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Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker: my go-to easy method + some weeknight dinner recipe ideas! This simple technique insures perfectly cooked potatoes every time. No oven required!

one purple and one orange sweet potato with tahini butter

What are the Benefits of 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 really 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 simple adding the potatoes and some water to my Instant Pot, I can set-it-and-forget it.

six sweet potato halves on a white dish cooked in the instant pot

How Do I Cook Purple Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot?

This method will work with any kind of potato. For variety’s sake I am using a purple, white, and orange yam varieties.

The most important key when determining cook time is the width of your potato at the thickest section.

  • Under 2 inches in width: 15 minute cook time
  • 2-3 inches: 23  minute cook time
  • Larger than 3 inches: 30 minute cook time

If your potatoes are larger than 4 inches in the middle (!) I recommend slicing them into more manageable sizes to insure they cook through.

After adding 1 cup of a water to the base of the pot, you simply place your potatoes on the trivet, set the timer, and let them do their thing!

purple instant pot sweet potato with tahini butter on balack plate

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)

purple sweet potato on black plate with salt and tahini butter

How do you like to prepare them? Let me know in the comments below!

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black plate with two instant pot purple sweet potatoes next to a fork

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot


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  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3 potatoes 1x

Description

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker: my go-to easy method + some weeknight dinner recipe ideas! This simple technique insures perfectly cooked potatoes every time. No oven required!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 sweet potatoes of relatively similar size (scrubbed clean)
  • 1 cup water
  • Toppings of choice to serve

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 28 minutes

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker - my go-to method + some recipe ideas! This simple technique insures perfectly cooked potatoes every time. No oven required! #sweetpotato #potato #instantpot #pressurecooker #weeknightdinner #healthy #prep #mealprep #quick #fastdinner #purplesweetpotato #yam

Portrait of Emily Meyers, founder of Garlic Head

About the Author

Emily (Frigon) Meyers is the founder of Garlic Head, a plant-based recipe website for all eaters who want to easily, affordably, and sustainably incorporate more vegetables into their diets while saving time and money. She is a lifelong vegetarian and 10+ year vegan. Garlic Head does not focus on labels - it focuses on creating food that everyone can enjoy.

Emily earned a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University along with degrees in Economics, Spanish, and Global Sustainability from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been featured on numerous podcasts and websites including The Food Institute, VegNews, Buzzfeed, and the Boston Globe.

Meet Emily here.

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Comments

  1. 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!!






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