I made mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot, and it was far easier than usual

I made mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot, and information technology was far easier than usual

A bowl of mashed potato on a wood surface surrounded by potatoes and garlic

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

There'due south nothing more comforting than a large scoop of creamy mashed tater. It's the unsung hero of side dishes, shine, creamy, and the perfect accessory to and then many meals. Whether yous like to customize your brew with garlic, cheese or herbs, or you lot simply prefer straight-up buttery mash, information technology's a firm favorite in so many households.

This cheap potato dish isn't exactly difficult to brand, but mastering the perfect results every fourth dimension can exist trickier than y'all might recollect. Most people desire to attain a smooth mash that's lite and fluffy, but many of us have experienced disappointingly lumpy results. This is, in role because, when boiling potatoes on the hob, they must exist watched like a hawk and checked ofttimes before existence tuckered and mashed. They're perfectly cooked when a butter knife slides through them with ease, although it doesn't take long before they become a watery mess.

The best Instant Pots take the hard work out of cooking an assortment of dishes, including vegetables. Pressure level cooking is one of the multitude of cooking methods these appliances offer and unlike humid sees less water evaporate during cooking, retaining an even temperature throughout the cooking pot. This got united states of america thinking - surely potatoes will melt more thoroughly in an Instant Pot, ensuring a polish, creamy mash every fourth dimension?

Read on to find out only how to brand mashed potato in an Instant Pot, or if you want to get your hands on ane of the all-time multicookers right now, bank check out these bully deals for some of the best prices on the market place.

So, what'south the hugger-mugger?

Earlier yous even start cooking, the best brew starts at the grocery shop. By selecting potatoes that are college in starch you'll go a amend result. There are hundreds of irish potato varieties, then find out what's available in your local store and pick the most suitable. In the US varieties like Russet and Yukon Gold are popular for mash and in the Uk Maris Piper or King Edward are a good choice.

Dorsum in the kitchen and the first thing you lot'll need to do is skin the potatoes. Some people dearest to leave the peel on for a more rustic brew, and if that's the issue you desire, go right ahead. But for the best creamy brew, pare your potatoes kickoff. Then, chop them into even size pieces, this is important because if the potatoes are all roughly the same size they'll cook evenly. At present this doesn't mean yous need to spend ages cutting them into tiny pieces, quite the reverse, minor pieces can over melt and pause downward which will leave you with a watery tater mess. Around 1.5 to 2 inch/ 4 to v cm square chunks are fine.

At that place are several recipes online for making mash tater in an Instant Pot. I read lots of them before my outset attempt and my biggest takeaway was that there'south no fix tater to h2o ratio, just add together your potatoes to the pot so add together enough cold h2o to merely embrace the potatoes. Crucially, you need to take intendance non to exceed the max line on your pot.

I added 4.four pounds/ 2kg of potato and 2.three pints/ 1.iii liters of water and a teaspoon of salt. Then I set up my Instant Pot to pressure cook on loftier pressure for 12 minutes. The fourth dimension was based on what I'd read in other recipes, taking into account that I was making quite a large batch. It's worth remembering that the fourth dimension required volition vary depending on your spud diversity, how big the chunks of murphy are and besides the number of portions yous're making. But 8 to 12 minutes is a skilful starting point.

At the terminate of cooking, release the force per unit area chop-chop, remove the pot of potatoes and drain away any excess water. Be certain to utilise some oven mitts to protect your hands when lifting the pot and tipping the h2o out. Then you can add together in your flavoring, I added heavy cream and salt for an indulgent and creamy mash, simply you tin add butter, olive oil, spices, cheese or garlic, get creative. I'd advise adding some fatty in the form of butter, oil or foam, this will requite you a tasty mash that doesn't have a dry texture.

The potatoes demand to be mashed while they're still hot, so as soon as you've drained away the water, get mashing. You can do this in the cooking pot, so at the end there's just one pot to clean. I'd recommend using a potato masher, just for very creamy and super smooth whipped potatoes an electric manus whisk works wonders at banishing lumps.

Potatoes that have been steamed and mashed in the bowl of an Instant Pot — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Is it any faster?

In short, no. The preheat took 25 minutes, and then at that place was the 12 minute cook time and add to that the 5 minutes to release the force per unit area at the end. This gave a full cook fourth dimension of 42 minutes for my large batch, compared to well-nigh 25 minutes on my stove. Merely the preheat will exist quicker if you lot make a smaller batch.

The thing is, that despite the slightly longer cooking time, I'd still melt my mash this mode over again considering I didn't take to spotter over the pot, so I was free to leave the room or concentrate on cooking other parts of the meal. Additionally, the potatoes were perfectly cooked through, which gave me a really smooth lump-free mash.

Yeah you still take to peel the potatoes, and then apply a bit of elbow grease at the end to brew them, just letting your Instant Pot have care of the cooking gives y'all potatoes that are cooked to perfection, which actually does make the end result smoother and creamier, I'm certainly a fan.

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Helen is a freelance author who specializes in kitchen appliances and has written for some of the biggest home-related titles around. She has been reviewing pocket-sized appliances, including blenders, juicers, and multi-cookers, for more than viii years, and besides upholsters article of furniture when she's non testing the latest food tech gadgets.