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!
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.
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!
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)
How do you like to prepare them? Let me know in the comments below!
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How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- 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
- 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
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
