Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (no drain)

These Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are decadent and creamy. There’s no draining after cooking and no adding of more ingredients, everything is cooked together in Instant Pot for the ultimate, soft, and delicious mashed potatoes. 

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Who watches Hell’s Kitchen? I used to watch that show when it just came out. I remember an episode of the first season where contestants had to cook either their favourite dish or their signature dish.

Back then, in 2005, I just started getting interested in cooking and was experimenting with fancy recipes. I was watching that episode and thought that if I were on the show, I would cook mashed potatoes because that was my absolutely favourite dish.

Fast forward 12 years later and I had a phone conversation with my cookbook publisher. We were getting to know each other. They asked me that famous question: what is your favourite food? And I answered without any hesitation: mashed potatoes.

There are many recipes online for Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes. Half of them require the potatoes to be drained after cooking. The other half requires you to add more ingredients after the potatoes are cooked. This recipe is neither of those!!!

These Decadent Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes are the absolutely easiest way to make this amazing side dish. No draining, no adding of extra ingredients. You measure and prep everything, add it to Instant Pot and cook. Then you mash. Done!

Why use Instant Pot to cook Mashed Potatoes

There are usually three camps of Instant Pot users: people who tried using their electric pressure cooker and couldn’t get into it, people who use it only for some recipes, people who get way too into Instant Pot cooking and use it for everything!

I am in the latter camp.

There’s a reason why I love using my Instant Pot so much. It is convenient! It is very often not faster but it is most of the time convenient. The convenience of not needing to stand by the stove and watch pots and stir. The convenience of not needing to drain or use multiple pans. The convenience of being able to leave the kitchen (and often the house) and come back to a fully cooked meal.

So, in this particular case, I love using Instant Pot for Mashed Potatoes because I don’t have to watch the water in the pot to boil, then turn it down to simmer and make sure that it doesn’t over-boil. I don’t have to go back into the kitchen a few times and check if the potatoes are done. I don’t have to carry the big hot pot to the sink to drain the water (and possibly burn myself… unfortunately that happens more often than I care to admit). 

When I cook Mashed Potatoes in my Instant Pot, I know I don’t have to be in the kitchen. In fact, I can actually go out and run errands. My electric pressure cooker will turn off the cooking mode once done and nothing bad will happen. Super convenient!

Great way to make your Thanksgiving Dinner easier! Perfect Thanksgiving side made easy!

Ingredients to make Decadent Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

What makes these Mashed Potatoes so decadent? Whipping cream! Yes!

• Potatoes (I use Yellow potatoes most of the time but Russet potatoes will also work)
• Better Than Bouillon (vegetable or chicken)
• Water
• Butter
• Whipping cream

You’ll notice that I listed Better Than Bouillon and water separately. That is because I am using Better Than Bouillon paste to season the mashed potatoes. If you were to use just the amount of broth needed for the recipe, then the seasonings wouldn’t be strong enough. 

So, if you don’t use Better Than Bouillon, then use your favourite broth and then you’ll need to add seasonings to taste.

How to make No Drain Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

1. Add all the ingredients (yes, all, including cream) into your Instant Pot.
2. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
3. Do a quick or natural release.
4. Mash.

Easy-peasy! No need to drain, no need to add more ingredients!

Can you cook with dairy in Instant Pot?

A lot of people say to never ever cook with milk or cream in Instant Pot. Most recipes add dairy after the potatoes are cooked.

I am of an opinion that there’s absolutely no issues with cooking milk or cream in Instant Pot! Like none whatsoever!

Yes, milk will curdle. No, it is not a problem! Curdling milk is essentially cheese (sort of like ricotta), and I love adding ricotta to mashed potatoes. The curdles won’t be big, just tiny little pieces and they disappear the moment you start mashing.

However, I tested cooking mashed potatoes in Instant Pot with both milk and whipping cream. Whipping cream curdles less than milk. You can see those little white specs in the photo, that’s the curdled cream, also known as cheese. Yum!

Tips for making Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

• Potatoes
  • You want Yellow-fleshed potatoes or Russet potatoes. These are the ones that make the fluffiest mashed potatoes.
  • I have made mashed potatoes with white potatoes and they still taste good but not as fluffy.
  • You can use a little bit more potatoes but I wouldn’t use much less. It’s better for the potatoes to be too firm and add extra cream if desired, rather than too thin (unless you prefer them on the thinner side then by all means, use less potatoes).
• Better Than Bouillon
  • I use it when cooking in Instant Pot a lot. It’s a very convenient way to add flavour to recipes.
  • You can use either chicken or vegetable kind depending on your preferences.
  • If you don’t use it, then you will need to add seasoning to taste: salt, pepper, and other spices such as garlic or onion powder if desired.
• Water
  • You can use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.
  • You cannot use all dairy though. It seems like a good idea to make the mashed potatoes even more flavourful but using all dairy (milk or cream) to cook in Instant Pot will most likely result in burn notice.

• Butter
  • Since we are making decadent mashed potatoes, butter is needed, however, you could technically omit it or use margarine.
  • Use salted or unsalted to taste.
• Whipping cream
  • Whipping cream makes these mashed potatoes taste ultra decadent, rich, and creamy!
  • You can use milk or 10% cream instead but the flavour won’t be as rich. Also, milk will curdle a bit, but it will not change the texture once mashed.
  • Feel free to add more cream while mashing the potatoes for a lighter texture.
• Garlic
  • There’s no garlic in the recipe but you can totally turn these mashed potatoes into scrumptious Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
  • Add whole head of garlic cloves (peeled, obviously) together with the potatoes and the rest of the ingredient. The garlic will cook and become soft, then you’ll just mash it together with the potatoes. 

In case if you are wondering what masher I use in the video, it’s this one. It is super convenient as it folds and keeps flat in the kitchen utensil drawer.

How to make Vegan Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

It is not difficult to make Vegan Mashed Potatoes in Instant Pot. Whether you are following a vegan or dairy-free diet, the instructions are the same. The flavour and texture will be different and the mashed potatoes will not be as decadent. They will still be delicious though!

• Use vegetable broth instead of cream.
• Use dairy-free vegan butter instead of regular butter.
• If you would like mashed potatoes to be thinner, use your favourite plant-based milk that you use for savoury cooking.

Note: I have made mashed potatoes with broth only, so that will definitely work. However, I have never made them with half broth and half plant-based milk, so I do not know if that would work.

More Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes:

• Instant Pot Maple Cranberry Sauce
• Instant Pot Turkey Pot Pie with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Instant Pot Cornbread with Real Crispy Crust
• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
• Instant Pot No Knead Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Instant Pot Pumpkin Pudding Cake

 

DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?

Join my Real Ingredients Instant Pot Recipes Facebook Group!!! It’s a fun and safe place to share your own Instant Pot recipes made with Real Ingredients.