Rich and creamy Instant Pot mashed potatoes are easy to make in a fraction of the time it takes on the stovetop! These fluffy and flavorful mashed potatoes are ready in 20 minutes, perfect to serve as a healthy vegetable side.
The Best Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
This easy Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe is the best way to bring richness and creaminess to potatoes without the added fat and calories. I’ve taken my favorite buttermilk mashed potatoes and adapted them to the Instant Pot, for a fast, hands-free version that always turns out perfect. The Instant Pot boils the potatoes in a fraction of the time that it takes on the stovetop. They’re ready for mashing in minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Perfectly fluffy. These Instant Pot mashed potatoes turn out perfectly rich, fluffy, and full of flavor every time thanks to a few key ingredients. The pressure cooker is an easy, hands-free method that’s great for holidays and meal prep.
- Make-ahead friendly. Potatoes take minutes to cook in the Instant Pot, and after you’ve mashed them, they’re perfect to leave in the pot on warm for an hour or two until you serve them.
- Versatile. Mashed potatoes are an easy side dish with loads of tasty meal potential, whether it’s the holidays or any night of the week.
- Healthy. Potatoes have a bad reputation for being little starch bombs, but they’re actually so good for you! Potatoes are high in vitamin C and potassium, and they contain resistant starch that can help to manage blood sugar.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is a quick overview of the handful of ingredients needed to make the best buttermilk mashed potatoes. Remember to scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe amounts and details.
- Potatoes – About 2 pounds of peeled and quartered Russet potatoes. Make sure you’re using a potato variety that’s good for mashing, see below.
- Buttermilk and Sour Cream – My “secret” ingredients for the creamiest, most flavorful mashed potatoes. I make this recipe with low-fat 1% buttermilk. I’m partial to Breakstone’s low-fat sour cream for additional richness and flavor.
- Butter – Butter is a must when making perfect mashed potatoes! I use whipped butter, but either salted or unsalted regular butter will also work.
- Chopped Herbs – Chopped fresh chives or parsley adds a nice pop of green to your finished IP potatoes.
- Salt and Pepper
What Are the Best Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes?
The best potatoes for making mashed potatoes are starchier varieties, like Russet or Yukon gold. These kinds of potatoes have a naturally buttery texture that mashes smoothly, without becoming tough or clumpy. Avoid waxy potatoes such as red potatoes, which are better suited to potato salad.
How To Make Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot
Once you’ve tried this Instant Pot method, there’s no going back. Here’s how easy it is to cook one-pot mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker:
- Cook the potatoes. First, combine your chopped Russets with salted water in the Instant Pot (I add a pinch of pepper, too), just enough to cover the potatoes. Close the lid and seal, cook for 10 minutes on high pressure to soften them up. Afterward, drain the water, reserving about ½-cup.
- Mash. Before you mash the potatoes, add buttermilk, sour cream, and butter to the pot. You can also give the potatoes an additional sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lastly, mash everything together using a potato masher.
- Serve. Serve your mashed potatoes right away garnished with fresh herbs and gravy. Or, leave them on the Instant Pot’s warm setting until you’re ready to eat them. This is where your reserved water comes in. If your mashed potatoes thicken or become dry, add a bit more water to help loosen them up.
Can I Make this Recipe on the Stovetop Instead?
Of course, if you don’t have an Instant Pot, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with good old stovetop mashed potatoes. To make these mashed potatoes on the stove, add the potatoes and water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low until a sharp knife can be easily inserted through the potato. See the linked post for more details.
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Tips and Variations
Here are my final tips to make Instant Pot mashed potatoes that are exactly to your liking:
- For the best, fluffiest mashed potatoes, use a masher, electric mixer or potato ricer. Don’t use a blender or immersion blender, they will end up sticky like glue.
- Swap the buttermilk for milk. If you’d prefer, regular whole milk or 2% milk can be substituted for buttermilk in this recipe. You can also swap sour cream with yogurt which has a little more tang.
- To make dairy-free mashed potatoes, substitute the buttermilk with your preferred dairy-free milk (almond milk, oat milk, etc.) and replace the sour cream with dairy-free heavy cream. You can also substitute dairy-free butter for regular butter, or leave it out altogether.
- Make garlic mashed potatoes by stirring in a spoonful of roasted garlic at the end.
- Cheese: Stir in some Parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese.
What to Serve With Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
I can’t think of a meal or holiday that wouldn’t be rounded out perfectly with a side of fluffy Instant Pot mashed potatoes. Here are some healthy meal ideas:
- Gravy – Gravy and ‘taters are the best pair! Serve with sauce-drenched dishes like Salisbury steak or juicy homemade meatloaf and brown gravy.
