Skip to content

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (5 Ingredients)

This 5-Ingredient Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes recipe is the easiest mashed potatoes ever. Fluffy, creamy, flavorful mashed potatoes can be on your table in no time. Stovetop option included.

instant pot mashed potatoes with butter in bowl.

Why this recipe Stands Out

  • Save Time: You can now serve up homemade mashed potatoes more often, with only 8 minutes of cook time and 5 ingredients.
  • Save Money: Only 5 basic pantry ingredients are needed; no cream cheese or sour cream is needed.
  • Less Calories: You’ll only need milk and butter for the creamiest mashed potatoes; no sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream involved.
  • Big Flavors: This simple recipe delivers on the flavor front, whether you choose to use amazing homemade gravy or not.
instant pot mashed potatoes close up.

Key Recipe Ingredients

This Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe boasts a pure buttery flavor with creamy texture. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes: Russet potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture, resulting in a fluffier and drier texture. Yukon Golds are medium in starch level and low moister, which yields a creamier texture. The choice is yours, and if you don’t want to choose, use a combination of both.
  • Regular strength chicken broth or stock: many recipes use water, but we love the flavor that a good broth provides. It also adds moisture/liquid to the mashed potatoes without adding more fat.
  • Milk: feel free to use either whole milk or low-fat milk, but try to avoid fat-free milk, as you do need some fat for creaminess. Whole milk is the favorite here.
  • Real butter. Of course butter and plenty of it. Though it might sound like a lot of butter, it’s actually less than most mashed potato recipes. Start with the amount listed, and add more melted drizzles at the end if you’d like – who doesn’t like?

Substitutions and Variations

Your 5-ingredient Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe is awesome as-is. Just a simple drizzle of butter on top or homemade gravy is drool-worthy and tastes incredible. However. If you would like to jazz things up once in awhile, here are flavor options to help you make that happen:

  • Roasted garlic. This is the ultimate add-on for mashed potatoes, if you’re going to add on. It’s crazy easy to roast whole heads of garlic ahead of time. If you’re a garlic fiend like myself, feel free to go wild and roast an extra head of garlic to make garlic-butter to spread on everything.
  • Freshly chopped herbs: play with your favorite herbs, including chives, parsley, or thyme. Just sprinkle a bit of it in at the end – remember that less is more when it comes to mashed potatoes.
  • Cream: If you really want to go all out with creaminess, you can add in a bit of sour cream or almost-melted cream cheese.
  • Cheese: Sprinkle in a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese or other cheese, for all the cheese lovers.
instant pot mashed potatoes with butter.

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

  1. Pour broth into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Place potatoes onto steamer rack. Close lid and lock in place. Turn steam release handle/valve to correct position, if needed. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. 
  2. While potatoes are cooking, combine milk and softened butter slices into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter is completely melted and milk is warmed through. Turn heat off and keep warm.
  3. Once pressure cooker is done, do a Quick Release. Gently remove lid and remove steamer rack, sliding potatoes into the pot with broth. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes.
  4. Add warm milk/butter mixture and a generous sprinkle of kosher salt – any optional seasonings can be added now as well.Keeping Instant Pot on “warm,” continue to hand-mash potatoes to your desired texture.

Stovetop Cooking Option

You can opt to make this recipe using stovetop alternative as well. Simply boil peeled/cubed potatoes in a large pot of salted water for 15 minutes, or just until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and proceed with recipe as written.

For complete list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.

What to Serve With mashed potatoes

Roasts

Sides

Also Try Greek Chicken with Potatoes

Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

instant pot mashed potatoes with butter.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

5 from 24 ratings
This Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes recipe is the easiest mashed potatoes ever. Fluffy, creamy, flavorful mashed potatoes can be on your dinner table in no time…
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • ½ cup chicken stock, regular strength
  • 3 lbs russet or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • ½ cup milk, whole preferred
  • ½ cup butter, sliced and softened, plus more for drizzling
  • Kosher salt
  • Optional seasonings: freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder or roasted garlic, chopped herbs of your choice

Instructions

  • Pour broth into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Place potatoes onto steamer rack. Close lid and lock in place. Turn steam release handle/valve to correct position, if needed. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. 
  • While potatoes are cooking, combine milk and softened butter slices into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter is completely melted and milk is warmed through. Turn heat off and keep warm.
  • Once pressure cooker is done, do a Quick Release. Gently remove lid and remove steamer rack, sliding potatoes into the pot with broth. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes.
  • Add warm milk/butter mixture and a generous sprinkle of kosher salt – any optional seasonings can be added now as well.
    Keeping Instant Pot on "warm," continue to hand-mash potatoes to your desired texture. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Serve with drizzle of melted butter or gravy, if desired.

