Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Whole sweet potatoes steam on the trivet in 15 minutes with skins on, so the flesh mashes silky without turning to waterlogged mush.
instant-pot Timer
Set for 15 mins @ High Pressure (240°F / 116°C)
Ingredients
Base recipe calibrated for 6 adults.
Get to the Point
Prick 3 lbs whole sweet potatoes 6-8 times each with a fork.
Add 1 cup water and trivet to pot; stack sweet potatoes on trivet.
Seal and cook 15 min High Pressure with 10 min natural release.
Slip skins off (they peel like a glove) and mash with 4 tbsp butter, salt, and maple.
Step-by-Step Guided Instructions
Wash 3 lbs whole sweet potatoes (about 5 medium). Do not peel. Pierce each potato 6-8 times all around with a fork. Add 1 cup water to the Instant Pot and set the trivet inside. Stack potatoes on the trivet.
Cooking whole with the skin on keeps water out of the flesh — this is why stovetop mashed sweet potatoes are watery and these are not.
Seal the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook at High Pressure for 15 minutes for medium potatoes (add 3 min for large). Allow a 10-minute natural pressure release, then vent.
A fork should slide into the fattest potato with zero resistance. If it drags, seal back up and add 3 more minutes.
Transfer potatoes to a cutting board with tongs. When cool enough to handle (about 3 minutes), pinch a skin at the end and it will slide off in one piece. Discard skins.
Steaming under pressure separates the skin from the flesh completely — you should never need a peeler here.
Return the peeled flesh to a large bowl (or the emptied and dried Instant Pot). Add 4 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tsp kosher salt. Mash with a potato masher until butter is fully incorporated but flesh still has some texture.
Butter and salt before any liquid. Salt draws steam out of the flesh into the butter, which then coats every strand as you mash.
Stir in 2 tbsp pure maple syrup and 1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half). Adjust texture with more cream 1 tbsp at a time if needed. Taste and adjust salt.
Maple, not brown sugar. Brown sugar gives molasses notes that clash with the natural pumpkin-pie warmth of sweet potato. Maple amplifies it.
A ricer beats a masher for silk-smooth texture, but a masher gives you the coarser, homier texture most people actually want. Own both if you host — otherwise a masher is the only tool that matters.
Skip the maple and cream. Mash a peeled sweet potato with just butter and a pinch of cinnamon for babies and toddlers. It reads as dessert but is basically vegetables.
- Roast pork tenderloin or spatchcock chicken
- Sautéed collard greens with vinegar
- Buttermilk biscuits and gravy
Warm covered in a saucepan over medium-low for 6 minutes, stirring in 2 tbsp cream to loosen back to fluffy. Microwave in 45-second bursts with a lid if in a hurry.