This is the easiest recipe for Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes. It's my go-to easy method that includes some weeknight dinner recipe ideas! This simple technique insures perfectly cooked potatoes every time. No oven required!
Jump to:
Benefits of Cooking Sweet Potatoe in the Instant Pot
Today is a big day - my first Instant Pot recipe post!
I was not sure how frequently I'd use an Instant Pot, but after receiving one as a gift it's been a fun way to mix up some traditional cooking I do. Namely, I use it to reduce hands-on time in recipes.
While it does not necessarily take less time from start to finish, the Instant Pot (or any kind of pressure cooker) relieves the need to monitor my items while cooking them. So far, I've been able to whip up simple steel-cut oats and perfectly stringy spaghetti squash. I even wrote on Instagram my experience making apple crisp.
Today we're focusing on perfectly moist, fluffy sweet potatoes, no oven required!
By simply adding the potatoes and some water to my Instant Pot, I can set it and forget it.
How to Cook Purple Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
This method will work with any potato. For variety's sake, I am using purple, white, and orange yam varieties.
The most important key when determining cook time is the width of your potato at the thickest section.
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Cook Times
- Under 2 inches in width: 15 minute cook time
- 2-3 inches width: 23 minute cook time
- Larger than 3 inches in width: 30-minute cook time
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
If your potatoes are larger than 4 inches in the middle (!) I recommend slicing them into more manageable sizes to ensure they cook through.
After adding 1 cup of water to the base of the pot, you simply place your potatoes on the trivet, set the timer, and let them do their thing!
How to Serve Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes are perfect for meal prep, since they are easily made in a large batch at the beginning of the week.
I have only tested this recipe using multiple potatoes at a time, so I'm not sure how it would turn out with just one.
To keep things simple, I often will just eat them plain with an easy sauce or cooked protein. Here are some of my favorites recipes and uses:
- Tahini butter (used in these photos!)
- Refried black beans + burrito toppings
- Avocado slices + tahini + hemp seeds
- Almond butter + berries (especially on purple sweet potatoes)
Other Sweet Potato Recipes to Try
How do you like to prepare them? Let me know in the comments below! Please be sure to leave a rating if you give this recipe for instant pot purple sweet potatoes a try!
How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes of relatively similar size scrubbed clean
- 1 cup water
- Toppings of choice to serve
Instructions
- Place the metal trivet in the Instant Pot and add your 3 cleaned sweet potatoes and 1 cup water. Lock lid onto pot and place release handle into "sealing" position.
- If your potatoes are under 2 inches in width, place pot on "high pressure" for a 15 minute cook time.If your potatoes are 2-3 inches wide, cook for 23 minutes on high pressure. If your potatoes are larger than 3 inches wide, cook for 30 minutes on high pressure. The pot will preheat and then begin cooking. Be sure not to touch the top of the pot during this process.
- When cook time is over, let your pot naturally release for 10 minutes. Release valve carefully after 10 minutes and let rest of steam out, if there is some remaining. Carefully remove the potatoes with tongs and store in the fridge for 4 days
Nancy W. says
Made purple potatoes in the IP for the first time – they came out absolutely perfect! Thank you SO much for this guide! I’ve wanted to eat more purple potatoes for the nutritional value, but they were always a little dry. InstantPot to the rescue!!
Emily says
Thank you for this kind review, Nancy! I am so glad this worked for you! - Emily