatoes in the pressure cooker. My Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are proof that pressure cooker mashed potatoes are the best ever, with a fluffy, creamy texture that can’t be beat. So I was pretty excited to try making mashed sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot. And now that I have, I’m hooked!

These Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes are lightly sweetened and flavored simply with butter, salt and pepper. Below I’m sharing ideas for variations on this recipe, as well as my tips for how to get the smoothest, creamiest mashed sweet potatoes.

How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes

This recipe has just a few simple steps:

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes.
Pressure cook the sweet potatoes.
Mash and then stir in butter, pure maple syrup, salt, pepper and milk.

When you cut the sweet potatoes, chop them into large 2-inch pieces. Depending on the size of your sweet potatoes, you may need to cut each potato into halves, thirds, fourths or sixths. The 15 minutes of pressure cooking will cook 2-inch chunks of sweet potatoes to tender.

You’ll cook the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket in your Instant Pot. If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can set the potato pieces on the metal trivet that comes with most Instant Pot models. Be sure to add 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom of the pot before you put the sweet potatoes in. The water is needed for the pot to pressurize.

When the cook time ends, quick release the pressure. Then carefully open the Instant Pot lid by turning the steam release valve to the venting position. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a plate or bowl so that you can rinse out the Instant Pot inner pot. Dry the pot and then return it to the Instant Pot base. Put the cooked sweet potatoes back in the pot to mash.

The Best Way to Mash Sweet Potatoes

I’ve tested out different ways to mash sweet potatoes. You can mash them by hand using a potato masher. You can also mash them with a hand mixer, right in the Instant Pot. If you don’t mind dirtying another bowl, you can use a stand mixer to mash the potatoes.

But if you want your mashed sweet potatoes to be really smooth and creamy, you should use an immersion blender:

First, mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher or hand mixer. You can do this right in the Instant Pot.
Stir in the butter, seasonings and milk.
Use an immersion blender to mash the sweet potatoes a second time, until they are extra smooth and creamy. You can do this right in the Instant Pot.

Once you’ve mashed your sweet potatoes, you can stir in more milk as needed to reach your desired texture. I find that the amount of milk needed depends on the sweet potatoes – some are more “thirsty” and will absorb more milk than others. Sometimes 1/4 cup of milk is enough, and sometimes you need to add a few extra tablespoons of milk.

You can leave your sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot on the keep warm setting for up to 1 to 2 hours while serving your meal. If they start to dry out, stir in more warmed milk.