Notes

  • Russet potatoes tend to result in fluffier, lighter texture, while yukon gold potatoes will yield a creamier consistency. The choice is yours; you can try combining both types of potatoes as well.
  • If you’d like to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes, you can roast the garlic a day ahead of time.
  • Over-mashing potatoes can lead to gumminess, so be sure to watch carefully as you mash and stop as soon as your potatoes turn creamy.
  • Finished mashed potatoes can be kept warm in the Instant Pot for 1-2 hours before serving, though the sooner you can serve it, the better. If needed, you can stir in a bit more liquid (broth or milk) to mashed potatoes before serving.
  • Stovetop option: boil peeled/cubed potatoes in a large pot of salted water for 15 minutes, or just until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and proceed with recipe as written.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating . It helps keep your favorite recipes alive on the site. And we just ❤️ hearing from you. 

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.6g | Protein: 8.4g | Fat: 8.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.7g | Cholesterol: 0.6mg | Sodium: 139.9mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 3.6g
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Method: pressure cooker, Stovetop

More Favorite Potato Recipes

Add a comment

Recipe Rating




29 comments

    • susan | the wimpy vegetarian
    • 5 stars

    This is the absolutely best way to make mashed potatoes! The Instant Pot is so perfect for this!

    • Farrukh Aziz
    • 5 stars

    Warm mashed potatoes with melted butter on the top, definitely comfort food! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    • Alex
    • 5 stars

    These potatoes were so easy to make! I can’t wait to make them again. A great use of the IP.

    • Erin
    • 5 stars

    These were so delicious! Everyone just loved them. Thanks for the great recipe!

    • Mikayla
    • 5 stars

    Mashed potatoes are a holiday meal must in our house, this was a quick and quite simple method. I used vegetable broth versus chicken making them versatile for the vegetarians in our family.

    • veenaazmanov
    • 5 stars

    Thanks. Quite informative. Instant Pot sounds interesting.

    • Allyssa
    • 5 stars

    Thank you so much for sharing this amazing mashed potatoes recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!

      • chewoutloud

      SO happy you liked it!

    • Linda
    • 5 stars

    This mashed potatoes dish is so creamy and flavorful. Plus, anything that can be done in instant pot is a lifesaver!

      • chewoutloud

      100% agreed 🙂

    • Lathiya
    • 5 stars

    Having Instant pot is a bliss. I can’t say enough how these mashed potatoes looks perfect and awesome.

    • Ramona
    • 5 stars

    Nothing can beat an old good mushed potato and yours looks amazing. The perfect side to any roast over this festive period. MMMM, I will definitely make this yummy mush one of these coming days. My kids would binge on this for sure 😉

      • chewoutloud

      Such a great side dish for sure! Thank you, Ramona!

    • Jenni LeBaron
    • 5 stars

    The Instant Pot makes things so easy these days! I can’t wait to gobble these mashed potatoes up with our holiday meals!

    • Katie
    • 5 stars

    Piping hot, buttery mashed potato is my kryptonite! This is just too much! YUM!

    Katie xoxo

    • Amanda
    • 5 stars

    I love slow cooker mashed potatoes but haven’t tried making them in my Instant Pot yet. With the holidays here, it’s the perfect time to change that — these look perfect!

    • Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
    • 5 stars

    I have only made baked potatoes in the instant pot, but you have me convinced that I need to make this now! It looks SO GOOD!!

    • Lesli Schwartz
    • 5 stars

    I do love mashed potatoes and making them in the IP is a real time saver! Can’t wait to try!

    • Alexis
    • 5 stars

    I love making mashed potatoes in our instant pot! This recipe looks amazing, thanks for sharing.

    • Jacqui Debono
    • 5 stars

    Beautiful photos! This is the only way to make mashed potatoes! I always more lots extra and then the next day we have potato cakes (the way my Irish Grandma used to make them!). Perfect!

      • chewoutloud

      YUM for potato cakes! So glad you like this recipe! 🙂

    • Constance Smith
    • 5 stars

    The Instant Pot is a great tool for quick recipes. I agree, chicken stock is absolutely the way to go for the liquid in mashed potatoes!

      • chewoutloud

      Love the IP! 🙂

    • Stine Mari
    • 5 stars

    Your photos are drool worthy! Love that melted butter on top. I completely agree with you, mashed potatoes need real butter and milk. Great that you gave potato options too, it’s not always easy to know what to choose.

      • chewoutloud

      There’s definitely a time for plenty of real butter 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Jere Cassidy
    • 5 stars

    Mmm, Yukon golds for mashed potatoes are the best. I just got an InstaPot so these potatoes may be the first thing I make in it.

Get our free email series: 5 Easy Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less

Plus our newest recipes each week