Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes {No Drain}

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The Instant Pot makes mashed potatoes a one-pot perfect side dish, without any draining huge pots of water! Plus, with the keep warm feature, you can make these first before the rest of your dinner or holiday spread.

White bowl filled with mashed potatoes topped with fresh chives.

I love hosting large groups of people. Build a longer table, right? Sometimes it can be tricky to time everything so it's hot all at once. And there's seriously nothing worse than cold mashed potatoes. This recipe lets you cook when you are ready, and the potatoes can sit hot until you are ready to mash and serve.

Why You Need This Recipe

No peeling, no draining - just cook and eat!
The "keep warm" setting is perfect for mashed potatoes. This means you can make these first and they'll keep fine while you cook everything else.
Easy for kids. This is a great recipe to teach them how to use a pressure cooker.

Key Ingredients

Potatoes - Red and Yukon have the thinnest skins, which is perfect for mashing. But honestly any type will do and any combination is great.

Butter - The fat adds the perfect texture to the mashed potatoes.

Milk - This will help add creaminess.

How to Make No Drain Mashed Potatoes

Step 1: Place the cubed potatoes and water in the liner of the Instant Pot.

Step 2: Close the lid, and set the valve to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure.

Step 3: When it's done, you can perform a manual release if serving right away. If serving later, just leave it alone for now.

Step 4: Add the butter to melt. Stir in the milk and seasoning salt of your choice.

A potato masher on top of cubed cooked potatoes with melted butter.

A potato masher starting to mash cubed cooked potatoes with salt.

Step 5: Mash well, taste, and serve!

Mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot ready to serve.

Tips and Tricks

Weigh your potatoes! This is a perfect place for using up strange shaped potatoes!
Chop your potatoes all the same size, maybe 2" squares or so. Eyeball it, but make sure they are all equal-sized so they cook the same.
You can make these ahead of the entire rest of your meal and they can sit on the keep warm setting. Then just mash and serve.
I just let the kids use a potato masher, but I've heard of people using a hand mixer right in the Instant Pot to 'mash.'

You can use whatever seasoning you like. Regular salt is great, but we love our wild mushroom seasoning salt. I've heard of others using celery salt or other blends. It's personal preference as far as what and how much you use.

Got leftovers? Salmon cakes use a cup of mashed potatoes, so you can also just leave out a cup before seasoning. You can also add any extra to your twice baked potatoes - that lets you mound the filling just a bit more.

No drain mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot.

FAQs

I don't need to drain my potatoes?

Nope! You can drain out the little bit of liquid left if you feel you need to, but it will also most likely just absorb in as you mash. The important part that makes these no-drain is using potatoes by weight! The weight to water ratio is key here, which is why I don't say a quantity of potatoes.

Can I make these mashed potatoes vegetarian?

Yes, you can certainly used plain plant-based milk and a vegan buttery stick here. It won't be quite the same taste, but it's so little milk that plain unsweetened almond milk should be fine.

Do I need to peel my potatoes?

Nope - I don't! If you prefer less-rustic mashed potatoes, feel free to peel before cooking. Especially if you have thin-skinned varieties like red/new and Yukon, I think they blend right in.

More Great Potato Recipes

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