HUB 01 · Multicookers
How to Cook Potatoes in an Instant Pot
Potatoes are one of the fastest, most reliable things an Instant Pot does: whole for a baked-potato texture, cubed for mash in a few minutes. The only real variables are how big the pieces are and whether you want them fluffy or ready to whip. Here is the timing and the method for both.
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Two ways to cook potatoes, two textures
How you cut the potatoes decides the method. Whole potatoes on the trivet steam to a fluffy, baked-potato texture with the skin intact; cubed potatoes in the watercook faster and softer, ready to mash. Either way the Instant Pot is quicker and more even than the oven or a boiling pot, and it frees the stovetop. This is one of those everyday jobs the machine quietly nails — the same reliability that makes it worth owning, alongside rice and the rest of what it can cook.
Whole potatoes (baked-potato texture)
Pour 1 cup of water into the pot and set the trivet in. Prick each potato a few times and set them on the trivet, keeping them roughly the same size so they finish together. Pressure cook on high for about 12–15 minutesfor medium russets (a little less for small, a little more for large baking potatoes), then let the pressure release naturally for 5–10 minutes. They come out fluffy inside with a soft skin; if you want a crisp skin, rub them with oil and finish under the broiler for a few minutes.
Cubed potatoes (for mashed)
For mashed potatoes, peel and cut them into even 1-inch cubes, add about a cup of water (they can sit straight in the water, no trivet needed), and pressure cook on high for 6–8 minutes with a quick release. Drain well, then mash right in the pot with butter, warm milk and salt. Because everything happens in one pot with no watching a boil, this is genuinely faster than the stovetop for a weeknight side. A smaller pot like the Duo Mini handles a two-person batch without heating a big pot for it.
Timing and the water rule
The two things that decide the result are size and water. Keep the pieces uniform so they cook evenly, and remember an Instant Pot always needs enough liquid to build steam — about a cup for potatoes, which is not absorbed the way it is with rice. As a quick reference: small whole potatoes 10–12 minutes, medium 12–15, large 18–20; 1-inch cubes 6–8; halved 8–10. If a potato is not quite done, a couple more minutes under pressure fixes it. For more of these, see our Instant Pot cooking times reference.
The hardware
The cookers this page is about
The cookers referred to above, with prices pulled live from Amazon and dated on every card. Full rankings live in the roundups linked from this page.
1,000 W
Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart
The multicooker that made the category, and still the right default. Instant Brands publishes the wattage, the working pressure range and a stainless (not nonstick) inner pot, which is more than most of the field manages — and it costs less than almost all of them.
700 W
Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1, 3 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
The Duo shrunk to 3 quarts. It is the right size for one or two people, for a dorm or an RV, or as a second pot for a side dish while the big one does the main. The same 7-in-1 function set, the same stainless pot, in a footprint that actually fits a small kitchen.
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Questions
Frequently asked
How long do potatoes take in an Instant Pot?
How much water do you use for potatoes in an Instant Pot?
Can you make mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot?
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