- Vegetables – Mashed potatoes make a great vegetable side along with other easy favorites like roasted green beans, herb roasted carrots, or sauteed collard greens.
- Turkey – At the holidays, nothing beats a side dish of creamy mashed potatoes and juicy roasted Thanksgiving turkey. Of course, mashed potatoes always have a place on the Christmas table, too.
- Stews – Serve with a hearty beef stew with pumpkin in the colder months.
- Other Protein – Mashed potatoes are the perfect pairing with just about any protein. Serve with saucy braised chicken with tomatoes and rosemary, braised beef, pork chops or stuffed pork tenderloin.
- Shepherd’s Pie – Use these rich buttermilk mashed potatoes as a topping for my lightened-up homemade shepherd’s pie recipe.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Fridge. Store leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 5 days. Reheat mashed potatoes in the microwave in increments until hot throughout.
- Freezer. These buttery Instant Pot mashed potatoes freeze well. Store the cooled potatoes airtight and keep them frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Baked Ziti
- Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
- Instant Pot Refried Beans
- Instant Pot Rice
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds peeled Russet potatoes, quartered
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1/3 cup low-fat 1% buttermilk
- 1/4 cup light sour cream, I prefer Breakstone’s
- 2 tablespoons whipped butter
- fresh black pepper, to taste
- chopped chives or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Add potatoes to the instant pot and pour enough water to just cover, season with 1 teaspoon salt.
- Cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes, quick release to check the potatoes are soft. They are done when a sharp knife can easily be inserted through the potato.
- Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the water, add the butter, sour cream and buttermilk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper and mash with a potato masher.
- Adjust salt to taste and keep on warm until ready to serve. It’s best to eat right away, but if you’re eating them later and the potatoes get dry, add the reserved water to loosen them.
- Serve garnished with chopped chives or parsley.
Can you make this ahead of time? Like 3 hours before dinner?
The video shows the potatoes cut much smaller than quartered. Will it make any difference if the potatoes are cut larger or smaller?
The mash potatoes I have ever had. Love it, and did my family.
We really enjoyed this recipe. I used Trader Joe’s Apple Cider fruit spread instead of jelly and Trader Joe’s Mulled Cider in place of the water. I used a 3.5 lb roast and cooked it on low for 6.5 hrs. It was falling apart and completely cooked through. It was delicious!
This is the only mashed potato recipe I use now. Just too easy. And they are delicious. I make per the recipe. If I don’t have buttermilk, I just use what I have (usually 2%).
I browned two minced shallots in light margarine and added to the potatoes after mashing, nice flavor.
Have used this recipe several times, minus buttermilk and chives, and it always turns out perfectly. Love IP recipes. Thanks
You only need 1 cup of water. Very little steam escapes before the pressure cooker seals.
More water just takes more energy and TIME to heat up
Utah
What’s the reason for reserving 1/2 c of the water when potatoes are done? The recipe doesn’t say what to do with it.
Read step 4
I made these today for the first time, they’re great! I added extra seasonings for more flavor but besides that quick, easy, and tasty,
Easily my favorite mashed potato recipe EVER! They get rave reviews from everyone who eats them! Thank you!!!
Made these tonight, loved them and so did husband.
Loved this simple, delicious recipe! Thanks again!
I’m unsure how to calculate points if I only want 1/2 cup of potatoes (to eat). If it is not too complicated, can you tell me how I would do this or tell me the points for only 1/2 cup. Thank you so much. If by chance you mention this in any of your cookbooks, let me know as I have all 3. 🙂
Put it in your tracker as you has 2/3 of a serving.
Super delicious, fast and easy recipe! The addition of sour cream made these mashed potatoes delicious. Just be careful when manually releasing the steam and put a towel on top because there was SO much steam that made a huge mess. Wilmington, DE
Excellent recipe–LOVE the addition of the sour cream. So quick & easy. The only way I make mashed potatoes anymore.
I’m dreaming of a slice of ham and some of your mashed potatoes right this minute!!
not the best recipe…. the potatoes are almost ALL sour cream and butter, not enough potatoes. Even the serving size is so small for what you’re getting. Not worth the effort. Going to look for a different mashed potatoe recipe.
I increased the potatoes to 3 lbs (3 large potatoes) add 2-3 cloves minced garlic, some fresh chopped rosemary, sage and thyme (maybe 1/2-1 tsp of each) to the water during cooking. The herbs cook into the potatoes, giving them a great taste…a lot will drain away in the water, but if they remain in the potatoes, just mash in.
