Velvety, fluffy Instant Pot sweet potatoes are so versatile! Serve them as a side with butter and salt, or load them with toppings for a tasty main dish. No matter how you choose to enjoy them, the Instant Pot will be your best friend for deliciously soft sweet potatoes in a very short amount of time.
Remember to choose sweet potatoes that are close in shape and size for even cooking. Sweet potatoes of different widths will cook at different speeds. For more sweet potato recipes, try my quick roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and candied yams.
What you need to make this recipe
Sweet potatoes — you need 2 to 4 sweet potatoes, depending on how many servings you want to cook. Make sure the sweet potatoes are roughly the same size (see the Pro-Tips section for more info).
Water — water is a vital ingredient for tender sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot. Water creates steam, which, in turn, creates the pressure that cooks the sweet potatoes.
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
1. Scrub the sweet potatoes thoroughly and prick the top of each one a few times with a fork.
2. Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Arrange the whole sweet potatoes in a single layer on the trivet.
3. Pour in a cup of water.
4. Secure the lid and make sure the steam valve is in the Sealed position. Cook at high pressure for the time given based on potato size (see Pro Tips section for more details). Allow a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes. Don’t do anything; simply allow the pressure to release by itself. Then, manually release any remaining pressure. Carefully lift off the lid and remove the Instant Pot sweet potatoes with tongs.
Why Use an Instant Pot
An Instant Pot has an almost unparalleled convenience factor: It prepares dishes in a fraction of the time as baking or cooking on the stovetop! In addition, you can “set it and forget it” — no need to check or turn the potatoes while they cook. This is an ideal appliance to help with busy weeknights or meal prep for the week ahead.
How Long to Cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot?
The cooking time depends on the size of your sweet potatoes. Keep in mind that these times are listed for cooking once under pressure. An Instant Pot usually takes 10-15 minutes to come up to full pressure and then you need 10 minutes for the natural pressure release. So add 20-25 minutes to the cook times listed below to account for the overall time allowance.
Small potatoes: 6 to 8 ounces with a 2-inch thickness — cook for 20 minutes.
Medium potatoes: 9 to 14 ounces with a 3-inch thickness — cook for 35 minutes.
Large potatoes: 15 ounces and up with a 4-inch thickness — cook for 45 minutes.
How to use Cooked Sweet Potatoes
As a side dish, serve these perfect sweet potatoes hot with a pat of butter or honey butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. You can also lean into the potatoes’ natural sweetness by mixing together butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup and spooning the mixture over Instant Pot sweet potatoes. Add a little sprinkle of brown sugar for extra sweetness.
To turn these orange spuds into a Tex-Mex-style main dish, top with Instant Pot pulled pork, diced avocado, salsa, and black beans. Leftovers make delicious mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potato biscuits (just be sure to remove the skin!). You could also use peeled Instant Pot sweet potatoes to make sweet potato gnocchi, sweet potato pie, or sweet potato casserole!
Do You Still Need To Pierce The Potatoes The Way You Would For Baking In The Oven?
Yes! Steam needs a way to escape from the potatoes as they cook, so piercing them a few times with a fork is very important. Three or four pokes with a fork around the potato is plenty.
Would This Work The Same For Purple Or White Sweet Potatoes?
Yes, just make sure the sweet potatoes are approximately the same weight and thickness. Cooking times will be the same based on the size of the potatoes.
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Scrub the potatoes. As the skins are edible, there’s no need to peel sweet potatoes prior to cooking them. So it’s very important to clean them thoroughly.
- A note about the skin: Skins will be soft and will split (they are not firm like baked potatoes). Fewer fork pricks will cause less splitting of the skin…but you have to prick the potatoes a few times! If not, they may explode in the Instant Pot.
- General cook times: Cook time depends on the size of your potatoes.
- Small potatoes: 6 to 8 ounces with a 2-inch thickness — cook for 20 minutes.
- Medium potatoes: 9 to 14 ounces with a 3-inch thickness — cook for 35 minutes.
- Large potatoes: 15 ounces and up with a 4-inch thickness — cook for 45 minutes.
- If the potatoes are not fully softened when you open the pot: Return to high pressure and cook for an additional 5 minutes. It will not take long for the Instant Pot to come back to pressure again.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can freeze them. Wrap each Instant Pot sweet potato in plastic wrap or foil, and then store in a freezer bag or airtight container. They freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw the potatoes overnight in the refrigerator and heat in the microwave. Alternatively, if you think you will eat leftovers within a few days, store Instant Pot sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
It’s up to personal preference. Sweet potato peels are edible, so you can enjoy the entire spud if desired!
Yes, but with sweet potatoes, it’s not necessarily a negative to cook them longer! Cooking sweet potatoes for longer in the Instant Pot can make them very soft without any firm structure. This is actually ideal if you want to mash them or use them in recipes that call for very soft or mashed sweet potatoes. Unlike regular potatoes, they will not become grainy if cooked for too long.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot sweet potatoes recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Video
Ingredients
- 2 to 4 sweet potatoes all the same size; See Notes
- 1 cup cool water (240mL)
Instructions
- Scrub the sweet potatoes well and prick the on top of each potato a few times with a fork.
- Place a trivet in the Instant pot, and arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the trivet. Add the water.
- Secure the lid and make sure the steam valve is sealed.
- Cook at high pressure for the time given for the size of the potatoes: 20 minutes for small, 30 minutes for medium, and 45 minutes for large. (See notes below.)
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then manually or quickly release the remaining pressure. Remove the lid and carefully remove the potatoes with tongs. Serve hot or let cool to room temperature before refrigerating in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Scrub the potatoes. As the skins are edible, there’s no need to peel sweet potatoes prior to cooking them. So it’s very important to clean them thoroughly.
- A note about the skin: Skins will be soft and will split (they are not firm like baked potatoes). Fewer fork pricks will cause less splitting of the skin…but you have to prick the potatoes a few times! If not, they may explode in the Instant Pot.
- General cook times: Cook time depends on the size of your potatoes.
- Small potatoes: 6 to 8 ounces with a 2-inch thickness — cook for 20 minutes.
- Medium potatoes: 9 to 14 ounces with a 3-inch thickness — cook for 35 minutes.
- Large potatoes: 15 ounces and up with a 4-inch thickness — cook for 45 minutes.
- If the potatoes are not fully softened when you open the pot: Return to high pressure and cook for an additional 5 minutes. It will not take long for the Instant Pot to come back to pressure again.
