A healthier take on sweet potato casserole, these Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes are cooked in an electric pressure cooker and then easily mashed for a versatile side dish. They're a creamy, vitamin packed comfort food!
I love these Instant Pot sweet potatoes as an alternative to sweet potato casserole, or even a change from Instant Pot no drain mashed potatoes. These sweet potatoes cook in less than 30 minutes and are a side dish staple in our household.
Even better, the sweet potatoes cook in the same pot they're mashed in making for easy clean-up. Yes!!
I love making regular potatoes and sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot. It's so much faster than baking, they taste better than cooking in the microwave and there's no water to boil.
Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
I love sweet potatoes, period.
I'm talking taco stuffed sweet potatoes, sweet potato hash...I could keep going but I'll try to focus here.
My point is, our family likes sweet potatoes and a veggie win of any sort makes this mama's heart swell. If my family will eat it, I'll serve it.
Plus, sweet potatoes are low in calories, high in fiber and Vitamin A and naturally gluten free.
The recipe I'm sharing today is for a very basic and versatile sweet potato side. I'll give you some tips to mix things up, too!
Ingredients
- sweet potatoes - There's a reason why these vegetables are front and center at the Thanksgiving table. Sweet potatoes practically scream autumn! Plus, there's no need to peel them beforehand, which is why I love cooking them with the pressure cooker. If you have extra sweet potatoes, make some air fryer sweet potato wedges and you can dip 'em in chipotle mayo!
- water - this is needed to bring the pot up to pressure
- butter - adds a touch of richness. It's just a little bit so go ahead - indulge!
- maple syrup - this adds a little sweetness to our already sweet potatoes. You could also use honey or a little brown sugar
- salt - offsets the sweetness a little and balances everything out
How to Make the Best Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
You'll need the trivet that came with your Instant Pot to get started, or you can use a vegetable steamer basket.
Scrub your mashed potatoes but there's no need to peel or cut sweet potatoes. How about that? I just LOVE easy recipes!
Add them to the pot along with a cup of water. Remember, you always need liquid to cook with a pressure cooker/Instant Pot. It's the key to pressurizing.
My recipe calls for two pounds of sweet potatoes but you can add more if you like. Cook them about 22 minutes.
Now, in all fairness, they may be done at 20 minutes and they may need until 25 minutes.
Don't worry if you take off the lid and they're not done when you poke them with a knife. Just put the top back on and give them about another five minutes. As an added bonus, they'll quickly come back up to pressure!
Once you have tender, cooked sweet potatoes, take them out of the Instant Pot using tongs. Careful, they'll be hot!
Move the cooked sweet potatoes to a plate and allow to cool slightly before slipping off the peels. One you have your sweet potatoes peeled, place them back to the Instant Pot to transform these into heavenly sweet potato mash.
Add the butter, maple syrup and salt and give them a little mash using a potato masher until they're blended to your liking.
If you like super creamy whipped mashed sweet potatoes, you can use a hand mixer to whip them into shape.
That's it! They're easy AND delicious!
Mashed Sweet Potato Variations
Seriously friends, the sky is the limit here!
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If mashed sweet potatoes make you think of the sugar laden old school casserole, the syrup and butter will do the trick. You can top the whole thing with pecans if you want.
But let's say you want to mix it up even more.
You could add spices like taco seasoning for TexMex sweet potatoes, a drop of liquid smoke to complement BBQ, or even a little bourbon for a robust side.
Garlic and herb anyone? What's your favorite sweet potato combo?
How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes Ahead of Time
You can make these sweet potatoes ahead of time. Cover and store them in the fridge for 3-4 days.
You can cook these ahead of Thanksgiving day or your dinner party. Make them as directed, then cover tightly with plastic wrap. You can pop them in the oven at a low temperature to reheat.
You may need to stir in a little milk to keep them from drying out.
What to serve with Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serve alongside your favorite holiday dinner.
We love these mashed sweet potatoes with herb rubbed pork loin or rosemary beef tenderloin. YUM!
Or, make these as a weeknight dinner. They're seriously so easy!
Other Sweet Potato Recipes
More Thanksgiving Side Recipes
- Traditional Stuffing Recipe
- Cheesy Corn Casserole
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Butternut Squash Casserole
- Cranberry Rice Pilaf
More Instant Pot Recipes
When you make these Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes, leave a comment or review. I'd love to hear from you!
Recipe
Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes scrubbed
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add water and an Instant Pot trivet or vegetable steamer basket to your Instant Pot. Add sweet potatoes. Cook sweet potatoes for 22 minutes. After cooking time is completed do a quick release.
- When vessel is depressurized, pierce sweet potatoes to make sure they're cooked through. Knife should easily slide when inserted. If cooked through, remove sweet potatoes using tongs and set on a plate to slightly cool. Slice the skin and remove skins. (They will come off easily)
- If your sweet potatoes are not cooked through, which may depend on their size, return them to the Instant Pot and cook for 5 minutes longer.
- Return "naked" potatoes to the Instant Pot. Add butter, salt and maple syrup. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes to your liking.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. Calories and other nutritional values vary depending on which brands were used.
Other Instant Pot Side Dishes
Shared on Meal Plan Monday
This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated with new photos and enhanced instructions in October 2021.
Cookilicious says
Nice idea to swap potatoes with sweet potatoes! Love this
Cookilicious says
Nice idea to swap potatoes with sweet potatoes! Love this
Nart | Cooking with Nart says
I love sweet potatoes. This recipe looks really easy and healthy. Will definitely try it.
Anita says
I love mashed sweet potato more than regular version, and using an IP is easy and fool-proof. 🙂
Krissy Allori says
Yum! I need to make these more often because I really like them. I don't know why I get it in my head I have to wait for a holiday.
kim says
This was super tasty! I love that it's healthier too! I'll definitely be making it again!
Nart | Cooking with Nart says
I love sweet potatoes. This recipe looks really easy and healthy. Will definitely try it.
Anita says
I love mashed sweet potato more than regular version, and using an IP is easy and fool-proof. 🙂
Krissy Allori says
Yum! I need to make these more often because I really like them. I don't know why I get it in my head I have to wait for a holiday.
kim says
This was super tasty! I love that it's healthier too! I'll definitely be making it again!