Alternately, if you don’t like little green specks in your potatoes (doesn’t bother us), take a sprig of rosemary, 2 of thyme and 1 sage leaf, and wrap them in cheesecloth to contain the herbs, tying each end, then stick the packet in the pot while cooking…then you can just throw out the cheesecloth pack out when done cooking. The garlic just cooks in.
I also used Half and half in place of buttermilk, because that is what I had. These herbs are what I routinely do when cooking them on the stove.
Do you put potatoes directly on water ? Or on rack accessory please
Directly in water
These turned out amazing. I did substitute cream for buttermilk though.
Followed recipe as written with exception of using buttermilk powder, using 1/3 cup liquid from cooking (along with the 1 /2cup cooking liquid) and used just 1Tbl. Regular butter instead of whipped. Was a hit, and will make it again. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Amazing recipe! My family loves these, as do I! I also made a larger batch for Christmas and kept them warm for over an hour and they were still great (I didn’t need to add the reserved water either). One question though: whipped butter can be hard to find in grocers in my area, so when I don’t have it, do I just whip regular butter or can I just add regular butter? Will it make a difference to the recipe? Thank you!
Regular is fine. It will change the calories though.
Love this version!!
The stores were sold out of buttermilk (mistake on my part, I went shopping the day before Christmas Eve) so I tried it with unsweetened cashew milk and they turned out amazing! I also used Fage’s 2% plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. Best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made!
Awesome!
It is easy to add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice per cup of whatever milk you have, and let it stand for 5 minutes, to make your own buttermilk, if you want to follow the recipe but don’t want to buy a whole bottle of buttermilk just to use a small amount.
Made these for Thanksgiving and what a game changer! They cooked perfectly and without any real work on my part. I did whip them with the Kitchen Aid mixer for 2 min to get a smoother texture, instead of hand mixing. Thanks for the great recipe & instructions.
Great!
Can you make this ahead of time? Like 3 hours before dinner?
So good! We substituted irish butter for the whipped butter and if came out great. My family absolutely loved them.
If you double the recipe do you increase the 10 minute time or just still 10 minutes on the Insta Pot?T
I would still do 10 minutes, check the potatoes, and if they are not soft enough to mash, add another 5 minutes.
Make ahead suggestions?
You can make them ahead and heat them back in the instant pot, but personally I prefer to make them the day of.
I have made regular mashed potatoes ahead and put in a casserole dish or cake pan to re-heat in the oven day of (covered), and it works great. Just increase the liquid in it…I would add in the reserved cooking water at least. They should be runnier when you put them into the pan, as they will dry out as they re-cook in the oven. My “Make Ahead” recipe that everyone raves about calls for 3 lbs potatoes, 1 cup sour cream, 3/4-1 cup milk (this is where you could use the reserved potato water, instead of either of these dairy products, if you wanted to decrease the dairy) I also cook the potatoes with garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme, as well as a bay leaf, to get some herb flavoring. Cook 1 hour at 350F to serve.
Do you adjust the cook time if using more potatoes?
Hi Gina! Can you give us guidance on using this recipe for Thanksgiving? I am cooking for 16. Is that too much for one batch in the Instapot?
As long as you don’t exceed the fill line in the pot, you’re ok!
Is the cooking time still 10 minutes for a larger serving? When you double a recipe does anything else change in the IP?
I want to take a 10 lb smoked fully cooked turkey breast and wrap in foil and sit on trivet above potatoes do you think possible the whole turkey is 9.4lbs so the breast might be 3lbs.
I would love to make this recipe for Thanksgiving! If I use 5lbs of potatoes, double everything, how long should I cook the potatoes for? Guessing 20 minutes might not work!
Can I do these in my crockpot? How long?
I just bought a 3 qt pot because I seldom cook for more than 3. Can I just halve your recipes?
These are the best!!
Would halving the recipe work? Same cook time?
Perfect! Timing, consistency, flavours – lemon pepper is the right touch!
I will never make mashed potatoes on the stovetop again. This is so easy. I will make this next week for Thanksgiving dinner too. Thanks!
I have a 8qt, can I just double the recipe to make more?
I made this in my instant pot. It was amazing! I will make it again and again!
This was amazing and so much easier than stovetop!!! Thank you!
I am missing something, did you ever say what you do with half the water you “reserve for later” lol
Item #4 tells you what to do with the reserved water.
