Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes (with shortcut!)

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – perfect fluffy sweet potatoes cooked in a pressure cooker. Use my shortcut to make smaller portions, perfect for children!

I love to serve these sweet potatoes topped with Instant Pot Beef Chili or with the Best Instant Pot Pulled Pork, or simply with Honey Butter.

One of my favorite side dishes to make in the Instant Pot are baked potatoes. My love for potatoes definitely includes sweet ones. Fluffy baked sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar are pure comfort food in my book. Since Fall officially starts tomorrow, sweet potatoes are going to be showing up in our menu more often, and as the true star in my Best Sweet Potato Casserole on our Thanksgiving menu. Today, I want to show you how to cook sweet potatoes in your Instant Pot.

These Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes are delicious topped with butter and brown sugar. You can also add mini marshmallows and pop the potatoes under a broiler for an extra treat! Scoop the potato flesh and use to make mashed sweet potatoes, casserole, add to soups or pack and freeze for later.

How to cook sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot?

• Start by prepping potatoes: wash and scrub well. Cut stringy ends if needed. Pierce potatoes with a fork in several places. It helps the steam escape during cooking.
• Add water to your Instant Pot and place trivet in the insert. Arrange potatoes on the trivet. Close the lid and switch the valve to “sealing” position. Press “manual” or “pressure cook” setting and set timer to 16 to 20 minutes for medium potatoes OR 26 to 30 minutes for large potatoes.
• Let the pressure cooker release the pressure naturally. It takes about 12 minutes.

Notice that my sweet potatoes are actually quite big. I shop at Aldi’s and they often have large sweet potatoes in bunches, but if you can select each one – pay attention to the size. Mine were 8″ in circumference. I would consider those large size potatoes. I set the timer to 28 minutes and the potatoes were melt-in-your-mouth fluffy and the skin was peeling off easily.

Best tips:

• use same size potatoes
• pierce with a fork to let the steam escape during cooking and prevent bursting
• let the pressure release naturally for fluffy and flavorful potatoes
• use my shortcut below to make smaller portions or to cook potatoes in half the time

How to serve them?

Aside from serving them as a vegetable side dish, baked sweet potatoes are perfect for stuffing with pulled pork, BBQ chicken, or even chili. You can also scoop the cooked flesh out, discard the skin, and use mash the potatoes for use in casseroles or soups. It’s also a great way to make baby food for little ones!

Can I cook them in half the time?

When I started cooking sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot, I would cut them in half lengthwise and cook that way. It’s a perfect portion if you want just half of the potato or for children. Everything depends on the size of your potatoes, of course, so read through the recommendations above. While a whole potato that is 8″ in circumference cooks in 28 minutes, if you cut it in half it will cook in 14 minutes. It’s a definite time-saver!!

More Instant Pot side dish recipes:

• Instant Pot Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
• Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes

Check out my Instant Pot Guide for Beginners, filled with all the info you need to get started with your new appliance!

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀

5 from 8 votes

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Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Prep Time

2 mins

Cook Time

28 mins

pressure release time

12 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Perfect fluffy sweet potatoes cooked in pressure cooker. Use my shortcut to make smaller portions, perfect for children!

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Instant Pot baked sweet potatoes, pressure cooker sweet potatoes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 111 kcal

Author: Anna

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 sweet potatoes
• 1 cup water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Prepare potatoes for cooking: wash and scrub to clean. Pierce with fork in several places.
2. Make sure the stainless steel insert is in your IP. Add 1 cup of water to insert and set the trivet inside.
3. Arrange potatoes on trivet. Close the lid and set valve to "sealing" position.
4. Press "manual" or "pressure cook" setting and set timer to: 16 to 20 minutes for potatoes that are 6" in circumference OR 26 to 30 minutes for potatoes that are 8" in circumference or more (see note how to measure).
5. The IP will beep when ready and it will start the cooking process. When the timer is done, let the pressure cooker release the pressure naturally. It will take about 12 minutes.
6. Carefully open the lid away from your face and remove potatoes from the Instant Pot.
7. Serve.

Recipe Notes

SHORTCUT: cut potatoes in half lengthwise and arrange on trivet, cut side up.  Cooking time depends on the size of your potatoes, of course, so read through the recommendations above. While a whole potato that is 8" in circumference cooks in 28 minutes, if you cut it in half it will cook in 14 minutes. It's a perfect portion if you want just half of the potato or for children.

How to measure potatoes: take sewing tape measure and wrap around the thickest part of the potato (in the middle). It's like measuring your waist. If you don't have tape, use a string and measure it with a ruler. 

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 111

% Daily Value*

Sodium 74mg3%

Potassium 438mg13%

Carbohydrates 26g9%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 18445IU369%

Vitamin C 3.1mg4%

Calcium 39mg4%

Iron 0.8mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.