Instant pot boiled potatoes is the easiest and fastest way to boil potatoes. This method is perfect for making potato salad, mashed potatoes, or used in making gnocchi or Indian dishes like aloo paratha, batata bhaji, poha recipe, etc.
Here you’ll learn how to boil potatoes in Instant pot that is mess-free, hands-free, and comes out perfectly fork-tender.
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❤️You’ll Love This Method
- Mess-free: If you’re used to boiling potatoes in a pot over the stovetop then you know things get messy and the whole kitchen gets steamy. Try this instant pot boiled potatoes method and you’ll thank me.
- Quick: Cooking or boiling potatoes in instant pot takes under 30 minutes. It is a quick method compared to cooking in a pot on a stovetop.
- Hands-free: If you’re Indian then you must have been cooking your potatoes in a stovetop pressure cooker. For that, you need to keep a count of whistles and need to stay there to turn off the stove. When you boil potatoes in instant pot, you don’t need to keep the whistle count and it’s hand-free.
Use Delay Start Option:
- Trust me, it's a game changer. Let’s say, I need a boiled potato in the morning to make poha recipe for breakfast. So the night before, I use the delay start option (for about 7-8 hours) and it should be done by the time I enter the kitchen.
- Or let's say, I want to make mashed potatoes for dinner, I would use the delay start option in the morning. When I come back from the work, I’ll have cooked potatoes ready to make my mashed potatoes.
🧾Ingredients & Stuff Required
Here is the pic of the ingredients and other stuff required to boil potatoes in instant pot.
- Potatoes: Try to choose all the potatoes of the same size (thickness), so all of them get cooked at the same time. Keep reading below for the type/size of potatoes and the cooking time guide. For reference, I am using medium-sized potatoes in the recipe pics.
- Water: It is added to the instant pot liner which creates steam in the pot and helps cook the potatoes.
- A rack or Trivet: It is a must. You don’t want the water to touch the potatoes.
- A fork or knife: To check whether the potato is cooked or not.
🥔 Type Of Potatoes & When To Use
- Russet Potato (aka Idaho potatoes):
- They are high in starch and have low moisture content.
- Russet potatoes are good for frying and roasting e.g. french fries, baked potatoes, potato wedges, mashed potatoes.
- It doesn’t hold its shape once cooked hence not good for potato salad or any Indian sabzi/curry.
- It will disintegrate if added to soup or stew.
- Red Potatoes:
- These are waxy potatoes and low in starch.
- It will hold its shape after being cooked/boiled. So it is good for salad or bhaji, sabzi.
- Sometimes red potatoes get super sticky kinds (gummy) once cooked and sliced. Personally, I do not like its texture.
- They are definitely not good for mashed potatoes as they can get a gummy, gluey mess.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes:
- They fall in between waxy and starchy potatoes.
- They are all-purpose potatoes and great for baking, roasting, frying, sauteing, etc.
- When It comes to Indian recipes, I highly recommend using Yukon gold potatoes.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Add water (~¾-1 inch deep) in the instant pot liner. I have used 1 ½ cups of water in my 6 qt Instant pot.
2) Place a trivet or rack in it. Make sure that base is not touching the water.
3) Place potatoes on the rack. If you are boiling more potatoes then you can stack the potatoes on top of each other.
4) Close the instant pot lid and make sure that the valve is in the sealing position. Pressure cook on manual for 10 minutes (for medium-sized potatoes, ~7 oz).
5) Let the pressure release naturally. Once the pin drops, open the lid. Check the potatoes by inserting a fork or a knife. It should go in easily without any effort.
6) Once they are cool to touch, you can peel the skin easily using your hands. You don’t need a peeler or a knife.
7-8) You can cut it into cubes or wedges as needed. Or you can mash them easily with your fork or potato masher.
⏲️ Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes Cook Time Guide:
- Small potatoes (~5 oz each): 8 minutes with natural pressure release.
- Medium potatoes (6-7 oz): 10 minutes + natural release.
- Large potatoes (8-9 oz): 12 minutes + natural release.
NOTE: Sometimes thickness of the potato matters. E.g. A large potato is not as thick as shown in the pic below. It can be an oblong or long oval-shaped potato with a thickness of a medium-sized potato. In that case, the cooking time will be 10 mins, same as medium size potato cook time.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use a rack or trivet: It is a must and make sure that water is not touching the potatoes.
- Tap Water: For good fork-tender potatoes, start with regular room-temperature tap water (not cold, warm or hot).
- Even-sized potatoes: Use same thickness and size of the potatoes to ensure even cooking in the same amount of time.
- But when cooking a large batch of potatoes and some potatoes are bigger then what to do? Most of the potatoes are medium-sized and you have a couple of large sized then poke the holes in large-sized potatoes using a fork to boil them a little faster and leave the medium-sized as such.
Check Out Other Instant Basics
Did you try to boil potatoes in instant pot? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
📋 Recipe Card
How To Boil Potatoes In Instant Pot?
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Water (for 6qt instant pot); less for 3qt and more for 8qt
- 4 medium Potatoes (~ 7 oz each), washed & scrubbed
Instructions
- Prep Instant Pot: Add water (~¾-1 inch deep) and place a trivet or rack in it. Make sure that base of the rack is not touching the water.
- Arrange potatoes: Place washed, scrubbed potatoes on the rack. If you are boiling more potatoes then you can stack the potatoes on top of each other.
- Pressure Cook: Close the instant pot lid and make sure that the valve is in the sealing position. Pressure cook on manual.Small (~5 oz each): 8 minutes Medium (6-7 oz): 10 minutes Large (8-9 oz): 12 minutes
- Natural Pressure Release: Let the pressure release naturally, it takes around 15-20 minutes. Once the pin drops, open the lid.
- Check for doneness: Check the potatoes by inserting a fork or a knife. It should go in easily without any effort. Remove them to a plate using tongs
- Peel & Use: Once they are cool to touch, you can peel the skin easily using your hands. You don’t need a peeler or a knife. You can cut it into cubes or wedges as needed. Or you can mash them easily with your fork or potato masher.
Notes
- Sometimes thickness of the potato matters. E.g. A large potato is not as thick as shown in the pic below. It can be an oblong or long oval-shaped potato with a thickness of a medium-sized potato. In that case, the cooking time will be 10 mins, same as medium size potato cook time.
- Use a rack or trivet: It is a must and make sure that water is not touching the potatoes.
- Tap Water: For good fork-tender potatoes, start with regular room-temperature tap water (not cold, warm or hot).
- Even-sized potatoes: Use same thickness and size of the potatoes to ensure even cooking in the same amount of time.
- But when cooking a large batch of potatoes and some potatoes are bigger then what to do? Most of the potatoes are medium-sized and you have a couple of large sized then poke the holes in large-sized potatoes using a fork to boil them a little faster and leave the medium-sized as such.
Debbie
Love this easy and great tasting recipe! Used gold potatoes that turned out perfect! Buttery soft and able to mash with a fork after easily peeling skins off.. No messing with a pot of hot water that steams up your kitchen!!!
Kanan Patel
Very glad that it was helpful.