I keep seeing “I can do it on the stovetop easier “ . If you live in an area of California that’s 100 degrees plus you might rethink the the Instant pot . Granddaughter loves mashed potatoes all the time and this keeps the kitchen cool, if you have 2 you never have to heat the kitchen during the hottest times of the day. My wife swares by it . I guess it all depends if you like standing over a hot stove. If you have a better solution to hot weather cooking let me know
Not sure about the accuracy of the points. When I put the nutritional information, it says 5 points. When I create the recipe, it says 6 points. So how the 4 points is calculated, I have no idea.
Hi Jennifer..The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
My family loved the potatoes and it was nice to have a healthier version of mashed potatoes to go with our country fried steak. Everything was delicious. I have made these potatoes several times now. Thanks for the healthy recipes of the food my family likes.
Can you do this with half potatoes and half cauliflower some how? Thanks.
Easy cook, and FAST!
Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk?
This is my go-to recipe! We add cheese, chopped up bacon, and pretty much anything else that sounds good- and there are NEVER any leftovers! Thanks for sharing this, for me, 12 min for 2 lbs seems to do the trick (I’m at sea level, so I don’t know if that makes a difference, but I also use the big Costco baking potatoes which take longer to cook, so I add time for that). Perfect every time!
I have to disagree about the Yukon gold potatoes. Can’t stand the taste of Yukon gold. I make mashed potatoes with red potatoes all the time and love the flavour of the red the best.
I have not made this recipe but if I did I would probably try with red. I like the russet for baked potatoes.
I agree about reds for mashed (I leave the skins on) and russet for baked. I too don’t appreciate the taste of Yukon Golds. I always add parsley (dries or fresh) to my mashed potatoes. With the red skin bits and green parsley they look as great as they taste!
Hi! Do you think you could swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt?
I made these for St Patrick’s Day — they were a giant hit! They mashed up nice and fluffy, and tasted rich and amazing.
Can you increase the amount for an 8 qt. Instant pot? I need to serve 8-10 instead of 6.
These are the best mashed potatoes I have ever made, hands down. Very simple to make.
Thank you!
A very easy mashed potatoes recipe… it’s perfect for a weeknight.
Delicious and a great substitute for my normal mashed potato recipe.
I can’t tell in the picture, but did you leave the skin on when you started mashing?
They are first peeled.
I do not have an instant pot so made them in the stovetop. Deliy4 Points. Will be having mashed potatoes more often. Thanks again Gina for another great recipe.
Does substituting yukon golds for russet potatoes effect the point value?
If I’m cooking for 16 people is the cook time the same?
If you were to cut this recipe in half, do you need to change the cooking time?
I made this recipe and it was so good! However, when I entered the recipe on the WW app it’s coming up as 6 points rather than four. Do you know why?
Making mashed potatoes from now on! So easy and so good.
I want to thank you Gina for suggesting that if you get an instant pot the 8 quart is good as you mentioned you wish you had gotten an 8. Well I finally had to break down and get an instant pot after seeing all your recipes for using it and I got the 8 quart and I LOVE IT AND SO GLAD I LISTENED TO YOU!! THANKS GINA FOR THE GREAT ADVICE.
Have you tried cooking the potatoes out of the water in a steamer basket? I think they come out so much better. Would like to know what you think.
I cook potatoes for potato salad in a steamer basket. Turns out great!
Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite things in the IP. Much quicker and easier than the stove top.
At the risk of sounding like a newbie, what is an instant pot?
Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot all in one.
Question for those of us who have old fashioned pressure cookers….when you say “cook at high pressure for 10 minutes” would I start my 10 minutes once my cooker hits pressure?
Yes
Yes. On the electric pressure cooker, the timer doesn’t begin counting down until it reaches pressure.
Thank you!
I just got an instant pot for Christmas. I think I am doing something wrong? Nothing is working that well for me…. How long should it take to reach pressure? It seems that by the time my pot reaches pressure and starts cooking, it would of been faster cooking on the stove??? Please help 🙂
The time to reach pressure varies by the contents. A fuller IP will take longer to reach pressure and also to release pressure. The IP isn’t just about speed; you get really great flavor very quickly. Keep working with it; you’ll figure it out with practice!
Thanks Gail! I will keep trying!
Is the pressure valve set to seal?
Check if the hole behind the release valve is down all the way if you stick something in it it should pressurized perfectly.
Could you post a recipe for instant pot sweet mashed potatoes?
Sound so good. I REALLY need to get an Instant Pot!
Will you please put what size instant pot you are using with your recipes? I have a 3 qt that I got for Christmas and don’t know if I should exchange it for a 6 qt, based on recipes.
Thanks,
Kelly
I have a 6 qt
I am looking into getting an InstaI Pot – do you recommend a brand / model? Love all of your recipes!
7 in 1 6 qt is what I have
Exchange it for a 6 quart. You won’t be sorry.