These Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes are super creamy and take 30 minutes and one electric pressure cooker from start to finish. They should be called melt-in-your-mouth mashed potatoes because they are sooo good!
You are just 20 minutes from the most amazingly soft and creamy mashed potatoes of your life. This is the kind of recipe that gets me incredibly excited about being a food blogger. Because it means that I get to taste test and make the most awesome instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in my kitchen, and then share them with you guys.
My goal was to make these the easiest garlic mashed potatoes you will ever make. Totally mess free, one pot and really ready in 30 minutes. And I think I have achieved that here. The Instant Pot really helps because I think this is now my favorite way of cooking potatoes. If you have never tried a pressure cooker to cook potatoes, it's a game changer - the double action of steam and high pressure makes sure the potatoes cook evenly and give you a fantastic texture and great tasting potatoes.
Quick Walk Through: Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Why these Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the easiest mashed potatoes
- Everything is one pot so you have only one pot to clean
- It takes 30 minutes from start to finish when you are cooking with 1 kg/ 2 pounds potatoes including the prep time to peel and chop potatoes
- The garlic cooks with the potatoes, infuses them and becomes really soft so that it gets mashed easily
- No fancy ingredients - just simple staples that are available in your pantry
Don't have an Instant Pot? Try these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes or Stovetop Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients for IP Mashed Potatoes
Here's what you'll need. Really short ingredient list I promise!
What Kind of Potatoes Work Best
People love Yukon Gold if you live outside India. But in my opinion russet potatoes also work well. If you live in India, avoid using new potatoes as they leave more water and don't cook evenly, which also makes them harder to mash. Older potatoes are your best friend if you are making mashed potatoes.
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes - Step by Step
This is the quickest mashed potatoes you'll ever make and you'll never go back.
1. In the inner pot of the Instant Pot add potatoes, garlic, water, salt and one and a half tablespoons butter.
2. Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. (My Instant Pot took 10 minutes to come to pressure, so the total time taken was 18 minutes). Release pressure immediately by turning the knob to 'vent', and open the lid once the pressure is released.
3. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in the Instant Pot for really creamy potatoes. For fluffier mashed potatoes, you can drain the water and then mash the potatoes.
4. Once the potatoes are mashed, mix in the remaining butter, sour cream and cream cheese.
5. Mix well while the potatoes are still steaming hot.
6. Pour in ยผ cup hot milk. Don't worry if it looks like too much - the potatoes will just soak it up
7. Mix well again - taste and add more salt if required. Top with more butter and chives and serve.
8. This is an optional step - if you see lumps in your mashed potatoes, you can run them through a sieve for really smooth and creamy mashed potatoes
The One Pot Mashed Potato Technique
The technique that we are using with these instant pot garlic mashed potatoes may seem a bit weird, because we are adding only ยฝ cup water to about 1 kilogram/ 2 pounds potatoes and then mashing the potatoes with a potato masher right in there with the remaining water, without draining them. We like our potatoes really creamy and smooth which is why this works really well for us. In the beginning, things may look a bit runny, but just keep going and as you finish mashing, the consistency will thicken and everything comes together. Add the sour cream, cream cheese, milk and butter and you have potatoes that are the perfect creamy consistency and almost feel like soft pillows of whipped cream.
Mashed Potatoes Toppings and Add-Ins
We like keeping things simple with just some more butter and chopped chives but here are some ideas for other toppings that can take any mashed potatoes to superstar levels:
- Add-ins such as cheddar, ranch and parmesan can add a lot of subtle flavors to mashed potatoes. For cheese, mix in ยผ cup while the potatoes are still hot. For ranch, mix in a teaspoon or two
- Herbs like rosemary and thyme or even sage add more earthiness and bold flavors
- You can also top your mashed potatoes with cooked chicken, steamed broccoli, bacon or if you feel super fancy - some browned butter
I have now tried these garlic mashed potatoes multiple ways - by infusing the garlic in oil and mixing it in, by roasting the garlic in the oven and then mixing it in and by just straight up adding them to the Instant Pot. Also always with my favourite Roast Chicken with Crispy Skin or if I'm in a hurry a Spatchcock Chicken Roast
I hope you enjoyed this handy dandy post which seems to have become a tutorial on how to make mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot/ Pressure cooker and trust me, the day you attempt these - you will never look back!
Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe Video (Step by Step)
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Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 kg Potatoes peeled and cut into even 1 inch pieces
- 6 Garlic Cloves peeled and smashed
- โ cup Water or Chicken Stock with no added salt
- ยพ teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons Butter divided
- ยผ cup Sour Cream
- ยผ cup Cream Cheese
- ยผ cup Hot Milk
- More butter and chopped chives for topping
Instructions
- In an Instant Pot add potatoes, garlic, water, salt and one and a half tablespoons butter. Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing and cook on manual high pressure for 8 minutes. (My Instant Pot took 10 minutes to come to pressure, so the total time taken was 18 minutes). Release pressure immediately by turning the knob to 'vent', and open the lid once the pressure is released.
- Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in the Instant Pot for really creamy potatoes. For fluffier mashed potatoes, you can drain the water and then mash the potatoes. Once the potatoes are mashed, mix in the remaining butter, sour cream and cream cheese. Mix well while the potatoes are still steaming hot. Taste and add more salt if required. Top with more butter and chives and serve.
- Pour in ยผ cup hot milk. Don't worry if it looks like too much - the potatoes will just soak it up. Mix well again - taste and add more salt if required. Top with more butter and chives and serve.
- This is an optional step - if you see lumps in your mashed potatoes, you can run them through a sieve for really smooth and creamy mashed potatoes
Video
Notes
- For fluffier potatoes use starchy potatoes like Russet or Yukon Gold. Those are not available here in India though but these mashed potatoes are still awesome!
- To prep potatoes in advance, you can peel and cut them and keep them soaked in water for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. This helps avoid oxidization and keeps them from turning brown.
- You can also substitute with baby potatoes, in which case you don't need to cut them. You can also avoid peeling them, if you are okay with the texture, but make sure you wash them really well.
- Chicken Stock or even bone broth adds a ton of flavour to mashed potatoes so feel free to use that instead of water. It's important to use stock/broth that doesn't have any added salt or you may need to adjust the amount of salt used in the recipe.
- Feel free to add any of your favourite herbs like rosemary or thyme. You can sprinkle dry herbs right on top once the dish is ready to serve.ย
Miaz says
So delicious and easy. I used new potatoes, and a ricer. The ricer removed the skin.
Richa says
Awesome!! Glad you liked it Miaz
Christine says
Was very easy! Came out great!
Richa says
Thanks Christine
Rebecca says
We made this for Christmas. It was my first InstaPot recipe and it was a hit!!! No leftovers at all (which was a little sad because we wanted more!) Super easy and quick to make. We only did one change and used chive and onion flavored cream cheese. 150% will be making again and again!!
Richa says
Yum!! Chive and onions is one of my favourite flavour combos. Thanks for your comment here Rebecca
David says
This recipe was so good! I felt like I was eating garlic mashed potatoes at my favorite steakhouse. I canโt wait to make this again.
If I wanted to double the recipe as far as potatoes goes, would I double everything else for the ingredients so that it had the same taste as if I was doing 2lbs of potatoes?
Richa says
Glad you liked it David! I've never tried doubling the recipe but yes it should work.
Jennifer says
Best mashed potatoes that Iโve ever made!!!
Richa says
Wohoooo! So glad you liked them Jennifer and thanks for letting me know.
Nancy says
This was soooo good!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I needed a side for a crab leg dinner and this was perfect!
Richa says
Yay! Glad you liked the mashed potatoes - this would be sooo good with crab legs!
Carolyn says
This sounds fantastic!
Richa says
Thanks Carolyn!
Erin Clarkson says
I need to get an instant pot ASAP!
Richa says
You do Erin!
Megan @ Megunprocessed says
I've heard so many great things about the instant pot! These look yummy!
Richa says
Thanks Megan!
Bonnie says
Looks great! We are having a big crowd for Thanksgiving. Wondering if I can double this recipe in my 8 quart Instantpot? Do I double all ingredients including water? Also do I adjust the time? Your answers would be greatly appreciated!!
Richa says
Hey Bonnie, you can easily double the recipe. Just add another 1/4 cup water and increase the cooking time by 3 minutes.
Dana DeVolk says
I love that this is mess free! Looks delicious too!!!
Richa says
Thanks Dana
Chrisy says
This is my absolute *favorite* side dish, and I love that it's made in an instant pot! This is my first year using one, can't wait to see how these turn out ๐
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
So perfect for the holidays! And I just love the flavor of the added garlic! ๐
Richa says
I add garlic to EVERYTHING ๐
pattiba says
This looks delicious! Just a suggestion though, fix your "print recipe" button. All it gives you is a list of other recipes to look at. Thanks for sharing!
Richa says
I'm so sorry thats a technical error that we are trying to fix.
maynuddin says
"instant pot garlic mashed potatoes (pressure cooker recipe)" Thank you for sharing this use full post on this topic